Last Saturday, my sister gave birth to a bouncing baby boy, making me a happy uncle! Both are doing well as it was a straightforward C-section, which can be quite hard on the mummy, but my sister said it was just like falling asleep and waking up to find her son next to her hehe. Wow ... it's been a few days now but I still can't believe she's a mother! He looks like a well-tempered kid, because he's always reacted well to visitors - let's hope it's a good sign for the future :)

We've had a devil of a time trying to find a name, because he arrived 4 weeks early, so he caught my sister and her boyfriend (yep, she's not married, and my mother is very sore about that point, but I'm not letting her negativity ruin the birth of what could be my only nephew; I'm gay, my brother is gay, and my other brother doesn't particularly care for kids) off guard. They knew they wanted a name that was not common, so they though Kieran or Sheldon. Since one of my sister's friends used up Kieran, she was stuck with Sheldon ... the name I hate most in this world! It's the name of the spoilt brat who for 3 years was my neighbour in Qormi, with him and his family making my life a living hell, as some of you already know since I bitched about it so much! I actually told my sister so, but explained in all honesty that if she liked it, it was fine, but that it's not as uncommon as she believes. We have at least 3 Sheldon's in my school. So I helped her research other options. Luckily for me, two days later her boyfriend, Pedro, learned that there's a female Sheldon near where they live. Can you believe it? A female Sheldon. Some parents are SO cruel. Anyway, that cooled them off the name, so I was relieved. Right now they're hoovering over Alden, which means either "wise old friend" or "defender", depending which of its origins you look at. I told her to consider the meaning of the name because it's nice to have something to live up to, and also, I think the kid should get a decent answer when he eventually asks why his name was chosen :P I don't fancy her having to tell him, "Cos you were were born early and we panicked!" lol.

She asked me to be Probably-Alden's godfather, and I think I'll accept. Again, in the spirit of honesty, I told her that she has to consider that I will never be married and have kids, so if anything happens to her and Pedro, Probably-Alden won't have any cousins to grow up with. She said it doesn't matter, and when I said if she asked my brothers, she had not since the youngest was not all that keen (and I could see it's true ... I think he's being supportive only cos he has to), and my other brother is just a bit too scatter-brained. My sister and I have always clicked more together than with the others, anyway. It's kinda funny too, cos we're both tanned and take more after my mum, whereas the other two take after my father. Our bickering was usually Daniela and I against Billy and David :P

She leaves the hospital some time today, and that's all I know hehe. We'll see how this goes, but it's been a heck of a few days. Amazing how one thing can totally change your perception of yourself and others!

(Uncle) Jon