Little Franquito

Hey I have some great news! If you have read some of my past blog postings, then you may know that my buddy, Francisco's, wife has been pregnant. Well, not any more - on Friday, April 16th, little Franquito was born. Francisco sent me a text message, and I went to the hospital to visit the new family of three. I took a taxi, because I didn't know exactly where the hospital was located. I was a little embarrassed when the taxi pulled up to a hospital 3 blocks away from my house! Anyway, here is a picture of Franquito taken at the hospital. You can see that he is already wearing a San Lorenzo hat!

Until tonight, I haven't gotten to see Franquito since the hospital, because I have been busy studying for exams. Anyway, it looks like Francisco and his wife, Laura, are adjusting quite nicely.

Let me tell you about the gift I gave Francisco and Laura just a few days before Franquito was born. Initially, I was going to give them a baby-monitor, but then I realized that a baby-monitor would not be very useful to them, since Franquito's crib is in their bedroom. They are very excited and devoted parents, and they want to be able to jump out of bed and tend to Franquito when he awakes in the night.

Instead, I decided to buy them an "egg". I'm not sure what the word is in English, but Francisco calls it an "egg". Bascially, it is one of those removeable car-seats that the baby sits in during car trips, and then you can take it out and carry the baby in it when you go to a restaurant or to your friend's house. Anyway, Francisco and I met at a store on the Wednesday before Franquito was born to choose which "egg" to buy.

We walk into the store and find three different car-seat models to choose from. We start debating the pros and cons of each of the different models, which colors we like most, etc. We were in the store for more than an hour looking at car-seats. The sales associate even entered the discussion, offering his opinion on the benefits of each of the different car-seats. I am confident that we chose the best one in the end. Then we went to the register - and Francisco explained that I would be paying. As we left the store, all the sales associates were smiling. That was when I realized that I was wearing sort of a pink shirt - I am pretty sure that the sales associates thought that we were a homosexual couple who had adopted a baby.

Anyway, tonight I went to Francisco's house for dinner and to see little Franquito. We had a really nice time. Francisco and Laura call me as "Tio Ryan" (Uncle Ryan). I really hope that they will continue to refer to me as Tio Ryan, as it makes me feel really good. I'd like Franquito to grow up knowing me as Tio Ryan.

Of course, I'll understand if things don't work out that way. I am already an uncle, and here is the thing I have realized about Tio Ryan - he is a lot of fun, but he never seems to stick around long enough. Anyway, tonight I got to hold Franquito, which I really enjoyed. I cannot tell you how happy I am for Francisco and Laura - they have been really excited about starting their family, and they are going to be great parents. Little Franquito is lucky to have them as parents.