I'm a Doda again!

My sister had a new baby boy yesterday! Now I'm Doda times three! (Yes, that is what they call me. It means "aunt" in Hebrew, and I'm their only aunt, so there's no point in being redundant by calling me "Doda Sarah.") I've seen pictures and he is so cute! He weighs almost 9 pounds and has very round cheeks and lots of brown hair. My brother-in-law thinks the new baby looks just like his big brother, Nathan, but I think he looks like a mixture between Nathan and Ilan, and bottom line looks like a totally new little person. It's so exciting! He's really adorable.

Luiz, the proud Abba, told me what they are naming the baby, but I'm not sure it's public knowledge yet, so I'll wait before announcing it. Thank God, it's a name I was rooting for.

With a nod toward "Friends" and a hat tip to Treppenwitz, I just want to say to my tiny new nephew: Nephew, as your Doda, I promise I'll always have gum.

That is, when I see him. They live in California, and I live in Israel, and I'm all travelled out. Having gone to the USA five times in the last 2 and a half years, if I see the inside of an airplane again anytime soon, I'll have to scream. So I think we'll be using a lot of jpg files, web cams, and phone calls to stay in touch. Not that he cares, but I will.

I have a good friend here in Israel who is also expecting a baby, and it's strange to think that I'll probably have a more intimate relationship with her child as he or she passes through babyhood, than I will with my own nephew.

But, that would have been true even if I'd stayed in the USA. It's not like New York, which is where I used to live, is so close to California either. Closer, but not close at all.