a tale of two babies

Congratulations to my good Boston friends the Shoons for giving birth to their first baby, a little Shoon named Colin. And a big "til hamingju" also to my coworker Katrín whose sister just gave birth this morning to her first child, a girl named _____.

Yep, that's right, the name is a mystery. In Iceland babies' names usually remain under wraps until the child is christened in church. That's when the name becomes public for the first time. It's a big unveiling, akin to when Rod Roddy used to yell "a new car!" on The Price is Right. Before the baby has her "day in church", the parents use a nickname between each other and with their friends and family. This nickname will be something like "kríle" (small thing) or "stubbur" (stumpy). Last year I made the mistake of asking some friends what was the name of their new baby, and they glowered at me. (She's since been christened Júlía Jökulrós, or Julia Glacier's-Rose.) But to new parents the innocent "What's the name of your baby?" is a question best left unasked in the Land.