Aw! “Law & Order: SVU” star, Mariska Hargitay, and her husband, actor Peter Hermann, have adopted a beautiful baby girl named Amaya Josephine, who was born about a week ago somewhere in the US.

“I’m deliriously happy,” Mariska tells PEOPLE. “From the minute she was born, she was just surprisingly alert and so full of love.”

“We were considering both international and domestic adoption and we’re thrilled that this is the way our prayers were answered,” she adds. “We talked a lot about mixed-race adoptions, and we are very excited that we are now a multi-racial family. We’re just so happy she’s here.”

Mariska and Peter planned to adopt domestically or go international. The couple was actually opened to the idea of having their own multi-racial family, so the race or birthplace of the baby was never an issue.

The 47 year-old actress married the 43 year-old actor in 2004 and the two already had a 4 year-old son named August, who is really excited about the new family addition and becoming the big brother.

“He is over the moon,” says the actress. “He calls her his baby because he says the whole thing was his idea. He always talks about how he’s going to protect her. He’s going to be a great big brother.”

Congratulations to the family!

[image: People]