BBC NEWS: Australia rethinks shark defences

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Australia rethinks shark defences

We're not kidding when we talk about how dangerous the sharks are. This quote is especially nice: "Sarah Whiley suffered unimaginable pain when she was killed by a pack of sharks off the eastern Australian coast last weekend."

Isaac enjoying Mackas ice cream

Day 5 - Going home!

Family of 4!

Mother and daughter

Catching Sydney awake

Still awake

Do these kids have the same nose or what?

Day 3

Day 2

Day 1

Isaac and Sydney

Main lobby of hospital

Bouncing baby girl

Friday morning, Ann's water broke at 4:15 am. She woke me up, I switched on the light, and it didn't take a medical degree for me to confirm it. We checked into the hospital by 7:30 am. She was examined by 8:30 and found to be 3 cm dilated. The doctors put her on a pitocin drip, which was like rocket fuel. She accelerated to 9 cm dilated in only 90 minutes. She got an epidural during that time. Unfortunately the baby was in a posterior position, which is not good. It can easily end by c-section. Luckily by 11:35 am the baby had rotated 180 degrees and was in the proper anterior position. After only 25 minutes of pushing, the bruiser came out:

Sydney Kate Smith
9 lbs 5 ounces
20.5"
January 6, 2006

Couldn't be more thrilled.

For the birdie

One Isaac's favorite activities. Ann is putting around nicely at 39 weeks -- 4 days before she'll give birth.

Sydney's hottest New Year's Day on record

Sydney's hottest New Year's Day on record

Today's weather was unbelievable: 44.2 degrees C is 111.56 degrees F. We stayed indoors with the blinds closed, drapes pulled shut, lights off, and fans on high.

Yet as hot as it was, it was amazing that by 9 pm, the temperature had dropped by 50 degrees F. The southerly winds blew off all the heat.