Alex Coakley is Born!

At 8:32am this morning, Alexander John Coakley (we call him Alex) was born. He weighed in at a pleasing 3.79kg. He is 51cm tall and aced his Apgar test (both of them, actually).



We are delighted at his full head of dark brown hair. He arrived with only a small scratch on his forehead from the forceps, but other than that he was in perfect condition.



Amanda pulled through really well - she never ceases to amaze me with her endurance. I certainly would not have weathered the birth as well in her position! (AT ALL!)



After some initial hesitance, Morgan and Nicholas warmed to their brother. They have been a delight at home helping where they can (except it would be nice if we could get Nicholas to stop jumping on the bed!).





Alex's Grandpa was with us for a few days leading up to the birth and the Big Day itself.



Our friends and extended family have been a delight since Amanda returned home with the baby by supplying us with dinner every night.

Amanda's Mom is staying with us at the moment, and she is a great help to Amanda.

My second Midmar Mile

This year's event was markedly different to the previous year due to one (fairly important) reason - I didn't put in enough training.  By a long shot.  Evidence:

The net result is that I got a rush of blood to the head, moved to the front of the group at the start and proceeded to get flattened by the swimmers behind me!  The fact that the prevailing wind was from the right and this happened to be the side that I breathed on did not help.  A mouthful of wave is fairly counterproductive.

My result for this year was a colossal 35,000 milliseconds faster than last year -  a time of 43m48s.

But do not fear, in the immortal words of Arnold - I'll be back...

Day trip to Tala

Today we went on a road trip to the Tala Nature Reserve outside Camperdown. It was a really quick trip from home - I am surprised that it has taken us so long to get there.

The facilities at the Reserve are really world-class. We toured their rock pools which are really extensive. Next time we are taking our swimming costumes!

For lunch, we stopped at their restaurant. It was special to be able to sit out in nature enjoying lunch.

The camps are well kept, with clean facilities. Though I must say that the prices are very tourist-orientated.

A large mirror on one of the walls presented a unique opportunity for a family self-portrait with a natural background...

The game viewing was great with a high density of animals. There are no real predators to speak of, but it was interesting to view all the herbivores from so close up. Being so close to main roads presented some unusual photo opportunities! On top of that, I can't remember when last I saw a giraffe lying down (I assume they're lying down!).

It was a treat to view a Sable antelope from so close up! The last time I saw one, was at Kruger National Park during my High School years - this is truly a rare sighting (normally).

On entry to the park, we were presented with a crash of rhino - it was so up close and personal that it felt staged.

Many species of antelope are to be found throughout the park.

Of course, there were ample herds of zebra throughout and they are very tame.

We will certainly return in the near future - what a wonderful day trip!

Morgan's first day at School

Our "little" girl is growing up. Morgan started at We Friends Preschool today and it was a tough day for us, in particular Amanda and Nicholas, who are accustomed to having her around all day.

After being liberally marinated in sunscreen, we escorted her to her class. She was extremely excited and had been looking forward to this day since the last few months of 2007!

Her teacher is Dee and Morgan shares her class with some of her good friends, such as Nathan.

Bradley stops by

We had a short visit from Bradley this evening. He was coming through Durban on his way to Johannesburg from Grahamstown (?!).

Michelle and Duncan were hosting us at a wonderful Chinese Stir Fry evening at their home and kindly put out another plate for Brad.

Although it was a quick visit, the kids were delighted to see their uncle!

Welcoming 2008

We welcomed in the New Year with the Dickson and Pieters families. It was another beautiful evening and we had a great time with our friends (as usual!).

The view from Bruce and Lil's balcony was spectacular. We had a panoramic view of the fireworks all over the Durban Central and South area right up to the Bluff.


This year is bound to be memorable with the impending birth of our second son, as well as Morgan's first year in school. Looking forward to it...

A day at Shongweni Dam

We drove through to Shongweni Dam today - which just happened to be another glorious sunny Durban day. My ulterior motive was to test our (fairly) new camera (Canon Powershot S5 IS) with some outdoor scenery.


Instead of parking alongside the dam, which we usually do, we drove down to below the dam wall. The picnic and braai spots here were well kept with ample grassed areas for each family group. It was really quiet down here, but there was the odd car that drove past to the dam wall.


We took Morgan and Nicholas' tent along as they really enjoy camping - no matter how short the period.


Times like these with the kids are truly precious. It was absolutely wonderful spending time with them away from the usual daily grind. We walked all over with them and really spent chunky time with them.


Morgan looked as beautiful as ever (she takes after her Mom!). She and Nicholas had a great time running up and down the hill leading to the dam. I found myself cringing behind the viewfinder, waiting for the skinned knees. Fortunately, this fear was not realised.

We took a walk to the dam wall - and then through the dam! It was truly creepy while being very interesting. The signatures of the construction team that built the dam were on a plaque in the middle of the tunnel running under the dam (for the history buffs, it is officially known as the Vernon Hooper Dam and was built in 1925).


The view from the other side of the dam was breathtaking! This is a truly majestic structure and must certainly be one of the most striking landmarks in Natal.

Today we went on a road trip to the Tala Nature Reserve outside Camperdown. It was a really quick trip from home - I am surprised that it has taken us so long to go there.


The facilities at the Reserve are really world-class. We toured their rock pools which are really extensive. Next time we are taking our swimming costumes!


For lunch, we stopped at their restaurant. It was special to be able to sit out in nature enjoying lunch.

The camps are well kept, with clean facilities. Though I must say that the prices are very tourist-orientated.

A large mirror on one of the walls presented a unique opportunity for a family self-portrait with a natural background...


The game viewing was great with a high density of animals. There are no real predators to speak of, but it was interesting to view all the herbivores from so close up. Being so close to main roads presented some unusual photo opportunities! On top of that, I can't remember when last I saw a giraffe lying down (I assume they're lying down!).


It was a treat to view a Sable antelope from so close up! The last time I saw one, was at Kruger National Park during my High School years

Christmas 2007

The children had a fantastic Christmas this year with more gifts than they could comprehend. We had great fun with them opening the presents.


This year was supposed to be a "no present" year for the adults, but we still managed to have the odd surprise for each other. Amanda got a handmade necklace from Delia, amongst other goodies...


The entire lounge carpet was full of presents from Johannesburg (mostly!).

Delia and Jurgens were staying with us and we shared a spectacular lunch. They also did their bit to spoil the kids.

After lunch, the men spent some time "testing" Nicholas' car track.

Thanks to the family for all the lovely gifts! But seriously, the kids have enough toys now... This place is starting to look like Reggies.

My first Midmar Mile

I surprised myself by participating and then managing to finish the Midmar Mile swim this weekend. It was held at Midmar Dam near Howick.



I swam with the Kingsway Church International team. We had a wonderful day at the dam and the swim was a lot easier than I thought it would be. It is certain to be a fixture on our calendar from now on.



The main men's event was cancelled on Sunday due to bad weather - this was the first time a swim was cancelled in the history of this event.
Oh yes, I finished in 44:23. Something to beat next year... (The winning time was just under 18 minutes!)