I’m going to make this short because it’s now 11:43 PM SA time and as you remember we’ve been up and at it since 4am.

By now, I’m sure all of you have heard that Koula & Dimitri had a little baby girl. Anastasia Danae Philippou came into this world @ 5:27 pm weighing in at 3.12 kilos. (312 coincidence there? I think not. This baby has Chicago in it from birth!) That’s 6.9 pounds. Baby Anastasia is 48 cm long, that’s 18.9 inches. And she’s so beautiful with a head of black hair and big blue almond shaped eyes. I cannot explain how exciting the entire process was and how much of a blessing it was to experience it with Koula & Dimitri. Anastasia is a blessing to us all. She’s extended our family generation to 5! Which is incredible and so exciting.

I’m beyond myself right now. I’ve attached a photo for you all to see baby and mom and dad. But Maria should have sent you guys photos that I’ve sent to her and asked to pass along. Hope you’re all doing well. Mom, Dad, Baby, Grandma, and Uncle here are all doing well, we’re just all a bit tired. So with that, thanks for reading my emails. I hope they’ve been a day brightener for you all and you’ll surely receive more emails/photos from us soon.

with love,
Uncle Biko

Ok. so we’re all awake, it’s 4:45am and just got off the phone with Maraki. She said she has insider information, coming from the source, of the baby kicking and moving like crazy. Apparently the baby was so active last night that Kou didn’t get much sleep. These are Maraki’s rumour’s take them fro what they’re worth. :-)

We’re starting phase two right now. We’re going to the hospital very soon to visit Koula and see how things are going. The next update will probably be via telephone.

with love,
Biko

PS: I’m a bit grumpy b/c mom left all the windows open last night cause it was hot and now we’re both itching all over out bodies. Does she listen to me when I tell her that malaria flies around at night and bites you? I mean mosquito’s? Of course not.

***Disclaimer***
Fellow Bos-Network loyal readers. The following posts, the “phase” posts are emails that are being sent out to my family. They are regarding my sister’s pregnancy, which was the sole reason for coming to Cape Town, South Africa. I hope you’ll enjoy reading these messages as much as you’ve enjoyed reading my other posts. I must tell you now, I will not be doing anything creative such as the quotes. But not to worry, they’ll be back as soon as things get back to normal here. Until then, all the best!
****************

Just thought I’d update you all on Koula’s status. We’ve shipped her off to the hospital where they’re going to induce her. She took a couple pills at 12:00 AM South Africa time and right now it’s 1:20 AM SA time. Mom, Dimitri & Me are all home now. We plan on waking up around 4:30 AM to go to the hospital as they’ll be giving Koula the next set of pills at 5:00 AM and hopefully then she’ll start having her contractions.

We’ve packed a hefty bag, actually a couple bags and a suitcase for Koula. Everything from pajamas to her iPod are with her. We’ll be taking the video camera there tomorrow to film the whole process (thanks Goof for the tripod), so that when they come back and visit us in Chicago, everyone can have a chance to see the birth!

Everyone is doing fine. Mom got a bit emotional, but that’s normal, so there shouldn’t be any concern. Dimitri is keeping cool. Koula seems to be doing fine. We heard the baby’s heartbeat and it’s racing, he can’t wait to get out of Koula. Imagine, 40 weeks with Koula. :-) And I am just dreading having to wake up in a couple hours.

There’s nothing to worry about. Everyone is healthy & happy.

We’re going to cover the entire birth on Film, Camera, Email, Telephone. Everyone will be informed and we’re hoping for the best…soon!

With Love,
Biko

“Whoever said it was lonely at the top was looking from the bottom.”
(the facts of life)

- sister still pregnant, expecting end of month delivery.
- online Audio course is crap.
- weather is beautiful, but a bit windy.
- can’t wait for Cloverfield to get released here.
- darjeeling limited just released in theaters here.
- maybe i should just rent the DVD of Cloverfield when I get back to Chicago.
- current song: Ozzy - Goodbye to Romance.
- iPhone still working; unlocked and on a prepay sim. fantastic.
- i don’t get charged for incoming calls or incoming text messages (SMS). brilliant.
- not taking enough photos. that should change in the coming days, possibly hours.
- my sister just said she has to go “pee pee”. baby talk has begun.
- my dreams have been crazy as of late.
- planning on a sailing trip for monday in the indian ocean. hopefully some sharks will come out.
- goal for the rest of the month: see a shark in the wild…from a safe distance. :)