Alwyn

Dear friends,

We're delighted to inform you that Alfie now has a baby brother, Alwyn. He was born Tuesday August 26, 2008 at 0821 am in Bunda Hospital Jakarta. Birthweight is 3.7 kgs and birthlength is 50 cms. (Anna opted for waterbirth and it was cool, by the way).

The name is Alwyn Yang Patunru. Some of you would think I was inspired by the Chicago economist Alwyn Young (whose research on learning by doing I used for my undergraduate thesis). Yes, partly, maybe. But it was also because we wanted a middle name that goes in-sync with Alfie's "Shan". "Yang" (pronounced 'young') means sunny place (as in yin-yang). I was told, it can also mean "mighty".

Alfie is now with his grandma. But from what he sounds over the phone, he seems to have a mixed feeling on Alwyn's presence: a fun buddy but also a competition.

Pictures and all will be posted soon.

Ready to go...

Alfie's looking forward to his cocktail party

Salute to the country

Alfie is saluting the country's 63rd Independence Day. His second birthday is one day after.