I made the decision I would be a fun mom today.
Having fun in the rain...

My friend Josh sent this to me who is a veteran. It gives me shivers and makes me feel so proud to be an American. Turn your speakers on.

2 weeks

I think I forgot how much I love this stage. He's so cute and cuddly. Overall I think Will's personality is pretty laid back. He only cries if he really needs something so I feel like I can't complain too much. I will complain however when it comes to nightime. If you've emailed or called and I still have gotten back with you...just bare with me. I'm up for hours during the night. He wants to eat and play more at night. He will lay in bed at night for hours thinking he is a little gymnast. We didn't move Caroline into her crib until she was a month, but I really think this little man is going to his crib tonight! His moans and movements are keeping me up at night for hours. So, I think he's going to the crib tonight and I'm going to sleep in the guest bedroom with the monitor. Wish me luck. You don't know what I would give for 1 -4hr stretch of sleep! It's all worth it though. :)

a couple more pics

Sleep, sleep, and more sleep, that's pretty much all he does right now. Right now he opens his eyes for about 5 minutes a day and so far he has been the most content baby.

a picture at last

This isn't the best picture because it was taken with Keith's blackberry, but we wanted to try and post something at least. We'll try to post more after we get home and have access to the desktop. William is very healthy and we're pleased that there haven't been any issues, considering he was preterm. We're looking forward to hopefully heading home tomorrow. Despite Keith's jealousy issues over the "cute anesthesiolgist" didn't he do a great job blogging?

We Grow em Big in Texas

At 5:38PM on June 4th, 2009, we welcomed William David Elliston into our family. He is a big boy at 6 lbs 14 oz and 19 1/2" long, and he was 4 1/2 weeks early. Both Lauren and William are doing very well and is still in our room with his Mommy. Big sister Caroline is on her way up to meet her baby brother.

We are waiting to get all the cheese off his face and we'll put a picture or two on the blog. I need to run to a nearby Academy and get his camo overalls for the ride home. Stay tuned for some pictures.

Push! Push!!! - 6/4 17:15 Update

Nurse says it's time to push. Going offline for a while so I can go into coach mode.

Epidural... Don't quit on us now - 6/4 17:00 Update

Things are still moving slowly, Lauren is probably still around a 6cm, but she's starting to feel the contractions a little more. My dinner is on the way, so I'm hoping Baby Boy holds off for my food (is that bad to say?). The "cute" (Lauren's words, not mine) epidural doctor just came in and is giving her another shot to help with the pain.

It was funny, b/c a nurse just walked in and said, "Oh, you're not Dr. Miller. I was told Dr. Miller was coming back in." The epidural Dr. said, "Last time I checked I was Dr. Miller." And then this awkward dialogue between the nurse and Dr. Mc Miller started up about how she knows this other Dr. Miller that's not this Dr. Miller. Oh, boy... glad we still have something to laugh about after this marathon delivery.

6/4 15:15 Update

At 3:15 now and nurse says she's at 5cm, close to 6cm. Moving slowly.

Bueller... Bueller??? - 6/4 15:00 Update

It's 3PM and still waiting on the doctors. Lauren just got a cherry popsicle, and you would have thought they gave her a III Forks Center Cut Filet.

What is this kid waiting for? - 6/4 13:00 Update

Well, still no Baby Boy. The nurse says Lauren is 4cm as of 1PM and that things should start moving along soon. Lauren has her epidural and is happy as she can be. She's actually sleeping right now and I'm just listening to our little boy's heartbeat. It's really quite amazing to sit here and think about the miracle of birth and everything that has to happen before he is born. There are two things I continue to think about during this time. (1) Birth is a great display of God's power and perfect design, (2) Nothing else matters but God, family, and our relationships with others. At a time like this, I really look forward to the opportunity to refocus on what's most important in life.

Earlier today, Lauren's mom and brother brought Caroline up to visit. It was so neat to see Caroline and her excitement when she saw us. I think it hit Lauren and I at the same time when we saw her and realized it would never just be the three of us (Well 4 if you count our sweet little 100lb lab, Sydney). Caroline was really into her Mommy and wanted to know how she was doing. It was quite funny. Then all she wanted to do was go to the Daddy Room and get juice boxes. For those that work with me, you can take comfort in knowing I've got a fresh pot of coffee going at all times in the Daddy Room, since it's right across the hall from us. :) I won't be able to sleep for a week. It will be good practice for what's in store over the next 3 months.

Well I guess that's all for now. Lauren can tell you about her anesthesiologist later. He had more muscles in his left pinky than I have in my whole body. But Lauren prefers scrawny, poor, hairy guys, so I don't think I have anything to worry about.

The Hospital Sofa - 6/4 09:00 Update

Yep, it was horrible. The sofa doubles as a dad bed at St. David's. It folds out (I mean slides out) a whole 6 inches into a bed. Fortunately, I was able to "find" a sleeping pill which made it easier to sleep thru Lauren's moaning and groaning all night.

No, in reality, Lauren has been fantastic. Last night they gave her Cervidil, which did nothing to move things along, so this morning at 7AM she started taking Pitocin, which is steadily getting stronger in order to bring on the contractions. Lauren's doctor was on call last night, but unfortunately Thursday is her day off, so she won't be delivering Baby Boy. Her doctor came in at 7AM to say goodbye, and a little while later we met the doctor who will be delivering Baby Boy, Dr. Sashaushashimi (or something like that). He seems really nice and made Lauren's day when he told her she could take a shower if she wanted to. We can't pronounce his name, but we like him so far and the nurses said he is a "Sweetheart". He's not as good looking as Mc Dreamy or Steamy, though, so I'm not worried. She's a sucker for the cute anesthesiologists, though, but we haven't met him yet. Epidural should be coming soon.

So now Lauren is clean, fresh, and ready for VISITORS!!! :) No just kidding, everybody stay in your homes and read your blogs (unless you are bringing Round Rock Donuts or Morphine).

Keep praying for Lauren and Baby, and I'll update everyone in a little while.

So we're watching this great movie...

Yep, it's Keith here. This is my first blog entry, so I'm feeling a little insecure about my manhood. Have you ever met a man that blogs? My cousin, Clark, does but he moved from Texas to England. Need I say more? For those who work with me, they probably don't believe I can blog, since I can barely use my cell phone and laptop. Technology seems to move a little fast for me. The fact that this is my first time to type a blog is a good example. Alright enough rambling.

Lauren and I are watching this great action movie tonight about some Army guy that was tortured in Nicaragua and is now going after his captor who his holding his ex-wife and daughter hostage. It's getting really good and we are about to kill a bunch of people and save the ladies when Lauren stands up and says...

Lauren: "Something's not right, I'm leaking." (She went on to say several other gross things, but I won't go into detail right now.)
Keith: "Do you want me to pause the movie?" (This was the wrong thing to say)
Lauren: Strong, Mean, Sigh "No, I'll be back in a little bit."

-- Lauren disappears for 20 min and is making phone calls to several women. I'm doing my best to finish the movie before she calls me away.

Lauren Returns: "Honey, you have to help me pick up the house, the nurse wants us to come in to the hospital."
Keith: "Can we finish the movie real quick?"

-- Most books instruct the husband to say, "Why don't you bake some cookies while I pack the bags", but I figured watching a movie would accomplish the same goal. My strategy did not work in my favor.

So here we are at Midnight on June 4th in St David's Round Rock. Lauren's water did break, so it looks like we will be delivering at 35 1/2 weeks. It's a little earlier than expected, so please pray for a fast delivery and strong lungs for Baby Boy. Lauren says I can't share his name until he's born. However, Round Rock Donuts delivered around 7 AM would probably be enough to sway me to leak the name.

Well this is enough for now. I'm worried that I'm ruining the blog and embarrassing Lauren, so I'll give everyone periodic updates as things progress. Good night, and please pray for us.

she brightens our day

I think Caroline has been into everything princess since she turned 2. She knows every princess. She says daddy is the king and prince, mommy is the queen, Sydney (our dog) is the joker, and we all live in a castle. She likes for us to make up "once upon a time" stories about "princess caroline." We feel a little guilty b/c we're filling her mind with lies about fictional fairy tales, but it's hard to resist when she gets so excited. I guess we'll lie to her about Santa, too? :)

Here is a conversation between Caroline and her daddy as he was headed out the door to go into the office this morning:

Caroline: "Please don't leave. You're my king"

Keith: "I have to go to work"

Caroline: "Kings don't have to go to work."

Keith: "What do kings do?"

Caroline: "Kings dance with princesses."