My wife and I went in to the hospital on Saturday January 15th to induce labor, and the following day, she was beginning the early stages of labor. After our doctor had broken the bag of waters for our son, he began showing signs of fetal distress, so we chose to do a C-section. So I could be there at the birth, I had to dress up in hospital scrubs to help keep the operating room a sterile environment. While this was both scary and traumatic for me, my wife was amazingly calm (because of the morphine maybe...?). The picture to the left is of me in scrubs waiting to go into the operating room, and I was very nervous, I should say. Click on the image to see an enlarged version.

The whole C-section procedure was very quick. The doctors and nurses worked like clockwork, and didn't miss a step. Baby Elliott was born at exactly noon on Sunday January 16th, 2005. While they were working on mom, and taking care of baby, the song "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" by R.E.M. was playing on the radio. Never a more appropriate song, I think. The image to the left was taken about one minute after he was born. The nurses are looking at him on an isolette, where they determine his APGAR score and clean him off. Click on the image to see an enlarged version.

After the nurses did their initial tests on baby Elliott, I got a chance to step in and take the first really good picture of him. This is his first cry, when babies start learning how to breathe. A good crier tends to mean a good breather. Click on the image to see an enlarged version.

This is our first family picture. Mom is still being worked on, and is high on morphine. Her new best friend, the Nurse Anesthetist named Cassie, took this picture for us. Dad is still trying to hold back tears and come to grips with the reality of being a good daddy. Elliott just wants people to stop messing with him. Click on the image to see an enlarged version.

While mom was getting stitched back up, I was allowed to take Elliott from the OR to the hospital nursery. My cousin Matt says while I was in the nursery, I set the new hospital record for the most pictures taken in a one hour period... But, can you blame me, this kid is cute. While the nurse was attending to the newborn protocol, I was able to sneak in a few (ok, a few dozen) pictures, and little Elliott hardly cried at all. Click on the image to see an enlarged version.

Elliott was curious about the world from the start. When the nurse wasn't poking or prodding him, he was occupied with looking about, figuring out this new world he became a part of. Click on the image to see an enlarged version.

I had to keep this picture because Elliott reminded me of Dr. Evil from Austin Powers... That shiny stuff on his eye is ointment the nurse gave him to help fight infections. Click on the image to see an enlarged version.

This is probably my favorite picture of Elliott. As a testament to how alert he was, I called him to this side of the bassinette to get his attention and he looked right over and recognized my voice. Smart kid, huh? Click on the image to see an enlarged version.

A couple of days later (after mom and dad had a bit of sleep) I took this picture with Elliott. Amazingly, mom was the one who took the picture (after having a C-section, not too shabby...). Click on the image to see an enlarged version.

Elliott did well on his first ride home. In this picture, he is just waking up after we arrived. Click on the image to see an enlarged version.

After a few days of living at home, Elliott is doing just fine. He's adjusted to life outside the womb, and is daily becoming more of a joy. Keep checking this page to find more pictures of my son Elliott. Click on the image to see an enlarged version.

One of the things you have to do after a baby is born is make sure they're clean. The problem is, they have that icky little part of their cord left over, and you can't properly bathe them until that completely falls off. Finally it did, and we were able to give Elliott his first official bath. We nearly lost him in the towel... Click on the image for a larger view.

In the first few months of life, at least for Elliott, smiles were a rare commodity. Even rarer was the opportunity we had to catch one on film, so I jumped at the chance when we caught him smiling in his sleep. So what if it was really gas, right? Click on the image to see a larger view.

For some situations, having a pacifier and an automatic swing is just the right thing. Elliott seemed to enjoy his swing a lot, and consequently spent a lot of time in it. Oddly enough, he is still attracted to it at the age of two, but now its more of an obsession of turning on the music and making it swing for his little brother Simon. Click on the image to see a larger view.

Since Elliott was born in January, and I was still going to college, I had a unique opportunity to spend a summer taking care of him. One of my favorite things was when he'd fall asleep just laying on me. Click on the image to see a larger view.

So with summertime, there was ample time for bonding and playing. Since I ran most of the errands during the day while mom was resting from work (she works graveyard shifts), I got to dress the kid up in style. Or, at the very least sickeningly adorable... Click on the image to see a larger view.

Grandma and Great-grandma are both Lakers fans, so one of the outfits he wore often was this Lakers onesie. Yes, it is manly for a father to know what a onesie is... Anyhow, Elliott was in a great mood this day, and I got some great pics out of him. Click on the images to see larger views.

As kids do, Elliott grew up fast. Before he could, however, Daddy took his time to properly geek him out. Watch out ladies...

One milestone for kids is when they get to start eating in a high chair. One milestone for parents is that clothes on kids in high chairs almost never stay clean. Click on the image to see a larger view.

Kids in high chairs don't really stay clean either, but at least they don't stain so easily... Click on the images for a larger view.

Where we live, it gets cold in the wintertime; Grandma lives where its warm, so as a precaution she sent Elliott hats. Lots of them. And Elliott loves wearing them. All the time. If Imelda Marcos kept hats instead of shoes, he'd give her a run for her money. Click on the images for a larger view.

Ok, so the kid loves Jeopardy! Even now he sings the theme song when it comes on the TV. Look here to see him sucked into the gaze of the mighty Alex Trebek...

Elliott ending up getting his first while we went on this trip to Centrl Washington to attend the wedding of a friend. We didn't realize this until after we got home, but it explained his crankiness at the time.

Later on that same summer, we took another trip to visit family in Western Washington. We got together for a very nice family day at a local park, and managed to capture this nifty image with my camera phone. All I was doing was trying to keep Elliott from grabbing the phone while I took his picture. Still, a neat effect.

Fall was a special time for us. Elliott was dressed up in two different costumes, but the better of the two was this pumpkin outfit. We were invited to go to a Halloween function at a local church, so we put his best.. gourd forward. Not much longer after that, Elliott helped Mom and Dad rake leaves on our front lawn by sitting on the ground and making sure it didn't suddenly fly off into space.

Elliott ended up growing quite the head of hair, and had received two haircuts before his first birthday. This was his first one, and he didn't seem to care at all.

Elliott was nearly a year old for his first Christmas, so we had a lot of fun with it. He didn't seem to into it, but some of the toys he really enjoyed, including this one.

Speaking of his first birthday, here are some pics from that. We had an Elmo theme, and he didn't seem interested in the cake at all, other than playing with the frosting. But, some great pics nonetheless.

This page has a WIKI!