Introducing Mia

Well, Jessica called me at around 2 a.m. on Sunday morning while I was at work to inform me that her water had broken. I got home around 3, and we got some things together before we were off to the hospital. Jessica was in labor for about 21 hours before she gave birth to Amelia Korynn at 11:39 p.m. She weighed 8lbs 8oz and was 21 inches long. The pediatrician told us that she was perfect so we were going to have to keep her. I have no problem with that.

We left the hospital around 1:00 today and are now at home trying to get some rest. Jessica is doing great and we're very excited. More to follow.

I would've smiled, but I had been up for 36 hours at that point.














Baby and Mommy.














My little Bro and my daughter.















Baby, Me, and Nana.

Directions

Okay, this is for all you out-of-towners. Below is a diagram of the Methodist Dallas Medical Center campus (corner of Colorado Blvd & Beckley Ave), as well as directions for getting to the hospital.

Directions:

From I-30 (DFW Turnpike)

• Go west from downtown and take the Sylvan Avenue exit.
• Take the service road to Sylvan Ave, turn south under the freeway, and go east (toward downtown) on the service road to Beckley Avenue.
• Turn right on Beckley Ave (south) and go to the 2nd stop light (Methodist Medical Center Private Drive, or something like that). Turn right at the stop light and this will take you into visitor parking. Note: If you find yourself at Colorado Blvd, you've gone too far.

From I-35 (R.L. Thornton Freeway)

• Go south out of downtown across the Trinity River, and take the Colorado Boulevard exit.
• Once at Colorado Blvd, turn right and go west for a little over a mile. This will put you at Colorado & Beckley.
• Turn right at Beckley and go north to the 1st stop light you see (Methodist Medical Center, Private Drive), and turn left into the visitor parking lot.

For those of you that will be rolling into town after dark, just look for the hospital's blue lights and the illuminated cross on top.

There, wasn't that easy? Once in the parking lot, just follow the signs to the parking garage. Parking costs around $1.00 an hour.

For extra assistance, here is a Google map for the hospital's address as well as another map of the campus, this one in glorious Technicolor.

Methodist Dallas Quick Fact:
Famous blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan was born at Methodist Dallas Medical Center on October 3, 1954. Sadly, Vaughan was killed in a helicopter crash in East Troy, Wisconsin on August 27, 1990. He was 35.

New Year's Resolutions

Hey everyone. Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year holiday. Things were good here in D-Town. My mom and bro came down, and we all ate a big dinner. Ham was enjoyed by all.

Things learned from the Christmas Holiday:

• Apple juice and computer keyboards don't mix
  
• Robots make great gifts
• Baton twirling is an enjoyable leisure activity
• It's not healthy to drink orange juice that's two weeks out of date
  

So did any of you make a New Year's resolution? I typically don't go for that kind of thing. Resolutions just seem like empty promises you make to yourself so you'll feel better. "I'm going to lose weight this year." Yeah, right. And two weeks later it's, "Could you please pass the lard?"

At any rate, in light of our current situation, I have a resolution this year (and every year from here on out) to be the best dad I can be. I hope to model my fatherly career on that of my own dad's and to a degree that of Ward Cleaver's. Maybe with a little Andy Taylor thrown in for good measure.

I'll be re-posting in a couple of days so be sure you watch for that. A lot of people have been asking for directions to the hospital for the big day. I plan on posting with a map and written directions so you too can find your way to Methodist Dallas and bask in the glow that will be Amelia Korynn.

-WM