By popular demand....

The public outcry for the latest ultrasound has been loud--at least from one certain future grandmother who lives four hours away. Here is the best picture. I will tell you; it's pretty difficult to make this one out but it's cool when you do. Look at it from somewhat of an angle and you will notice the left eye, cheek, nose, lips and Just possibly the shoulder.Meanwhile, we have attracted another pet to the house. For those of you who don't know, our house has become quite the animal farm over the years. Notice the column to the right. Here is the latest pet; this is literally at our front door and Suzanne almost stepped on it while going outside this morning.

I had a blast trying to figure out how to get this thing from our door to a nearby pond. He was not a lightweight and he did not like being carried by a shovel! Lastly, I see where the Ole Miss Rebels are currently winning another SEC Tourney game. Just about time for my man Jacob Morgan to come in and shut the Door!

"Much Growth"

"Much Growth" would be the two words to best describe our day today. Suzanne and I made our last trip across the lake for a visit with her doctor there. We learned that our child has grown to 4 pounds 2 ounces! Remember, there are 91/2 weeks to go so that's a pretty big baby. It's still within the average we're told by the doctor but on the "bigger side" of normal as we've been told by said doc before. We got to see a more in depth ultrasound again and we were overJoyeD (is that proper English??? Gege help!) by the images. We got another clear shot of the face, which I hope will convey on this blog when I post the latest ultrasound pic soon. The doctor also told us the baby had a good looking brain, which I immediately took credit for. Now that I think about it, I'm not so sure about that.

Suzanne's mystery dizzy spells returned again while on the ultrasound table. She simply cannot lay on her back more than a minute or two. I honestly thought she was going to pass out and she almost did. Fortunately, she recognized it and got up in the nick of time and I did my best to comfort her. I am certainly learning new appreciation for my wife every single day. What a sacrifice! Picture coming soon.

"Jubilant Daddy"

It has been well documented on this blog the hardships that Suzanne has endured during the last few months. I am happy to report that she recently received a "major gift" from her cardiologist; a clean bill of health. She has also received good standing from her OB, so it appears the worst of her spells are over (thoughts and prayers still needed, though).

Now on to the really tough time I had over the weekend. That's right, it was the eagerly awaited Daddy Boot Camp. About ten of us future fathers came together to learn the ins and outs of newborns. We indeed were commanded to change a real live baby's diapers. The catch here was that only one of us in the room was assigned this task; I'll bet you'll never guess who was chosen.

With the real live baby, I had a real live wet diaper. I got to practice cleaning the private area (a boy, thank goodness!). I also learned to hold both legs like wine glasses and lift up so that the baby's bottom came off the ground for a thorough checking and cleaning, if necessary.

My crowning achievement, though, came after the diaper change. The baby immediately began crying, but the real live father was away disposing of the diaper. I was then instructed by our daddy drill sergeant to pick up the baby and comfort it. I wisely followed his instructions and actually stopped the baby from crying! After I returned home, I had Suzanne take my picture with the souveneirs I had received from the workout. The joy on my face is obvious.

We have one more class (CPR) and only 10 weeks left! We head to the Southshore specialist one last time and then we're on to the home stretch. I have butterflies thinking about it; you can imagine why I am already one JUBILANT DADDY!!!