A new life

28.182% baby :)
6 months, 2 weeks, 6 days remaining...
17,384,124 seconds and counting

And, believe me. Right now, Jen is counting the seconds.
Each new second is another battle won against the nausea.
Jen's describing it as feeling like you have a bad hangover, for five weeks.

I'm still blaming, Eve, but I'm sure that Jen's suffering is "building character."
She won't let me post the pictures I've been taking of her, but I promise, they'll make great photos to go along with the line, "Look what I went through for you!"
It may seem like I'm enjoying this a little too much, but I'm still pretty excited about the prospect of being a father. Jen got me the Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Wisdom of Dads book for Christmas!

The tough part this week for me (and Jen) has been that I'm in week 3 of getting to know what life as a Surface Warfare Operations Officer is like. After 3 years of 20-40 hour weeks, the past few weeks have snapped me back into the arduous sea duty life. We're in 3-section duty for the holiday stand down, and, since I didn't take leave, I'm at work 2 out of every 3 days, spending the night in between. The good news is that I'm coming online quickly with the breadth of my responsibility. The bad news is that no one's around to get Jen the Gatorade when she's so nauseous that she can't move. This won't last for much longer, but the underway time is rapidly approaching.

For now, I'm doing my best to force her to eat something, stay hydrated, and get up and around.

THE BABY REPORT (thank you wikipedia):
-The fetus reaches a length of 8 cm (3.2 inches).
-The head comprises nearly half of the fetus' size.
-The face is well formed
-The eyelids close and will not reopen until about the 28th week.
-Tooth buds, which will form the baby teeth, appear.
-The limbs are long and thin.
-The fetus can make a fist with its fingers.
-Genitals appear well differentiated.
-Red blood cells are produced in the liver.

And now the Cowboy Lament...
my baby has a face, it is sad :(
my baby has a big head, just like most of my team.
my baby's eyes are closed, just like the Cowboys' Offense.
They won't open till well after the playoffs.
my baby's limbs are long, thin, and easy to knock balls out of
my baby has a fist and is shaking it in anger

Thank God for other sports, like hockey...
oh wait...nevermind.

My baby's blood is rising!!!

We wish you all a continued Mele Kalikimaka and hope you enjoy the New Year's Fireworks!