"Can't talk now -- having a baby" wife tells Marine calling from Iraq

Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

The two-hour plane ride from Phoenix to Dallas was the longest trip of Parker Consaul IV's life. He was on edge, literally bouncing in his seat with excitement.

When he stepped off the plane and passed security, it would be the first time the 27-year-old Marine would see his son, who was born on March 18 while Consaul was stationed in Haditha -- a military base in the Al Anbar province of Iraq, about 100 miles northwest of Baghdad.

His family -- his parents, his wife, Andrea, 25, and his son, Parker Consaul V -- waited eagerly Thursday night on the other side of the security glass near a baggage claim area. Andrea made jokes about how her husband had called her in the emergency room via satellite telephone while she was in labor.

"He called like four or five times, and I kept telling him, 'Can't talk now -- having a baby,'" she said, laughing, while she rocked Parker in his stroller and repeatedly checked her watch.

And then, finally, passengers of America West flight 548 began to file through the security door. Spotting her husband, Andrea ran through the crowd to meet him with open arms. The couple kissed and hugged for the first time in seven months while other passengers clapped.

Then Andrea led her husband over to the stroller and picked up Parker.

"This is your son," she said, handing the wide-eyed baby to her husband.

"Hey there, little guy. I'm your daddy," Consaul said and kissed his son's forehead.

Parker smiled and touched his father's face with his tiny hands.

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As for what he plans to do in town before he returns to California with his family: "I'm going to stare at the kid for four days straight. This is so freaking awesome."

Congratulations 1st Lt. Consaul.