Introducing ....

Ryan James Carter
born February 14, 2010 at 10:52 p.m.
9 lbs, 5 oz.
That's right, NINE pounds five ounces!

Last night after church (Tammy stayed home from church to rest, but Jim, Sheri, Jacob, and I went) we came home for our normal late Sunday supper. We were just finishing up and getting Jacob ready for bed when Tammy leapt off the couch and ran to the bathroom. I haven't seen her run like that in months! So I followed her. Her water was starting to break. Contractions followed starting around 9:20 p.m. At 9:30 p.m., they were 6 minutes apart. We put the suitcase in the car. We left the house at 10 p.m. and arrived at the hospital at about 10:10 p.m. She was already 8 cm -- too late for the planned epidural! Fortunately it was short and sweet -- at 10:52 p.m. little Ryan popped out.

About Ryan's name: James is in honor of Tammy's dad; his middle name is James, and he goes by Jim. Ryan comes after months of searching for a unique and maybe subtle way to honor the memory of my mom, Sally. The name "Sally" was originally a nickname for Sarah, which means "princess." Tough to find a boy's name that means "princess," so we started looking for names that mean "prince." Instead we came across Ryan, which means "little king."

Keep checking back for more photos and even a few videos!