Our Little Tea Pot

Well, it's been an interesting 5 days. The first couple were spent in the hospital, just lounging and recooperating. The next 2 were not so easy since Carter decided he didn't want to nurse or sleep (which every mother knows is an awful combination). At that point I wasn't sure what I had gotten myself into. And then yesterday he changed his mind again, nursed perfectly, and slept 5 1/2 hours in the night. That's more like it! Here are some more pics of the little guy. We call him our little tea pot because once he warms up, he really squeals :-)

This is the coming home outift that Daddy bought for him. I love this tradition!

One of the few pictures of him awake :-)

Carter Anthony Pope

Carter Anthony Pope was born Tuesday, February 17, 2009 at 5:47 pm. He weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs 1 oz (a whole 2 pounds bigger than his brother) and 21 inches long. I would have to say that by the way I felt in the last days of having him inside of me, I just knew he was a big kid! As for the labor story, for those who are interested, my water was leaking early Tuesday morning (although at the time I wasn't quite sure what it was since there were no contractions with it). Caleb had left really early that morning to go skiing since it had snowed 11 inches the night before. I already had a doctor's appointment that day at 12:20 so I figured I'd just fillin the doctor when I went and then give Caleb a call when I found out more. As soon as he checked me he told me my water had broken and that he was sending me straight over to the hospital. At that point I called Caleb, who was already heading home, and he told me that the canyon road had been closed up until that time (so luckily I hadn't gone into labor before then or else he would have been stuck!) Caleb got to the hospital around 2:00 pm and they started the pitocin at 2:08 pm. They had to up it 4 times before I started to feel any contractions and around 3:30 pm my water really broke and immediately following, my contractions got hard! After enduring the hard contractions for a while, I decided to try out some IV drugs which helped to relax me during the break between contractions but did nothing during the actual contractions. Shortly after that I decided I might as well just get the epidural. Well, should have decided that a bit sooner since by the time I got my epidural, I was already dilated to a 9 and it didn’t ever “catch up” like it was supposed to. I unfortunately for a short 15 minutes got to feel all the pain of pushing out a 9 pound baby, but of course it was worth it. Here’s our new baby boy!

Cooper did great when he came to see his new brother. He wanted to hold him and he says Baby Carter very well ("bebe tarter"). Let's hope this good streak lasts!

Kisses!

After a while he leaned into me almost as if to say, "You're still my mom right?" Such sweet boys!

Super Bowl Sunday

I know it's been while since the Super Bowl but I still wanted to document the fun time we had! Our friends Joey & Kathryn, Scott & Teddy, Andrew & Alexis, and Alex all came over to partake in the football goodness. I don't think I saw any of the first half due to preparing and eating the amazing amounts of food we had. Let's just review what there was; 7-layer bean dip, mesquite wings, chips & artichoke dip, fresh pineapple, apple cake, starbursts, cherry sours, candy orange slices, strawberry lemonade, black cherry soda, & bratwursts. Needless to say, we were stuffed. I think my favorite part of the whole game was the halftime special of the gameshow "Wipe-Out"! Really, is there anything funnier than watching people eat it on an obstacle course? I think not! I just wish they rented out the course for family reunions cuz my family would eat that up!

Coop was the only kid there so he enjoyed all the attention during the super bowl as well. We did what we could to keep him entertained :-)

Proudest Day in This Dad's Life

As many of you may know, I (Caleb) have a borderline addiction to skiing. Lets just say that Cassi is the number 2 on my speed dial, and Alta is number 3. Cooper has been able to share a few Alta ski experiences with me while he rides in a backpack. With a recent increase in his "YEE-HAW's" and "WOO-HOO's" as we skied down the mountain, I knew that it was time; Time to get him on his own skis. And Saturday, the 7th of February, this historic event took place.

At 21 months old, Coop buckled into a pair of ski boots that were a little too big (they didn't have a smaller size), clicked into a tiny pair of Head skis, and set off to the bunny hill at Alta. His balance was amazing, his understanding of the skis was well beyond his years, and his desire to go "adin, adin" was a soulful chant that encouraged me to surmount the burning in my legs and arms to take Cooper up the rope tow time and time again.

After a few runs, Cooper and I had both had enough to be satisfied with the day's accomplishment,

so we went to the restaurant to bask in the warmth

that only a snowy day at Alta could offer for a dad and his son.