Well, we've managed to settle into our version of normal for the time being. The 3 "big" kids are pretty good about entertaining each other and Ryan seems to be getting the hang of our routine. He's given us a few smiles but nothing consistent yet. He coos quite a bit, though. I am so in love with this boy.

We took some family pictures earlier in the month and as always, Kelly and Marianne of Miabella Photography got some great pictures.



Me and my handsome boys



Gilbert and his girls



This picture gets me every time



I love the way these 2 love each other





My Elise



My boy looking a lot like his daddy here



This girl is too much. I'm so glad Marianne was able to capture this.





My gorgeous girls





The Saldanas

Well, here's what we've been up to for the last month and a half.

My kids are still really cute



And they love each other



Nana (formerly known as Mana, thank you, Elise) came in to spend the last few days of my pregnancy with us and to help out after Ryan's birth. We decided to take the kids to the zoo to encourage my body to keep doing what it was already doing on its own. I had been at 3cm for two weeks at this point and everyone was pretty anxious about me going in to labor.



This is the last picture of me with just 3 kids and also the last picture of me pregnant. Ever. Unfortunately I completely forgot to take one last belly picture until I was in the hospital gown and all hooked up to machines.



The zoo did the trick. The next day I was 4.5cm and my doctor sent me to the hospital. She took her time really getting the induction process started because she was running late that day and she arrived at the hospital right before the nurses' shift change and didn't want to stress anyone out. Once we really got started it all moved really quickly. By the time she broke my water I was already 7cm and Ryan was born an hour later in one push. So from the time I left my appointment to delivery was a grand total of 4 hours. Only 2 of those were uncomfortable. Good times.

5/9/12. 8:29pm. 6lbs, 3oz.



Coming home!







All 4 (!) of my kids



About 1 week old



2 weeks old



Mattman sure is big now



This is how Matthew plays with Ryan



Viv turned 2! We threw her a relatively small (for us) party at Gilbert's mom's house. She's gotten a bit dark already this summer because she LOVES being in Grammy's pool. We went with a zoo animal theme and she went crazy for it.

Super cute giraffe print birthday outfit



Elise riding the neighbor's horse. She loved it.



At the end of her party with her buddy Amelia. Viv has perfected the pout and I love the contrast of Amelia's big cheesy smile.



Enjoying her gift from her grandparents



Birthday morning donut!







Birthday dinner at Red Robin with the grandparents



Elise and her Nana are like two peas in a pod



At the pediatrician for Viv's 2 year check up. I just find the size difference amusing.



Yep.



5 weeks old







One last story time before Grandpa got on the plane to go home.



My parents were here for a total of 5.5 weeks. My mom was here for 4 and my dad was here for 2. They overlapped for about 5 days. Now the kids are getting used to just having me in the house with them all day. They definitely got off to a rough start there. Now if only I could get back to sleeping through the night ;-)

As promised, a post with photos!

Some changes took place in our living room last month and I have to say we're loving the results. I didn't realize how much I didn't care for the carpet until the laminate was installed.


March was a bit crazy. I spent about half of it walking around in a bit of a fog and I'm glad to be feeling normal again. Gilbert went to California for 5 days and we missed him like crazy. We spent his birthday at the rodeo and the kids had a great time. Matthew actually got himself a real cowboy hat at the rodeo and he was thrilled.



We mainly just walked around the livestock and expo part of the rodeo. We didn't stay for any of the competitions. The kids had fun looking at the animals, though :)







Elise's birthday! Since her birthday fell on a Sunday and we have a family tradition of having Shipley Do-nuts on birthdays, we celebrated the day before. Viviana thoroughly enjoyed her chocolate donut...




Once again, Grammy came through with a fun party.





The birthday girl and her big brother :)




My 3 year old!

 




Eventually, Viviana just sat down and started playing in the mess



Elise used to be terrified of dogs. This was a big reason why we got Zero so quickly after Pez abandoned us. Gilbert figured it would be better for Elise to have a dog in the house in hopes that it would help her get over her fear. The man was right. Elise loves Zero. He even lets her do this to him:

 

After sharing that story with one of Jason's friends, she found this stuffed Corgi and bought for Elise's birthday. Elise loves it.



My little Texans going for a walk with Mana.





He is so his Daddy's boy :)



We spent a couple of days up in Spring with the Stewarts a few weeks ago and they had an egg hunt for the kids. The kids loved it and we just loved being with them.




What's a Mommy to do when her husband's favorite baseball team is in town and team apparel is not readily available in local stores? A trip to Hobby Lobby and some crafting the day of the game...




#27's name is actually Matt Kemp and I thought it would be cute to put "Matt" on the back, but Matthew's not crazy about having his name shortened at this point so I just left it alone. Although, he was really happy that he and Daddy matched :)



Last, but not least, here is Ryan at 34 weeks, 6 days