John Peyton Risinger is here!

Our newest family member made his appearance on April 17th at 1:33 am weighing in at 8 lbs 7 oz and 20.5 inches long. The birth was fast and intense but Mia was there to coach me (along with my sweet husband, too!)

We gave him the name "John" after Matt's maternal grandfather John Chima who emigrated from Romania through Ellis Island so many years ago. And of course "Peyton" is a family name from my side. All of the men in my immediate family have it somewhere in their names starting with my paternal grandfather Jesse Peyton Taylor, my father William Peyton Taylor and my brother, William Peyton Taylor, Jr.

Welcome to the world, John Peyton. God has blessed us indeed!

Cravings. . .yes I have had them after all!

When people have asked me if I have craved anything this pregnancy, I have always adamantly denied it. But today as I was mentioning to my close friends that I ate a 1/4 box of raw cake batter last night and heard their laughter, I began to think otherwise! So, when I really think about it, here are a few of my favorites from all the pregnancies:

-raw cookie dough

-raw cake batter (vanilla only)

-Otis Spunkmeyer chocolate chip frozen cookie dough barely baked in the oven

-Jelly Bellies (the real ones, none of this fake stuff)

-hard candies (fruit flavors)

-Starbursts

-Twizzlers

-Baby Ruth minis

-fried cheese from Arby's

-queso from Taco Cabana (or any place for that matter)

-Houston's Restaurant fries

-Houston's Restaurant chicken salad with the peanut-lime dressing

The biggest food I miss is SUSHI. Especially the rolls with spicy tuna in them. Or raw sashimi tuna. I can't wait to have a date night with Matt and go eat sushi!

I always tend to gain about the same amount of weight (~35 pounds) and gain it all right at the beginning and then level off at the end. When I really think about it, the human body is absolutely amazing, isn't it? I feel so blessed to have been able to carry three children as easily as I have - there is nothing more special than the feeling of the baby move inside me. There is a closeness there that has already begun even before he has arrived. I can't wait to meet him.

39 weeks and counting. . .

So, here I am at 39 weeks. We had an ultrasound last week really just because I begged my OB to let me have one (I had only had one other at 20 weeks). Baby boy is already 7 lbs 14 oz! Today was another check with the OB and what is happening? Nothing, nada, zilch, negativo. . . so. . . we wait! I had a brief moment of excitement/panic on Sunday when I was walking with the kids and thought my water had broken! But when nothing happened Sunday night or Monday, I was gently reminded that actually, I probably had just pee peed on myself. Lovely.

Oh! And my last day of work was yesterday for 4 months. WOW. That is hard to believe. I think I will really love the time off with the kids.

I have to remind myself that Will was a week late. . . Dr. G has threatened we will induce at 41 weeks. I hope baby boy decides to make his appearance before then.

Easter

We had lots of family in town since it was PRip's wedding weekend. On Sunday our family went to church and then met the extended Taylor Family at the Country Club for a huge buffet brunch. The kids loved seeing one another and we were in a room that was rather isolated from the huge dining room which was really great.

Peyton with Mama T (my dad's Mom)

The best pic of the kids - they would not hold still!

The best (yet incredibly lame) family shot

Alivia wore a hand-made dress by Mia

Avery also wore the dress Mia made her last year

What a great family shot! Baby Paige wore the most adorable bunny dress that Alivia wore years ago. She looked like a princess.

Paige with Mama T

PRip's Wedding Weekend

We had a full weekend with lots of family in town for my cousin Peyton's wedding to Kristen. Alivia and Will were in the wedding which thrilled them both (especially Alivia). On Saturday morning, Mom had a lovely brunch at her house and then the wedding started at 4:30 in Dripping Springs. The wedding was outside which was really pretty, but HOT. Kristen and PRip both looked great and the kids walked down the aisle without a hitch.

Blue Wave Swim Team Here We Come!

Alivia has officially signed up for the Balcones Woods Blue Wave Swim Team. She is super excited. Along with the sign up come 2 weeks of swim lessons. We are taking it all in stride and will see how she does. They don't put any pressure on the kids and after 2 weeks, they will let you know whether they are on the swim team or will continue with further lessons.

Alivia got a cool new swimsuit and warm up jacket - I think if she never set foot in the pool, the attire alone would be exciting enough!

Covenant Preschool Fundraiser

So we got our country duds on and met at the Cedar Door for a fundraiser for the preschool. The best part of the evening was the silent auction. I bid on the parking space close to the drop off and WON!!! I won't even begin to mention how much I paid for it! I just kept telling Matt, "Don't forget I am going to be taking three kids there four days a week next year!!!" He told me it was my "push present" and Mother's Day present all rolled into one. :-) We even took some funny shots of me near the reserved spot when we went to pick the kids up.

PS. I am ~37 weeks pregnant in these shots!