Where Have All the Flowers Gone???

Matt had been eyeing a place near our house to take pictures in the bluebonnets (or bluebells as Matt often calls them!). But by the time we got ourselves there they were all gone! So we opted for plan B and took some pictures in the yellow flowers instead.

Let's just say Will wanted NO PART of this whole affair - Matt got so frustrated at one point that he yelled to Will "Be a MAN!" I was laughing so hard I had to turn around.

One Week Old!

Where has the time gone? John Peyton is one week old! Here are some sweet shots of him with his handsome daddy.

Fun Comparison - All kids at 2 days old

Alivia 2 days old

Will 2 days old

John Peyton 2 days old

I think John is a combination of both Will and Alivia. . .

Visitors at the Hospital

Heading home from the hospital

PRip and KRip fresh from their honeymoon!

Mia (aka Alice) who was there during the whole birth!

Sweet Erin loving on baby John

Alivia was so excited to be a big sister

We were blessed with quite a few visitors while at the hospital. I did not get pictures of everyone but appreciate the time they took to come visit us!

How it All Went Down

I think the whole birthing process is pretty amazing and when it is your own, even more so. I had Matt keep track of all the timing so I could remember it later. Here is the timeline:

8 pm contractions started
10:31 check-in at Seton. 4cm
12:30 am Fully effaced. 5.5cm
1:05 Dr Reue ("Roya") arrived 7cm. Christy asks about epidural. Decides no.
1:27 decides to break water. Dr comes in
1:31 broke water. Lots of pain
1:33 pushing
1:34 baby pokes head out
1:35 first cry! 8 lbs 7 oz 20.5" long

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.