Brian at 3 Weeks

Brian is changing SO fast! Fun to see his facial expressions and get little glimpses of what he is going to look like when he is older. So far, the eyes are still a very pretty blue, and he has some faint dimples, visible in the second picture if you look close. He is a very good baby, easy going and adorable. :-)

His older brothers have been great with Brian. They are all very excited about him, eager to help with him and love him. Carlos loves to carry him around, and AJ gives him kisses at least a dozen times a day, but it was Danny's bedtime prayer tonight that was just priceless...

"Dear Jesus, Thank you for our new baby. He is soooo cute! Maybe you can come by sometime and see him."

Thanks Grandpa!

We have been so blessed to have my parents staying with us for the past month. While they were here, my dad built this swingset for the boys. Mom was awesome in helping out with the boys and the house. Best of all, the boys got to re-connect and bond with them, and make lots of wonderful memories!

Smiling Angel!

Isn't he just precious! This picture was taken at 1 week old. I love that he has Danny's smile and facial expressions... and that he was so cooperative that he smiled as I took his picture! He really is a good baby so far... very sweet-tempered and loves to cuddle. Doesn't sleep through the night yet, but I guess that would be asking for a bit too much... :-)

Lost Tooth

Carlos lost another tooth!

This tooth has been getting looser for months, but after eating grilled burgers and corn on the cob for dinner, it was loose enough that Carlos could just grab and pull it out on his own. He was SO proud...

Coming Home

Here is our first round draft pick for the NBA... (Newborn Basketball Association) :-) Brian has some long fingers and toes, so we suspect that he might be a tall basketball player someday.

Meeting the Baby Brother...

The morning after Brian was born, we let Carlos and Danny skip school to come meet their baby brother (along with AJ, of course!). If we could have harnessed all that energy and used it as gasoline, we would save ALOT of money driving! Man, they were excited!!!

Welcome Brian!

Brian Joaquín Reveles was FINALLY born born April 30, 2007 at 11:44 PM! He weighed 8 lbs and 2 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.

Labor was over 16 hours long! When we arrived at the hospital at 8 AM, we believed that I was in labor, contracting on my own every few minutes. It got rather intense and we begged for the epidural ASAP, remembering that my last labor had happened so quickly and I had lost any chance of an epidural. It wasn't until a half hour after the epidural was started that they checked me and discovered I wasn't dilating at ALL! Unbelievable. The day was VERY long, but JC and Liz were wonderfully supportive and helpful to me. Towards the end, we feared the worst as we watched the baby's heart beat drop with each contraction, just enough to keep everyone on edge and concerned. That (and lots of prayers!) gave me the strength I needed to push him out super fast when the time came though! Dr Chen explained later that the cord had been wrapped around his shoulder/chest area, so with each contraction it tightened around him. We feel VERY blessed that Brian was born beautiful and perfectly healthy, without any problems at all.

Orangemen's First Game

Soccer Season is here again!

JC is coaching Carlos' Kindergarten team. Since their name is the "Orangemen", we had some fun with the first game and sprayed their hair orange! Some of the fans (AJ & Danny) got into the excitement too.

The first goal of the game was scored by none other than Carlos Reveles! Later he scored 2 more, and the Orangemen won 8-6.

3 Weeks to Go.... (or less!)

Today marks the beginning of my 37th week! No pictures to show (just imagine a house or a cow... :-) but things are going well. The baby is very active and growing well, trying to make more room for himself in there. We also have not yet decided on a name. Very unusual for us! It could be Michael, Brian, Logan, Justin, Austin, or who knows! Anyhow, we are doing well, the bag is packed, and we don't have TOO much left to do before the baby comes. I am expecting him to make his grand appearance sometime between April 25th and 29th. That is based solely on the other boys coming between 2 and 5 days early. This one will probably be entirely different and keep me waiting until May, but I am hoping not!

Happy Easter!

My handsome boys decided that it would be REALLY COOL to wear ties for Easter! Danny was especially excited that he found a shirt and tie that were yellow.... his all-time favorite color. They wore them all day, and Danny even asked if he could sleep in that shirt and wear it again the next day! (I didn't let him.)

Spring Fever!

The weather has FINALLY warmed up and the boys were able to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. Carlos, Danny & AJ have been waiting and waiting to try out their new Big Wheels and tricycle, but because of all the snow, we weren't able to play with them until Saturday. We spent several hours outside this weekend and had a great time, and are looking forward to even warmer weather in the next few days!

Crazy Hair Day

Danny had some fun at preschool yesterday at Crazy Hair Day. He wanted his hair to stand up in mohawk-fashion. It was a little too curly to be truly spiky, but you should have seen how big he smiled when a friend told him "You look funny." His face completely lit up as he yelled "THANKS!!" Apparently, to a 3-1/2 year old, looking "funny" is a great compliment. :-)

Playing in the Snow

It finally warmed up a little bit so it wasn't so bad to play outside. The boys loved having snowball fights and finally even got to build a snowman with Daddy!

Cousins!

In November, we drove to Ohio to visit my family. My boys had a blast wrestling with their cousins Eli and Jarrod. In the second picture, my newest nephew Matthew looks like he is trying to wrestle with his daddy (my brother)! Third, is Jarrod with his mom/my sister Debbie with my cousin Barb. Debbie's daughter Amber is the beautiful girl in the last picture.

Superheroes Unite!

We had a visit from some superheroes today... :-) Carlos, Danny & AJ tried on their costumes and went to a Halloween party. AJ has a mask for the costume, but refused to put it on... sunglasses were as close as we could get! Spiderman and Batman had a blast being dressed up and can't wait to really go trick or treating! AJ even carries around his pumpkin basket and says "Treee"! (treat)

Coach JC

JC absolutely loved coaching! He was great at it too. The kids really learned alot and had a blast. They won their final game 7-6 and then celebrated by going to McDonald's to eat and play. Carlos looked forward to playing so much, that for the last two weeks, he couldn't sleep the night before his games! Then, on the way to the playing fields, he was just exploding with noise and motion in the van... psyching himself up to play, I guess. I am just glad that Carlos loved playing and that he did well, and JC gets the credit for that.

Danny's Soccer Class

Danny had a great time at his soccer class this year! On the last day, they did the traditional "Kids vs. Parents" game and showed off their stuff for mom and dad. (That's why JC is in the pictures) Meanwhile, Carlos and AJ had a great time playing on the playground next to the field, even on the cold days.

EXCITING NEWS!

No picture for this, but this biggest news that we have to share is... We're having another baby! Baby #4 is due on May 2nd! Total shock to all of us, but still very exciting. It will probably be another boy, and we are happy with that. I figure, if I am having 4 kids, then having all boys will keep things a little simpler. We told the boys and the family a couple weeks ago. It has really been fun watching people's reactions! Most people can't contain their shock at all. And then, inevitably, they assume we tried for a girl, or that we "need" a girl. Of course, a daughter would be fun, but let's be realistic... the odds are just against us!! And we really are happy with our boys. Another one would just add to the fun.

Too Much Testosterone Here...

Yep, this is my life! This Baby Blues comic strip was out last week and cracked me up. Just hits a little too close to home, I guess!