Then there were six

Rayana Amara Zavala has arrived to our family. She was a healthy 9lbs 4ozs and 19 inches long. Damian, Amaye and Marcus have adjusted wonderfully so far. Damian and Amaye have been very helpful. They have been very loving with their new sister. Marcus is so affectionate with Rayana. I was hoping he wouldn't have a hard time, but this is much more than I could have wished for. He is very aware of her and concerned when she cries. He wants to hold her and calls her, "my baby".



Rayana is a very vocal baby. While nursing and when she is just being talked or sung to she lets you know she is in the room. She is able to pick up her head and track a person from one side of the room to another. They say that at this age they don't get use to the arms, but she seems to be calmer when she is in my arms, at night or during the day.



A Double Cross



She officially baptized me into the motherhood for a fourth time. In the middle of the night in a sleepy fog I was changing her diaper and she got me. I had a fresh diaper that she soiled with number 1, then as I got a second fresh diaper she got me again with number 2! I had to laugh because it was a rookie move and you would think with my fourth child I would know better. I had to change all her clothes and the sheets. She wont get me again! I hope!

4 weeks to go!

I'm all belly! Our little girl is growing and moving like crazy now. Our schedules are hectic everyday. I wanted to post the latest pics of my little ones. I can't get Amaye to take a normal picture lately. She thinks she has to pose for each shot. Marcus seems to be saying a new word everyday. Damian is being a great big brother as usual! I have to say that I have been more tired with this pregnancy. Maybe the three we already have might have something to do with that! Ray has been awesome about stepping in and taking on a more of my duties, even after a long days work! Bless him! I wouldn't know what to do without him. I've been having the false labor with this pregnancy. We had a false alarm on Friday. The hospital sent me home and told me to rest to get the contractions to stop. I'm trying! I'm still working so rest and relaxation is very hard.

I have hit my 6th month of pregnancy for our fourth child. Our due date is March 8, 2009. Our ultrasound showed we are having another girl! That makes it even two boys and two girls. We have narrowed it down to a couple of names, but we probably wont decide until next month after the holidays. Damian and Amaye are extremely excited and both wanted a girl. Damian wanted to even it out and Amaye just wanted a sister. Both love to talk and sing to her. Marcus was very fussy and clingy during the first few months, but has since calmed down. He will point at my belly. I guess he has noticed it is different from before. He will almost be two when the baby is born. I'm a little nervous about the age difference but he seems to be maturing so much this last month, which makes me feel better.

We put up our Christmas tree yesterday. I’m trying to figure out how to decorate it so Marcus wont destroy the decorations. He already managed to topple it over yesterday! It is artificial so it is very light. My father-in-law, Porfi, calls him Dennis, since he is always so curious and getting into everything. I have to say Marcus is going to keep me fit. Ever since he started walking 6 months ago I have lost a lot of weight in spite of the pregnancy.

Saturday I had mentioned to Amaye that I wanted to get my hair done. Well, she said she wanted to go too and get a “style”. I told her if we had time I would take her, but after Damian's party I was exhausted and had to clean up, so we didn't go. She was upset. So I said Sunday, well the family that couldn’t make it on Saturday showed up after we had gotten the tree up so we couldn’t go. She was upset. If at 4 she is wanting to go get “styles” what am I going to do when she is a teen!

Our Wedding

Hello All! I got really busy with the wedding preparations and I haven't blogged in a while. Here are a few pics from our wedding on June 21, 2008. Ray and I had a wonderful time! We got married at Saint Mary's Church in Los Angeles and had our reception at Almansor Court in Alhambra. We also took several photos at the Disney Concert Hall. My son Damian was the ring bearer and Amaye was the flower girl. Our best man was Steve, Ray's brother, and our Maid of honor was Eileen, one of my best friends. The ceremony was very touching as the priest Fr. Jim made every effort to include our three children in the ceremony. The reception was small but very nice or "classy" as one of my friends described it. We had a great time with all our guests!

I am very proud to say that very soon I will be changing my last name to Ray's and our kids last name. I will match the rest of our family! I can't say that married life is much different from before, but I still get the giggles when I say husband.

The photos on the slide show are just photos our friends took. Once I get the professional photos I will be making another slide show. I hope you enjoy these.

Check out my Slide Show!

Family Picture

They grow so quickly. Damian 8, Amaye 3, Marcus 11 months.

Wedding plans part 3

I have been having a lot of fun doing this. I am trying to do a nice simple wedding for us. I have been doing good so far, but once you hit the photographers and DJ s they get crazy. Once you say the word wedding the price quadruples! Come on! I have people who know people and that is the only way you can even try to stay within a budget. Plus I have heard so many horror stories that I'm now starting to get nervous. but I'm trying to push that aside and truck on, ask the right questions and sign contracts. A lot of work this business!

Kids are great!

Amaye is constantly making us laugh and now Marcus is taking his cues from her so if he notices that something he does makes you laugh he keeps on doing it. They are so adorable. Damian is great at making his sister feel better. If she gets upset he is right there telling her a joke or doing something silly to make her smile. Amaye is now doing that for Marcus. Since he is now crawling all over the place there are a few times where we have to put him in his crib. He cries of course, but here she comes running to entertain him while he is there. They really take care of each other. I hope it stays that way.

A purple wedding dress for the wedding?

Okay so Ray and I have decided to tie the knot. We are getting married on June 21st of this year, so it is just around the corner. I've done very good at planning the whole thing with a lot of help from family. As I was looking at dresses I fell in love with this deep purple dress that just stuck out like a sore thumb. I toyed with the idea of buying it to wear and even mentioned it to several people. Their reaction was priceless. I'm really having fun with it all. You are probably wondering why we waited so long. We were never ready at the same time. Now, we are very happy with each other. We have both matured together and learned that we want to spend the rest of our lives together. He is the yin to my yang. Yes, cliche but true. We are very different from each other, but I love him dearly!

I've been tagged

Thanks Janice! Here you go...

What I was doing 10 years ago: I was in my second semester at USC trying to figure out life and had to leave early for the semester as both my mother and father fell ill. My mother had found out she may have cancer (later to find out it wasn't malignant, thank God!) and my father had had a minor heart attack. A crazy school year that ended just the same. Wow, I hadn't thought about that for a while!

5 things on my to do list today:
1) Complete all the preparations for my wedding (this has its own long list of its own). Yes you read correctly! Ray an I finally decided to tie the knot. After 9 years and three kids we thought it was about time! LOL!!
2) We have been procrastinating doing a will also.
3) Sign up the kids for Summer Schools programs. (If you don't start early around here you get left behind.)
4) Lose weight! Okay I have been working on it by taking walks and eating right but it is time to step it up!
5) Organize my filing cabinet! scary! I'm just not sure how to file everything. It is half-hazardly filed but not where I can easily say, "Honey, just look under ___ tab."

I enjoy: A) Coffee, which, since I am still breastfeeding Marcus I am not drinking. I happily give it up for him. I do have to admit though that I regularly walk by the Starbucks below my work and take in deep breaths! B) Playing with my kids. What can I say they are just soooo much fun!

Things I would do if I were a billionaire. I would make sure mykids were set up for college of course. Buy a house and then sneakily help out my family so that they wouldn't know it was me. I would hate for them to think they owed me something.

3 bad habits: The top on my list is Procrastinating!! Not being as active as I should be. The final bad habit is assuming before asking.

5 places I have lived: Houston, TX; Dade City, FL; Jalisco, Mexico in several small towns;USC; Los Angeles, CA

5 jobs I have had: Escrow Admin Officer, Property Tax Processor specialist; Elementary school teacher; waitress; engineering intern

5 people I want to know more about (a nice way of saying TAG!): Challo, Frank, Alma, Eileen and Sandra.

Thank you Janice.