My Sweet boy and Newest Princess

It seemed like a good day to take pics, so I put Gianna's Easter dress on (thank you Lea!) and got Mateo out of his beloved pjs and we headed in the backyard so mommy could take some pictures. Some of them came out pretty well.

A Princess and Her Princess Bike.

After begging for a bike for I don't know how long, Ava finally got her wish tonight. She had lots of fun riding on her bike, she mostly rode on the slab of concrete in the back so this weekend or next week during spring break Steve will probably take her to a parking lot or for a walk. She picked it up really fast, although she does ride the tricycles at school.
Mateo got a red trike as well, although he wasn't as enthusiastic about it as Ava. She was on it from the second we got home up until it was too dark and dinner was ready!
Today was my first day of just me and the kids and it was great. Ava had school and drop off and pick up were quite painless and after we dropped her off Mateo, Gianna and I headed out to Whole Foods and Smiths for some grocery shopping. It was also painless, in fact it was just like all the times before that Teo and I have gone, except we had the company of Gia this time. She slept away the whole time in my sling, and Mateo helped me shop and load groceries onto the check out lane.
I even did great getting Mateo lunch and putting him down for a nap. As Gianna hung out in her bouncy seat I made a marinade and put the chicken in it for dinner. So needless to say I think I'm fairing pretty well with three. In fact so far (and I know Gia is still in that great sleep and eat phase) I think that going from one to two was harder than it's been so far going from two to three. I know that there will definitely be moments when I feel like pulling out my hair, but then again I had those moments with just Ava, as well as with Mateo and Ava so it's only natural. I really feel that being a Mom is the best job for me. I love it so much, and thank God that I am able to stay home with the three of my greatest blessings.

Getting back to Normal

Well my family leaves tomorrow (Sunday) and so it will be just the five us. It's so funny to say that. We are now a family of five and it feels great.
I think it will be really nice to be just "us" again. The kids have not had their normal bedtime or naptime for the past week and that on top of a new baby sister has caused us to have a rough night tonight. It looks like we will be having to have a couple rough nights to get back into our routine.
They have been overtired which makes bedtime crazy.
Gia on the other hand sleeps quite well. She is starting to be alert more often though.
I would write more but the laptop battery is about to die and I'm tired.

Here are a couple of pictures from today of Gianna and mommy.

God is Gracious!

Gianna's name means God is gracious, which is so true. Our family is even more blessed by our latest addition. Gia is the sweetest baby girl, she pretty much just sleeps and eats right now. We all adore her.
This morning Mateo held her and gave her a bottle, it was the sweetest thing. We can't help but feel even more complete as a family with her in our lives. Gianna and I had the house to ourselves this morning, Steve took Ava and Mateo to the zoo. It was nice just relaxing the two of us, and the kids had such a great time with their dad as well.
Family and Friends have also been a big help the past couple of days. Thanks to all of you for meals, cleaning, help with the kids, etc. We really do appreciate it more than you could know!

slideshow until we make a better one of labor and birth.

Introducing Gianna Catherine Hays

She's finally here, 5 days overdue and the sweetest baby girl. We were so ready to meet her! I started having contractions on friday at 1:22 in the morning and I figured it was finally the real thing (after a false start on Wed) since they were very strong.
It went wonderfully especially since we didn't call anyone and spent the entire time not having to answer calls of people wondering what was going on. I definitely recommend that! The kids were wonderful, they came and went as they wanted and Debbie (Steve's sister and one of my greatest friends) helped more than she will ever know. She went from baking cupcakes, watching the kids, grabbing whatever we needed, taking video, pictures, etc. She was great.
I think the labor went wonderfully and then came the pushing, it was fast but lots of hardwork, (not my favorite part) about 7 minutes, if that. It was such an intense and emotional moment when I tooked her and we looked to see what we were blessed with. I will never forget that moment of "its a girl", we cried and smiled. It was wonderful. Waiting to find out the gender made the wait more bearable, it was definitely worth it waiting till the end, really such and incredible moment.
She was born in the water and still in her amniotic sac. It took us a while to come up with the name, but we finally decided that Gianna Catherine was perfect for her. I think she is a great mix of Mateo and Ava, I do see more of Ava in her at times.
Ava is in love with her and her little body guard. She wants to hold her all the time, and you have to get her permission to hold Gianna. Mateo doesn't really have a care about her either way, it's pretty funny.

Here are her stats
7 lbs 12 oz 21 1/2 inches long