Raylynn Paige Boyd

 This was not what I looked like before heading to the hospital. It had been a rough two days and I was in so much pain and so sleep deprived, that taking a picture was not really on my list of things to do. Fortunately, my sister had snapped a belly pic right before my baby shower the week before. 

I'm always amazed at how babies fit in such small spaces. 

Raylynn Paige Boyd

Born at 9:45am May 2, 2015

Weighing 5 lbs. 13 oz. 

Raylynn's birth was such a whirlwind. I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around the details. What I DO know, is that she came so fast I didn't have time to get my epidural. My water broke, I pushed, and a nurse caught my baby because my doctor was still putting gloves on :) 

(When a mother giving birth for the 3rd time comes in saying she feels the urge to push, you should probably listen and take her seriously.) Maybe if I had mentioned that my water has broken on its own every single time, they would have put a little more pep in their step instead of just hooking me up to a monitor for 20 minutes to view contraction progress. I guess in the end I paid them back by sending everyone into a frenzy :) 

Although this labor was a little more painful and dramatic than I would have liked, I am so thankful for the experience. Having a baby without an epidural has been a huge fear of mine, but now that I've actually done it, I know I could do it again and I have so much more confidence in myself. Having said that, will I be asking for an epidural the next go round? You're darn right I will! I'll be calling ahead. ;)     

Since she was two weeks early I was a little worried that Raylynn would have some health issues, but she came out perfect! 

A healthy mom and a healthy baby, who cares about a few labor pains and drama when you're both healthy and alive in the end right? 

I have to say, it was pretty much love at first sight with this little girl.

We can't get enough of her. 

That includes her big brothers.

I know how extremely blessed I am. I thank Heavenly Father every night for my three precious children and feel so lucky to be their mom :)  Welcome to our crazy family Raylynn!

A Little Homeschool Fun!

We have been having tons of fun with our homeschool group. We try to do a field trip every month which allows the kids to get together and learn new things. This month we took a tour of the police station with Officer Strange!

 Tate had a little too much fun beating up on this dummy.

 They learned first hand how loud the siren is!

Last month we went to Lue Gardens for their Ribbit the Exhibit. There were 18 of these frog sculptures throughout the garden and you had to go on a treasure hunt to find them all. The boys loved it.

Christmas In March

Christmas Train Ride with Grandma and Grandpa Boyd

 These are from Christmas LAST YEAR! 

Isn't it sad that I'm just now posting them and it's March?! It was fun looking back many months later though and remembering this fun time. 

Part of Grandma and Grandpa's Christmas gift to the boys was to take them on the Christmas Train. Collin LOVED it! Tate enjoyed everything but the train whistle. He didn't like the loud sound and let the whole train know he was very displeased :) 

Our friendly train Elf 

We were served Hot Chocolate and cookies, sang carols and each child got a Christmas bell to take home.

(He's not picking his nose, promise ;) )

We even stopped at the North Pole to pick up Santa!

Michael was there too even though there is no photographic proof.

I'm so glad it worked out that we could all go as a family. It's a rare occasion since someone has to work the bookstore. It was a fun day and the boys still remember the trip to this day. I'm hoping there are many more family trips in the future!

Sea World

We went to Sea World and had a blast!

Both boys loved the penguins! Tate still talks about them and likes to show us his impersonation by waddling around the living room.

They enjoyed all the shows, but I think their favorite was the pet show. It was sooo cute and amazing to see everything the animals had been trained to do. There was even a trained mouse and pig! 

Sting Rays!

I was so surprised when Collin reached in and touched one on his own. Tate wanted nothing to do with it. 

(I was kinda with him on that one.)

I thought this octopus was beautiful. The ocean really is a beautiful place. (Minus sharks ;) 

We stopped by the Dolphin exhibit to pet some dolphins, but Collin got a little more than he bargained for. The minute he walked up to the wall and peered over, a dolphin swam by and flipped water at us with his fin. 

(See below)

Poor Collin got the worst of it and was done with dolphins from that moment forward.  

Tate taking a little rest on papa :)

Look who else we saw while we were there!

Collin has a thing for Christmas trees. He loves them. So he got super excited when he saw this huge one outside Santa's sleigh.

 These next series of pictures aren't the best quality, but I find them hilarious. The boys decided to go on a ride and this shows the different stages of emotion that Tate felt while riding.

I think it's safe to say that he preferred the shows to the rides :)

It was such a fun day and we really enjoyed being together as a family.