Maggie Rizer Expecting Second Son

Maggie Rizer has been warmed by a ray of good news.

The model and her husband Alex Mehran will welcome their second child early next spring, Rizer tells PEOPLE exclusively. The baby — another boy — is due March 23 and will be a little sibling for the couple’s son Zander, 11 months.

Rizer, 34, grew up with four siblings and hopes to replicate the experience for her own children. “Alex and I always wanted a big family,” she explains. “We want to have as many kids as we can — within reason.”

The happy announcement follows the devastating loss of the family’s beloved golden retriever, Bea, who died on an airline flight in September. Having two children so close in age “will be just about the sweetest thing in the world,” she says. “A made-for-you best friend. We feel incredibly blessed.”

While she loves kids, Rizer is not a fan of the pregnancy experience and is looking forward to welcoming her new arrival. “I’m not that girl that’s like, ‘I love it, I can embrace it,'” she says with a laugh. “I’m like, ‘When is it going to end?'”

Zander, meanwhile, has no idea that he’ll be a big brother in a matter of months, and is just enjoying being his infant self. “He’s hysterical. He’s happy,” Rizer says of her son, who smiles when he sees his parents in the morning. “He’s standing by himself now, clapping and waving.”

“It’s so amazing,” she says, “that they come out as blobs and they develop into these real little people with great personalities.”

— Helin Jung