Cute smiles! Fun playtimes! See how the actress mom grew her family from across the continents. By Brian Orloff and Suzy Byrne

Angelina Jolie debuted her 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢 bump in late February, but long before the newest Jolie-Pitts stole headlines, mommyhood was Jolie’s top priority. With four kids at home, “Caring for them is the most important thing for me at the moment,” Jolie (pictured with daughter Zahara) told PEOPLE. “I am very happy to be their mother.”

Where it all began: After the filming of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider brought Jolie to Cambodia, the actress – then married to Billy Bob Thornton – returned in 2002 to adopt 10-month-old Maddox (pictured together at a Los Angeles area hotel). Though her marriage soon ended, her life as a single mother began.

Before meeting Maddox, Jolie (with him at a Santa Monica, Calif., park in 2002) had never held a 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢. “I changed my life overnight to make our life better,” she told Reader’s Digest. “It’s the greatest thing that ever happened in my life, my son.” Three years later, she gave him a sister, adopting 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢 Zahara from Ethiopia.

Another change in Jolie’s life: Brad Pitt. The two met on the set of 2005’s Mr. and Mrs. Smith and by 2006 he had not only adopted her two children, but Pitt and Jolie also welcomed their first child together, 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢 girl Shiloh (here with mom in New York City in 2007).

In March 2007, the fourth addition to the Jolie-Pitt clan – a Vietnamese boy named Pax – officially joined the family. “It will take him a while to realize he has a family,” Jolie told PEOPLE, “and that his new life is permanent and that it won’t keep changing.” In May, Pax enjoyed a day out with his new siblings at Marineland in Antibes, France.

Jolie keeps things low-key and kid-centric as she descends the slopes with Pitt at California’s Mammoth Mountain ski resort this past February. Earlier in the month, after returning home from a humanitarian mission in Iraq, she said, “I love being a mom, and I think that’s my big passion: my family.”

During a 2007 trip to Venice, Jolie minds the kids – sharing a sweet treat with Zahara – while Pitt works, promoting The Assassination Of Jesse James at the Venice Film Festival.

The following day, it’s mother-daughter time for Shiloh. The gals – with their matching pouts – take a scenic ride in a water taxi in Venice.

Sometimes it’s fun to just clown around! While in Paris, Jolie treats her world-traveling son Maddox to some cotton candy and popcorn while enjoying a fun family day at the Eiffel Tower in February 2006.

Jolie pulls double duty, toting around her daughters, Zahara and Shiloh, after lunching at St. Bart’s Café in New York in June 2007.

Like mother, like daughter! Zahara – a fashionista-in-training – and Jolie sport matching mommy-and-me Valentino Histoire handbags while strolling through New York’s Central Park in September 2007.

He’s fearless! Maddox goes hands free during a spin (with mom by his side) on Central Park’s famous carousel in June 2005. The mother-son pair also enjoyed another classic New York pastime: a carriage ride through the park.

This time, Pax gets in on the action! He joins his brother, Maddox, and mom for a carousel ride in New York on Aug. 25, 2007.

With 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢 Shiloh on the way, Jolie leads the way for a shopping adventure, escorting Maddox and Zahara to a Berlin toy store in February 2006.

The actress takes a break from filming The Good Shepherd for a bonding moment with daughter Zahara in August 2005. Jolie adopted Zahara from Ethiopia a month before, saying at the time, “My son [Maddox] is in love with Africa, so he has been asking for an African brother or sister.”

Jolie gets a hold on Maddox at a news conference to announce Brad Pitt’s Make It Right project in New Orleans on Dec. 3, 2007. The rebuilding effort is just one of the humanitarian projects undertaken by the ever-growing Jolie-Pitt clan. As the now-expectant mother of four told Jon Stewart, the number of children she and Pitt want “fluctuates between seven and 13 or 14.”