Mommy Meltdown + pictures from Grandma Rose's visit

Being a mom is really hard. Did anybody ever tell me that? Seriously I don't think anyone ever adequately explained that to me. Maya is 2. And she is having unexplained tantrums. Anything will set her off. And I am so patient, so patient, for the first 10 min. And then I can't handle the screaming. And I become a bear. And then I feel so guilty.

Today is a hard day. And there have been a lot of hard days lately. Three kids, it is tough. I wouldn't ever trade what I am doing for anything else, I love being at home with my kids. But this is reality. It's no piece of cake.

I read an excerpt from one of those articles floating around facebook:
How was my day? Today has been a lifetime. It was the best of times and the worst of times. There were moments when my heart was so full I thought I might explode, and there were other moments when my senses were under such intense assault that I was CERTAIN I'd explode. I was both lonely and absolutely desperate to be alone. I was saturated -- just BOMBARDED with touch and then the second I put down this baby Iyearned to smell her sweet skin again. I was simultaneously bored out of my skull and completely overwhelmed with so much to do. Today was too much and not enough. It was loud and silent. It was brutal and beautiful. I was at my very best today and then, just a moment later, at my very worst. At 3:30 today I decided that we should adopt four more children, and then at 3:35 I decided that we should give up the kids we already have for adoption. When your day is completely and totally dependent upon the moods and needs and schedules of tiny, messy, beautiful rug rats your day is ALL OF THE THINGS and NONE OF THE THINGS, sometimes within the same three minute period. But I'm not complaining. I wouldn't have my day Any.Other.Way. I'm just saying -- it's a hell of a hard thing to explain -- an entire day with lots of babies.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glennon-melton/the-questions-that-will-save-your-relationships_b_4618254.html

That pretty much sums it up.

I do have pictures to share! Of fun times. Be very glad I don't have pictures of the hard times. It would include Maya on the floor screaming, Amelia running up to her room declaring "I'm going to my room. I'm going to go to sleep. And that's it!" (Why doesn't she ever really go to sleep?!) And me, hiding in my room with Oscar, with any type of brownie, cookie, ice cream that I can find.

 We had a visit from Rose, Juan's mom! It was really so great to see her with the kids. She is so good with them. She plays with the girls and loves to snuggle them.

 We went to Torchy's and Rose sat and played with Amelia and her toys Woody and Jessie while we were waiting for our food. What a sweet memory. And she carried my bags and really is just so mindful of the handful our little family makes up right now.

 Oscar loves Grandma Rose! He smiled at her and they shared some really sweet moments together.

 We mostly stayed at home. But Juan did take Rose and the girls to Zilker park to fly kites one afternoon, and a small tour of downtown Austin, not forgetting Gourdough's. 

 It was a memorable visit.

Maya- middle of a meltdown.

 I can't get enough of these pictures of Oscar being so strong. He can hold his head like this for a minute or two before he starts bobbing slowly slowly down, and then gives up entirely. How cute is a baby head bob?

 And now I'm officially cheered up.

Birthday Celebrations

Something I absolutely love about having my children all spaced 22 months apart, is that every 2 months there is another birthday to celebrate! Really our November through March is pretty awesome. November is Oscar's birthday, December is Christmas, January is Maya's month, February is my birthday, and March is Amelia's birthday. And Juan is spoiled all isolated in June where he gets Father's Day and his birthday.

So we had a simple and fun birthday with Maya. We had some friends over on Wednesday for a playgroup to celebrate with her. And then on Saturday she woke up and blew out candles on cinnamon rolls and opened her presents right away.

The car was an instant hit and she loves her guitar and Donald Duck too. That guitar is kind of the cutest toy I've ever seen, got it at Target. After naps we went out to play in the gorgeous weather and we ate at Freddy's where Maya got her very own hot dog and fries. Then we came back for cake and ice cream!

The brownie cake was a huge hit since my girls do not particularly like cake. It was pretty great to take a weekend to really focus on Maya. She is the best 2 year old. We really love that girl.

Happy Birthday to Maya!

Maya is 2 years old!

Maya is our sweetheart. She is soft spoken and mild. She is so happy. This week she has started celebrating her 2nd birthday by having a meltdown every day around lunch time, it is pretty awesome. She is also standing her ground with Amelia, we overheard her say, "You hit me Millie. Don't do it again!" Ha! She loves to help get diapers, throw things away, get anything for Oscar. She loves to sleep, her crib is her happy place. She love Mickey Mouse and carries him around everywhere. She does and says everything Amelia does. She is pretty awesome.

We really love Miss Maya.

Oscar is 2 months!

I cannot decide who Oscar looks like. I think I see more Amelia, but it's the hair and the darker coloring overall that makes me think Amelia.

Maya and Amelia each at 2 months.

Happy New Year! Picture Dump from our Holidays

The holidays are over! As much fun as we had, I was excited. I was ready to get back into a routine... And then yesterday hit and I was super outnumbered with 3 kids and had a fussy baby while I was constantly saying to the girls, get out from behind the tree, don't play with batteries, don't wake Oscar. Everywhere I looked, there was a child getting into something. Ha! Now I need Juan back home so I don't go insane. Not to mention Maya cried for Juan when she realized he was at work all day, Juan and Maya are best buds right now.

Oscar is almost 2 months old and while I bounced back to feeling normal right away with this baby, I am still not fully there. I'm at 85% of pre-pregnant Cami I'd say. I have much more energy than when I was pregnant which is a relief. I get 7 hours of sleep per night I'd say, and don't feel like I need a nap. I do constantly feel overwhelmed with things like when will I pick up and clean and it actually stays clean for a reasonable amount of time? Or when will I be able to set something down and have it be in that same place an hour later? Or when will I stop having to worry about kids ruining our things by banging into walls, coloring on tables, or jumping off the bed and grabbing onto/hanging off of the ceiling fan cord(!)? 

All that said, I know these are the best years. I adore my tiny children. They are so much fun and they love to snuggle and Amelia loves to tell stories and talk talk talk. Maya is so sweet. And they all think that Juan and I are the most wonderful people in the world, certainly that won't last forever. I am absolutely in love with Oscar and I try to cherish every second with him as he changes so quickly. I know I will look back at these days with such fondness. 

Now onto pictures:

I love this Santa! And Mrs Clause was there too reading Christmas books.

Christmas light show.

Oscar photo-bombing and delightfully tasting our sugar cookies. I love that he is smiling in that one, ha!

Maya enjoying her new Mickey pillow while Juan reads us a book on Christmas Eve.

Our best present this year.

Christmas morning!

Amelia helped Oscar open his presents.

We got the girls this cute teeter totter that they play with constantly in their playroom. 

I love this family picture from Christmas day!

Maya modeling her heart sweater and heart pants. I die over that sweater. I want her to wear it every day! But as you can see, she already got it messy so that's not possible.

Oscar looking like a big boy.

And another great night out with the girls. For Allisa's birthday! We just have too much fun together.