Fifty is right!

From time to time my sister in law has referred to the number of children she has as fifty (for the record she has four beautiful babies) She'll say things like "My kids are so entertaining. I'm glad I had fifty of them." In the past I always laughed at this clearly exaggerated number of children and thought "She's so funny!" Now that I have been a mother of three for nearly nine months, whenever I read that reference on her blog I don't laugh. I feel like standing up and shouting Amen Sister! I know people with more than three probably scoff at my difficulty. I remember when I only had one and thought that was rough. You learn to adapt, I get it. But some most days three kids might as well be ten around here. Challenging is how I could describe a typical day at home with my three beauties. Impossible? No. But Challenging, yes. Yesterday was a mommy fail. It started out in the worst way. Immediate bickering from the two oldest and it continued and continued and continued. Fifteen minutes felt like forty five and I was quickly unraveling. Ed called not long after and could tell from my voice I was nearing my breaking point. It was only 8:45am. Needless to say we made it through. Barely. That night we had a little reprieve when we dropped the kids of at my in laws house for a few hours. While we were driving back I looked into the back seat and Masyn was holding Elins hand in between their car seats and they were both asleep. It calmed my heart to see that. Maybe I'm doing something right! Hallelujah. I was trying my hardest not to cry when Ed told me I was a good Mom. I had to chuckle at that. Today I wasn't! I told him. Instead of trying to smooth it over and make my miserable day into something I know it was not, he told me.. ya maybe today was. But tomorrow I know you'll try harder. Oh that man! He holds my heart. I loved him a little more in that moment right there. He of all people knows I'm not perfect, but that I try to be better than I was yesterday. Hearing him give me that positive support was just what I needed to make today the fabulous day that it was. He makes me feel like I can do anything. Even raise four children. Ha! I'm funny.

Here is my unique little family enjoying our latest couple of weeks...



The little culprits I was telling you about getting ready for tubby time.

I love pictures. They're so deceiving. From this one you would think they are friends when really Masyn was about to steal that baby in Elin's lap and a full on baby tantrum ensued. :)

I made these chocolate mustaches for Ed's birthday party and the kids had a good time playing with the ones that didn't turn out.

She looks good in a handlebar.



Where was the heat from the last couple of weeks I ask you? I'm not a fan of heat so I was near death every day, but the kids enjoyed it. Especially when the ice cream truck rolled around and Grandma was here!

Noah loves to share with his baby sister.

Who says we have to stop at snow angels? Here in the Caballero home we like to make grass angels and yesterday after I vacuumed we just had to make carpet angels too.

They can be soo sweet when they want to :)

Thank you pinterest! Although this did not hold the attention of my two year old for more than one minute, my four year old was in heaven for at least twenty.

This was a before church picture on Father's Day. I remember because I wanted to take pictures of the kids that week and make a present for Ed but Masyn went a got herself bitten by a mosquito right in between her eyes the week before and it stuck around for awhile. She's going to love the documentation I'm sure.

She used to sit nicely. Now she crawls! Eight and a half months. Only one month before Noah and two and half after Masyn. It's fascinating to see how each of them conquer their milestones at their own pace.



Who doesn't love bubbles?

Ed and his little shadow. The sun rises and sets with his Dad as far as Noah is concerned. :)

The ruffles on this suit did nothing for my baby girl and her chubby little figure, nor does that lovely hat but oh how I cant get enough of her!

Showing mommy the goods. I bet they wish Grandma was around more often!

I am working on a catch up post about our first family vacation to California and my  the kids favorite, Disneyland so stay tuned!

Ed and I were talking the other day about how quickly the kids are growing up. We were reminiscing about when Noah was a baby and how much we have all changed since then. It's not fair how fast it's going!(and yet some days, not fast enough!) He suggested that I try and take a picture of the kids either individually or together once a day. Here's what we have so far! Speaking of growing up, our littlest baby has decided to go all independent on us and rolled over today for the first time. Three times in a row! It only took her 5 months and 9 days to conquer that milestone. Congratulations Baby girl!

Little Miss. How she infuriates me and melts my heart all in the same minute, I'll never know. But she does, and I love her. Ed has always called the girls Momma when they are little (actually he still does, but more so when they are babies) I have been known to call Elin Momma Girls and the other day Masyn took it one step further and added her middle name. She is now referred to as Momma Girls Thalia by her adoring big sister :) Love my girls.

Noah has really tapped into his artistic side in the last few months and he's always so proud of his work. As am I :)

If I could choose one word to describe this monkey it would be 'Happy'. All day, every day. She is so content with her life. Sometimes I feel like she just radiates calm and happiness. She grounds me and I thank my Heavenly Father for blessing our lives with her.

I cannot take credit for this one. Obviously. Noah loooooooves to take pictures. Even though he's not allowed. Currently my ipad has over 500 pictures in the photo album of the ceiling or someones forehead. Fabulous.

Annnd this is what we really look like if you happen to stop by unannounced. Messy faces, half of us still in our pajamas. Keepin' it real.

Popcorn and movie time with Grandpa Prepchuk. My kids live for afternoons like these, and I don't mind the break either :)

My daughter the Ham. She cracks me up.

See what I mean??

I cannot get enough of these faces! Adorbs.

So all in all, I think the picture a day project is a success and will continue for now. I feel like we're so busy that I sometimes miss the really beautiful 'normalcy' of our day to day routine. Looking back through the camera I have come to the conclusion that I need to work on getting all four of us up, fed, dressed and faces washed on a regular basis. Whew. Just typing that makes me feel tired :)

G'night!

catch up

For some weird reason I can't type above this first picture, so here we start. The guilt of not documenting my children's lives has finally caught up with me so I'm going to attempt a catch up all in one post. Which shouldn't take me that long really because I don't take a whole lot of pictures. oops. So to pick up where we left off, Elin was born on October 29th. So next in line was Halloween! Yay! I love Halloween and I was just as excited for it this year. Only this time I had to watch my little kildets trick or treat from my bedroom window while I held our two day old baby in the warmth of our house. My parents Josh and Theresa, Janay and Tim and the girls all came to our house so I could participate in some small way. That meant a lot to me. Thanks everyone! At this point I was still under strict orders from the midwives to rest upstairs and not attempt to make it to the main floor for another day or so. So I watched from the top of the stairs as they got ready and took pictures and then waved out to the window to them as they ran from house to house down our block. It made me a little sad that I couldn't be there with them, but there will be many more Halloweens to come so I'm okay with it. They stayed out for a long time. From what I hear Uncle Tim was a slave driver and kept going and going! :) It wasn't so bad that I didn't have to do any of the walking but I reaped all the rewards of going through their bags when they got back to pick out what I wanted. I was cleaning out my closet the other day and found the big bag still hidden with loads of candy. I may have had a chocolate bar or three while I worked. Yummm.

I put this one in here just as proof that she didn't always have the thunder thighs she has now. Its hard to remember her that tiny. Ever. She bulked up right away.

She was a horrible sleeper for the first two months. I was a zombie. Even worse because I still had to be a functioning mother during the day. It was brutal. She had her days and nights mixed up really badly and it took what seemed like forever to get it figured out.

There were periods of calm through out the day but as soon as the sun would go down I would find a dark room to hide in for about a half hour and just cry because I knew what the night held for me. Next to no sleep, and constant pacing or rocking with her.

Despite all that I couldn't help but smile when I looked at her. Holding her little body against my shoulder felt so right and I loved breathing in her brand new smell. She hated burping and would arch her back and squeal each time I attempted it. Which was A LOT. :)

I love this picture for many reasons. Noah's face, his inside out shirt, Masyn's little look in her eyes and then the very Hispanic looking baby at the bottom. She stayed dark the longest out of all the kids and oh how I wish it would have stayed! She's as white as the other two now :)

Some sisterly love going on. I was scared for Masyn to be a big sister. First because she adores babies. Like adores them to the point of smothering. She just doesn't know when to stop. And second because she was the first girl, and the most spoiled little thing. I was worried what being the middle child would do to her behavior. So far we've seen it manifest itself in tearful meltdowns daily. She used to be the very best sleeper. She would go to bed without a single complaint. Now? She screams and screeches like she is dying. It doesn't last long, but it is every. single.time. Nap and night. I have tried EVERYTHING. And nothing seems to work other than letting getting it over with quickly. Like ripping off a band aid. I make sure she has everything she usually likes in her bed with her, the night lights on, her favorite blanket, 3 songs sung, I tell her that nobody loves her like I do, and then I run. Mostly to get the door closed before the screaming wakes up the sleeping baby, but partly because it just breaks my heart to hear her cry. I feel guilty that I don't have the time to spend with her before bed like I did before the baby came. It still makes me cry. Let me remind you that Ed works nights. Every night. So I have to full brunt of the bedtime routine and I really do wish I could be in three different places at once giving all three of my kids the attention that I want to before I send them to sleep. Unfortunately that isn't our life right now. One day we'll tag team it and it will be easier. Until then!

Next up, Noah's birthday. I couldn't turn any of my pictures properly so this is the only evidence you have that my first born turned four. Four! So crazy to me. This was a mere two weeks after Elin was born. Her due date in fact was his birthday. How thankful am I that she was born not just 2 weeks before, but in the month before as well! He loved his birthday party and all the cousins that came to celebrate. He was spoiled by both families as per usual. Thanks everyone!

Elin was still not sleeping well at this point. I can tell from this picture because I would not normally allow my son to run around in his pajamas all day and my daughter to wear a pair of shorts in the middle of November. Not to mention the fact that she doesnt even match. Sigh. Those were loooong dark days folks.

Fast forward to Christmas. This is Miss Masey being the sheep in our Nativity reenactment at Ed's parents house Christmas Eve.

Mary, Joseph, a sheep turned Shepard, baby Jesus, and grumpy Chloe :)

The beginning of the chaos called opening presents.

This is my blurry documentation of our little Christmas morning before we woke the kids up. You cant tell from these pictures, but we KNOW Santa was there because of the cookie crumbs and empty milk glass. You can ALSO tell that we just had a baby a short while ago because our tree is o natural with nothing on it but some lights. That's as far as we got the night after we set it up and that is how it stayed until we took it down. Poor sad tree. I promise we will not have another baby this year and neglect you so. I don't want to brag or anything, but I got my FAVORITE Christmas present the night before Christmas Eve. My sweet baby girl started sleeping longer than a one hour stretch! Not two, not three, not four, but FIVE HOURS in a row! Thank you Elin! That was all I had asked for :) I knew you had it in you!

Jump ahead to January 14th and my baby a few months before, turns 2! Again, I couldn't turn any of the pictures so here she is in all her chocolate glory. This girls loves her some chocolate, so we delivered :) Happy Birthday sweet girl!

After the whirlwind of Christmas and the first few weeks of January, things start to settle down around here. I am starting to feel like I can function easier and we're getting into a routine. Something I love love love to have, but not always possible with young kids. Its up and down up and down, but I'll take what I can get.

Ahhhhh here come the cheeks! Miss Elin around three months sitting pretty in her Bumbo. That may or may not be on the counter. Don't worry, she was fully supervised.

Oh how I love these two! Noah is such a good big brother and Elin adores him whenever he's around.

The loin fruits hangin' out.

Masyn and her sister the chipmunk :) She's smuggling something in those things I just know it.

Masyn's hair is going through this weird phase right now I its already so thin I am having a hard time thinking of cutting it. But I do love these tiny faces! We run on three different schedules in this house that rarely line up together so we don't really go anywhere. We pretty much just hang out and enjoy each other's company. And by enjoy each others company I mean fight over toys or who's turn it is for the ipad or who gets to say the prayer for the food or which one gets to sit next to the baby at the table. Oh heaven help me! Winters are too long! Hurry up spring, we need a change of scenery!

Who can resist a fresh nakey baby? With a side of really cute chubbiness? Not me, that's who.

Horizontal stripes? really? She must have thought me crazy as well because shortly after this picture was taken, this adorable, not to mention brand spankin new onsie found itself in the garbage can when it became the victim of a rather horrific explosive diaper the likes of which I have never before seen. It was a sad day for all.

And here is Grandpa and his Caballero girls just a few days ago. We love it when Papa comes for a visit!

For my own records I wanted to take a quick run through of each of the kids at their present ages.

Noah:

At 4 years old you...

-Are the best big brother and helper to Mom and Dad

-Are almost potty trained. This has been a crazy hard road for you, but just in the last week you have made some major breakthrough's and we are so proud of you! As soon as you master it all, we get to move right on to Masyn :)

-Cannot get enough of playing guns and getting scrapes and bruises (bruces as you call them) 100% boy through and through.

- Told me last week that you have a girlfriend from church named Ella and you like her because she has lots of pretty dresses.

- Can read books to me from memory. I love to listen to you 'read'!

- Sit in a booster seat in the very back of the car where you feel like you are the king of the world every time we drive somewhere.

- Are still very nervous about the idea of going to school. We are working on this and I talk to you about how fun it will be daily. I hope you'll warm up to the idea come September.

- Can play games on the ipad better than I can

- Love to take showers instead of baths

- Are forever talking about your cousin Elissa or your 'best girl Liss' as you correct me often.

- Are getting better about being away from your blanket but feel like you need it in environments where you feel uncomfortable. You hold it close to your face and tell me that it makes you feel brave.

- have just recently found a love of coloring.

- Grind your teeth

- Love Elin or 'momma girls' and are the first to run into her room when she wakes up in the morning.

- Are getting really good at using your words with Masyn instead of hitting her when she doesn't listen. which for the record, is A LOT. Excellent patience my boy :)

- still 100% loyal to your Dad. It's you and him against the world. Every day, all day.

Masyn:

At 2 years old you...

- scream alot!

- love to annoy your brother. You know exactly what buttons to push with him and you do it. several times a day. But I know you love him with all your heart :)

- have the most infectious laugh

- think you are the boss and are constantly odering people on time outs. and by people I mean Papa.

- have this connection with your Grandpa that brings tears to my eyes sometimes.

- have a major sweet tooth. You would eat chocolate all day if you had your way.

- love to play babies and wear shoes.

- have a thing for coloring and playing with stickers.
- want so badly to be independant. You want to do it all yourself and its hard for me to just sit by and let you do up every single snap on your pajamas at a painfully slow pace. I'll miss this one day I know it :)

- still fit in 18 month clothing. such a tiny thing.

- are finally starting to grow some hair and are sitting well while I put pretties in every morning.

- love nursery at church

- love to run around with your brother and pretend to be dinosaurs or bad guys or whatever he has come up with that day.

- adore your Uncle Josh and the way he tosses you around like a sack of potatoes.

- are starting to climb out of your crib. Help!

- love to pretend cook in your toy kitchen. you have the best imagination. You are constantly bringing me food and saying 'Milk today? okay. Milk coming riiiight up!' adorable.

- are like a magnet as soon as I start working out. I have toys placed on my stomach while trying to do situps, babies shoved in my face, and balls thrown at my head. FUN!

- love to sing and be sung to.

- are learning your boundaries with your baby sister and loving her so much!

Elin:

At 4 months you...

- are eating like a champ (clearly)

- sleep fabulously long periods of time

- are just starting to laugh, but are constantly smiling.

- starting to drool a ton! I have an ick factor with drooly babies. You are my first one, so its rough, but Im working on it :)

- starting to make strange with anyone outside our immediate family.

- have to always have something in your mouth, toys, fingers, blankets.

- almost started to roll over but then you lost interest and dont even try anymore.

- need to be swaddled to fall asleep.

- get put in your swing at night until you are fully asleep then transfered to the bed when you're good and out. Ahh glorious sleep!

- are in a size 3 diaper but may need to upgrade to a 4 (which is what Masyn is in) in light of the recent explosions we've had lately.

- smile and coo when Noah comes around, but squirm and squeal as soon as Masyn does! hahaha

- hate tummy time.

- getting really good at grabbing for toys that interest you.

- grab your tiny toes all the time.

- starting to smile and laugh when someone scares you. you used to lose it, but you like it now.

- hardly ever cry. such a predictable baby. which is why I am dreading getting your ears pierced. I dont want to hear you cry!

- are still a mommy's girl

- love bath time.

- are so good at putting yourself back to sleep in the middle of the night, I nurse you, wrap you up, stick you back in your bed and you're out in minutes. first of my babies to do that. Thank you!

- love to interact with people but for the most part, are content to just sit on someones lap and people watch :)

And there you have it! I'm all caught up, so I can sleep guiltlessly tonight. In fact, I think I'll go do that right now. Goodnight all.

saturday morning

I paced my room this morning walking Elin to sleep. She felt so right in my arms. A perfect fit. Snuggled close to my body, cheeks wonderfully chubby and rosy as she moved her mouth in a mock sucking motion. Her eyes started to droop and my heart felt full. This quiet moment fills me with love and wonder and a touch of sadness. Sadness at how quickly I know these years will pass. Moments like this make all the hard, frustrating, and incredibly long days fade into the background. Looking at her then I knew I would gladly do it all again. For each of my precious children. I would suffer through the hours of incredible pain to bring them into the world. I would cry all over again at the frustration and pain of nursing. The emotional and physical toll pregnancy takes on a mothers body. The feelings of utter aloneness through the sleepless nights that seem to stretch on and on and on. I would do it all again in a heartbeat. Just for moments like these. When I realize how beautifully blessed I am.

xoxo,
Mom

It's almost midnight. What am I still doing awake? Trying to postpone tomorrow for a little longer I guess. Not that anything bad is happening. I just like the quiet end to my long crazy days. It's hard to give up that little bit of peace and alone time that I get before it all starts up again. I am tired of being out of shape so I've been doing a post-pregnancy DVD and weight watchers for an entire weekF now. No cheating, no veering off course. I'm so proud of myself! You're probably laughing right now, but for me this is monumental! I've never held on for seven straight days before. I always talk myself out of it. Plus I'm even excited to continue. Weird right? Its hard work and it cuts into my already sleep deprived schedule, but you can't beat that triumphant feeling you get when you finish something that before felt so out of reach for you. I'm looking forward to seeing results one day soon.

I cannot believe how fast these last few months have gone. Already a new year! 2011 was a great year for our family. We bought our first home, we celebrated Masyns first birthday, found out we were pregnant with a very unexpected third baby, endured a horrible pregnancy, Ed turned 30, had our fifth wedding anniversary, welcomed our beautiful baby girl Elin, Noah turned 4 (how crazy is that!) celebrated Christmas with both our families, and made so many wonderful memories. The last couple of months are a little fuzzy for me while we were working on getting miss Elin to sleep, but I'm pretty sure we had a great end to our year :) we learned a lot, had a lot of fun, and have been incredibly blessed. I already have a good idea of a few things I want to work on this year including, being more patient, positive, motivated, inspired, and supportive. Oh and I want to be a better cook. Like waaaaaay better. I think my family will appreciate my efforts in this area particularly! I'm really looking forward to the new surprises this year has for us! I hope that I have enough trials to keep me humble, that I give enough love to overflow, and that I learn enough to continue growing.

this boy:

Oh do I ever love this kid. He is sweet and sensitive and has the most amazing imagination. He makes me laugh. But he can also make me cry. He is loud and busy and like most boys, loves guns (we call them squirt bottles at our house) He has taught his sister well. Yesterday I came around the corner to find she had 'shot' me with a Lego squirt bottle complete with sound effects. He loves to help me with Elin. He'll get diapers and wipes and anything else she may need. When I need to be out of the room he watches her and calls it baby patrol. He loves this responsibility. Elin had been throwing up through the night last week and in the morning I hopped in the shower and put Noah on baby patrol. I told him to yell to me if anything came out of her mouth. I should have been more specific because he was calling for me every 2 minutes that 'something' was coming out of her mouth. I cant tell you how many times I tracked water through my bedroom checking on her to find that the 'something' was just bubbles and spit. The other night I was putting him to bed and singing the primary song 'Did Jesus really live again' I got to the part where it talks about Jesus eating the fish and honeycomb and he looked at me really confused and asked why the fish ate Jesus. (I have told him several times about how Jesus died, I promise! But for some reason he asks this every time we sing this song) So I continued to explain how Jesus died... I explained about the mean men didn't believe that he was special and that he was Heavenly Father's son. He was really concentrated the whole time. When I had finished with the story he looks at me and says. 'Well, Mom... I'm going to get out my sword and I will get my dinosaurs and my dragons and we'll go and get those mean guys that killed Jesus.' Okay buddy. Okay :)

LOVE HIM!




this girl:

I'm pretty sure she will be the death of me. Or at least the reason for a whole head of gray hair in my twenties. She is small and feisty and independent and loud and sassy and dramatic and hilarious and maternal and the list goes on and on! She has so much personality wrapped up in her tiny body it blows me away. She is spoiled and knows how to work it. But when she snuggles me, ahhhh my heart melts. She is two. And that about wraps it up. She can throw fits one second and be off running and laughing the next. She hardly ever sits still. She loves her baby sister to the point of smothering :) She has all the men in her life wrapped around her baby finger. No word of a lie. They would do just about anything for her. She is extremely ticklish on her spine. weird right? When she laughs it sounds like it comes right from her toes and it makes my day. She adores being in the shower. No more baths for this big girl! She hates going to bed and fights me on it every.single.day. I'm hoping she'll get tired of the screaming fits really soon, but I have a feeling she will drag this one out. Yay me. She is so sensitive to peoples feelings and will give you kisses until you're sick of them :) she likes to talk on the phone and loves when her Dad or Uncle Josh throw her around. She is full of fire and I wouldn't have her any other way!

LOVE HER!

xoxo

love Mom