A week of fun

Our first week home was definitely a period of adjustment. Ricky and I are trying to get in the right time zone, and he's been waking up at 3am every morning. Since he is sleeping in our bed, I am also waking up at 3am and desperately trying to keep him quiet so the other kids don't wake up. We have resorted to long walks by the bayou, and playing with sidewalk chalk by the moonlight! Right when I am sweaty and ready to come home from a really long walk, I check the time and it is "only" 5am! Sometimes he falls back asleep in the stroller and I am able to read a book until he wakes up. Then when it is time for nap at around 1 in the afternoon, his body thinks he is going to sleep for the night... and it is almost impossible to wake him up at 3 (because it feels like 10pm). Poor baby- I could stand him up, try to feed him-- and his little ragdoll body would fall back asleep. I can't wait until we can shift over- I am really, really sleep deprived and cannot think straight! So the nights are hard, and being tired in the day is hard, but at least dDuring the day he is having a lot of fun:


He marvels at the toys, and while he doesn't know how to "play" exactly, he loves those that make noise and will obsessively press the buttons over and over again:

It's nice to have family here because all of the kids are needing lots of carrying and hugs. How am I going to do this when Tonio goes back to work and my family goes back to Chicago!? Look at Ricky playing Twister:)-


Ricky LOVES to play soccer, but it is so much hotter here, and so much more humid than ET and he gets sweaty and tired fast (who doesn't??)-

Fortunately, when we're melting in the heat we can quick cool off in the pool!!! Ricky did GREAT in the water- he is a little daredevil and we have to watch him very closely so he doesn't jump in the deep end! We went to a kids pool and he went down the slide the first time, no fear (and then repeated it many, many times). He doesn't even wait for us to catch him- which gives me a heart attack because he can't actually swim. He does try to swim and opens his eyes WIDE underwater and looks up at me with those huge fluttering eyelashes, smiling underwater.

He loves water, and turns on all of the faucets in the house (sinks, bathtubs, etc) and leaves them on until someone finds them running. The problem is that he knows how to open doorknobs, and we can't put a childproof lock on the bathroom doors because all 4 kids are potty-trained and need access! I need to figure that out...



We celebrated Tonito's 6th birthday (I can't believe he is already 6!?) with Grandma and Grandpa, and he was so excited to get some Star Wars toys. He's never seen the movie, but we have read some Star Wars books and it must be in in XY genes to these guys:).


Look at how much Maya looks like Vivi in the above foto! In other news, Vivi lost her first tooth!!! Actually, Tio Co pulled it out (thanks Nico!:) as it was hanging on by a thread. Vivi was SO excited, and wrote the toothfairy a letter that says "Please give my tooth to Maeve" (her baby cousin who is just getting baby teeth). Sweet!

After a couple of days my family left and we were alone as a family of 6. I am juggling holding Ricky as much as possible to facilitate bonding, and holding Maya as much as possible to avoid jealousy, and my arms and muscles are sore. Many times I am carrying them both to avoid stereo tantrums- 60 pounds of squirming toddlers! The hardest part of the day is around 4pm, when I have woken up a tired and unwilling Ricky from nap, I have to start to think about dinner, and both the little kids want to be held. I am SO thankful to the MOMS Club I am in that is providing dinners for 2 weeks (whew)- they have been a lifesaver to whatever is left of my sanity. The food is so good, usually different from what I normally prepare, and comes right when I'm about to pull out my hair- we should arrange a dinner co-op more often! It is the best idea!:) One mom even included a bottle of much needed wine- I need to remember that next time I am making a dinner for someone.