Did Someone Say Mother's Day?

Happy Mother's Day to all my favorite moms out there. We spent ours with a final breakfast at the Hacienda, a long goodbye to the Sawyers, while Una melted down like a champ (she obviously didn't want to say bye-bye to her nana and grandpa), and then a flight back to Portland, which she slept through mostly (thank goodness). Here are a few miscellaneous photos taken at our lovely Hacienda Antigua. It was so cozy and we had such a great time. The owners really made us feel right at home, and at times we had the whole place to ourselves, so it was a wonderful way to spend time together.

This is my second mother's day, but it feels more like a first. Last year, i think i was still in shock and awe of just having a baby, so it was all a blur. But this year, after being a mom for a whole year, i have a much greater appreciation for what it means to be a mom. When you are a mom, your job never stops, even when you are on vacation, even when you are sick, even when you are exhausted, grumpy, or in desperate need of time to yourself, you are still a mom. Along with that, however, i would absolutely say that it is all worth it, every single moment, and i wouldn't change it, not for all the baby goats in the world. While we were in the Albuquerque airport waiting for our flight home, Ted was walking Una around while i took a moment to go to the bathroom and fill up my water bottle. An older woman stopped me and said, "Are you the mother of that little girl?" and i said yes and she said, " I knew it, because every time you see her your face just lights up and that is a beautiful and wonderful thing." I really wasn't expecting her to say something like that and I just about burst into tears.

Quite a few years ago now, I remember watching my friend Denise carry her first born child at the end of a long work day. His arms were wrapped around her neck and she said to me, with a huge smile, "This is the best feeling in the whole world!" I always wondered what that was like, and now i know. Happy Mother's Day.