Making Note

Things have been crazy at the Stannix's. There's never a dull moment as we navigate our way through each Summer day exploring and enjoying the warm weather. Sadly, the blog has gotten a tad neglected and I haven't taken many pictures as of late.  Usually while I'm making dinner I will glance around the kitchen to survey the damage from the day. Baking dishes line the counters, the peanut butter is still open from lunch, crumbs dot the floor and craft supplies is scattered on the table. Without that Mr. Stannix of mine my kitchen wouldn't look nearly as awesome as it does at the start of each day. Sometimes something as simple as washing the floor or doing a few loads of laundry is all I manage to get done between playing with the kids and making sure everyone's bellies are full. Sometimes after dinner I will throw a handful of marshmallows in front of Joseph just so I can enjoy my dinner before I wipe him up.  It's all about survival around here! I am super grateful for those moments in the day when things slow down a little and I am able to jot a few funny things down and enjoy my kids on a different level. They are so fun and getting so big!

Camilla is so grown up lately. She is such a big help and loves both of her brothers so much! We recently moved Hyrum's carseat to the back of the van because she really wanted someone to keep her company back there. She is so good about helping him get in and out of his seat so that I don't have to climb back. They will often hold hands while we go down hills and talk non-stop. She uses the word "Ma-zillion" to describe a lot of things. She will say something like, "Mom! There's a mazillion mosquitoes out there today!" When I ask if I've told her yet how much I love her she replies, "You've told me that a mazillion times!" She also says "snook" instead of "snuck". "Sorry Mom, I just snooked a cookie," she will say. Sometimes I will come up to tuck her in and find her dressing all of her teddies in her t-shirts so that they can have jammies too. She is really excited about the upcoming family reunion and has been trying to keep her room extra clean until we leave. A few nights ago she came down and told me she had made a bed on the floor so that she didn't have to mess up her bed. "Don't worry Mom, it's really comfy! But, don't tell Daddy, I don't want him to freak out! He will want me to sleep in my bed so I have good dreams." I went up to check her late and she had fallen asleep with a little blanket folded as a pillow and a light baby blanket over her legs. It didn't look all that comfy, so I put her on her bed and covered her with another (much larger) blanket, just so I wouldn't mess up her freshly made bed. There's also been a few times this last month where she's gotten dressed after we tuck her in so that she doesn't have to do it in the morning. She makes me laugh so much!

Hyrum is getting more independent each day. He can now go to the bathroom without a stool or potty seat (this is huge people)! He was also pretty proud that he could wash his hands without a stool. One night before bed he was driving his car through the carpet and said, "Look mom! I'm dwivin' through a field!" He also likes to play tricks on me and tried to make me think that he peed his pants. He giggled pretty hard while telling me it was just the spray bottle. "Psway....b-b-b-b psway," he said as I tried to help him correct his pronunciation. He loves to pray and asks every single time if it's his turn. It ended up being quite the argument between the older two, so now we've assigned each person a day and that seems to work pretty well! His prayers are getting pretty long these days and always so thoughtful. Nature still fascinates him and he is constantly chasing bugs and exploring outdoors. I'm pretty sure his "love language" is touch, and when I forget that, he quickly reminds me by rubbing my arm at dinner or giving me random hugs throughout the day. Even at three years old, he enjoys his snuggle time. I love his tender little heart and desire to do right.

Joseph is such a big boy now! I looked at him probably a hundred times today and said, "You are getting so big! Please stop growing!" Then I would scoop him up and smother him in kisses while munching his chubby cheeks. This boy continues to be an early riser and some mornings I wake up with him at 5:30am and wonder how I'm going to find the energy to make it through the day. When my eyes first open I am greeted by his smiley face and then he clicks his tongue a few times to let me know he's hungry for breakfast. It doesn't matter what time we put him to bed, he is almost always up before 6:00am. He usually enjoys a full bowl of cheerios before the other two make their way downstairs and manages about three breakfasts each morning. He's starting to talk a lot but still has some funny words for things. He calls a fork a "bok" and a spoon a "bok". When something is finished he will exclaim "Bug-guck!" which means all gone. He has also adapted this "Bug-guck" to be anything he doesn't quite know how to say. He is obsessed with buckles and it takes us twice as long to go places these days. He still can't work his seat belt, but he sure spends a good chunk of time trying before he lets us just do it. He loves when we accelerate or round corners and will always say "Wahoo!!" Sometimes when we are driving he will wobble his head around and say "whooooaa, whoaaaaaaaa". He hums for his car sound effect while he lies on the basement floor and drives his toy cars around. One day I asked someone if they could do something and Hyrum jumped up, raised his hand and shouted, "Me!" Joseph proceeded to mimick him a hundred times because we all thought it was so funny. Throughout the day he will come to me and say, "Daddy muck" which means "Daddy's at work". He still puts his finger on his nose when he says, "Shh" but I'm sure he will grow out of that all too soon. Whenever Camilla puts his baby dolls to sleep he will look up at me and say, "Shh". He loves babies lately! We had friends here this weekend with a little baby and he was fascinated. He liked to pat the babies head and give kisses. Watching him do these things makes me all the more excited for our little one to arrive in December! He's going to be such a good big brother! He sings himself to sleep lately and I love standing outside his door listening. Often Hyrum will fall asleep long before Joseph and we will walk in to find Joe standing above Hyrum's head or sitting on the edge of Hyrum's bed looking out the window and singing to himself. It's pretty cute.