Power Outage

Late last night, after Mr. Stannix got home, and the dishes were all done he brought out Harry Potter again. He read to me a little bit while I tinkered around in the Kitchen.  After brushing our teeth, and saying our prayers, we jumped into bed.  Mr. S left the lights on though! As I lay there wondering why, he slowly slides Harry Potter across the bed towards me.  He likes when I read to him. It's cute.  I enjoy reading aloud! I can't wait until our kids are older and I can read it to them with Mr. Stannix.  Reading Harry Potter together is something we started last year.  I had never (shocking I know) read Harry Potter before and Mr. Stannix is practically addicted.  So, to make me read it, we read it together.  We've read the whole series once and are on our second round.  Anyways, As I was reading the third book to him, the power went out.  We waited a few seconds, it never came back on. So I got Mr. Stannix to run and grab a flashlight.  He held it for me as I read.  Romantic right? I thought so.....

Miss Camilla was asleep through the whole thing!!

This pic was actually taken on Canada day, but it's cute!!

My Mother

"Mothers, take time to teach your children. Catch the teaching moments. This can be done anytime during the day -- at mealtime, in casual settings, or at special sit-down times together, at the foot of the bed at the end of the day, or during an early-morning walk together. Mothers, you are your children's best teacher. Don't shift this precious responsibility to day-care centers or baby-sitters. A mother's love and prayerful concern for her children are her most important ingredients in teaching her own.

Teach children gospel principles. Teach them it pays to be good. Teach them there is no safety in sin. Teach them a love for the gospel of Jesus Christ and a testimony of its divinity. Teach your sons and daughters modesty, and teach them to respect manhood and womanhood. Teach your children sexual purity, proper dating standards, temple marriage, missionary service, and the importance of accepting and magnifying Church callings. Teach them a love for work and the value of a good education. Teach them the importance of the right kind of entertainment, including appropriate movies and videos and music and books and magazines. Discuss the evils of pornography and drugs, and teach them the value of living the clean life.

Yes, mothers, teach your children the gospel in your home, at your own fireside. This is the most effective teaching that your children will ever receive. This is the Lord's way of teaching. The Church cannot teach like you can. The school cannot. The day-care center cannot. But you can, and the Lord will sustain you.Your children will remember your teachings forever, and when they are old, they will not depart from them. They will call you blessed -- their truly angel mother.

Mothers, this kind of heavenly, motherly teaching takes time -- lots of time. It cannot be done effectively part-time. It must be done all the time in order to save and exalt your children. This is your divine calling. (From address given at a "Fireside for Parents," 22 Feb 1987 President Ezra Taft Benson - Ten Ways to Spend Time with Children)

I'm glad I had a mother like that! One who quit her job to stay at home and teach us all of these important things! She did teach me a love for the gospel, for my Savior, and helped me develop a testimony.  She taught me how to be modest and respect my body and myself.  Whenever I would wrestle my brother she would tell me to respect him. She taught me proper dating standards and helped me prepare for a temple marriage.  She taught me to Love and Value hard work! She cooked, cleaned, made bread/buns, baked so we could come home to cookies, taxi serviced us around, and did everything else to help the home run smoothly. I'm grateful for her sacrifice and diligence.  She gave up a lot for us!! She's has shown me the ultimate example of what it takes to be a great mother and instilled in me the importance of being home with the children and teaching them daily.  I never realized how much work and effort she went through until I became a mother myself.  I now appreciate my mother probably more than I ever did.  She is a wonderful woman! Working together with my Dad, they have provided a great home for me, and great example. Thanks Mum! You truly are my angel mother.  

 Bread that my Mum taught me how to make

Delish!

Four Needles and a Drizzle

Today is a not so fabulous day.  This morning Camilla had her one year immunizations. She was a very brave little girl. She got poked in both arms and both legs.  Two minutes after, she was toddling around the clinic gabbing and saying hi to everyone.  She did good over lunch, had a small nap, and played.  A few hours ago though, I think the immunizations caught up to her.  She was so sad, so we had a cuddle on the good ol' lazy boy, she woke up still sad and her limbs seemed to ache. 

She decided to lay her pretty little head right here and use her thumb to soothe herself.  

Eventually, she made her way over to this guy and snuggled up for a snooze.  Every couple minutes I hear her little voice complain/cry, and go and cuddle next to her.  I don't think she's ever fallen asleep on the floor before, she does look cozy, so I think I'll leave her. She's still in her pj top from this morning.  When we woke up, it was raining, and it has been drizzling allll day.  I dubbed it a lazy day, threw on some sweats, and left the kiddo in her jammy top.  Perfect weather to snuggle up together. This evening Mr. Stannix is at a night class, so the girly and I are definitely going to snuggle to sleep. I'm hoping she feels better by tomorrow so she can giggle and play the day away. 

Difference of a Year

Then....

And Now!!

What a difference One Year makes!!

Birthday Par-Tay

We finally arrived at the acreage last night.  It was a beautiful day, and just as it started getting dark we decided to jump in the hot tub for a while.  

Today we celebrated Camilla's first birthday (which is actually tomorrow) with some close friends and family! It was a great day!! My sister and Mum helped me put the finishing touches on the birthday cake this morning, and we spent the afternoon eating yummy food.

 My fabulous sister helped decorate the cake. Mike came up with the idea of a music note, and I got a pic off the internet and ran with it! It didn't turn out half bad!! (Thanks to my lil' sis)

 It was perfect!!

Camilla anxiously waiting for her birthday meal, blowing kisses to Uncle Mike and sporting the stylish sunglasses that Mike and his Girlfriend got her! Adorable hey?

Then came the big moment! We had been practising blowing out candles all week, and teaching her how to blow, period. It was cute, she totally did it!! I love this picture because

a)She's holding her sun glasses

b)She's actually blowing out her candle!

 Then she chowed down!!

Then we opened gifts. We did get her a doll!! And you wanna know a secret? Mr. Stannix told me he ALMOST cried when he watched Camilla hug her doll for the first time.  ALMOST, that's a BIG deal!! Don't tell him I told..... She gave it all the hugs, kisses and loves she had, it was adorable. At this very moment she is snuggling with her doll as she sleeps in the play pen. Thanks to all for the cute little gifts!

Grampa Hudkins snapped this picture of Camilla on her favorite spot in the pool room.  She even struck a pose for him!!She climbs up and down that step, sits, squirms....she loves that spot...

We ended off our night by making wishes for Camilla, and letting them float away into the sun set.  It was a beautiful, fun filled day!! We are so glad to be able to share this time with friends and family and watch our little girl grow and change and interact.  She's quite the chatter box now!! Tomorrow she turns one!! We love every bit of her!!

Picture of the Day

This is my favorite picture today. It's a picture of Camilla and her daddy from the day she was born. 

On Sunday, she turns One year old! We are very excited for her.  

I've been thinking a lot about this weekend last year, and all the good changes it has brought to our lives. 

I love this picture because Mike has the "proud daddy" look. He loves his little girl! She is checking out her new daddy in this picture. What a sweetheart! We have found so much joy in being parents. I've also enjoyed watching Mr. Stannix enjoy his "baby Camilla" as he likes to call her. Aren't they cute together?

 

July 11, 2009 After bath time!

We will post more pictures after our part-ay this weekend.  We all have swimsuits packed and are ready to hit the hot-tub at Gramma and Grampa Hudkins, play some volley ball, and enjoy the fresh air at the acreage!

Tootles!!

You Know It's a Bad Day When...

Picture courtesy of Google Images

 

1. You wake up with the headache you went to bed with
2. Your baby wakes up with a cold/runny nose
3. You wipe your baby's nose about 20 gazillion times and snot is still running out
4. You change 4 poopy diapers
5. You break into tears when making dinner because (heaven forbid) the waffle stuck to the waffle maker, and your poor husband, who had just come home from work and was in the middle of a really fabulous story has to come into the bedroom and console you.....(sorry dear)

What a day.......Although, Camilla falling asleep in my arms tonight made all my grumpy feelings disappear. ONE more crazy day until I get to go home to my Mumma for the weekend!! Mr. Stannix knows that these trips out to Rocky are important for me, when he notices I start getting edgy or weepy, he always brings me back to the country. What a smart man hey?

The good things that happened today:
1. I got to visit with a friend this morning and watch a super cute baby
2. The sun was out ALL day!!
3. Camilla says "Mum-mum" more often
4. It's my grampa's birthday today
5. I get to go clean the temple tonight!

When Life Gives You Lemons...

What a day!! And its only just past noon!! I woke up this morning not feeling so well, and then had to dress the munchkin and boogie off to the Honda dealership to get the car checked out by 9:00am. So I get there, drop it off, drop off my keys for the nice guys who work on my car, and then wait for the shuttle ride home. OH and I was proud that I remembered to grab the munchkins car seat before they took my car away. So I get a shuttle, and half way home, I realize that I've left my house keys at the dealership. I think to myself no biggy, I'll just wait outside, it's a nice enough day, I packed extra food for Camilla, and I have diapers.  Maybe I'll get some weeding done. Then we had to sit and wait for a train, and finally we made it home, the driver feeling very bad at finding out that I left my keys at the dealership, but me not wanting to inconvenience anyone, I decide to wait in my backyard for a few hours, or the whole afternoon depending on what's wrong with my car...because that makes sense right? haha  Then I remember that Honda is to call me at my home number before they can do any work....No problem, thank-goodness I packed the cell phone this morning, I'll just call Mr. Stannix and have him find their number for me so I can call and get the number switched. I could ask the nice shuttle driver for it.... But I'm so embarrassed by this point that I just can't wait to get out of the van.  I call Mike when I get home, no answer....so I call again...no answer. Well now what??? So I decided to  call my mum's cell.....no answer...so I try a few numbers trying to remember my parent's work number and finally get a hold of my mum who kindly looks up the number  for me. I got it all sorted out..... man it's hot out here, I wish I had eaten breakfast, and maybe packed some water for myself, it looks about lunch time....as I'm listening to my stomach growl. So the munchkin and I went to the park for an hour and played, then we went on the swings until she fell asleep finally....I lugged her home and stuck her in her car seat and weeded my garden to pass the time....Then I notice a car pulling in to our driveway who could that be?? It must have been my lucky day, because it was our landlord who so kindly let me in, and said to me "You must be doing something right because I wasn't planning on stopping by today." The Lord definitely does answer prayers!!

I also snapped some cute shots of the munchkin whilst at the park...Enjoy!

 "Really, you locked us out again? Oh well, I guess playing at the park isn't so bad"

Pre-Birthday Bash!!

This week, our friend Jenn brought over a fabulous giant cupcake for Camilla's birthday. We decided to have a "Pre-Birthday" Bash and let her go-at-it.  It was quite funny and I snapped some adorable pics of our girly.  It's hard to believe that she will be turning a whole YEAR old on Sunday.  This past year has gone by so quickly and we have enjoyed every second of it with her! She is such a sweet little girl.  She is also very loving, and giving.  We are so glad that we get to watch her grow and change.  Everyday is such a new adventure! We bought her a doll for her birthday, and as we took it out of the package to wrap it, I held it in my arms and memories came flooding back.  I thought to myself Camilla was once this little, when we first brought her home.  I thought about how tiny and helpless she first was when we brought her home, and how she's an independent little mover now!! I don't know what it was, but the little doll even smelled like a new baby (it had a baby powder smell to it).  The next night, I wanted so badly to pull the doll out again and hold it and remember, but I thought to myself now you're just being cheesy, just leave it alone.  When I walked into the room with Mr. Stannix, he asked if he could see it.  He held it and smelled it and we remembered how small our sweet babe once was.  Anyways, here are some more pictures of the munchkin for you all to enjoy.

Happy ALMOST first birthday my girl!!

Cami checking out the icing

 mmmmm....

 She loves cake!!

 "Are you sure I can eat this?"

 YUM!

Thanks Jenn, It was delicious!!

A Chilly Day

Today it is cold and wet outside. The perfect day for a hot chocolate and a movie.  

Camilla has been having fun in the house all day.  We went to the doctor's this morning. She is doing very well!! Last night she cut her 6th tooth!! She likes to put my tea towels over her head and walk around "blind" with her hands out in front of her.  It's pretty funny!! The other day, she ran into the closet door when she had the towel over her head.  She was walking pretty fast too!! Instead of crying when she fell, she broke into a giggle. It was cute.

After my Hot Chocolate, I am going to put my hair up in a fancy ponytail and go crazy cleaning my house!!

Happy blogging!!