Trunk or Treat

 Last year for Halloween we dressed up as this...
In case you can't tell, Camilla is in the box thing.

We dressed our baby up as a mummy!!

Since Halloween was on a Sunday this year, we celebrated on Saturday night with a Trunk or Treat.  It was a lot of fun! Camilla was a little cow, and we were farmers.  We had no luck finding overalls at Value Village, so we improvised with whatever we could find at home.  It was so fun to dress up as a family and celebrate the holiday.  Camilla was the cutest little cow.  She could say "moo", "cheats" (treats), "ank-you" (thank-you).  She was cute!  Here's some pictures of our night!!  It's too bad you can't see her feet in these first pictures, because she's only wearing one sock!

"Mum, are you DONE yet?"

This is TOTALLY a Stannix pose.  I'm pretty sure I have a Halloween pic of Mr. Stannix when he was around this age, and his shoulders, facial expression and almost everything are the same.  So cute.

She even had a little tail that would wag as she walked.  

She would say "Moo" when asked what she was.  She was little miss independent as soon as we got to the church.  She walked around, checked out the kids and their costumes, and played with balloons.  I must say though, Mr. Stannix makes a pretty hunky cow boy!! 

Camilla met her little friend in the gym.  When she saw her she went "Roar" and ran up to her.  Her friend said "Moo".  It was funny watching them interact and chat with each other.  They were adorable!

After all the fun was done in the gym, the kids made their way out to the parking lot for the Trunk or Treat!  Camilla had a blast.  Her Daddy took her around from car to car.  She would say "cheat" and hold out her little bucket.  Then we would prompt her to say "thank-you" and she would go "ank-you" or something that would sound close, and move onto the next car.  We only went to about 5 cars and then she kept tripping and spilling her bucket, so we thought it was time to call it a night.  

When we got home, she stripped out of her costume and went for the "cheats".  She had a blast examining her loot before bed!  She would take it all out of her bucket, inspect it, play with it, and then put it all back in.  She was adorable.  I loved seeing how excited she was!

SO Ready!!

We've got a bucket for Camilla's candy, some gummy spiders, and some candy corn! 

The Stannix's are SO ready for Halloween!! 

I can't wait to dress Camilla up in her little cow suit and take her to the Trunk or Treat tonight!

There will definitely be a post full of fun pics in the very near future!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

One Sock Off

And One Sock On.... That seemed to be the theme of yesterday! Camilla has always hated wearing socks.  She takes them off a few minutes after I get them on, and one always gets lost somewhere until I do a major clean up.  At present, she has no matching socks in her drawer that actually fit her.  Recently, she discovered how to put her own socks on (always upside down for some reason).  Yesterday, she walked around all day with one sock off, and one sock on.  It was cute.  Some of her adventures yesterday included eating her cookie in a laundry basket in my bedroom, and climbing on the back of the couch (yikes).  She likes to use the couch as a slide, and it seems to have the perfect curve for it.  She climbs up, then gets ready to slide down and goes "weeee".  It's cute, but every time I hear her slide/plop on the couch my heart skips a beat in fear that she's fallen or hurt herself. 

Mr. Stannix was home a bit earlier than usual yesterday afternoon.  Before dinner, we had music playing on the computer and Camilla wanted all of her Daddy's attention.  She sat on his lap, chatted with him, and they danced!  My heart melted when Mr. Stannix spun his little girl around and dipped her in his arms.  It was the most adorable thing ever.  They continued to dance, and Camilla jumped, spun, bobbed, and shook her little diaper bum. Even when Daddy was tired, Camilla kept insisting that they dance.  It was cute.

Last night while I was brushing her teeth, I discovered two little lumps on the back top gums.  She is definitely cutting some molars.  She woke up twice from the time we put her to bed, to the time we went to bed.  I gave in at 1:00am and brought her to bed with us.  So, for a few hours, we had an extra body in our bed.  I have come to the conclusion that we really should invest in a Queen bed.  I put myself between the munchkin and Mr. Stannix so that her moving around wouldn't wake him up.  I lay squished between the two of them, with no covers (because our bedroom was sooo hot).  It was nice for a while.  I enjoyed cuddling, but I wasn't getting much sleep.  Alas, sleeping beauty returned to her own bed where she slept until 8:00 this morning.  (She did protest a little bit).  It was funny how as soon as I brought her into bed with me and snuggled her close, she had no problem sleeping. That little extra comfort was all she needed to get some much needed sleep.  I love snuggling my not-so-little-anymore little girl while she sleeps.  It's so...peaceful.  I have a feeling tonight might be a repeat, and the next, and possibly the next until this crazy molar comes in! I won't complain though, I get to snuggle my girly.

After her bath last night, she went into her diaper and jammies.  Her hair dried while we read scriptures.  Just before prayers, I was admiring my little girl.  The back of her hair was smooth and perfect for once, not the giant, fuzzy rats nest that it always is.  I ran my fingers through it, and the end curled up.  It was so pretty.  I love those little moments.  I love noticing the little details. 

Yesterday I was reading an inspiring blog that I love to check in on and she talked about taking time to listen to our children, and how they will teach us something new every day if we listen to them.  They can make us laugh, and smile too.  It really touched me, and as I've been listening to Camilla, I've enjoyed every moment of it.  She talks like she means it, even though I can't understand her most of the time.  It's fun to listen and to have "conversations" with her.  What a joy it is to be a Mum!

P.S.
You'll NEVER guess what Mr. Stannix did the other night.   Do you remember this post?  Well, when Mr. Stannix came home the other day, he admitted that he listened to some Christmas music on the bus!  I told him that I thought that was taboo until after his birthday.  He said, "Yes, well, playing it in the house is."  While he was working on his homework that night, I heard a Christmas song.  Not just one, but like, six.  Mr. Stannix played Christmas music until it woke Camilla up (or maybe her teeth woke her up).  He totally broke his own rule.  HaHa. So, that means I have permission now right?  As soon as Halloween is over...maybe.

P.P.S

And so it continues today.  One sock off, and one sock on.  I think I have the match to that sock in her sock drawer.  This kid cracks me up!!

Dear Mah-Mah and Bam-PA

Thank-you for getting Camilla a warm winter jacket.  She absolutely loves it.  So much, in fact, that she insists on wearing it inside the house all the time.  She likes to put it on, play with the zipper, take it off, play in it...  It's a hit!! It sure keeps her toasty warm (especially in the house).  I even got her to say "cheese" for you while I snapped a picture. She's such a big girl. I think she's starting to look a bit like me...  ;)

Cheeeeeese

Lots of Loves,
Your Daughter and Grand-daughter

A Spider on the Floor

Halloween must be close because I have found the creepiest spiders slinking around my house lately.  Last night before bed I had to remind myself that the things on my floor that look like spiders were actually just pieces of roast beef I had made into smaller pieces for Camilla that she threw off her tray at dinner.  One of them even made it's way into the living room.  It's just roast beef though...  Camilla was laying on the floor this morning watching the doodle bops and I got up to get her something to eat.  She followed.  I turned around the was face to face with a giant, brown, creepy lookin' spider.  Ya know, the one's that have the big black eyes and the long long legs.  ICK! I still shiver just thinking about it.  Camilla didn't see it and couldn't understand why I didn't want her to go into the living room.  I had no time to go find a shoe, so I used the only thing I could reach.  Camilla's toy vacuum/popper thing.  I ran over that spider like a hundred times before I actually hit it.  ew, ew, ew. I hate spiders.  Then it was into the paper towel and down the toilet for that big guy.  I tried Google to find a picture of a spider, but I couldn't even look at them with out getting creeped out. 

In lieu of these recent events, I decided it was time for a "Halloween" background.  Only a few more days to go! Miss Camilla is going as a cow for Halloween.  Last night Mr. Stannix came up with a brilliant idea for our costumes!!  Last year, he and I were Egyptians and we carried Camilla (who was wrapped like a "mummy") in a box with sticks through it.  It was pretty funny!!

Today I am off to make some bread and home made bagels.  I'm finally starting to be rid of the whole morning sickness thing and have felt almost back to normal.  Looking forward to spending some time with Camilla today.  I believe she's teething because she's very snuggly.

This is our shnazzy pumpkin Mr. Stannix and I carved this year.  We were going to do two hands on a butt... Looking back, we like this much better.  I think it looks strangely like Voldemort off of Harry Potter.  (I better make sure I spelled that right, or Mr. S will be on my case. Yep, I think I'm good).  Minus the mouth, I do think our pumpkin and Voldemort share a strange resemblance.  Maybe this is why Mr. Stannix picked this particular design? We had to shine the flashlight in it when we finished to make sure it was candle worthy...We had fun carving with the whole family.

Have fun getting ready for Halloween!! 

Let it Snow!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Yesterday was the very first snow of the season.  It brought back memories of when I was a kid.  We would wake up to the first snow of the season and couldn't wait to get out and play in it!  We always had awesome snow drifts at the farm, some even big enough that we could jump off our jungle gym into them, or tunnel through them.  Those were the days.  As a teenager, I was often found out with friends being pulled behind a quad on a sled, or skis, or saucer with a rope.  We liked to make things interesting.  It didn't matter how cold it was, we were having too much fun to really notice.  Mr. Stannix was always found out on a rink playing hockey with friends/whoever was around.  He said he would spend ALL day out there, and sometimes miss lunch and not even notice.  We're excited to take Camilla sledding and out on the ice this winter!

Yesterday morning I had Christmas songs going through my head.  I wanted so badly to stick in a Christmas CD and sing along.  I LOVE Christmas music.  Mr. Stannix and I made a deal though, that we wouldn't play any Christmas music until after his birthday.  One more month....

Even though it was chilly outside yesterday, I couldn't resist suiting Camilla up in her new snow suit and boots and taking her outside to let her enjoy the snow.  We had such a fun time playing together.  She even helped me push the giant snow balls around and make a teeny snow man.  I'm so glad I got to share my love for the first snow with my little girly.  She looked so grown up truckin' around the yard in her little pink boots and puffy snow suit.  I can't believe how big she is! 

She came up to me today and gave me a hug for no reason and said "aww" like she always does as she rests her head on my shoulder.  I hugged her back and said "I love you Camilla! Can you say I love you?" and she goes "I  knowwwww".  It was too cute.  It made the five dirty diapers I had to change today all worth it!! Anyways,  Here's some pictures of my little snow angel!

Finding the snow man's nose!

Her look of surprise! 

My Basement Window

We've had another busy, fun filled weekend.  Yesterday was really chilly and today looked about the same.  It rained most of yesterday.  We went to dinner at a friends place and when we left at 9:30 it was still sprinkling rain.  When I woke up this morning, I looked up at the sky through my basement window and saw that it was grey and dreary looking outside once again.  Camilla was up a couple of times last night.  She either really hates her crib lately, or she's teething and looking for extra comfort.  Her and I snuggled on the couch for a few hours in the early morning.  Mr. Stannix is burnt out from so many mid-terms and so he decided to take a much needed morning off.  He got some extra sleep and tried to get rid of his headache.  Camilla watched her cartoons on a really low volume and I snuggled under and a blanket on the couch.  Our house didn't really get moving until 10:00 this morning.  When Mr. Stannix left, he asked if I wouldn't mind shoveling the walks for him today! I ran to the window, and saw this....

Look at all that white stuff!!! I cracked open the window and waited for Mr. Stannix to walk by and then said to him, "Are you sure I need to shovel, looks pretty clear to me!" He chuckled.  A part of me is sad that Fall is over.  But a part of me got REALLY excited for the Christmas season!!  I love when the cold weather comes because that means more using my oven to keep it warm down here, which means Christmas baking etc.  Today calls for some indoor activities such as house cleaning, and some hot chocolate!! Camilla is enjoying some dancing this morning...

Her poor teeth.  I think that's what's bothering her.  Hopefully she gets a good nap in today! She definitely didn't have a good sleep last night.  Hope this bout of teething doesn't last too long! Enjoy the snow everyone!!

Some Mommy Time

Yesterday morning we got invited out to the park with some friends.  I quickly changed out of my Pj's and got Camilla dressed warm and off we went.  It was fun to get out.  This particular friend has seven kids and one on the way (any day now!).  One of her little girls became Camilla's buddy the whole morning and took her down the slide, up on the gym, on the swings, in the sand and everywhere.  She was such a sweetheart and such a good big helper.  I enjoyed some time just visiting with the other ladies and watching the kids laughing and giggling together.  It was a beautiful, crisp fall morning.  The time out of our dark, chilly basement was much needed.

The last few days I've been feeling really down on myself again.  I've gone to bed practically in tears almost every night feeling very inadequate and wondering if I am really cut out for baby #2.  Am I ready? Can I teach this child the things I need to?  I just feel like I need to learn how to be a better mother to Camilla first.  As a one year old, she can really push your buttons, and let's just say that I haven't been the most patient with her these last few days.  Maybe that's why I feel so guilty.  I feel like I'm not treating my little girl as the Savior would want me to treat her.  I always feel guilty when I loose my cool, or raise my voice.  Just so many negative thoughts kept swirling through my mind and making me feel worse and worse about myself.  It's not just with Camilla, but I feel like my house isn't as clean as I would like it to be, and that I haven't been making the kind of meals that I would like to be making. When I discussed it with Mr. Stannix he assured me that probably every mother has these feelings of inadequacy and guilt at some point in their mothering careers.  This should have made me feel better, but I didn't want to believe him.  I was just so upset.  He also told me that I should take some time for myself here and there and that it's hard always being around Camilla.  I agreed, even though I didn't want to.  I never wanted to be one of those moms who needed to "escape" from the house and her children.  I always thought I would find the most joy and happiness being around my kiddies 24/7.  While I do love being home more than away, I do think that some time to myself here and there is a good idea.  Whether it's engaging in a hobby while she naps or studying my scriptures every morning, I think it will help.

After talking to Mr. Stannix, and attending enrichment last night and visiting with some ladies from the ward, I'm feeling better today.  It's time to change and kick those negative thoughts in the butt! Last night when I put Camilla to bed, she fell asleep in my arms again.  All the negative thoughts I had started to melt away.  I snuggled her close, studied her face, and gave her a kiss on the nose.  It's in moments like those that the true joy of motherhood comes.  As I watch her giggle and grin at me this morning, and snuggle and rock her baby, I realized that I'm not doing as bad of a job as I thought I was.  Hopefully someday I can become that woman that I want to be.  I think I will just keep learning, one day at a time, and the Savior will help me with the rest.  I really like this song as I listened to it this morning.  I thought it was very inspiring and motivating!  I also came across this quote in my studies this morning, and it's exactly what I needed.

 

"What can young mothers do to reduce the pressure of raising young children and enjoy their families more?"

"Recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction."

"Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: 'The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. 

I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less' "

~M. Russell Ballard~

I think that's been half of my problem.  I've been so concerned with "getting things done" that I have been too stressed out to enjoy the "doing".  I love being a mother, but there's no doubt that it comes with "hard and frustrating times".  I'm glad that I have Mr. Stannix, my own mother, and friends to discuss my frustrations and trials with.  I'm also glad for the power of prayer and the opportunity I have to talk to my Heavenly Father about my struggles and trials.  He's always there to listen and help.  I do love the special moments that I get to experience as a mother while I snuggle my little girl, watch her dance and giggle, and get special hugs from her.  This is where true joy is found.

Storybop time

Every night after Camilla has her bath and gets into her PJ's, she wants to read a story.  Once She's dressed, she cruises on over to her box of "BOPS" and pulls out a story for me to read to her.  She says "BOP" "BOP" (Book) in a really high pitched girly voice.  It's pretty funny. You can't resist reading one to her, or two, or three, or all of them. 

And so we sat and read together.  Bop after bop.  It was pretty fun.  Daddy joined us shortly after for scriptures and prayer.  Camilla is so good now, she sits still and quiet the whole time, and folds her arms all on her own for prayer.  I then snuggle her while she drinks her Bubba and then tuck her tight into her crib.  There is nothing better then creating special memories at bed time. 

After I read with my little girl, I got to read with Mr. Stannix.  He has a big midterm tomorrow and I got to help him study! We went over definitions and enjoyed laughing together as I understood none of it.  He is now unwinding on the couch with a movie and I think I am going to get some nachos and cheese and join him!

Piano Playing Duo

It's been yet another busy, fun-filled weekend with no blogging.  Today is a catch up day once again.  Friday night we had some good friends stay the night.  It was a lot of fun to visit and catch up again.  The babies also enjoyed playing with each other.  I always love watching Camilla interact with other kids.  We ordered pizza for dinner that night, drank a lot of Jones sodas and stayed up visiting until way to late (as always).  It was very enjoyable.  On Saturday the boys went and helped a friend with some electrical work and the girls stayed back and visited and caught up on some much needed sleep.  The kiddies had fun playing together.  Camilla discovered how to climb up onto the piano bench (with the help of Mr. Stannix's school bag) and wouldn't let me take her off.  She loves tinkering on the piano.  Future musician? I think so. I caught a couple shots of the kiddies playing together (and even one of them holding hands). Ahh, young love. 

Camilla was so great with Isaac.  I gave her a cookie for each hand, because usually she eats two, and she gave one to Isaac to eat.  It was sweet of her.  So fun to see her sharing at such a young age. 

After the boys got home, we all went swimming at the rec center.  Camilla LOVES swimming.  She had a lot of fun and was very giggly the whole time!! We had a great weekend and are very thankful for such great friends who come all the way to our house to visit us!! I am now off for some lunch! This pregnant lady is hungry!!

Toot-a-Loo