The Tradition Continues

This is my very sleepy girl first thing in the morning. She is doing what her mother, and mother's mother before her used to do.  When the heat vent came on at Gramma's early Friday morning Camilla enjoyed all the hot air she could!! It's the best first thing in the morning when the house is still a little chilly.  I showed her that a blanket helps trap the heat in, and she sat there the whole time in a tired daze.  It was so cute to watch and caused some flash backs.  My mum taught me to do this when I was a little girl too! The best was on a Sunday after church because my dress trapped most of the heat when I stood over the heat vent. My siblings and I used to run to the nearest one as soon as the furnace turned on, with blankets over our shoulders.  Now, Miss Camilla carries on the tradition.  I'm sure she's going to miss it now that we're home because our only heat vents are on our ceiling... But she will enjoy them once again when we head out to Gramma and Grampa's over the holidays.   When Mr. Stannix finished classes for the semester, we took off to the acreage for a few days to relax (and study) and celebrate Grampa's birthday! It was a fun few days.  Today we enjoyed spending time with friends and celebrating the first birthday of one of Camilla's dear friends (she kissed him today, ON THE LIPS!!).  It was a very fun afternoon and nice to visit with everyone!! Camilla was a lucky girl and has had cake twice this week!! Mr. Stannix is gearing up for four final exams and three essays to write before Friday.  He will be a very happy man come Saturday when he only has one exam left to write!!  The baby has had more awake time in the belly lately and I've been feeling lots of movement! I'm half way there and loving every moment.  

Dancing in the Belly

Here's a sneak peak at the newest addition to the Stannix Family! The baby was very active throughout the whole ultrasound and dancing around.  We got to see it's feet and watch it suck on it's hands.  It was a lot more entertaining than Camilla's ultrasound was!

Our smiling babe with legs just a kicking!

Sucking on the fingers!!

Suckling in the womb, the heart, and the spine.

It was a great experience to be able to go together and watch the baby dance and move. We can't wait to meet him/her!!

A Cling-on

I seem to have a bit of a cling-on today!! Camilla has been hanging off my legs all morning while I've been cleaning up the house and getting some things ready for Christmas.  She pops through my legs and giggles. Sometimes, I tickle under her chin and she scrunches up her face and laughs really hard.  She's such a goof ball! I love her to bits!  I can't believe how grown up she is already.  She changes every day! Last night at the Christmas devotional, she stood up and looked at the row behind us and this one guy was sleeping (sort of, he had his eyes closed), and so Camilla looked at the people beside him, put her finger to her mouth and said "shhhhhhh". 

The back row got a giggle out of it, and I think the guy woke up!!

Mr. Stannix surprised me by coming home just after lunch for the day! I didn't expect him home until dinner.  He still has to study, but it's nice to have him here for the day!! This afternoon Camilla and I are working on a Christmas craft and maybe some wrapping of presents!

Then, later on, I think we'll take off to Wal-mart for some formula and odds and ends.  Should be a productive afternoon!

In the Christmas Spirit

The Stannix's are in the Christmas spirit! Last night we had our ward Christmas party.  I was privileged to be able to play the piano for a Nativity play put on by the primary children and some youth. I really was able to feel the spirit and it brought tears to my eyes.  It was fabulously done! After that, I was feeling pretty excited for Christmas.  Tonight we had the opportunity to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. The talks and music were fabulous as always! The tradition we have started in our home is that we set up the tree after the devotional.  So, tonight after we got home, we got out the tree, the chocolates and nativity and set everything up.  It was a wonderful way to get in the Christmas spirit.  Camilla loved helping, twirling in her dress and looking at the pretty lights on the tree.  She was almost giddy she was so excited! Just giggling away. Our decorations on the tree are kind of sparse and Camilla keeps pulling the ones off the bottom, so we mostly decorated the top half! The lights really make a difference though!! Christmas has officially begun in the Stannix Home.

Mr. Stannix and his girl (who's saying cheese)

A family picture

Camilla posing for the camera and twirling for her daddy

I made this nativity when I was 4 years old (with a lot of help of course).  My mum held onto it that long and when I moved out, I inherited it (gladly)! It's made of toilet paper rolls.

Some chocolates to munch while setting everything up!

Mr. Stannix got this when he was on his mission from a family who had adopted two russian girls. 

It reminds him that the language of the spirit is universal.  The translator that translated the lessons for the girls was not a member of our church and had no understanding of our beliefs, yet the spirit was able to touch everyone present regardless of the language they spoke. 

I had to get a picture of the tiny bump I have! We are a week shy of being half way there and can't wait to meet him or her!  We finished the night with our advent calendars.  Camilla likes picking out her little chocolate.  Then we gathered for scriptures and prayers and the munchkin went to sleep.

Mr. Stannix and I are about to enjoy watching "The Polar Express" and drinking some hot chocolate.

Our home is officially full of Christmas! 

Mug Root Beer Anyone?

Yes Please!

Camilla found a full can of root beer this morning and thought it tasted delicious (even though it wasn't open).  She kept sipping it and saying "mmm" and offering it to other people. Thought it was pretty funny! She has quite the imagination.  Lately she has started throwing toys when she gets angry, and big toys too!! Let's just say her toy stash is depleting...  Yesterday she got her dolly back and she was practically in heaven.  If anyone else asks to see it she says "noo".  Only Mommy is allowed to hold her dolly. I think we are hitting the "terrible twos" a little early.  Any suggestions for biting, pinching and throwing things?  I think she's just learning how to express herself, but it's hard to teach her sometimes. 

This morning I took off to an eye appointment.  I get new glasses and I couldn't be more excited! The ones I have now are from grade 11, and it will be nice to get a change! This afternoon I made bagels and Camilla and I got to sit and enjoy a hot one with butter together.  I love spending time with my little girl!

Sleigh Ride

It's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you.....

Today, Camilla and I went out and played in the backyard.  I took her sleigh out for the first time to pull her around.  She had a blast! I got very wet shoes.  

Note to self: Get winter boots from parents house

She was laughing like crazy! It was so much fun! 

She eventually wanted out to explore...

She found a fun soccer ball to play with for a bit, then she got tired.

I thought maybe she was ready to go in for nap time...

Boy was I wrong!! She wasn't even undressed yet and she was already truckin' up the stairs determined to get back outside.

As I blog, I am listening to some Alvin & The Chipmunks Christmas tunes. Brings back memories from my childhood! I love Christmas music and the excitement it brings! What a fabulous season! We missed starting our advent calendars yesterday.  Looks like we get two chocolates today!!

Birthday Bash

Okay, so it wasn't much of a "Bash" but we did have a lot of fun! I love making birthday's special. Growing up we used to get to pick what we wanted mum to make for dinner and then we'd always have the traditional birthday cake (angel food and sea foam icing).  We got to pick the color of the icing, and that was a treat! For Mike's birthday he picked pulled chicken on french bread for dinner.  It's his fav, and I couldn't complain because it's super easy and delicious! As far as the cake went, anything chocolate was a go.  Camilla and I spent the day preparing! She was a super great helper, er, well, great at licking the beaters and stuff like that... She wouldn't give it up, even after all the icing had disappeared!  My brother also helped us out!

On a side note:

I had a dream last night, and in my dream, Camilla smiled at me and her poor two bottom teeth were all rotten and yellow and cracked and funky looking! Probably sub consciously I was feeling guilty for letting her share my frootloops that morning AND lick a whole beater of sugary icing, and not brush her teeth that night (I forgot). Any ways, I was glad her see her pearly whites smiling up at me this morning from her crib! 

This year, I tried really hard to make a decent looking cake. I looked at pictures from last year and there was jam oozing out the middle and down the edges.  That's not supposed to happen.  This years cake was much more of a success with chocolate buttercream frosting and strawberry syrup drizzled over shaved chocolate.  The skor ice cream really topped it all off!

After dinner, we had to wait a bit, and then we enjoyed some cake and ice cream. Camilla super enjoyed it!! Mike opened presents and we all visited.  It was fabulous!  To end the night, we watched a few episodes of "Lost"...We're hooked..

I am super excited that it's FINALLY December! I can't wait to set up the tree and bust out the decorations. This is my favorite time of the year.

1/4 of a Century

Just wanted to wish my Mr. Stannix a very happy 25th Birthday!

My goal for this year: Take more pictures of JUST Mr. Stannix!

(I couldn't find any for this post!)

25 Reasons Why I love you

1. You make me feel safe  2. You make me laugh  3. You're a fabulous dad  4. You're okay with me cutting your hair  5. You like to listen to the same cheesy love songs I do  6. The way you look at me with that twinkle in your eye  7. You comfort me when I need it most  8. You realize how important family is to me  9. You understand me more than probably anyone else does  10. I love the smell of your cologne, it reminds me of when we were dating  11. We have the worlds longest hugs  12. You're a great dancer (even solo!)  13. We have way too much fun together  14. You can make Camilla laugh like crazy  15. The gospel is important to you  16. You're okay with having a "well lived in" house because Camilla is happy  17. You make me want to be a better person  18. You loved your mission  19. Your cheesy humor (yes, I do love it!)  20. Your singing (haha)  21. Your never failing patience  22. The way we can laugh together when something goes wrong (most of the time)   23. You get up super early every morning and work super hard at school so that you can support our family  24. Your determination and love for life  25. The way you plan things out

Our Favorite Fire Fighter!

Yesterday we went to the fire hall to visit our favorite fire fighter! 

Camilla had fun checking out the fire trucks!

Camilla and Daddy

Uncle Mike tried to put his fire fighter hat on Camilla, but she kept ducking out from under it. 

Then we sat in the truck and listened to Uncle Mike tell some intense stories about driving to fight a fire!

It was pretty neat to see the inside and watch all the lights blink.  We also checked out this heat sensor thing that they use to see how hot the fire is/walls are. We got to see all the cool tools on the truck and what they use them for.

Uncle Mike even called dispatch and got them to do a special "Fake call" for us so we could see/hear what goes on. He was a fabulous tour guide! We got to see the workout room, the sitting room, and the kitchen.

My brother Arland came along as well to check out where his bro works! He even got to try on a uniform.

Camilla got a nifty coloring/activity book with stickers. She quite enjoyed herself!

We finished our tour off back with the trucks and Camilla got a picture with her favorite fire fighter! I love the look on her face in this picture, so proud! We had a great tour! So neat to see the inside of a fire hall and what goes on! Thanks Uncle Mike!

Baking Day!

Today has been a pretty fun day! This morning we went over to our neighbors house to play with the kids and bake some cookies for an awesome center piece.  We got up, cuddled on the couch for a bit, watched cartoons, had some breakfast and then got all dressed and ready to go.  I thought it would be fun to put Camilla's hair in pig tails today.  She looks SO grown up!! It's adorable. Our little toddler....

She sat on the bathroom counter and played quietly with her tooth brush while I brushed and did her hair.  It worked out fabulous! The other plus about them being closer to the back of her head is that she doesn't really know they are there.  She doesn't pull them out like she does her clips or pony tails. 

This is the fancy center piece (Camilla really wanted the baby star on the top to eat!). It was my neighbors idea.  I haven't had time to decorate the cookies yet, but you're supposed to decorate them and then stack them and it looks like a Christmas tree.  You can make it with Rice Krispies and even Jello! They look pretty neat.  The best part is, after dinner, you can eat it for dessert!!  Pretty excited to finish it and have some one over for dinner. 

This afternoon we are heading to Uncle Mike's fire hall to visit him at work and look at the big fire trucks! It will be pretty fun! 

Toot-a-loo!