Alphabet Letters

We have been super tired in the Stannix home since the weekend. Mr. Stannix was kind enough to give me a back rub last night. He then played with my hair until I fell asleep. I love that guy! I was up a few times with Hyrum last night, and finally brought him into bed with us for food and snuggles at 6:00am. Mr. Stannix got out of bed shortly after, so I went back to sleep while he showered, with good intentions of waking up in a bit to make him scrambled eggs and toast. I woke up again at 7:00am and decided I would sneak another 15 minutes of sleep and wake up when Mr. Stannix came up to get dressed. He was so sneaky I didn't even hear him. I woke up again in a little while and looked at the clock, 8:00am, Mr. Stannix would have already caught his bus by now. The house was still quiet, and kids were still sleeping. When I went down stairs, I found a nice little note on my fridge...

A Piñata and Emergency

Although the title sounds like it should have a funny story behind it, the two things really aren't related. Yesterday afternoon we drove out to Red Deer to visit friends and enjoy a 2nd birthday!

 All of the kids had a lot of fun with this piñata. It was hilarious to watch them try and whack it with a stick that was 3x their size. So much fun.

 Camilla had her first real experience with a huge trampoline! She jumped away the afternoon with her little friends.

I sat on my lawn chair in the shade envious of the fun the kids were having and had to run over and jump on with my little girl! It had been FOREVER since I had jumped on a trampoline and it felt oh so good!

Our sweet little boy chilled with Daddy in the shade (or whoever would hold him). We had a great time laughing with friends and watching the children play together. We finally decided to make the long trip home around 8:00PM.

We finally arrived home around 10:30. Mike carried Camilla into the house and I grabbed the baby seat. When I got in, Camilla was laying on the couch complaining. Soon after, I noticed that she couldn't walk. I looked at her little legs and her left knee was the size of a baseball with a big bruise on the knee cap. Mr. Stannix wasn't feeling good and I knew he needed his sleep, so I ordered him to stay home. He offered to keep the sleeping babe with him, but I had no idea how long we would be, so I just grabbed the sling and went to the hospital. I'm too cheap to pay for hospital parking, so I parked on the street and walked a block with Hyrum in the sling and my sad little girl on my hip. We waited so so long.

Camilla was super tired. In the waiting room she just wanted to snuggle me. I looked hilarious with both kids on my lap, but she was in pretty good spirits until 2:00am rolled around. The waiting room was loaded with mosquitoes. Camilla reacts really bad to them, so I spent the night keeping them off her. I've never gotten so many bug bits while being inside before. Finally we were let through to be assessed. After an hour of waiting in a chair with a crying 2 year old, we were brought into a curtained area with a bed. Camilla's head hit the pillow and she practically fell right to sleep. We waited an hour or so to be sent for X-rays, and when it was our time, I lugged the two kids and our giant diaper bag down the hall. The X-ray guy kept saying "oh no" "this is going to be tricky" "this lady has no help". Finally we got someone to hold Hyrum so I could go in and hold Camilla while she was X-rayed. She was very brave. I didn't bother putting Hyrum back in the sling on the way back because he was fussy and needed to be fed. Again, I lugged one child on each side all the way back down the hall. At this point they were both screaming and crying. In the waiting room they were kind enough to give me the bed again. Camilla layed down and went back to sleep, and I fed my crying baby. The nurse asked me if I was okay, and I swear I was until he asked. I said, "yes" and he said "Are you sure?". I lost my voice and got a giant lump in my throat. I nodded yes and turned my head away as I started to tear up.

Camilla slept for another hour while I nodded in and out at the foot of the bed bouncing Hyrum. Finally at 5:00am we were discharged and I got home shortly after. The walk back to the car was brutal and my body was so so tired. I hit the pillow and zonked out until 10:00am. Luckily the munchkins slept in too and Mr. Stannix has been taking good care of them and me all day today!  Her knee was fine, the X-rays were normal. She must have just sprained it or something on the trampoline or reacted really badly to the mosquito bite on her knee cap. Her poor ear swelled up really bad too. She looked so sad and in pain all night. Today she is walking on it and very happy after some sleep. After tomorrow, I'm sure things will be back to normal!

O Canada

We celebrated Canada Day with friends! It was a super fun day! I spent the morning dressing kiddos and packing up the diaper bag while Mr. Stannix was writing a case at the office. He called me when he was done, and I ventured out for my first bus ride to meet him downtown.

We toured his office building, and then had some lunch at McDonalds. After that we walked down to the train station and took the LRT to the Legislature grounds. Camilla loved her first train ride, it was "really fast".

Then we arrived at the Legislature. It was full of people and energy and I was so excited!

We walked around in search of our friends for a long time. It was a hot day, so we decided to dip our feet in the fountain pools at the front of the building to cool off.  Camilla was a bit hesitant at first, but enjoyed it much more later on when she saw other kids swimming and splashing. I forgot her swim suit, so she got soaked.

We walked some more and found some belly dancers to watch for a while. Camilla mostly just liked the music and danced her little tush off on the hillside.

I enjoyed snuggling my little man!

We finally found our friends at the little wading pool and let the kids splash around for a while. Camilla slowly immersed herself in the water and was soon wet from head to toe. When I took her diaper off after, it was so full I couldn't roll it up and weighed like 10lbs. Those things can really hold a lot of liquid!!

 Mike dipped Hyrums little toes in the cool water, and Camilla continued to splash and giggle.

I was so glad to be spending the afternoon with my man! He's so handsome! He worked really hard that morning so he could come and adventure with us in the afternoon!

Daddy and Camilla enjoyed dipping their feet in the water and sharing a special moment together.

 Camilla finally got so cold she was shivering and her lips were blue. I put her in the dry diaper and she wore her sweater (because it was the only piece of dry clothing she had). Jessica took her to get a balloon and she got a flower balloon! Hyrum enjoyed the afternoon snoozing in the wrap. He was so dang cute, but I think his arm got a little pink from the sun.

We came home and had a lazy afternoon with friends and then enjoyed dinner out on the deck in the cool breeze. We then chatted for a while and killed time before the fireworks. Camilla was excited and talked about them all night. She said they sounded like popcorn.

Sun Showers

Yesterday afternoon our house was about a bazillion degrees. I had just finished baking bread, and our oven really heats up this old house. We walked a loaf of bread across the alley to the neighbors and visited. On our way home, I noticed some dark clouds rolling in. A part of me was excited for the rain to come and cool off our house, and come it did! As I was upstairs nursing Hyrum, I heard the thunder rolling in. It was perfect. I layed my head back on the rocker and closed my eyes and just listened to the storm roll in. Soon, the thunder was accompanied by the sound of raindrops. Hyrum fell asleep as we rocked and listened to the thunder and the rhythm of the rain as it fell. I went around the house and opened all of our windows to let in the fresh, cool air.

I looked out the front door at the rain pounding down on the sidewalk and the few rays of sunshine peeking through the dark clouds. Then, I called to Camilla to grab her shoes so we could go outside and cool off!!

As we were walking out the door, Camilla noticed I had no shoes on, and tried to convince me to wear some. I was too excited to run around in the wet grass in just my bare feet. Just off the front step she found an awesome puddle and proceeded to remove her shoes and splash in her bare feet. The cement was warm on our feet. Even the water in the puddles was absorbing heat from the sidewalk which made it so much more fun to play in them.

We let the grass tickle our toes as we danced and sang in the rain. Camilla was full of giggles as we turned and twirled and caught rain drops on our tongues. I was grateful to share the special moment with her and show her the pure joy that can be found in something as simple as dancing in the rain.

Two Months Old

Hyrum is two months old today! First diaper change of the day, he peed on himself and Mommy. It was quite the start! Later on in the morning we loaded up in the car and went for his two month immunizations. He weighs 12lbs 3 1/2oz and is now almost 24 inches long. He wasn't too happy to be poked by three needles today. Camilla sat well and watched. After, in the waiting room, she says, "Mommy, I get needles too? Please?" It was the please that I got a kick out of. Not very often someone asks for a needle!!

This afternoon Hyrum has been snuggling and snoozing. His poor little legs are sore and he's a sad little guy.

On a normal day, he loves playing on his baby einstein play mat. His hands move around and he can hit the hanging toys. He also loves listening to the music and talking to the star hanging from the top. He smiles and coos a lot more and loves when his sister is around for the most part. Today, her loud voice has been scaring him and making him cry. He seems to be a very sensitive little boy. I love watching his little personality develop. Last Sunday he was giving grins to all the ladies as they said hi to him at church. He's such a little charmer! He is also an amazing sleeper! He will sleep 5-7 hours at a time at night which makes me super happy! I still haven't seen him roll, but he made his way off a couch cushion that was on the floor for him to sleep on. I am looking forward to watching him grow more!

Elder Hudkins Reports

Today my little brother left on a plane to the MTC. A few of us were able to go and see him off at the airport this morning. It was a neat experience for us all! We love him and are going to miss him so so much!

We snapped some pictures while we were waiting with him in the airport.

Finally, a lady came and said it was time for him to board, which meant it was time to say good-bye.

Farewell little brother! We will miss you!

He then made his way to the customs door, and walked through without looking back.

He is looking forward to a two year mission full of wonderful experiences!

Farewell Little Brother

Playing pool for the last time with Cami Jean!

My little brother is leaving on Tuesday to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Santiago Chile. I am so proud of him! On Sunday we enjoyed a "farewell" of sorts gathered with friends and family. Arland spoke in Church about the importance of living worthy. It was a great talk. We enjoyed a BBQ with friends and family in the afternoon complete with laughter and a few games of pool (mostly just one game that "never ends, it just goes on and on my friends"). 

By far, my favorite part was being able to have a member of the Stake Presidency in my parent's home that night to set my little brother apart as a missionary. For the next two years he will be known as Elder Hudkins. What a special experience, one that I want to record in my own journal so that I'll never forget it. I'm pretty sure everyone's eyes were wet as we felt of the special spirit that night. There was no kleenex, so a roll of toilet paper was passed around the circle of chairs in the living room to blow noses and dry tears. What a special day. I am so proud of my little brother and the choices that he has made to bring him to this point in his life! I'm so excited to watch him learn and grow as he serves the Lord and the people of Chile. We will see him off on Tuesday at the airport.

Happy Anniversary

 

 3 years

2 kids

3 houses

1 really old car

Countless memories

Happy anniversary to my Mr. Stannix.

I'm so glad you're mine forever!