All Clean Now

Little children are amazing. If we were all like little children, this world would be an amazing place. They are so open, honest, care-free, and full of love. They are also oh so forgiving. Last night around bath time, things got a little hairy around here. I bathed both kids at once as per usual. I took Hyrum out and upstairs to dress him and miss Camilla snuck out of the tub and ran around the house getting water everywhere. Juggling two kids is never fun, but juggling them both when they are tired and cranky is not my favorite thing. Camilla was not cooperating and I was super running low on patience. I picked up the toys in the tub fuming with frustration, throwing them into the bucket, and then popped the plug out and lifted her out onto the mat. I grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her to dry her off. She looked up at me with her sparkly blue eyes and exclaimed, "All clean now!!" My heart melted, and all of those feelings of frustration and anger disappeared as I lifted my soggy little girl up for a hug. She wrapped her tiny arms around my neck, not withholding anything, and gave me the biggest squeeze. I whispered in her ear, "Yes, you are all clean now". It amazes me how quick they are to forgive and how they can love you without holding anything back. It also made me think of the atonement and how grateful I am that we can be forgiven and made clean again. I love the lessons my two year old teaches me each day. 

Monsters

Camilla is loving her new birthday toy. Yesterday she ran in to me with a pleased look on her face and said, "Look, Mum, I drawed a monster!!" It was pretty scary looking with all of the scribbles. I asked her to point out its nose, eyes etc. And she happily did. Then I asked her, "What's the monster's name?" She looked up at me and said, "Monster" like she couldn't believe I had to ask. She has drawn me a lot more monsters today, and they all have the same name, "Monster". She will bring me the toy and show me her art work and I will ask, "What's that?" and she will whisper, "A monster!!". I think she's watched a little too much Monsters Inc. Then she gave the toy to me and said, "You draw-a monster too, Mum". So I did. It was almost a perfect replica of Mike Wazowski, except for maybe the legs. I showed it to her and asked, "Who's that?" and she replied, "Monster". Guess I have to work on my art skills a little more!! I think she's all done drawing monsters for the day. Now it's on to block towers and some lunch!!

Camilla is Two

Dearest Camilla,

Today you turn two! I can't believe how fast these two years have gone by. I still remember two years ago, shortly after 10:00am when we welcomed you into this world. Daddy got to cuddle you first. You felt safe in his arms and just looked up intently at him. We were so excited that you were our little girl! It's crazy to think how much you have changed in such a short time. The first week that you were home, we slept on the couch almost every night. You liked to be held and snuggled, and I liked having you close to me.

You have grown up so much since that day. You are now full of life and love! You are a great little helper and always see the needs of others at such a young age. You love to share and make others happy. You are so good at taking care of your little brother and always bring me diapers and wipes when I need them, sometimes without even being asked. You love to set the table for dinner and will often ask for a fork a few hours before dinner is even ready. You love to swing at the park and I can never seem to push you high enough for your liking. You have a very daring side to you and love adventure and fun. You also have a very loving side. You will spontaneously wrap your arms around our necks and whisper "I love you" in our ears. It is so special! Your favorite song is "I am a Child of God" and you always ask me to play it for you. When you sing it to Hyrum, he smiles and sometimes falls asleep. You are everything we could have dreamed of! We love you so much! Happy second birthday my girl!

Birthday Bash Weekend

This weekend we celebrated Camilla's birthday. The car trip out was a lot of fun, Hyrum was full of smiles for the last half of the long drive.

 Saturday was Camilla's party day. She got to wear a pretty dress and we took loads of pictures to document the day. My sister did a mini photo shoot with the girly and got some adorable shots of her in her party dress!  She officially turns two on the 11th! When we ask her how old she is she replies, "I'm free" without missing a beat. We say, "No, you're not three, you're two". To which she replies, "No, I'm free". We can't believe how fast time has gone! We are still in love with our spunky, fun loving, giggly little girl!



Sneak Peek

Here's a sneek peek at our family pictures taken by my very own talented sister. We figured using the camera on timer like we always do would be tricky with two kids, not to mention my sister has an amazing camera and some serious talent!! We went to some fun locations for family pictures, including railway tracks! It was a windy day, but we had a lot of fun! More pictures to come!!



We celebrated Camilla's second birthday at the Acreage with our family complete with cake and a party dress! She was also lucky enough to have a photo shoot with her Auntie Emma. More pictures from the party to come!!

Bright and Early

I seriously can't get enough of this kid!! This morning we were up super early. We made and ate a big breakfast of pancakes, eggs and a fruit smoothie. Then we had to jump in the car and drive Daddy to his big exam. The kiddos both stayed in their Pj's. I tossed a little jacket on Camilla to keep the pouring rain off her little arms and she decided she needed a hat too. Then I went up and got Hyrum from his crib and gently buckled him into his little seat, still half asleep. We quickly piled into the car so we wouldn't get too wet and drove Daddy to his exam in the downpour. He will be writing for 4 whole hours. It's the biggest, most intense exam that he has had to write so far. We are wishing him good luck on his CASB Mod 1 exam!! Right now we are at home packing and cleaning and getting ready to take a trip to the Acreage to celebrate Camilla's 2nd birthday with family! Here's hoping this dreary weather clears up! I have big plans for family pictures this weekend. I picked our outfits last night and I'm excited!!

Chubby Cheeks

 

 

Dear Mr. Hyrum,

I just love your chubby cheeks!

 xoxo

Mum

Thoughts on Nurturing

nur-ture

[nur-cher]

-Verb

1. to feed and protect

2. to support and encourage, as during the period of training or development; foster

3. to bring up; train; educate

I read a quote last week, and liked it so much that I wrote it down and it's been sitting by the computer and on my mind ever since. As Camilla approaches the two year old stage, a few things have become challenging. I often find myself running out of patience. She's at the "Mine" stage, where everything is "Mine". "Mine leg" "Mine book" etc. She is also wanting to be more independent and use her agency. So, I've been thinking a lot lately about ways to help me be more patient, ways to help me be more loving, ways to discipline, and ways to distract when we have tantrums. As I ponder all of these things, this quote is always in the back of my mind...

"When women nurture as Christ nurtured, a power of peace can descend to guide when help is needed."

~Julie B. Beck

Nurturing is a big job! Although I know what the general definition of nurturing is, I looked it up just to get more insight (see above). What a special, sacred role we as women have been given. We get to feed our children physically and nurture their little bodies. We get to protect them from the worldly influences around them by teaching them and providing a home for them. We get to support and encourage them as they learn who they are and embrace life. We get to foster and help them build their talents. We get to bring them up to be members of society. It is our job to train and educate them and teach them values. I am so glad I have my Mr. Stannix to help me with this as we raise our children together!

For this week, my mission has been to learn/think about how Christ nurtured and try to bring myself up to that level. I think this quote is beautiful and a great reminder to me about the power of peace that we, as mothers, are entitled to receive to help us in times of need. Over these past couple of weeks, I have learned to recognize this power as prayers for help were said and answers given. As I've tried to put this quote into practice, there has definitely been an increase of peace in our home. I think this quote will be added to my collection of fridge quotes.

Milk and Cookies

A few nights ago, after dinner, we decided to bake some cookies for an evening snack. Camilla finally learned the art of dipping cookies in milk. The first pan out of the oven disappeared super quickly. The second pan got half eaten, and then the rest were for the cookie jar. Camilla likes to finish half of a cookie and then grab a new one. I think because we eat ours so fast and grab another, she thinks she needs another one at the same time. It was fun to sit around the table enjoying milk and cookies while Camilla chatted us up about her day.

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...