In My Element

This time of year I often realize how comfortable I am just staying at home with my kiddos. I always feel so out of place and out of my element at big parties or work functions or social situations in general. Like anyone I do enjoy a good night out, or a good party with friends, but sometimes it just takes me a while to get out of my comfort zone and actually be myself.

I've always been the "shy" type, and labeled as "snobbish" for being my quiet self, but it's just who I am. Those who know me really well have seen me win at games such as Chubby Bunny (played with sour dino's instead of marshmallows), and giggle until I practically pee myself. Unless I know you really well, you probably won't see the confident, goofy me that is hiding inside.

I am however super comfortable and happy just being at home. It's my safety zone. I don't have huge desires to be anywhere else.

To me, being in my element is:
Making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for my baby girl.
Watching cookies baking in the oven
Planning which exciting meal I'm going to cook up next for my families enjoyment.
Giggling.
Playing at the park.
Listening to my little girl sing at the breakfast table.
Using a vocabulary that consists of "potty", "bubba", "sue sue" and other simple terms.
Stacks of folded laundry all over my couch.
A husband who comes home and greets me with a kiss.
Reading bed time stories to my little ones.
Kissing my babies all over their little faces anytime I want.
Tickling my children's bellies and listening to them giggle.
Hearing "I love you" from a child's lips.
Wrapping them in towel and snuggling them after a warm bath.
Cuddling up to Mr. Stannix on the couch to watch a movie or TV series that we're hooked on.
Pulling the children's covers up before I go to bed and watching them peacefully sleep.
Falling asleep in the arms of my Mr. Stannix.

Being in my element, or feeling comfortable, is being home with my family. There is no where else I'd rather be! I don't think any other job could top the joy I get from being a mother.

Meet the "Murfs"

Meet Camilla's "Murfs".

Last night in the middle of her bath she asked me,

"Mum, please grab my Murf for me, please?"

It took me a couple of minutes to figure out who she wanted.

These dudes have been her best friends. 

Today the Picasso-looking "Murf" is helping her perfect her painting.

 Every time she says "Murf" I almost break out into uncontrollable giggles.

I love that girl.

Christmas at the Mall

On Monday after Mr. Stannix's final exam we all went to the Mall to cruise around and finish up our Christmas Shopping. We went on Monday afternoon to purposely avoid traffic and crowds and it worked out pretty good. Parking was a breeze and the mall wasn't super crowded. We checked out the amazing decorations, watched a few kids cry on Santa's knee, and walked and walked and walked. The kids were so good for us!

As we cruised the second floor we were just in time for the sea lion show. They even had a grinch. We couldn't hear very well, but it was fun to watch still. Camilla talked about how they splashed into the water all day. 

We also checked out the Disney store. Mr. Stannix took Camilla into the little Castle and they cruised the store together so that she could stretch her legs. As I was wondering around a man that worked there came up to me and wanted to show me something. He waved this princess wand in front of a mirror and then asked me to step in front of it. I did and then it turned on with a picture of a princess and he goes, "It only works for a real princess". I laughed uncomfortably and then Mr. Stannix came to my rescue. phew. We found Hyrum's Christmas gift there and couldn't resist getting it. It's something he will use and play with for years to come and I can't wait for him to get his chubby fingers on it. 

We then went and hit up a photo booth. It's kind of been a Christmas tradition since we were married. For having two kids and a picture snapping every 5 seconds, they turned out pretty good I'd say. The second and third are my faves. 

The Nutcracker

On Friday night Mr. Stannix and I went on a date to the Nutcracker. He got us tickets a little while ago and we've been looking forward to it ever since. Neither of us had ever been to a professional ballet performance before. When we got the Jubilee it was decked out for Christmas with giant Christmas trees lit up in front of the windows on every level and hot chocolate venders all around. It was magical. 

We proceeded up a flight of stairs to the balcony, and then realized we were on balcony two. We laughed and then walked up another flight of stairs. Personally, I think "the second balcony" sounds way more romantic than "front row seating", not to mention we could see inside the orchestra pit (so cool).

We found our seats early and enjoyed snuggling on the second balcony and staring at the stage.

The performance was wonderful! The dresses were gorgeous and the dancers amazing. I would have went just to listen to the orchestra though. I sat the whole time missing my flute and being part of a band. The music was phenomenal. Mr. Stannix even enjoyed himself. He is not one of those husbands that has to be dragged to the ballet, and for that I am grateful. He actually thought it was pretty cool! He did however wish the fight scene was longer, and enjoyed that part the most. As for me? I liked the end of Act I. All I could do was stare at the ballerina's toes in amazement.

After the show we snapped a self portrait in front of a Christmas tree in the lobby. 

Then we braved the cold to the car and headed home to our sweet Children who we left in the care of my sister....

 They had fun! Thanks Auntie Emma!

Sick Days

Camilla woke up last night throwing up. On went the light, off went the bedding into the wash. Our whole house was awake at 4:30am and it was tough getting Hyrum back to sleep.  I gave up at 6:00am and brought him downstairs for a bottle and then we snuggled on the couch until 8:00am.

Camilla keeps saying she needs to puke and then coughs over her puke bucket. 

After breakfast she looked at me and said, "Thanks for getting my puke bucket mommy. Thanks for holding my hair for me. Thank-you." She's so sweet even though she's sick.

Daddy stayed home while I went to church. I had to play Organ and perform in a flute trio. Two hours of sleep just isn't enough for my brain to function properly on the Organ. It was a gong show. I put Hyrum down to sleep before I left to make things easy. Camilla and Daddy watched "Happy Feet". I walked in to Mr. Stannix saying, "shh". The girl was zonked on the couch. She had fallen asleep in her Daddy's arms an hour earlier and was still sleeping. Hyrum has been out for three hours and counting. It must have been the late night wake up call that has left us all 

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Gingerbread Cookie Making

Well, now that some of my hats are done, I have officially started Christmas baking. We did sugar cookies last week and I hid them away in the freezer to be iced later. Today we made Gingerbread boys and girls with Auntie Emma. Camilla helped me cut them out and Hyrum and I watched them bake in the oven. The excitement in his eyes was priceless. Camilla loved licking the icing bowl and eating smarties. She loved her Gingerbread man so much that she had to give it a hug. It was adorable! Auntie Emma did a fabulous job decorating, and taking snapshots of the day. All in all, a success!

**Pics by my sis**

A Typical Little Boy

Although this photo is a little blurry, I love it to pieces. 

Here's why...

I was cleaning up the kitchen today, and Hyrum needed to be fed. I made it up a quick bottle and when he was happily sucking away, I turned back to the sink to finish up the dishes. When I turned back around a few minutes later there was milk EVERYWHERE! Hyrum gave me an "I didn't do it" look and I burst out laughing. What I'd like to know is how his little fingers twisted the lid off. It's a typical little boy thing, to try to figure out how things work. I can just see his little wheels turning, "Hmm.. I wonder what this does?".

I love that kid.

In the cold of winter Camilla has now mastered getting warm by the heat vent. She sits on her plastic pink chair like a queen, snuggled up in a nice warm blankie to trap the heat. 

I also love that kid.

And, a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Dad who turned the big Five-Oh today.

We called him this morning, and it was all Camilla could talk about all day.

"It's Grampa's birthday today. Soon it'll be mine birthday too...."

We already celebrated last month when all the family was home. 

He was sure surprised! 

Camilla ate all the icing with a spoon when we were all

chatting in the living room. Gotta love her!

Things to Remember

As I watched my baby boy the other day, I realized that there are so many things I don't want to forget about him at this stage. Every time I look at him I am filled with so much love. 

He is now seven months old, and has two bottom teeth.

I never want to forget the way he tugs at my shirt, grabs onto my sleeve, and rubs his face all over my chest area when he sits beside me on the bench at church. He's so goofy.

I never want to forget the way his arms vibrate as he holds them out to the side whenever food is in sight.

His tongue always cracks me up. He's always licking his lips, rubbing his tongue on his bottom teeth or sticking it out.

I love how easy he is to put to sleep at night, and I extra love cuddling him. I enjoy when he snuggles into my arms. After a minute he turns his head to the side, closes his eyes, lets out a deep breath and nestles his nose into me and then becomes super heavy when he zonks out.

I never want to forget the way he shakes his head side to side like a crazy, with a huge grin on his face.

I adore how quickly he has picked up on humor. He will sometimes pretend to nibble on my shoulder to make me laugh. The other day in the car he was turning his head side to side like a crazy to make Camilla laugh, and then he would crack up laughing.

I never want to forget the sweet way he rubs his face into his blanket when he's tired. He has always been a fan of his blankies. He is such a snuggle bug.

He loves to be carried and can frequently be found propped on my hip with my arm around him. When he is here, he is happy and content. He will grab my hair and hold on tight, sometimes turning to snuggle his head on my shoulder for a quick rest.  Nothing is better than a baby willfully melting themselves into you.

I love watching him zone out when I wash his face in the bathroom after dinner. As soon as I start wiping the crusties from his nose, his eyes become super tired and he stares off into space while I finish cleaning him up. So hilarious!

I love his adorable little nose wrinkle. I get it when he flashes me those energetic baby blues along with his giant smile.  It pretty much melts my heart.

Spider Legs and Cookie Cutters

Today we made sugar cookies. After breakfast, I put on my apple apron that my Gramma made for me, and the girl and I went to work mixing. She sat on the counter and stirred each time I added something to the bowl. The dough chilled in the fridge while I put Hyrum down for his nap. Then I came back down and we got ready to roll and cut the dough. When I dumped my cutters out of the Ziploc, out came two furry dried up spider legs. Talk about getting the heebeegeebies. All I could do was wonder what happened to the rest of the spider and it's other six legs. I was totally grossed out (ask Mr. Stannix who was studying at the table). I grabbed some paper towel and cleaned them up. Then Camilla and I went on sorting through the cookie cutters to take out the Christmas ones. In the middle of the heart shaped cutter, much to my surprise, I came across the rest of the spider and the six furry missing legs. It totally sent chills up my spine. Good thing it was dead...

As Camilla and I stamped stars and gingerbread men out of the cookie dough, Hyrum sat in the laundry basket. I think I did about 145700 loads of laundry today. As soon as the first pan of cookies went into the oven, Daddy was already ahead of the game and had the timer set on his fancy new phone. We watched the cookies as they baked and Camilla was quick to the table when I was putting them on the cooling rack. I turned around to cut some more shapes and I heard, "Uh oh, I broke his arm". I turned around to a gingerbread man broken on the table. I guess she couldn't wait for them to cool. After what seemed like her 123534th cookie, she climbed into the basket next to her little brother. They played in there until I was done with the cookies. It was super cute. Out of all of us, Camilla gets the best belly laughs out of Mr. Hyrum.

Anyways, I am back to hat making. Three down, three to go. Pictures to come!

Our Very Own Swiffer WetJet

Hyrum can officially push himself backwards on his tummy. I do believe this is one of the first steps to crawling. As I did a round of dishes yesterday in the kitchen, he pushed himself backwards around the kitchen floor. When I took a closer look, I noticed the drool coming from his mouth. It made me think of the Swiffer WetJet we had when we were first married. You squirt the cleaner out onto the floor and then Swiffer over it. It made the floor extra shiny, but in the end I preferred the good old fashioned hands and knees method with a hot bucket of water and Lysol. This method ensures you scrub all the nooks and crannies.  As soon as he learns to push himself forward, the Swiffer WetJet might have some competition.