Easter Sunday

 Last night we decorated some eggs. I hard boiled A LOT of eggs. Eight came out with cracks and seven survived. Learned my lesson for next year. Camilla had fun decorating eggs and wanted one pink and one blue. Daddy helped her out this year. Then she colored them up. It was a lot of fun. We were all looking forward to the egg champ. 

This morning Mr. Stannix and I were both awake pretty early, just laying in bed wondering when the kids would wake up. It was unusual for no one to be awake at 7:15am. Finally we had to wake them up. I gently rubbed Camilla's arm and she rolled over and whispered, "I'm sleeping, Mamma".  As soon as Hyrum heard the creaky floors he immediately awoke with excited grunts and giggles. A few minutes later Camilla woke up and jumped out of bed to see what the Easter Bunny brought. 

 Then it was time to get ready and run off to early morning church! Camilla pretty much had candy for breakfast and a little bit of cereal with some convincing. There were some fabulous Easter talks and it was great to be able to ponder the atonement and the real meaning of Easter. Hyrum practiced his standing all through Relief Society. He was so proud of himself and continued to practice when he got home. We are super excited for him. He would applaud himself after he fell down. When we got home my sis snapped a quick family picture for us on the back deck.

 Once afternoon naps were had, we did the egg hunt. I think Auntie Emma wins the award for most creative with her M&M guys. We enjoyed dinner and time with friends and then did our traditional egg champ.

Not only were the M&M's very stylish, but Emma was the champ this year! Camilla did pretty good with her little eggs and was able to champ a couple of people before they smashed.  

It was super fun to relax and enjoy with friends!

Birthday Celebrations

Today I turned 23. My sister was up for the weekend and joined in on the celebrations. Mr. Stannix spoiled me today. When I woke up and came downstairs, he sent me back up for his phone so he could check something. Soon him and the kids came up to the bed room each with a little present in hand. I got spoiled with my favorite lip gloss from the body shop, lotion for my dry hands, and a journal with a special note written in the front to record my memories for this next year. 

For Breakfast Mr. Stannix popped me in a bagel and smothered it with melted butter, just the way I like it. After Hyrum's morning nap we went for lunch and then checked out the Muttart for the afternoon. What a fabulous place! It smelled amazing with all the flowers! Camilla had fun running around and going up and down the stairs.

 Isn't Mr. Stannix handsome? I think so. He sure spoiled me today.

After we had our fill we came back home and all had naps for part of the afternoon and then Mr. Stannix ordered in Chinese for dinner (my favorite). We enjoyed dinner, egg decorating, presents from my sis, and cake and then we were all tuckered out and ready for bed. It was a day well spent. Emma got me a gift certificate to get my hair cut. I am super excited! I feel like the luckiest lady in the world. Seriously, so blessed. It was wonderful to share my special day with my family!

 Here's to another year!

Boys and Their Toys

This last weekend we took in Conference at my Grampa's place. They had fun cars to play with and Hyrum found a nice green one and started instinctively pushing it around the floor. It amazes me how boys play so much different than girls. It was funny that he knew what to do with the little toy car. It kept him busy for quite a while! The floor was perfect to drive cars on. He explored Grampa's whole house with his green car under hand, scooting and pushing. After a while he even started vibrating his lips to make a car noise while he scooted. He even got fancy and started flipping the car up while he drove. He is definitely a boy! It was fun to watch him learn and explore!

Winter Returns

Last night I listened to the wind blow and the tree outside hit against our roof. When I went downstairs to get a drink of water I peeked outside. The orange glow from the streetlights hit each and every snow flake coming down, casting a glow of orange over the entire neighborhood. In just a few short hours, winter had returned. Hyrum woke up before six this morning. After a bottle we snoozed together on the couch. I woke up to a smiley boy and then I felt something warm on my stomach. He hasn't peed on me since he was like, a newborn! Yuck. I opened the curtains and then went to get out of my now wet Jammies. We are a little short on clean clothes, so I may have had to put on a dirty shirt. As I peeked out my upstairs window, I was still surprised to see the amount of snow we got over night. The trees were covered in the sticky snow and they bent beneath the weight. I had a lot of things to do today, and wasn't liking the wet, slushy roads I was seeing.

To Do:

Gas up (in case I get stuck in the snow)

Get children weighed and measured for Passport applications

 Stand in line at Passport Canada

Snuggle my little man to sleep

Make bagels

Bake cookies with Camilla

Decide what to make for dinner

After Mr. Stannix left for work I packed the diaper bag with snacks and bottles, bundled up the children and broke trail to the car. As I belted in Hyrum I could hear Camilla, standing on the sidewalk, crying dramatically, "This is not fun, Mommy. This is NO fun!". The snow was over her boots and she felt stranded by the front step. I carried her to the car, warmed it up and wiped the snow off. The snow was so heavy that my arms literally hurt from pushing it off the top of the car. There was at least 30 cm up there! Then I got in and put it in reverse. It backed out into the snow covered alley lickity split. I looked out my window at the crater in the snow where the car was once parked. I love our car. My first thought was to go fuel up because we were close to empty. The last thing I wanted to do was get stuck and run out of gas.

I got the children weighed and measured, finished their applications and we were on our way. I almost drowned driving through a few puddles on my way and lane changing was awful. We finally made it and I parked in the parkade downtown. It was hot and humid from all of the wet vehicles. I secured Hyrum in the snuggly and belted Camilla into the stroller. I think we were in and out in under an hour. It was awesome. The kids photo's didn't even get rejected (which they typically do). Even though it was such a short time Camilla pretty much exhausted the snack selection and Hyrum downed a bottle. As we were finishing up, Camilla got super antsy. Boots and socks were being thrown from the stroller and she really wanted to get out. She did good for the most part though. 

We made our way home safely and I parked in the garage. Spring is not going to trick me any more. After shoveling that heavy, wet snow I will be parking in the garage until Summer hits! I lugged both children to the front steps and reached for my keys, but they weren't there. I left them in the ignition and locked the garage door. This would be the second time in one week that I would have to break in to the house. Then I remembered that I had removed the house key to unlock the garage and it was in my pocket. Hooray! I wasn't looking forward to crawling through a window again.

I made up some dough for bagels and then snuggled Hyrum to sleep. The poor kid was so overtired, there was no way he was going to fall asleep on his own today. I definitely didn't mind the extra cuddles. While he is snoozing, Camilla and I are off to make a giant batch of cookies!

Black Socks

Dear Daddy,
I helped Mum do laundry yesterday. She gave me your socks to match. So I did what I do best and folded each of your black socks carefully in half and then put them in your drawer. Hope you had fun finding a match this morning!

Love,
Camilla

Evolution

  This kid makes me laugh every day! I love his optimistic, care-free attitude. He's always smiling and giggling at something. Yesterday it was these nifty red glasses.

Yesterday he also started crawling around the house on his hands and feet. It's like a half walk, half crawl. He is evolving from baby to boy and will be on those chubby feet of his in no time!  

His belly laughs are still my favorite. He started mimicking his sister yesterday and they were both laughing really hard at each other. Priceless fun. Camilla has been playing pretty good with him lately and gives him gentle hugs and kisses and will even rub his back! She's a great big sister. It's been fun watching their relationship grow and develop.

A Keepsake

 I was so excited for my parents to come up this weekend! My mum had finished hand stitching an adorable little quilt for Hyrum to love and enjoy and I couldn't wait to see the finished product.

Each stitch was lovingly and patiently stitched with my Mum's very own hands. It amazes me how perfect each and every white stitch looks in comparison with the other. Many hours of love were put into this quilt. She is pretty talented!

 

Hyrum loves the colors. I am sure this quilt will be special to him. What a great keepsake from his Gramma Hudkins!

He seems pretty proud of it already!

Thanks Gramma! We love you!

Spring is in the Air

Yesterday afternoon we went to run some errands. We drove around the city with our windows down taking in the fresh spring air. As we drove Camilla said, "The wind is blowing our hair! Isn't it a beautiful day Mum?" It was indeed a beautiful day. The sky was blue and the birds were singing. 

After we had finished all of our errands we made our way home. When we turned down our tree lined street Camilla said, "I love the trees, Mum. They're so big and strong. They look kind of like broccolies". It was pretty cute. 

This morning after breakfast we took advantage of the blue sky and sunshine once again. We spent a lot of the morning out on the deck blowing bubbles. We had a lot of fun! Camilla loves blowing bubbles and would probably do it all day! She snuck out onto the deck to blow some more bubbles when I went to put Hyrum for his nap this morning. I came down to a barefoot blonde sitting on the deck trying to work the bubble wand. It was a pretty cute sight to see.

Camilla loved spending the morning dancing around the deck catching and popping bubbles.

 Hyrum enjoyed his swing again and popping bubbles.

 He has a pretty nice scrape on his head from swinging at the park yesterday. 

 He's such a smiley guy! He is officially 11 months old yesterday!

 Camilla was in heaven all morning. Hyrum was all boy and kept making a run for the edges of the deck. He kept Mommy on her toes that's for sure!

I can't believe this pretty girl will be 3 years old this summer!

We will be spending our weekend enjoying General Conference with Gramma and Grampa. I am super excited to listen to our Prophet speak. I love President Monson. 

 

Chocolatey Goodness

Did I ever tell you about the time we ate pudding like we were in third grade? 

It was pretty awesome...

Happy Days Ahead

It is just passed 6:00 am when I hear Hyrum's tiny voice in his crib. The sun is not quite up yet, and the room is still lit by the streetlights outside.  Buses are heard rushing down the street in timed intervals and the birds are still sleeping. This has been my morning for the passed couple of weeks. It takes me a few minutes to fully wake myself up. I make my way to the top of the stairs and rest for a second until my feet finally wake. I go into the dimly lit room, squinting my eyes to see the excited little body all tangled up in his blankets. He greets me with a smile as his legs kick with glee. This little boy is not one to waste the day away. He gets up even before the sun! We go down the creaky stairs and heat up a morning bottle. Then we snuggle on the couch beneath the colorful blanket that my Gramma crocheted for me. I am not quite as happy as Hyrum is to be out of my warm bed. Just as he starts snuggling in we are joined by his big sister who is up just as the sun starts peeking over the roof tops. I greeted her with a good morning through gritted teeth. I did not feel like it was a good morning. Hyrum greeted his sister with big smiles and excited giggles and "ooooh's". I let him down to play on the floor with her. The longer I watched them play and giggle together the more it lightened my mood. Soon Daddy's shaver was heard in the bathroom and both kids booked it down the hallway for a "shave".  I stayed cozy on the couch and decided that instead of being the grumpy Mommy they woke up to, I would have to change my attitude. Proper good mornings were given with hugs and kisses and then we all went to the kitchen for a morning bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios (the girl's favorite).  Daddy left quickly to catch his bus after breakfast and then we began our day right with a little story from the children's Book of Mormon and a family prayer. 

I think I've come to accept the fact that Hyrum is not one to sleep in. As I watched them play all morning I couldn't help but feel gratitude. I don't like waking up at 6:00am, but I do love waking up to the sleepy smiles that I get from my children. I am so thankful that they wake up each morning excited for a new day. I feel blessed to be showered in snuggles, kisses and hugs each and every morning. I am grateful for a husband to takes time in his morning routine to brush his teeth with Camilla and give them both a "shave". I am grateful for happy kids who are healthy and full of energy each day. There's not much more that a girl could ask for.