Grampa's Cling On

This week we went out to the Acreage for a little visit. One of my best friends was having her bridal shower on Saturday, so we went down a few days early to spend some time with Gramma and Grampa. Mr. Stannix figured the time away from all the construction noise in our neighborhood was much needed and told me to catch up on some sleep. The drive out was extra long because neither of the kiddos slept, but it was great to be home again! Camilla spent a morning out in the garage with Grampa. He set her up with a "marble game". She would send a little round ball through the tube, it would come out and roll back to her and then she would do it again. She was pretty proud of her little game, and it kept her busy while Grampa built his work bench.

 We spent a lot of time hanging out in the living room just chatting and watching the kids play. Hyrum loved talking on Gramma's old cell phone and the way he would put it up to his ear and grunt was hilarious. This picture captured so many things I love about Hyrum. His crossed legs, rolls, dimpled elbows, and funny pose are a few of my favorites. 

 Any time Grampa was near, he would practically jump out of my arms because he wanted to go see him so badly. He followed Grampa around the house and was constantly hanging onto his pant legs and following him around. It was pretty cute. This kid loves his Grampa! I'm guessing it's because Grampa always sneaks him yummy treats, like the good part of a freshly cut roast perhaps.

All in all, it was great to relax and be home. I spent an evening with my Gramma Purdon looking through Crochet magazines at different patterns. I cherish that time that we could spend together. The kiddos also got to spend some time with their Great Gramma and Grampa. Camilla would just head over there all on her own for little visits every once in a while. One time Gramma turned around to find her rocking in the chair with Grampa Purdon. What special memories.

 Tonight we had an awesome roast and veggies for dinner. Auntie Emma spoiled us with bakery doughnuts. Camilla kept sneaking them and would get caught with sugar on her face and in her hair. It was pretty funny. The drive home was scary because of another snow storm. I even saw a big ol' moose on the side of the road on my way home! We came home to clean house and a Daddy who was excited to see us all. After some missed snuggles and kisses from Daddy, we tucked the children into bed for the night.

Mister Adorable

I am in love with this little boy!

The Blinking Game

 Late, one spring evening, it was finally time to get the children ready for bed. I started feeding Hyrum his last bottle of the day on the couch. The house was in a crazy state, and it had just started to get dark outside. He was all snuggled up in his favorite blanket, safe in my arms. I stared off at the clock and reflected on the day. Suddenly I felt a warm, tiny hand touch my cheek. Hyrum was trying to get my attention. I looked down at him as he continued to enjoy his warm bottle. He rubbed his sweet little hand on my cheek and touched my nose and lips. We made eye contact and he gave me two purposeful blinks. His eyes closed so tightly that little wrinkles appeared and his long, dark eye lashes brushed against his baby cheeks. As he blinked he would let go of his bottle for a moment to grin. I blinked back, three times. He copied, blinking three times in a row. They were cute, slow blinks. It was almost as if he was saying, "I love you" with his eyes. Although his sister was trying to get my attention and the house was cluttered with toys, we were able to escape for a tender moment together snuggled on the couch. This is another one of those sweet moments that I never want to forget.

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!