My Best Friend's Wedding

 Today one of my best friends got married! It was lightly spitting rain just as we pulled up to the park for the ceremony, but it stopped just in time. Everything was lovely and perfect, but I wouldn't expect anything less!

After the ceremony we had the afternoon to kill before the reception that evening, so we went to the Big Moo for some ice cream and then bummed around Sylvan. It was beautiful and sunny all afternoon.

 

Ice cream (or any kind of food really) make me one of the happiest pregnant ladies around! Mr. Stannix cat napped in these awesome chairs by the lake for the afternoon. He looked pretty handsome if I do say so myself! 

 The reception was at a lovely little Hall near Ponoka. It was so cute inside. They had breakfast for dinner which was pretty fun! Again, everything was planned out so well. The party favors and center pieces were darling and a lot of work went into it all. There was even a basket of hairspray, gum and odds and ends in the bathroom. We left the kiddos with Gramma and Grampa, so Mr. Stannix and I had a night out to ourselves. 

We even busted a few moves on the dance floor. It's been a while since those YSA dances! It was fun to see Mr. Stannix dance like old times. I love dancing with that guy. He led me around the dance floor, dipping and twirling me around. It was the best. I felt like the luckiest lady ever. 

 

Instead of a wedding cake there were these darling cupcakes! They were so pretty I almost didn't want to eat them, but they tasted delicious! 

Before we left I wanted to get a picture of the three of us together. We did a lot together growing up! It was fun to get together again for the evening!

 

 I am super happy for this lady!

Garbage Picker

Hyrum likes to throw things in the garbage.
Ya know, sippy cups, blocks, plastic food, cutlery...

I think I've washed 1928737 toys today.

Other fascinations as of late include the bathroom whenever the door gets left open.

 

Still Here

This sweet girl is still here!

Just in case you were wondering...

Precious Moments

Last night as Hyrum and I snuggled in the green chair before bed, I realized how precious these moments really are. As he drank his bottle he ran his fingers through my hair ever so gently, pausing every few minutes to rub his sleepy eyes with his chubby fist. My fingers touched the bottom of his little feet and I memorized every wrinkle and crease as they rubbed. I tickled his chubby baby toes, which made him let out a little giggle, causing milk to dribble from the side of his mouth. His blue eyes looked up at me and he continued to play with my hair in delight. I placed the palm of my hand against the bottom of his foot. His little feet had grown so much, and just barely fit in the palm of my hand. I curled my fingers around his toes and gently squeezed his soft, freshly bathed feet. He finished his bottle and exclaimed, "Dah!" which means done in Hyrum lingo. I then smooched his chubby little cheeks all over which made his eyes really tired. I stood up and walked the few steps to the crib. He put his sleepy head on my shoulder and wrapped his arms around my neck. With one last hug and a bunch more kisses, I tucked him in with his favorite blanket. He rubbed his eyes, and turned his head to the side and began to fall asleep. As I left his room last night I got the impression that these moments won't last forever. He's growing up and soon won't need these night time bottles. When that time comes I will definitely miss our time spent in the big green chair.

Happy 13 months little boy!

Cordless Phone

Ever since I've known Mr. Stannix he has never been able to sit still while he's talking on the phone. I'm pretty sure cordless phones were invented just for him. In our old basement suite there wasn't much room to pace and I would have to kindly remind him about our sleeping baby girl in the room just off the kitchen. Mr. Stannix and I had a good laugh this weekend when we discovered that Hyrum, like his Daddy, just can't sit still while talking on the phone.

The Snack that Smiles Back

This morning we are enjoying the warm sunshine pouring in through the balcony window. Oh how we've missed mornings like this! Camilla is building block towers while Hyrum enjoys some goldfish snacks. I just love watching his chubby fingers grasp the fish, and his chubby toes curl in delight. I've definitely had my fair share of goldfish snacks this morning, they are helping me keep my breakfast down and staving off the nausea.  And just before bed, we'll pick up toys and I'll vacuum the fish crumbs in my living room and the stray fish under the couch (and every where else).

Gentle and Kind

Tonight after dinner we all went upstairs for jammie time. Both the kiddos looked like they were going to fall asleep at the table, so an early bed time was in order. Camilla picked out her own jammies and started dressing herself. I changed Hyrum's diaper and then put him on Camilla's bed so I could get him into his jammies. As he lay on the bed he wiggled and squirmed and tried to get away with a big grin on his face. He loves playing and bouncing on the big bed. After some tickling and giggling, I finally got his zipper done up and he was free! He started picking up Camilla's dolls and hugging and kissing them. Then he moved to Julius, his favorite orange bear, and gave him a big squeeze. I smiled as I watched him and thought about what kind of a father he might be one day. It's important to me that my little boys learn to be gentle and kind. As I watched him with Camilla's babies I was glad to see the gentleness and love in his eyes.  I became excited for the father he will one day grow up to be. I am very grateful for the example that he has to follow in his own father.

Happiness Is

Happiness is...

Waffles for breakfast

Making play dough first thing in the morning to keep away the rainy day blues

Dancing in the rain with the big red umbrella

Hyrum eating cheese (and who knows what else) off the kitchen floor mid morning

Listening to Camilla giggle as I chase her up the stairs for nap time

Tickle wars with Camilla in the big green chair upstairs

Long afternoon naps

Slobbery, open mouthed kisses, willingly given

Hyrum toddling around the house on his chubby little legs
with his tongue stuck out for extra balance

Hot bread smothered in butter and honey on a chilly afternoon

Because I do the Packing

Since I got to pack the clothes for the weekend, I couldn't resist doing a little matching for Sunday.

It's so hard to believe how big our kids are getting!

Camilla got to wear her special dress that Gramma and Grampa brought back from their cruise last year. 

It finally fits and I think it's darling on her. 

We managed to get through the day without any spills or stains.

It was a miracle.

 

 And I couldn't resist a picture of my tiny bump. 

I read somewhere that now baby can grasp, squint, frown, and grimace.

I'm super excited to start feeling a little movement in the next few weeks!

(14 weeks)

We spent our Sunday evening at the farm of some family friends that I grew up with.

They put on an awesome BBQ and we all enjoyed the warm weather outside.

Camilla had fun on the trampoline and swing set.

Hyrum enjoyed giggling at the puppies and petting them.

We decided to take the gravel road on the way home and stopped to watch three deer jump the fence.

As we slowed to make a turn later on in our drive we stopped to watch a pair of geese and their sweet yellow goslings make their way to a near by pond. 

It was such a peaceful, relaxing night.

The Apple Orchard

Being that it's the May Long Weekend, and we had no plans, we made a last minute desicion to come hang out at the Acreage for the weekend. Mr. Stannix did up all of the dishes Thursday night, I cleaned, did laundry and packed up on Friday and we arrived Friday night. Grampa was out tilling the garden and I sent Camilla up to say hi. So many memories from my childhood on the farm were brought back. When I was little I would always go out with my dad when he tilled the garden. As the fresh, smooth dirt was brought to the surface I would follow behind him, being sure to stay in his footsteps. The cool dirt that was brought to the surface always felt good between my bare toes. I'm sure my feet were just black by the end of the night. Anyways, soon Grampa and Camilla made there way back to the house from the orchard. After we put the children to bed downstairs we played some great games of Rook and enjoyed visiting.

Saturday was a beautiful day! Camilla helped Grampa drain and refill the front pond. While she was out with Grampa, Hyrum enjoyed digging in Gramma's cupboards and drawers. The pots and pans became his favorite. He spent the morning with his tongue sticking out concentrating. Such a Hyrum thing to do.

When afternoon rolled around and Mr. Stannix had finished studying we decided to take a walk around the acreage as a family. The sun was out and there was a little bit of a breeze. We walked around the garden and up to the apple orchard. Hyrum of course wanted Daddy to hoist him up to touch all of the trees and check out the new leaves.

Eventually we found a nice spot of ground and just relaxed. There was no noise except for a few vehicals on the highway and the frogs in the neighbours pond. Our minds totally relaxed and it was nice not to think of anything. We just sat and enjoyed watching the children. Camilla kicked off her boots and ran around bare foot (she's definitely my daughter). She would stick out her arms as she ran and pretend to fly. She loved the openness of the orchard.

Daddy and I sat on the grass and tried to convince Hyrum that touching the grass isn't really all that bad. Camilla got tired and came in for a cuddle on my lap. As we sat there with the breeze blowing through our hair, we noticed a lady bug crawling up a blade of grass. Camilla let it crawl up and down her arm and all over her little fingers. All the while Hyrum was reaching over her shoulder trying to grab it and eat it. Finally we let it go back home to the grass. Then Camilla ran around a bit more. As she would jump on her Daddy his strong arms would lift her high into the air and she could pretend she was flying. Both of them would break out in giggles and laughter. It was music to my ears. I love hearing my family happy.

After some delicious barbequed hamburgers, we took off to spend the evening at the Lake. The sun was low and cast a nice glow over the dock. The children enjoyed throwing rocks and splashing.  Even the big kids enjoyed skipping rocks and seeing who could get the most skips at a time. I just loved sitting back and watching it all.

Camilla found a stick and her and Grampa sat on the edge of the dock and went "fishing". Just as we were on our way back to the car, Camilla decided to take one last walk to the lake edge and returned with her pantlegs soaking wet. She just couldn't resist. It reminded me of family vacation last year in BC. That girl really does love splashing and playing in water.

We ended the night with Dilly Bars from DQ. I had just finished bathing the children when Daddy and Grampa got home with them, so Camilla ate hers wrapped in just a towel, on the rocking chair cushion. It doesn't get much better than that. After night prayers our two little sleepy heads closed their eyes before I even finished tucking them in. All the fun and fresh air is so good for them!

Then the adults engaged in another game of Rook. We did couples vs. couples this time. It was a lot of fun! After game two we realized how late it was and said our good-nights.