Baby in a Bow Tie

When an opportunity presents itself to dress up, I just can't resist. 

One of my favorite parts about Sunday is my boys in little white shirts.

Joseph sure looked classy today!

After Hyrum went to bed Joseph and Camilla got the giggles. 

I, of course, couldn't resist snapping a picture.

A-dorable.

Sweet Mango

Last week in passing I mentioned to Mike that I needed a night out. His response was, "How about Saturday?" Then he handed me his cell phone and told me to text Jessica. Tonight was the night and we went out to dinner sans kiddos. I think the last time the two of us were together without our littles was when we went to Josh Groban. Hyrum was just a baby, that was a long time ago. Up until we got in the car we really had no idea what we were doing, just that we were doing something without little people competing for our attention. We ended up going not too far from home and hitting up the Sweet Mango for dinner. It was great to relax and visit with her. She's someone I've always admired and enjoy spending time with. Since dinner only took an hour and I knew I still had another couple hours before I had to go home and feed Joe, we stopped for a steamer on the way home and visited some more. I think we've decided to try and make this a monthly occurrence.

The menfolk held down the fort here with four kids under four. They did a great job. I think the kiddos tuckered them out a wee bit. Hopefully they still have enough energy for their hockey game tonight! When the house settled down a bit I bathed Joseph while Camilla ate up the rest of my dinner. When I went up to grab a new sleeper and onsie my attention was drawn to Hyrum soundly sleeping in his bed. He looked like such a big boy in his little toddler bed. His long eye lashes touched his soft little cheeks and his breathing was heavy. His blonde hair was all messy like little boys hair should be and his face was fresh and clean thanks to Daddy. It seemed he had grown up in just the few short hours I was away. It's always hard for me to leave, but I come back appreciating my children a whole lot more than I might have three hours earlier. My heart filled to the brim with love for my big boy sleeping away. I smooched him on the cheek and then headed down to dress Joseph, hoping he hadn't peed all over everything while I was gone. As I dressed him I overheard Camilla in the kitchen discussing hockey strategies with the boys, "I'll be on the right and you just pass the puck, okay?"

Camilla went to bed just as the boys left for hockey. And now as I type Joseph is filling his diaper up to his arm pits. Gotta love a kid who only dirties his diaper every other day. Daddy really lucked out tonight! In all seriousness though, I'm grateful to have a husband who recognizes my needs and volunteers to do whatever I need him to at the time.

The Children's Room

This February marks two years for us in this old little house. Time has gone by so quickly and there is so many things about this house that I've grown fond of. We are so lucky to have good friends who thought of us when they moved out. Mr. Stannix and I often talk about how lucky we are to experience this phase of life together, saving money, starting our family and kick-starting a career. We may not be very wealthy in the worlds eyes, but in my eyes our life couldn't be more rich. I love our cozy living room which is home to my piano that Mr. Stannix bought me for my birthday a few years back. I love our tiny kitchen that has allowed us so many sweet dinner time conversations and prayers together as a family.  I love our tiny office/toy room that provides a constant fun and learning environment for my children. I love our back deck where so many Summer memories and BBQ's  have been enjoyed. I love our upstairs bedroom where my bed is covered by the quilt that my Mum hand quilted for our wedding. And lastly, I love our children's room where the three of them lay their sweet little heads to bed at night. There is so many little things about that room that I don't want to forget.

I consider it a blessing that our children have the opportunity to share a room. So many things are learned and so many memories are made when siblings share a room. Each child has their own little corner of the room to themselves, and it works out great! When you first walk into the room Camilla's bed is the first thing you'll see along with her special pictures of the Savior and the Temple. Usually she makes her bed in the morning all on her own and "cleans" her room and organizes all of the things on the dresser. On the other side of the window you will find Hyrum's toddler bed tucked in the corner between two dressers. 

On Hyrum's bed you will always find the two things that he loves most. One is his teddy bear "Julius" named so appropriately by Daddy (orange julius). The other is his soft blanky given to him by Great-Gramma Hudkins. If it's not on his bed, it's usually with him (I think he had it when I took this picture). Above his bed hangs one of my favorite pictures of the Savior that I got for Christmas the year before I left home. I love the cozy feeling created by the overload of furniture and the slanted ceilings. It's not too over crowded though, just comfortable. The curtains and bed spread given to us by Nana also boost the comfort factor and I love the playful atmosphere they create. I have grown quite fond of the old green dresser that was left here when we came. I love the antique look it adds to the room with it's green color and silver nobs. Atop it lives the space heater to warm up the room on cold Winter nights.

The hardwood floors are worn and old and creak when walked on. After a year or so of living here I finally figured out where most of the bad spots were and learned to avoid them when putting a sleeping baby to bed. Directly across from the window is the brick chimney from the gas stove in the kitchen. It's quite noticeable since it was painted purple by previous tenants, but it adds character to the room. Beside the chimney is a tiny closet where Camilla's dresses and Hyrum's Sunday clothes hang. Above it is a single shelf filled with the children's books to read to them at bed time.  In the corner beside the closet sits the big green chair. Many a night has been spent in the big green chair cuddling, nursing and reading stories. We've had it since moving to the city and it has been great for all three of our babies. When it's story time Joe and I sit in the seat and one kid gets an arm each to look over the book. Sometimes though, we all snuggle up in Camilla's bed to read. I love when it's my turn to put them to sleep at night because it means that I get to kneel with each of them at their bedside and listen to them offer a sweet prayer.

Joseph's crib sits nice and snug with walls on three sides just inside the door, at the bottom of Camilla's bed. I love this little apartment sized crib that we picked up just before Camilla arrived. I am convinced the room wouldn't fit three if we had a regular sized crib. Even though the bumper pads are a little big, I love their natural colors and the old winnie the pooh bear pattern. They match the crib perfectly. Above the crib hangs a plaque from my Mum with the poem "Babies Don't Keep". Since moving the crib here I've had to learn to maneuver a whole new set of creaks in the floor. As I place Joe in his crib I have to almost straddle a noisy spot just in front of the crib. And every time I do, I smile to myself. Life couldn't be any better in our cozy little home.

Musical Beds

Some people play musical chairs. Well, we play musical beds. Last night I tucked the littles in and they all went to bed super easy! I only had to tell Hyrum to go back to bed once. After my friend's little lady got picked up, I went back upstairs to check on Camilla and give her a good night hug. I felt around her bed in the dark trying to find her but had no luck. I called her in a whisper and she quickly jumped out of my bed, "here I am Mommy!". She told me she didn't like her room because it was too dark, so I let her fall asleep in our bed. After Mr. Stannix returned home from scouts he went back to work at the kitchen table until really late. I finally got Joe to bed at 11:00pm after four tries. I went up to bed shortly after and snuggled up next to Camilla who had made our bed all nice and warm. Mr. Stannix came to bed and hour or so later and not long after he hit the pillow Hyrum appeared at our bedside. I climbed over Camilla and scooped him up. He rested his head on my shoulder while I carried him and his favorite blanket back to bed. If only our double was big enough for four, it was already crowded with three. I jumped into Camilla's bed and fell back to sleep almost instantly. When Joseph woke me up for his next feeding I peeked at the clock which read 4:00am. Is anyone else calculating this? I got almost five whole hours of sleep! I think the little man has hit a growth spurt. I'm crossing my fingers that it continues. I woke up around 7:00am with both munchkins snuggled in on either side of me in Camilla's bed. And when they couldn't contain their giggles any longer (bless their hearts for trying) we crept down the stairs for a bowl of cheerios. Joseph slept until almost 8:00am. I didn't think it was possible to love him any more, but he definitely got some extra loves for his awesome sleeping performance last night. I don't even care that the first thing he did when he woke up was to fill his diaper to the brim.

The rest of the day was spent nursing, playing with children, baking my very favorite chocolate chip cookies, catching up on dishes and waiting for Telus to come and fix our silly telephone (turns out it was a shorted wire downstairs). Sadly I overcooked the very last pan of cookies. It seems I do that to at least one pan in every batch.

After nursing Joseph in the late afternoon he slept  across my lap while I gently trimmed his fingernails. When I was done those he was still fast asleep so I slowly unbuttoned his white sleeper and slipped his long feet out. I paused to admire his chubby toes before I gently clipped them too. It was nice to take care of that. I love me a clean baby in white.

Before I knew it the children were getting antsy, running up and down the hallway, chasing each other and screaming. I put the upside-down nacho bake in the oven to melt the cheese and then called the crew for dinner. When Daddy e-mailed me saying he would still be another couple of hours I cranked the tunes and cleaned the kitchen while my kiddos sat at the table for what seemed like an eternity picking at their dinner. I think my favorite was Camilla resting her head on her elbows or balancing her spoon on her dish out of boredom. 

I swept my kitchen floor to this tune.  It always puts me in a bouncy, fun mood. I especially love the old-school dancing in the video. When Hyrum was tired of looking at his food, he dumped it onto the floor. I had a lot to sweep. When I finished I pulled out his chair to unbuckle him and discovered he had a lap full of food. So much for sweeping...

And right now as I write, the children are both tucked into their beds. I'm sure Hyrum fell asleep in two minutes flat. He was one tired boy. Camilla wasn't far behind. Joseph is still hanging out on my lap and there's no sign of Daddy yet. I think it's time to whip out a chocolate bar and listen to some more tunes while I wait for Mr. Stannix to come home.

Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 Cup Butter (melted)

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup White Sugar

2 Eggs

2 Tsp Vanilla

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Baking soda

2 Cups Flour

1 Cup Oatmeal

MILK Chocolate chips

Dash of Nutmeg & Cinnamon 

350 for 8 minutes

I promise you won't be disappointed!

La-Boo

A few days ago Hyrum started saying 'I love you' without being prompted. He's such a sweet boy. 

At random times throughout the day he will come up to me, rest his head on my shoulder, hug my leg, or give me a smooch and say, 

"I La-boo...Mommy" 

Those soft spoken words melt my heart every time. 

Today he must have sensed I was having a hard day because I got showered with hugs, kisses, cuddles and expressions of love. 

He was kind of having a hard day too and constantly wanted up to cuddle.

He woke up from his nap very upset, so I asked if he needed a cuddle. The house was quiet, it was just the two of us awake. 

I cherish moments like this with each of my children. 

Sometimes I forget how often they need that and I have to make a conscious effort throughout my day to pause what I am doing for some snuggle time with each of them. 

Today I was happy to snuggle with Hyrum on the big chair in the living room and hear him giggle and whisper

 "La-boo... Mommy" in my ear.

Voluntary expressions of love are the greatest!

I also had a friend who must have sensed I was having a rough day today. She sent me some beautiful tulips to enjoy. She's the best!

A Lot of Chilling

We have been doing a lot of chilling lately. I'm grateful to my parents for putting the littles and I up at the Acreage for the week. Mr. Stannix has been working long hours and the break this last week was much welcomed. Mr. Stannix always seems to know when I need to get out of the city and kindly sends me home. I leave him a clean house, homemade bagels and muffins for breakfast, homemade soup for dinner and a short love note. This week went by fast and Daddy surprised us by showing up for dinner on Friday night. Everyone missed him tons! We all enjoyed being back together on Saturday. We started the morning off slow and spent our afternoon outside.

While Daddy and Grampa finished working on the knives they're making, Camilla high-jacked Grampa's phone and played games.

Joseph was the first one dressed because he soaked through his jammies. He actually got to enjoy some tummy time and I loved his little grins!

Hyrum was in-love with the quads the whole time we were there and always wanted to be anywhere Grampa was. Whenever he heard the words "Garage" or "Quad" he would jump up from whatever he was doing and say, "Boots on. Hymum come too. Quad ride?" It was pretty cute. One day he spent an hour just sitting on the quad in the garage while Grampa did some work. When he started to lean forward and fall asleep on the gas tank Grampa brought him inside for a snooze.

Little Joe loved all the snuggles and attention. 

On Saturday afternoon we enjoyed the Chinook weather and built a snow fort! It was so fun to be outside. Hyrum liked to help push the snowballs as I rolled them and we'd make them so big they would hardly move.

Camilla was having a blast and loved playing king of the castle.

This is the last picture I snapped of Hyrum before he lost interest and wandered off to sit on the quad. Grampa came to his rescue and they took the quad to plow the neighbours drive-ways. This gave Mike and I some one on one time with miss Cami.

She became pro at rolling snowballs all on her own and helped construct the second layer of the snow fort.

Part way through Mr. Stannix took a break for a snowball fight. While I finished the top layer, he enjoyed chucking snowballs at me from the deck. Soon my Mum came out to defend me. Camilla quickly got in on the action too. I haven't heard her laugh that hard for a long time! She had so much fun with us. She would totally tease and be all, "I won't throw this at you, I promise". It was cute. I love spending time with that girl!

Mr Stannix finished up his knife. It just needs some tung oil and a little sharpening and then it's complete! I'm super proud of him. Pictures don't really do this thing justice. It's a beaut!

We took off, just the two of us, for dinner Saturday night. It was a much needed date and I'm super grateful to my parents for watching the kids. It's always great to talk with Mr. Stannix about anything and everything. I'm super glad he's such a great listener.

Bed Head

Our week has been very quiet and low-key. The children have been sleeping until almost 8:00am each morning and it's been glorious. One thing that brought me joy today was Hyrum and his awesome bed head. Each morning my Mamma has made us up a "smoo-ee" to go with our breakfast. The children LOVE them. By the end of the glass they would each have an awesome mustache and a smoothie uni-brow to match. That plus Hyrum's bed head totally made my day!

Toothless

I seriously can't get enough of these toothless little grins.
Today, as I gently poked his sides I actually got a few little giggles too!


Life is Good

Dear Mr. Stannix,
We are halfway through our visit at the Acreage. We all miss you a lot. Camilla keeps asking where you are and when you're going to come to Gramma's house. At breakfast today I glanced over at Hyrum and couldn't help but smile. He had some nice bed-head, I think he's almost ready for another hair cut. Gramma removed his shirt and put a bib on him so that he could go to town on his bowl of porridge. His legs were crossed, the way he has crossed them since birth, and the expression on his face told me that life was good. For some reason it made me think of you and I wanted to let you know that life is good, and we are all doing well! The children love the extra space to run and play. Hyrum and Camilla run circles around the pool table until they are out of breath. Hyrum is Grampa's shadow and loves going with him to the garage to sit on the quad while he works away. Camilla built a pretty sweet helicopter out of the tinker toys today, I'll have to take a picture of it for you. That girl has some serious talent. Joseph is loving the extra interaction. He loves to snuggle Gramma and have conversations with Grampa. Tonight he coo-ed and talked to himself in the mirror for a good five minutes. It was the cutest thing ever and made me smile so much, I wish you could have seen it. He has such a sweet little voice and is talking more and more. I'm sure you'll notice a bit of a change when we see you again on the weekend. Other than that, I spend my days visiting with my Mum and Dad, baking cookies, reading my book, and finishing up your blanket. Thanks for sending me home, it's been a nice break.


I Love You!
-AJ

A Country Visit

With Mr. Stannix working long hours, my sweet Mum came up and picked up the kids and I and brought us to the Acreage for the week. On our way out we stopped in to visit Gramma and Grampa Martin at their farm outside of Drayton. The last time I had been there was when Camilla was a baby, so it had been a while. We pulled up to their cute framed log home and were welcomed by the neighbors dog. As we walked up to the front door they both opened it to greet us. Grampa was in his western shirt and Gramma had on an apron. I loved this. I always picture myself later in life as that Gramma who welcomes the kids home in an apron and barefeet. I adore their little western home with the upstairs loft bedrooms. Grampa's home made wood furniture and trinkets decorated the livingroom and a mounted deer decorated the wall above the big fireplace. We had a nice little visit in their cozy livingroom. Soon Gramma was asking what we'd like to drink and our visiting moved to the kitchen table. We enjoyed a bowl of homemade soup while Gramma put together a plate of baked goods for dessert. Gramma removed her apron for pictures and I admired her western belt and tucked in shirt. We left just before dark to finish the rest of our drive home. It was a great visit!