Joseph's Gramma Blankie

Growing up, my siblings and I all had a special blankie which we called our "Gramma Blankie". They were made for us when we were babies by my Gramma Hudkins. Those blankets came on many trips with us and worked perfect for sleeping in the car on long drives. I feel so lucky that my kids get to have these special blankies as well, only made by my talented Mamma. When my family was up this last weekend, my Mum brought up Joseph's blanket. This afternoon when all the kids were napping he enjoyed some much needed tummy time atop it. I could seriously munch on those cheeks all day!

When he got tired of being on his tummy, he played some more on his new quilt. My Mum hand stitched hearts, circles, X's and O's all around the border and around the shapes in the middle. Each stitch is perfectly spaced and placed, it almost looks machine quilted. I'm so grateful to have such a talented Mum!

I think Joseph agrees.

Ninety-Three Days

Dear Joseph,

You are three months old already! Time goes by so quickly these days. You are turning into quite the chunkster and I am in love with your arm rolls and kissing your chubby cheeks. We got off to a rough start, but we are finally getting into a good routine. You bring so much joy to our family each day with your smiles, coos and cuddles. Whenever I need a boost of optimism I gaze into your face and you crack me that adorable little smile of yours. You are totally my comfort right now and there is nothing better than holding you in my arms. Tonight while I waited at the top of the stairs for your brother to fall asleep I stared at your sweet face as you slept cradled in my arms. In that moment I felt so much love for you! Camilla can't get enough of holding you. Hyrum loves you too and when he's not trying to rough house with you, he's actually quite sweet. My very favorite is when he puts his chubby hand on your head and brings his face close to yours and says, "La-boo...Jo-Peh". And despite the fact that he attempted to kick you in the head today, he really does love you.

At three months old you:

Recognize faces

Are scared of loud noises

Sleep 4-6 hours in a row at night

Love to kick and giggle in your bath

Will giggle and coo when talked to face to face

Like to stick your tongue out and spit bubbles

Grab onto the toys hanging on your play mat

Like to bring toys to your mouth

Suck your fists when your bored or hungry

Smile a lot
Poop every three days
Enjoy being held
Will hang onto my shirt or tug at my hair when I'm holding you
Like to pull Daddy's pant leg when you play at his feet
Hold your head up for a short time when on your tummy

You are adorable, buddy! We love you so much!

 

Family Day

We all woke up late-ish this morning. It was nice to sleep in, even if it was in a chair. Hyrum somehow snuck by me and when I finally got up I found him snuggled on the same pillow as Daddy reading a book and whispering to himself. Camilla slept for a while longer while I went downstairs with the boys. As soon as everyone was dressed we went to the church for the annual pancake breakfast. There was a super good turn out this year and it was fun to see people. Not long after we got home, my family and auntie Faith arrived and we all took off to the Muttart for the early afternoon. We met up with Uncle Mike, Kristen, Uncle Chris and my Gramma and Grampa Hudkins. It was fun going through the pyramids with everyone.

My favorite was the theme room which was decked out for the Chinese New Year. 

Uncle Mike had fun keeping up with Hyrum. Hyrum loved running around smelling the flowers and asked if he could pet the dragon. Love that boy! Uncle Mike had fun teaching them to play in the water off the bridge...

I got to steal a few minutes with my sweetheart sans kiddos.

It was super fun to have everyone there!

Joseph did super well and spent half the time in the stroller and the other half with Daddy. He's growing up so fast!

The kiddos really enjoyed the last pyramid we hit up because it had stairs! After a few hours we made our way home for a late lunch of beef on a bun. We had fun playing with the kids in our tiny living room and giggling at Hyrum falling every time he tried to throw a pillow at Grampa. It sure was great to spend family day with so much family!

Sunday Best

 I am loving eleven O'clock church! It gives us so much time to get ready while Daddy is at his morning meeting, and leaves a bit extra for some picture time. The boys snuggled up together on the couch this morning. Hyrum was super adorable with Joseph. He loves him. I can't do up the top button on Joseph's white shirt thanks to his double chin, so we improvised with the clip on tie.

Camilla quickly got in on the action. I always have to smile when I hear two kids screaming cheese over and over while I snap away, but this picture is one of my favorites! Camilla is sitting so "lady like". I also LOVE Hyrum's expression and the fact that his legs are crossed. Joseph is loving chilling in between them and I love that Hyrum and Camilla have their arms around their little brother.

Just before we left for church Mommy and Daddy got to love Joseph too! I can't believe he is already three months old! We sure do enjoy him, especially the extra sleep he's giving us lately!

 

The kids did good today at church. Hyrum snuggled right up to Daddy and ended up falling asleep on his lap during the closing hymn. They hung out in the chapel for a little while so he could catch some sleep. Things have been crazy around here lately and the kiddos seem extra tired. It was the most adorable thing I've ever seen. Hyrum was sitting on the bench with his head on Daddy's lap, snuggling a little red ball. He was so out of it that his bottom lip was hanging down all chubby like. A moment I definitely don't want to forget...

Jones Soda

Oh how I love that Mr. Stannix. This Valentines will definitely be one to remember. I had his valentine gift in my head for weeks (thanks pinterest), but it took a little extra planning for the surprise factor. On Monday evening I had to run some errands, so I took along Mr. Stannix's cell phone just in case I needed it. I hunted everywhere for his favorite drink and finally found it at a little store in the mall. When I got into the car I finished tying the note to the drink and called up one of his friends from work to see if they'd be able to help me out by putting it on Mr. Stannix's desk. When I got to his house, he still wasn't home. Joseph was screaming in the back seat, so I left it on his porch and hoped for the best. I crossed my fingers the rest of the week and thought up a million ways this could go wrong. Thankfully it all worked out! I owe this individual like a thousand Jones Soda's for his help.

Be Mine...Forever!

Dear Valentine,

Today you showed me how sweet you really can be.....let's see where should we start:

12:30 am:  Woke up when I came home from Hockey and asked how my game went (even though it was just a practice).  Then kissed me and went back to sleept

Somewhere between 1:00 am and 4:00am:  A baby woke up and you quickly scurried out of the room to feed him so I could get my rest.

Somewhere between 4:00 am and 6:00am:  Another boy woke up this time you shared your half of our TINY bed with him so I would have more room to sleep!

Somewhere between 7:30 am and 7:45am:  You packed me a heart shaped cookie and heart candies in my bag.

8:00am:  I opened my laptop at work and saw a valentine attached to the keyboard, I couldn't help but laugh out loud.....very few people can make me do that while I am sitting alone in a board room.

9:30 am:  I came up to my desk to grab something (since I am working on the first floor in a board room) and found a valentine card which had scratch away options (I couldn't help but scratch them all for the sweet messages).  Attached to the card was my favorite drink....a Jones Soda!!!

I have tirelessly tried calling you all day....but to no avail.  So I have resorted to more primitive forms of communication...yes blogging.  You don't know how many times I tried to hack into your gmail account just so I can log into blogger!  But it was worth it all for you. 

I wanted to say I love you and cherish you and I have one more tiny request.....

WILL YOU BE MINE.....FOREVER!

Love, the man who would be utterlly lost without you!

Mamma and Babe

Today the little man and I had a few minutes to spend together gazing out the window.

The house was quiet since the other two were upstairs napping.

Little did he know I couldn't stop gazing at him. 

Time is going far too fast and I want to hang on to every moment.

So we cuddled while I munched his cheeks and touched my nose to his soft baby skin.

He's getting to be quite the conversationalist.

I love watching him move his little lips and stick out his tongue.

He makes me so happy every day!

Saucer Time

It was another gorgeous day in the City! There was no way we were staying inside for the day. The children spent the late morning sliding off the deck on the blue saucer. They each had a blast! Hyrum is definitely on his way to "terrible two's". When they weren't riding on it, they were arguing about who's turn it was, or whining about something or other. Ah, gotta love 'em anyway!

They managed to go down together a couple of times!

Camilla was really awesome at pushing her brother down, 

and then dumping him off the saucer at the bottom so she could have a turn.

She was totally pro and fearless.

The giggles were worth every minute of whining endured.

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.