Zonked

Mr. Stannix volunteered for dish duty tonight. 

My poor chapped hands probably wouldn't have lasted long in the water. 

While I stood in the kitchen chatting with him the little man decided it was nap-time and zonked out on my shoulder. 

Such a sweetheart.

To Play all Day

This morning came very early after being up every hour with a baby.  Learning to roll? Teething? Gas? I was totally unsure. I carefully crawled over  sleeping Joseph at 7:00am and made my way downstairs to get pancakes going for breakfast. While everyone was eating I packed Mr. Stannix's lunch in his work bag. He scarfed down pancakes and orange juice and flew out the door to catch his bus. We were on our way out too. Hyrum followed him down the front walk begging for a kiss. Mr. Stannix chuckled and obliged. The rest of us went and piled into the car. After doing up all of the buckles and belts we took off to drop Auntie Faith at school. The kids were all in their pyjamas still and feeling cold from the morning winter air. When we got to the school I pushed the kiddos in the stroller and carried the baby seat on my arm. Just inside the front doors are four stairs to get to the school office. I think I may have resurrected an old volley ball sprain getting the stroller up and down, even though I had help both times.

When I got home I threw on a show for the kids and put Joseph in the bathroom with me in hopes of escaping for a few minutes into a warm shower. Not even a minute later the door opened. I peeked out to find Hyrums little voice calling for me. He stood on his tip toes as his chubby hand clutched the door handle. The cold air blasted into the bathroom and I quietly urged him to close the door. As I finished my shower the door continued to open and close and open and close with a blast of cold air each time. 

"Heh-wo? Mum?" Click.  

I may have to start locking that.

My house was messy and dishes were undone, but all I wanted to do all day was cuddle my baby while he slept and play away the afternoon with the children. I snuggled Hyrum for a few minutes after tucking him in for his nap. His face still had remnants from lunch. I ran my fingers through his long hair before kissing him. For the first half of his nap I escaped into Camilla's imagination. The couch transformed into a sports car. She lovingly buckled all her teddies in the middle and then we drove away to a dress-up party in the mountains. You know how some people put their hands on their hips when they get all stern? Well, she puts hers up closer to her arm-pits and furrows her brow with a slight smirk. And as she struck this pose she informed me that I was supposed to take a left, not a right. Then we consulted the map which was a sheet of white paper full of scribbles. After a quick appearance at our dress-up party we made our way upstairs for naps. She whispered to her teddy bears until she fell asleep ten minutes later.

Hyrum was a handful today. He kept finding pens in the oddest places and using them on his knees, hands, toys and my table. And if that wasn't bad enough, he took a plastic knife from Camilla's toy kitchen and "drew" on Daddy's TV (sh, don't tell). Luckily the scratches weren't permanent. The one and only time I will clean that TV is when the kids make a mess...It looked worse than it really was. We did however enjoy a few tickle sessions and some awesome belly laughs. My favorite though was his hockey helmet for the afternoon which was constructed from a cracker box.

We played until late afternoon and then I made up some dough for pizza. While it was rising I did a bunch of dishes. Mr. Stannix worked super late again, so we ended up having to eat without him. The kids love their pizza and had two pieces each. Baths and bed time quickly followed and then I made up a dozen banana muffins for breakfast-on-the-go tomorrow morning. We will be dropping Daddy to work and then Auntie Faith to school. It's going to be an early morning...Time to get my last munchkin to sleep so I can get some rest.

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.