Four Years Old

Four years ago at 10:05am I became a mother to a beautiful baby girl.
It's so hard to describe the feelings of gratitude I have for her.
She made me a mother.
A dream I had waited my whole life to accomplish.
That baby girl has grown into a blue eyed blonde who is full of spunk and loves life.
Camilla lives each day to the fullest and has a huge imagination.
She has a quick mind and loves to learn.

She can count pretty high, and knows all her letters, colors, and numbers.

She can write all of the letters to her name, just not necessarily in the right order.

She is a fabulous big sister and loves her little brothers very much.
I love sharing in the sweet moments they have together.
I love watching her hug Hyrum, or gently kiss baby Joe. 

She brings joy to our family each day with her laughter and sense of humor.

She is a great little baker and enjoys making cookies on rainy days.

Her favorite color is pink.

Her latest obsession is the movie "Tangled".

She has a love for animals and often pretends she's a dog.

She can talk non-stop and I love her little voice and personality.

She keeps asking for a baby sister to share a room with.

She enjoys being outside, especially in her bare feet.

She wears socks or slippers to bed almost every night.

She sleeps with so many teddies that I am surprised there is room for her!

 She already has a love for The Book of Mormon and "reads" it before bed.

Some of her favorite foods are; pizza, spaghetti, chicken, rice and carrots.

She is such a special little girl and we are so glad she is ours!

 

Happy FOURTH Birthday Miss Camilla!

Sprinklers and Smores

It's been another busy day! Grampa has just gone off to work and little Joe dozed off playing beside me on the floor. The children are winding down with a movie, and I am enjoying a few quiet moments to myself. Joe had a rough night, which turned into a rough day. He's been drooling up a storm and really working his gums with his fingers. I think we have a few more teeth on the way. Even though he's a grumpy gus, Grampa was still able to get some smiles from him!

 

 

Camilla helped Gramma stitch her quilt (surpervised this time). She would push the needle down and Gramma would push it back up. Camilla goes, "We're like a regular sewing machine!"

 

 

We spent a lot of time out in the garden. Gramma picked some spinach and lettuce for dinner tonight. Yum! Joe loved watching Grampa on the mower, especially from up high on Mommy's shoulders.

 

 

Grampa burned all of the junk and wood they collected yesterday which made perfect coals for Smores! I don't think my children fully understand how amazing they are yet! They mostly just licked the marshmallow and then set it down to go play. They prefered the plain marshmallows. Auntie Emma has been craving Smores since the last time we were out, so I made her up a couple!

 

 When we were finished with the fire, Grampa set up the sprinkler to help wash our sticky kids and pass the time. Hyrum looked super cute watching Grampa set it all up.

 

 

Lots of fun was had by all! Auntie Emma did a few quick runs before she left to work. Camilla loved getting soaked and cooling off.

 

 

I was just glad Hyrum kept his diaper on.

 

 

Camilla jumped over that thing a million times!

 

 

My very favorite part was when Hyrum stuffed a whole soggy marshmallow in his mouth before jumping through with Grampa.

 

 

Everyone is pretty worn out now and I'm sure bed time will go super smooth! I will probably lay beside Camilla before bed and enjoy her last night as a three year old. Seriously, where does time go?! She's so grown up! But more on that later.



Keeping Busy

Dear Mr. Stannix,

 

One day down, three more to go!  I tried to be good and go to bed really early last night, but it's just so hard to stop visiting. You'll be happy to know I didn't stay up as late as some, and managed a pretty decent sleep next to Hyrum in that big king bed. It was a beautiful blue sky day today. The children enjoyed being outside for most of it. Hyrum and Camilla helped Grampa clean out the coop in preparation for the new chicks that are arriving on Camilla's birthday. I looked out at them and saw your very tough daughter throwing a board twice her size onto the trailer. Hyrum made me laugh when he would pose in the doorway. Such a little farm boy. He was Grampa's shadow all day. All my Dad heard from him was, "Bampaaaaaa..." Every time he would reply, "What Hyrum?" Then Hyrum would just repeat himself, "Bampaaaaaaa". It was a nice break for me. Usually he follows me around all day with his deep little "bored" voice saying, "Moooooooom".

 

 

Camilla also collected pebbles to help decorate Gramma's tomato pots. She was quite proud of herself after the fact. After she had gone to bed we also discovered some extra stitches in the quilt Gramma is working on. She's very curious and always willing to help where she can!

 

 

Hyrum spent majority of the evening running around in his sock feet, checking out the chickens and digging in the garden. Just before bath time he ran around the yard naked and giggling. Such a funny boy.

 

 

 

Joe is moving around a lot more. He has mastered swiveling his bum around and rocking from one place to another. Very rarely do I find him in the same place I left him. He wanted to spend all his time outside and would throw a mini tantrum whenever I brought him in. He loves sitting in the grass and letting it tickle his toes. Tonight he is a little feverish and cranky. I think he may be cutting a tooth. Wish me luck!

 

 

We miss you! Hope things are going well.

 

Love,

 



Better Than Cartoons

This morning began at 5:00am when I heard Hyrum whispering in his room. I went in to find him poking at Joe through the bars of the crib. I gently scooped him up so he wouldn't wake the baby. As we left the room he started wailing. We made our way quickly to the basement and the cheerful attitude I was trying really hard to have gave way to a grumpy mamma bear. Soon the whole house was up and at 'em. We caught the morning news and played in the toy room while I did three loads of laundry. The kids figure watching the washing machine do it's thing is way better than early morning cartoons. I think the turning point for my morning came when I looked over at them sitting together peeking through the door as the clothes turned and the suds formed.

 

 

I tried to forget the early hours of the morning and enjoy the rest of my day with my sweet kids. We may or may not have enjoyed brownies and apples for breakfast. Mr. Stannix took the car to the mechanic's to get it fixed. So glad that thing is still trucking along. Then we tidied and packed up for our week apart. We dropped Daddy off at the airport in the late afternoon so he could catch his flight to BC. I hated that part. It's always tough when he's away. It makes me grateful for his job and the fact that this happens very rarely. I am so glad we get to see each other as much as we do!

 

Mr. Stannix knows that I don't do well with long drives (especially on limited sleep) so he picked me up some candy on his way home from the mechanics. After only half an hour of driving on my own my eyes started getting heavy and I had to keep shaking myself to stay awake. Two of the three kids were fast asleep, so Camilla and I shared the box of Mike and Ikes and I let her stories and games keep me awake.

 

"Mom, what has a long neck and brown spots?"

"A Giraffe?"

"Good! Okay, this one's easy. What has a Joey and jumps up and down?"...

 

Man that kid knows a lot about animals! I admired the canola fields on the way to the acreage and scoped out a few good ones for family pictures this year. We played a long game of "I Spy" and each took turns. My favorite is Hyrum's little voice.

 

"I Piiiiieeee wit widdle eyeeeeee somefink that is ORANGE!"

 

Soon the blue mountains came into view and excitement overcame me. I suddenly felt more awake and alert as we passed over my favorite hill and admired the view. The drive was almost over. With a quick jaunt through town we were soon making our way over the river to Gramma's House. I am going to miss Mr. Stannix a whole lot, but being with my family helps keep me sain while he's away. Besides that, I'm not sure how long I'd last in our new house by myself. I'm still getting used to all the creaks and noises. So while we are anxious for our Daddy to come home on Friday, we will be enjoying our week helping out around the acreage and enjoying some fresh air!



Made My Day

We had a late dinner tonight, so I fed Joe a little bit before.

When he was full I hung out in the kitchen wiping counters and loading the dishwasher.

Every few seconds I'd look over at him and he'd flash me his big smiles.

It pretty much made my day watching him sit so grown up.



A Day at the Legislature

This morning we took the family to the Legislature grounds to cool off. We are sure loving having Daddy home to play with us!

We got there before it got crazy busy and enjoyed being one of the few people in the pools.

There is nothing better than watching my kiddos play with their Daddy. Not to mention, the weather was perfect. Just enough breeze to make it cool and just enough sun to make it hot.

Joe is my water baby and loved every moment. Splashing is one of his favorite things.

The kids sure had fun with their Daddy!

I stole some snuggles from my little man to help him warm up! Man, I love that kid!

All in all, a day well spent!

On a Summers Eve

Last time we were out at the acreage my talented sister snapped a few pictures of Joe.

The weather was beautiful and the evening sun made the back field look golden.

The lighting was too perfect to turn down.

Even though my hair was the messy-end-of-day style, I got in on a few too.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love this boy?

My sister has a few more adorable photo's of this little guy on her hard drive.

I'll have to snag them next time I'm home.

An Only Child

Today the boys were both awake shortly after 5:00am.

It was a long day.

I figured if I was up, I may as well make good use of my time.

I cleaned up the toys in the basement and gave it a good vacuum.

Then I vacuumed up the stairs. 

It really helped to freshen things up.

By 9:00am I was ready to go back to bed.

My awesome cousin offered to take the older two kids for the day.

The kids had so much fun with their cousins.

While they were gone Mike and I went nuts unpacking, cleaning and running errands.

After we had finished hanging a few pictures, I looked over at Joe.

He was fast asleep on the hard floor.

Ah, the life of an only child.

I felt like doing the same thing. 

It was super hot and I was super tired.

I scooped him up and carried him to his crib for the rest of his nap.

It's starting to feel like home now!

The Barber Shop

While we were out at the acreage, we put Gramma's hair cutting skills to good use.

Though I'm always sad to see his curls go, Hyrum really needed a trim.

He's feeling nice a cool in this heat with his new doo!



Canada Day Celebrations

We had a nice relaxing Canada day back in my hometown. We spent the afternoon enjoying a delicious BBQ at the Christensens. They are old family friends! She taught me piano growing up. It's always fun getting everyone together again. The kids had a blast running around the yard and enjoying their friends.

It was great to enjoy an afternoon in the sun. Camilla wouldn't leave the kitten alone. She's been begging us for one for ages!



The trampoline was also a big hit. I had to turn around a few times because it was too stressful to watch her jump with everyone. She did awesome though and loved every second of it! They pulled out the sprinkler to cool off and of course she got drenched. She is such a fun loving little girl.

A few of us came in to cool off for a few minutes and Joe enjoyed a snuggle with Grampa. All of the heat and excitement zonked him out.

Hyrum had fun eating freezies and popsicles to his hearts content, and playing on the power wheels. It's so funny watching his little personality. He's just a quiet, keep to himself, background type.

Camilla and I caught some shade in the hammock under the playset. I loved snuggling my sweet, soggy little lady.

Instead of fireworks tonight, we bathed our sweaty, sunkissed children and tucked them into bed. I think us adults will enjoy some Rook and laughter!