Two Little Feet

My baby has recently acquired a fascination with standing. He stands beside the dishwasher while I load it. He stands beside the couch when I sit. He stands at the bottom of the stairs. He stands in his crib. And tonight, he decided to stand and watch the diapers go through the washing machine.

He's quite proud of himself...

Sunday Storms

We are out at the acreage once again! We threw my parents a 25th anniversary celebration this weekend. It's been fun to visit with extended family and celebrate together. Pictures to come, I promise. For now, here's a few snapshots from today.

Uncle Arland spent some of his morning serenading us with church hymns. Hyrum jumped up on his lap for some of the time. He's really warmed up to his Uncle since he's been home. It's like he never even left. Camilla looked pretty adorable carrying her own Book of Mormon to church today. She's growing up so much.

Tonight we enjoyed roasting smores over a nice fire. The weather was windy and the thunder rolled in the distance making the fire feel extra toasty.

Grampa went and got some more wood with his little helpers!

Uncle Arland snuggled Joe to sleep and let him rest his head there the rest of the evening.

Which gave me some free time to snuggle up to Mr. Stannix. We all visited around the fire until the rain came. The fire was so brilliant and beautiful that it was sad to leave it and come in doors. It was a nice relaxing way to spend the evening! Now I'm off for my nightly bowl of fresh raspberries, cream and sugar.



Superman

After a long morning of biking, drawing with chalk, jumping, and wrestling with his big sis, this little dude was pretty pooped out. Sometimes I like to sneak into their rooms when they're asleep. I love the way Hyrum's giant eyelashes rest on his cheeks while he snoozes.

Sometimes even superheroes need their rest...

I just finished reading a gazillion books to the kids in Camilla's big bed. Now they're enjoying "quiet time" in their own rooms which is code for early bed time. While they whisper to themselves and look at books I get to hang out with and Jammie this little chanchito.



New Tricks

Baby Joe is learning new tricks every day.

He can now climb stairs like a maniac and giggles uncontrollably when caught.

He thinks it's funny to do stuff that he's not supposed to do.

This morning he did something that brought a smile from ear to ear.

Just as our friends were leaving he chimed in with the rest of his siblings.

He waved as he shouted, "Baaaaaa!"

I still think he's too little to be doing stuff like this, but man it was cute.



Playing Catchup

Joseph is already trailing close behind his older siblings.

They are going to be the best of friends.

Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows

I spent most of my day today wishing that time would stand still, and some of my day wishing it would hurry up so that we could escape the terrible twos. We spent the morning walking across to the shopping malls to pick up a few things, namely groceries. The kids did pretty good and were rewarded with a lollipop part way through our errands. Camilla is such a good little walker and Joe slept almost the whole time we were out. By the time we got home and ate some lunch, Hyrum was in the middle of his fifth meltdown of the day. He needed a nap. While he was napping Camilla and I went out front and drew on the sidewalk together. She has changed so much since turning four and loves to spend time with people. I couldn't resist drawing and laughing with her. She has become so creative and artsy.

When we came in, she went downstairs to cool off while I snuggled up with Joe and gave him his bottle. I watched his eyes become heavy and eventually close. All I could think was can I please just snuggle you all day? I held onto him for a good half hour before placing him in his bed. He slept away the entire afternoon. I kept thinking that he would be up any minute but each time I went to check on him he was sleeping soundly.

Hyrum woke from his nap in a much better mood. I sat on the floor to give him a squeeze and a smooch. It turned into one of his favorite games and he began running at me, arms open wide, for a knock your socks off kind of hug. Although this two year old gig is hard, it's moments like this that make it all worth it.

After dinner I ran upstairs to grab the kids Jammies and heard a flush. I knew exactly who it was, I just didn't know what went down the toilet. I asked Hyrum what he flushed and he kept replying, "zee-zer". I asked, "what?" His reply stayed the same. After about ten tries I literally couldn't contain my laughter. It was like he was speaking a different language and I couldn't for the life of me figure out what went down the toilet. "Lizard? Did you flush the lizard?" Ah, yes. Camilla just came up the stairs as we figured it out and promptly burst into tears. "My Liiiiiiizaaaaard!" Mike and I looked at each other and just had to laugh. She continued crying through night prayers and couldn't be consoled. That girl gets pretty attached to her toys. I'm pretty sure lizard is long gone. 

Visiting the Temple

Today we left bright and early for Calgary. My Mamma graciously offered to watch the kids for us so that we could tag along with my brother, dad and grandparents. It was much needed. I love the peace you can feel inside the walls of the temple. It was really great to be able to go with everyone. It's so great being surrounded by family.

 

 

 

And of course we grabbed a few pictures of just the two of us. It's not very often that Mr. Stannix and I get a date to the temple. It will be happening more often now that Joe is on a bottle.

 

I sure do love that guy. And after a tough year it was so great to go to the temple with my main man. Being in the temple together is pretty special.

 

On the way home we hit up the best ice cream store. Some of us even finished up their's really quickly so that they could grab another one for the road. Tiger ice cream was a favorite. I personally opted for the New York Cherry Cheesecake. It was great getting home to the kids and having them so excited to see us. Thanks Gramma for making their day great! She's super Gramma and baked up cookies, cinnamon buns, and cake. There's no place like home.

Country Bumpkins

Oh man was today a long day. I wasn't sure I would make it through lunch without my patience-o-meter hitting it's max. When I was younger I never understood why our non-stop giggling and goofing around drove my mamma so nuts. After this morning, I think I'm beginning to understand. I'll blame it on the doughnuts we had for breakfast. Hyrum and Camilla were little balls of energy running this way and that all over the house, in the yard, back in the house, up and down, all around. It made me tired just watching them. They giggled pretty much non-stop all morning long. The trampoline was transformed into a wrestling ring and the laughs came right from their cute little bellies. By lunch time I was going coo-coo and opted for Hyrum to go for a nap.

When he woke up he came downstairs and told me he brushed his teeth. I quickly dashed upstairs and discovered he had done some unpacking over the last five minutes. Daddy's shaver had been taken apart in ways I never knew it could be. There was toothpaste squeezed all over the inside of Daddy's laptop bag and some coldsore ointment all over the carpet. The floss had been unraveled and sat bunched on the floor. And a line of mascara was drawn all the way across the bottom of my favorite quilt. I took a deep breath and sent him away to his room before I lost it. After his repeated "sorry Mommy" I couldn't be mad.

We are now kicking it at the acreage. My little brother is speaking in church on Sunday about his mission in Chile and how the Gospel makes us happy. I am looking forward to it and being here with family. When we arrived we ended up spending all of our time outside helping out with weeding, raking and berry picking. I couldn't wait to eat fresh raspberries, even if they hadn't been washed yet.

Joe and Gramma. He loves the outdoors so much!

Hyrum loves to feel the grass tickle his toes and hasn't put on shoes since we got here.

The kids got rides all over the yard between loads of grass and things. I thought I should get a turn too! Mike gave me an uber fast ride!

Seriously, we had so much fun with this thing tonight!



Our Little Climber

Snack Time

This little boy is destined to be an artist. We haven't even been here a month and he's already left his mark on the place. All over the place actually. The first week he drew on almost all the walls in his room. My closet door has been decorated. And the other night I caught him "drawing spiders" on the kitchen wall with a cup of water and a wet finger. Today Camilla noticed a nice chalk man on the wall in the front entry. I couldn't even be mad he did such a good job of it. After complaining to my Mom about my artsy fartsy blonde, he woke up from his nap and went around the livingroom giving each of us hugs over and over again. It was so sweet. After his nap I also promised him a hot cinnamon bun, and since he was starting to pester his siblings he ate it on the island. He stood up at the end after I finished wiping his sticky fingers and lips. It was weird to look up at him and realize how big he is and almost flash forward to a future where he may be taller than me. Then he planted a big smooch on my lips and gave me a big sqeeze. Man, I love that boy!