Spot Lighting my Favorite Girl

 It's been a while since this little girls sweet face popped up on the blog. I thought it was time to do another update on my big girl. She is such a good kid and it's easy to forget to pay attention with two rambunctious little boys. But those moments when I sit still and snuggle her close and she talks my ear off... those are some of my favorite moments. 

Before I left to volleyball the other night she and I were sitting on the couch waiting for Auntie, Uncle and her favorite lady, Naomi to arrive. She sat close to me and talked pretty much non-stop for a good ten minutes. It made me realize how much she has grown up over the last little while. Her little mind moves quick and makes her seem four going on ten. I am torn between homeschooling and sending her to school. She talks about school all the time and how much she wants to go. I think she would thrive in a classroom environment and would love socializing and making new friends. But a part of me loves her being at home with me taking chances, getting messy, and making mistakes as we learn together.

When we went to pick up Daddy at the airport she started singing the "Green means Go" song at a red light. Her version went something like this...

"Green means Go, Yellow means Slow, and Red means FAST FAST FAST!"

Who taught her that I wonder? It made me laugh.

Back scratches are kind of our thing. I will often scratch her legs, arms, back, draw on her face with my finger tip and play with her hair while we visit. She loves it, and it makes her sleepy. Sometimes she will tell me, "If you want to do all of those tonight, I don't mind..."

Camilla has a contagious little belly laugh and a special love for life. I admire the sparkle in her eye and the energy in her step.

Lately, she has become such a big help with her brothers. The other night Hyrum got out of bed while I was feeding Joe his night time bottle. I asked if she wouldn't mind helping her brother back to bed and she gladly obliged. I listened from the other room as she said, "it's okay, Hyrum, go back to bed now". She tucked him in and kissed him good-night.

Her imagination is the best! The other day the trampoline transformed into a ball pit, only we couldn't touch the balls because they were poison. She and Hyrum also love to play "Garbage Man" where they pretend they are a garbage man and tackle the other one down. Seriously, where do they think up this stuff. I love the things she comes up with!

When we were driving in the car the other day she asked, "Did Heavenly Father make us with tools?"

Most mornings lately she has gotten into the habit of getting herself dressed and making her bed. Sometimes she even makes Hyrum's bed too!

I love this girl so so much!

A Pretty Cool Lady

Auntie Emma has been hanging out here quite a bit lately and we love it!

The kids sure enjoy playing with her.

This morning we had an impromptu photo shoot.

 Hyrum totally wears those glasses well. We need to get him some in his own size. I love how serious he is, and I adore his thumbs up!

Joe was all giggles today too! Can't wait to pick up Daddy tonight! Oh how we've missed him!

Hanson Concert

A few months ago a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to go see Hanson with her. Of course I said yes! Monday night was the night! My awesome siblings came to watch the littles and a few of us carpooled to Festival Place to sing and dance along with the band. I loved the venue. Even though we were in the second last row, it still felt super close to the stage. The only concerts that I have been to were huge and at Rexall. It was nice to be in more of an "intimate" music enjoying environment. 

The opener was pretty good and had amazing voice range, but when Hanson came on everyone went crazy! I also discovered something about myself. I think I am more of the band geek concert going type just because I am super reserved and okay with sitting the whole time. Since the whole front row was standing and everyone in the very back, our group decided to join in. It was great to be there with such fun ladies who were able to help me get out of my comfort zone and rock out with them!

 

I didn't know many of their newer songs, but it was okay because they also mixed in a lot of their older stuff! Love their voices and their harmony. Music is so good for the soul and I definitely enjoyed listening and singing along!

 

After Bath Cuddles

Dear Mr. Stannix,

Today was a pretty good day. We miss you like crazy. The children each remember to bless you in their prayers and sometimes ask about you forgetting that your gone. We left the house just shortly after eight this morning for a grocery run. We were out of a lot of the essentials, like Milk and Eggs and things like that. The children were super good for me! They discovered the car carts which made things go quickly. Both Camilla and Hyrum "drove" the car and Joe happily bobbed up and down in the front carrier. I got lots of "Wow! Three kids!" comments while I was out. Camilla still likes to chat with everyone she sees and they enjoyed their free cookie from the bakery. 

My sister came over to keep me company for the day. We made the best pumpkin cookies ever and I loved that my house smelled like Fall. She kept teasing me while we put together the ingredients because instead of a teaspoon of this and a tablespoon of that it was a shake of this and a drizzle of that. I love baking and having fresh cookies on hand for the littles. 

Hyrum had a nice long afternoon nap and I got to play with Camilla. I got her giggling pretty good. We had a mini pillow fight and she kept trying to tickle me. The whole rest of the day she just wanted to have a pillow fight. She's so spunky and full of life that girl. I loved hearing her belly laugh and spending time with her. In the late afternoon we cranked some tunes and danced around the kitchen to pass the time. Hyrum is pretty good at grooving and I love watching his little body wiggle. Camilla shakes her hips and taps her feet pretty much to the beat. It's quite a talent. I can't wait to get her into a dance class of some sort. 

Dinner was easy peasy KD. Hyrum ate his plate clean and Camilla decided to save hers for tomorrow and forego her bedtime snack. I popped all three of 'em in the tub at the same time again. Joe was a total goof and kept standing up and giving me his scrunchy nosed smile. Whenever I would ask him to sit on his bum he would listen. It always amazes me how much they can understand at such a young age. Camilla loves helping me wash Joe's hair and back. Then we pulled the plug and I wrangled them all into their jammies and read them stories. I finally got Hyrum to sleep just after 8:30. 

Hope your days are going well and you are learning lots! We miss you and can't wait to pick you up on Thursday at the airport!

Crafting and Play

Though we are back to our regular routine, we are missing our Daddy again. He comes home on Thursday. He brought home a beautiful bouquet of pink roses Saturday night to thank me for all of my hard work and to remind me of him while he's gone. It was super sweet and made my week! 

This morning the air was brisk and cool. We stayed indoors and did a Thanksgiving craft. Thanks to Pinterest for the idea. I had the kids glue leaves and shapes to a piece of paper to make a turkey. Their favorite part is always using the glue!

After it had warmed up a bit we had to get outdoors and enjoy the blue sky and sunshine! With the rainy, dreary week we had last week, the kids really loved being able to go to the park to climb, slide, and swing!

 

I can't get over how much little Hyrum looks like his Daddy. The cheeks, the eyes and the white blonde hair all resemble a lot of Mike when he was that age. 

 

Camilla loved the tallest slide at the park and tried super hard to get her brother to go down with her. Each time he would get to the top, he would get scared and turn around. It made her so upset! She tried and tried to help him be brave. She certainly had a lot of fun on it though! I loved watching the brief second of fear as she neared the middle of the slide.

Hyrum just enjoyed monkeying around on the equipment and checking out how everything works. He is one brave little guy and sometimes I had a hard time watching him climb!

 

Camilla is growing up so fast! She was such a great helper and loves to spend time with Joe. While I was pushing her on this swing she asked if Joe could come on with her. He sat still and snuggled close to his sister while I gently pushed them.

And then later when I needed to help Hyrum with something, Camilla gladly volunteered to push Joseph in the swing. He giggled and giggled as she pushed him. 

 

We are desperately clinging onto the "warm" weather before the snow flies! Hopefully we can enjoy a few more days like this at the park before it gets too cold.

Even Heroes Sleep

Lately Hyrum has been running around the house being "SUPERRRRR HYMUM!!!!".

It's super cute.

He does stuff like save lost bunnies, rescue things for his sister and run super fast.

The other day I tucked him into bed for his nap

and came up to find him like this...

So I did what any Mother would do..

Snapped a picture and then took off that handsome little mask to let my baby sleep.

Sweet dreams bud!

Just Keep Swimming

I went to use the bathroom this morning and this is what I found...

Good thing I just cleaned that toilet earlier!

Hyrum was already long gone and shut the door when he left.

I couldn't even get mad, I just laughed, a lot.

Then called a friend to give her a laugh.

Double Trouble

I love my boys, but I can't seem to take my eye off them without something happening. Hyrum is one of the most curious little boys I have ever met. He's always coloring, dumping, spilling, marking, running water, washing, unplugging and figuring. Just the other day our second full bottle of shampoo got dumped into the tub, never mind the tubes of toothpaste and mascara. The newest obsession for Camilla and Hyrum is playing with Lady Bugs. Our backyard has an abundance of them and they find at least five a day. Sometimes they put them in little containers and bring them in the house. The other day Hyrum napped with his lady bug container in his bed. They are harmless, so I really don't mind. Today while I was kneading the dough for our italian cheese bread, Hyrum reached up to the counter (man he's getting tall!) and dumped a whole cup of flour onto the floor. I only just finished scrubbing it on my hands and knees!  He immediately went to work drawing and playing in it. Joseph quickly made his way over to join in the fun. It looks like I'm in trouble when Joe gets walking!

It's a good thing they're cute!

Pre-Wash

The other day I opened up the dishwasher and everything was still dripping with water.

Weird.

I shrugged and unloaded it anyways, only to discover after that the soap dispenser was still full.

Looks like it only reached it's pre-wash cycle.

I guess I now know why...

Matchy Matchy

It's a big job getting three littles ready and out the door for church on your own, but we did it. I made the boys some matching ties with some left over scraps my Mom had while I was at the Acreage. They turned out pretty cute, although Joe will have to grow into his. I tried snapping a nice picture of them before church, but Hyrum was in such a goofy mood so this was the best we could do!



I've had so many thoughts and emotions swimming through my head today. Last night I watched the General Relief Society broadcast with my sister. It's such a priveledge to be apart of one of the largest womens organizations in the world. I loved the talks and thoughts that were shared. I also taught Young Womens today. My lesson was on being in the world but not of the world. I asked the girls to share some of the worlds standards and some of the Lord's standards. One of the girls said that the world pretty much doesn't have any standards now days. In preparing my lesson I realized how important it is to give our children a strong foundation so that when we send them out into the world they won't be afraid to stand up for what they believe in. 

I took the children to a new park around here last night before dinner. They needed to burn some energy and I needed some fresh air. The Fall weather was perfectly crisp and the sun was just getting ready to set. I felt so much joy as I watched Joseph from a distance, playing in the sand (and eating it mind you) with the sun glistening through his blonde whisps of hair. I reminisced as I watched Camilla navigate the big kid equipment all by herself and run around trying to make new friends. I smiled as I observed Hyrum playing in a big car, making sound effects with his mouth and steering like it was the real deal. I then watched Camilla go up to a little group of kids and ask if she could join in their game. They told her she couldn't right now because they were doing something cool and she wasn't allowed. My heart totally sank! She walked away and came closer towards me and sat in the wheel for the firetruck. She acted like she wasn't sad, but I could totally see through her "playing it cool" as she sank into the wheel and forced a tiny smile. I almost cried. I wanted so badly to do something or say something to those kids, but one of life's hard lessons to learn is that it isn't always fair. I then watched this little group of kids who were not much older than Camilla snickering about the other's around them and saying crude things. I was suddenly glad that my little girl wasn't playing with them. It was totally a hard Mamma moment. Of all of the places I want my children to feel loved and included, our home is at the top of that list. I never want to do anything to degrade my children or make them feel like they aren't loved at home. It is such a sacred duty and calling to be a parent and I pray every morning that I can fulfil it to the best of my ability.

I thought about this incident lots as I taught the Young Women. At the end of the lesson I presented each of them with a little handout with a special quote.

"At times you may feel lonely because you don't fit in with the crowd. Be grateful that your righteous life molds you so you don't fit in where you don't belong. This is a period of personal testing that will be replaced in time by true friends and greater happiness."

~Richard G. Scott

When I was in highschool I struggled big time with feeling alone. Although I seemed to have friends I just felt like I never really fit in. I was never a part of the parties or things they did on the weekends and had a hard time joining in their conversations on regular school days. One night after feeling particularily lonely for a long time, I stumbled across that quote and it became a huge comfort for me. I kept it on my mirror and eventually had it memorized. I testified to the girls that although things may be hard now, they will get better. I have the best friends I could ever imagine and still keep in touch with close friends from highschool. And there is no greater happiness than the joy that I have received from having a temple marriage and building an eternal family with my best friend. My greatest happiness comes from spending time with my husband and children. I couldn't have imagined being this happy way back in highschool and am so grateful for the Gospel and that simple little quote for pulling me through.

Anyways, on a happier note, church was super good and smooth considering I was solo. I sat with some dear friends who were able to lend a hand when it was needed. At one point Hyrum decided he didn't want to wear his shoes anymore. When he took them off he left a pile of sand on the bench, even after dumping them out last night when we got home from the park. When it was time to leave half the bench was covered in sand. Where was he hiding it all? In his diaper? Behind his ears? I had to smile. He is oh so boy! We are all looking forward to picking up Daddy tonight at the airport.