The Night From...

Last night was no fun at all. I got home from volleyball and grocery shopping at just after 10:30pm. I crawled into bed as soon as I could, but shortly after I fell asleep a little boy came to our bedside. I pulled him in and gave him a quick cuddle. He was coughing pretty good, so I decided to keep him in our bed so that Joe would hopefully stay asleep. After giving him a glass of water, I went across the hall and crawled in with Camilla. My cough was the worst it's been this week. I muffled the sounds in a blanket. A little while later, just as my cough was subsiding and my eyes closing, Joe woke up screaming. We walked the floor downstairs for a bit, had some snuggles and then back to bed he went. He woke up again after not too long, and then again and again. Camilla came downstairs thinking it was morning time at around 3:00 am. I sent her back to bed with a hug. At 4:00 am I just couldn't handle Joe anymore. Poor Mike even got out of bed to help. I usually try to let him sleep so he's well rested for work.  After a lot of adjusting positions and tears I just let Joe work things out in his crib. It didn't take long before all was quiet again...until I heard someone walking around outside Camilla's door. I just didn't get out of bed soon enough. Hyrum had already barged into his room and Joseph was awake once again. I went back downstairs for the millionth time until Joseph calmed down again. I was finally able to grab a bit of sleep before everyone woke up at 6:00 am. Luckily they have all been fairly well behaved this morning. But naps will be had by one and all this afternoon! We also may be having ichiban noodles for dinner.

Snapshots

 The littles have been so good at entertaining themselves today! 

 I have been busy creating, cleaning and trying to keep up with the house work.

Sometimes I like to neglect my house work and just hang out with the kiddos.

Hyrum spent the morning clunking around the house in my giant winter boots.

It kept him busy for quite a while!

While I made lunch Camilla whizzed in and out of the kitchen with Joseph giggling away on the blanket. 

The only pictures I could get of them were a blurry, but still adorable.

I love Joseph's little nose wrinkled grins!

He has a pretty awesome big sister.

And I am pretty much in love with these baby toes!

Let's Eat Cake

Cowboy Land

This morning Camilla asked me where our water comes from. I explained to her all about the water pipes and where we get our water. She thought for a moments and then asked, "Mom, in cowboy land do they get their water from those pokey things? You know..." She had me puzzled for a second and then I helped her out, "A cactus?" She excitedly replied, "Yeah! Cactus! Do they get their water from those?" Love this girls imagination.

Joseph Turns One

Today is sweet baby Joe's first birthday. I keep wondering to myself where that whole year went! I still remember the sweet moment when we welcomed him into our little family. He came out with chunky little cheeks and a furrow in his brow. He is by far the most serious Stannix baby to date. His little looks would always make us laugh, full of such concern and soberness. We named him after both his Great-Grandpa's, Joseph Stannix and Allen Hudkins. Both very strong names and quite fitting for such a serious little boy. The first night in the hospital is one I will never forget because he cried the whole time. I cherished the quiet moments where I could just snuggle him and watch his sweet little face while he slept. 

The first couple of months proved difficult. He was constantly hungry and hard to console, but we still adored him! His older siblings couldn't get enough of kissing his soft little cheeks and holding him with help from Mom and Dad. We all looked forward to celebrating Christmas with a new baby around. There is something about having a newborn at Christmas time that turned my thoughts toward Mary and baby Jesus and really helped bring the Christmas Spirit into the home. 

As Joseph grew he became easier to deal with at nights. Because he didn't learn to sleep through the night until he was ten months old, those became our special times together. It seems that things became easier for me when I decided to change my attitude about the circumstance. With two other siblings competing for Mom time, it's sometimes tricky to give the one on one that I'd like. I cherished our night time feedings and having him sleep on my chest to squeeze in a few extra winks of sleep.

Over this last year I have watched his little smiles go from toothless to full of little baby teeth. He has become an absolute joy to mother and I adore squeezing his rolls and smooching his cheeks. His personality is different than each of his older siblings and I love his unique way of discovering and doing things. His newest favorite thing to do is to walk while carrying something heavy like a pillow or bucket of blocks. He loves a challenge and exploring his surroundings. It has been such a privilege to be his mamma and watch him grow into the cutesy little boy that he has become.

Happy first birthday Mr. Joe!

Love,

-Mom

They Couldn't Resist

We got a huge dump of snow over night! 

The children begged me to let them go outside and play in it. 

They quickly went to work making paths around the yard and enjoying the fresh powder.

It was fun to watch the joy and excitement they got out of something so simple.

 

 

I also witnessed a tender sibling moment. 

I peaked out the back door to see Hyrum pouting on his knees.

Camilla soon noticed and went to his side to give him a hug and comfort him.

Her eyes then met mine through the window and I gave her a thumbs up.

She grinned so big I could see almost all of her teeth!

I love that tender little girl.

One Thousand

It's one of those slow, cozy up in a sweater kind of days. The snow is gently falling outside, covering the grass that was just starting to make it's appearance again. The littles are still in their jammies, finishing up a quick show before lunch. I just finished kneading some bread dough which is now rising on the counter upstairs. Hyrum was so excited when he learned I was making bread, "Yay! I WUV bread!". It's been a while, almost a week to be exact, that we've gone without that staple. They will be glad to eat some good old PB&J again. Joseph is literally walking in circles around the playroom, with a TV remote in hand, shaking his head and talking to himself while he steps. Both of his big toes are poking out the bottom of his jammies. 

Joseph's new trick!

And now on a totally unrelated note. The blog has just hit 1000 posts! I've been thinking about doing a giveaway to celebrate. Something homemade and fun of course! Leave us a comment below to be entered and we will do a random draw tomorrow night!

**Thanks for all of the comments! I can't get my screen shot to work, but the winner is Brooklyn! We will be in touch!**

Our First Snowman

This morning the weather was so warm that it rained! Luckily the roads are just wet, but when the temperature drops it won't be fun to drive. We took advantage of the sticky snow and made a mini little snowman with the tiny bit of unpacked snow in our backyard. The kids were super excited! Since they had their afternoon naps in the car this morning, we burned a whole lotta energy out here this afternoon.

 Joe was especially glad not to have to bundle up! He also loves his new Winter hat.

 Mr. Snowman isn't the prettiest, but the kids sure like him!

Joe even had to wander over to check him out! Love those kids!

Noteable

Camilla has officially started learning piano.

She has been so excited about it!

I am teaching her from the same book I used when I first learned.

She's able to put her fingers on the right keys and name each of the notes.

Today we finally moved passed the warm up songs with the note names.

She began learning the first two songs in the book.

I had her write all the note names under the notes to start and she did great.

Eventually we will erase the letters as she learns to recognize each note.

It's been a great confidence booster for her and she loves practising.

It's fun for me to sit beside her on the bench and help her along.

She was pretty excited to show Daddy her new songs when he came home.

I love her enthusiasm and hope it keeps up!

One in a Week

My parents were in town today, so we took advantage of it and had a little get together for Joe's first birthday! I was super creative this year and made him an angel food cake with my mamma's traditional icing. The kids licked the beaters while they played outside and Joe licked the spatula in his booster seat. They were all very sticky afterwards. We enjoyed being with family and will be enjoying the "fresh farm eggs" (as Camilla and Hyrum like to call them) and the homemade chocolates they shared from their days work at Gramma's. Big thanks to everyone who came by and spoiled our little man (who isn't a whole year old until next Sunday). More pictures to come once I get them from my sister who always becomes the designated photographer at these kind of things. Thanks sis!

Grampa and Joe showing off their new trick