An Early Bird

After a 5:00am wake up and some breakfast, I figured I would pour Joe a warm bath to help pass the time and ease us into our morning. While he splashed I tidied my room and took the sheets off our bed to be washed. When he was done I rubbed lotion on his dry skin and diapered his bottom. He enjoyed playing with my puzzle box while I straightened up the bathroom. We finished everything up before 8:00am rolled around.

Now, what to do with the rest of our day?

Battle of Alberta

Tonight Mr. Stannix and I enjoyed a fun filled date night! We had the sweetest babysitter ever and I wasn't worried one bit. Just after dinner we took off to my Cousins 30th birthday bash. It was an 80s costume party and for the short time we were there, I felt like I had literally stepped back in time. The costumes were so great!

We had to sneak off a bit early since Mr. Stannix was given tickets to the Oilers vs. Flames game. It was a bitterly cold evening and we half jogged from where we parked to the stadium. By the time we got in I couldn't feel my face. It felt like summer in the cold rink compared to the weather outside. A pretty epic fight broke out moments after we found our seats. Even though our team won the fight, I still didn't feel awesome about it. It's a part of hockey I will probably never get. 

I sure loved having the night out with my handsome man though! Our seats were pretty great too!

 

 I slipped to the bathroom quick in the third period since nothing was happening. The Flames were up by one, but when I heard the explosion of cheering I knew that we had tied it up. When I got back Mr. Stannix said, "You just don't leave in the third period when you're down by one!!!" We had a good laugh. The one and only goal they got, I missed. The game went into OT for a very short time before the Flames slipped the puck into the net. 

We snuck out just after the last goal and jogged back to the car which was parked on the other side of Northlands. The air was so cold that I was walking with every muscle tensed and my teeth clenched to keep them from chattering. We saw a few people just wearing their jerseys out and some wearing shorts! Only in Canada... We came home to a quiet house full of sleeping children.

Squeezing In

Before we say farewell to February, here's a few tidbits from the final week. It was warm for two whole days, and by warm I mean -11. We all bundled up and escaped the house to burn some energy and get some fresh air. The first day we just ventured to the mail box and around the block, and the second day the kids wanted to go further. We walked a couple of blocks to the trail system, but as soon as we broke away from the houses, the wind became bitterly cold. It nipped at our cheeks turning them a nice rosy color. By the end of our walk everyone squeezed into the stroller to warm up. It was quite the funny sight. I love that these three are best friends.

Joseph has recently adopted a "play 'till you drop" attitude. He wakes up so early these days that he will usually nap in the morning instead of the afternoon. Since his naps don't last long he can usually be found snoring in his chair part way through his afternoon snack. He has the most adorable squinty-eyed-scrunchy-nosed smile. He has also started being more vocal and pointing at things that he wants to eat or drink. He's so fun lately!

Hyrum is completely potty trained and we've been accident free all week. It's such a relief to only have one bum to change now! He quite enjoys being a big boy. On our walks I will try to hold his hand and he always says, "Don't hold my hand Mommy, I'm a big boy..." He pretty much refuses to sit in the fun shopping carts or stroller at the store and had a nice little scream fest in the produce section almost resulting in an abandoned cart. He's got a good set of lungs! At the checkout he was screaming, "I want a treat!" over and over. The cashier (a young girl) told me, "well why don't you just get him a treat then? They're right over there." I didn't have time to explain that it would be giving in and cause him to scream and get his way in the future... Ah the joys of parenting. Mostly he's a pretty easy going kid who loves playing super heroes.

Camilla has changed so much this week. It's hard to describe how grown up she suddenly seems. She is learning so much. My favorite line from her this week was during night prayers when she said, "Please bless Daddy that he won't have to work anymore so that he can take me to the theaters again..." I love that she calls it "the theaters". It sounds so classy. Her prayers are extra thoughtful lately and include every family member all the way from grandparents down to baby Joe. She's a pretty special girl!

Onward to March!

The Plan

This month for Family Home Evening we have been focusing on The Plan of Salvation with the littles. Daddy did a lesson one Monday where he drew out the whole plan on his iPad while explaining it. Camilla and Hyrum had fun guessing what he was drawing and learning about why we are here, where we came from, and what happens after we leave this life. 

After getting the boys to sleep on a cold Winter's afternoon, Camilla and I spent some special time together snuggled on the couch. We were drawing the alphabet and spelling out words on the iPad when she asked if she could teach me something. She got a fresh page and drew a circle near the middle. As she colored it she asked, "What's this?" I replied, "The earth?" She replied with her funny voice, "Riiiiiiight.... and why did we come to earth?" She then asked me to draw her a star, but made sure I let her draw the sun and the moon. "Where do we go when we make good choices?" she asked me. We talked a little longer about it, and then she drew her and Hyrum at the bottom, being happy because they were choosing the right.

I've always known the importance of Family Home Evening and teaching our children the Gospel at home, but it sure makes me proud to see them soak up so much of what we teach them each week! I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us. I know that we came to earth to receive a body and to be tried and tested, and most importantly, to find joy. I believe in life after death and the beauty of eternal families. I hope that I can instill a testimony of these things into the hearts and minds of each of my children so that they can feel their Saviors love and know that they are not alone.

So Happy Together

 If you will excuse my well-lived-in house, I'll show you a few snippets from today.

For some reason the first step became a good seat for snack time.

Seeing the three of them getting along so well warmed my heart!

Camilla's so excited to start swimming lessons next week

 that she's worn her suit two days in a row!

Joe has been keeping me on my toes all day long getting into this or that.

I can always tell where he's been.

He's such a curious little guy lately!

 

 I slipped down stairs to help Camilla with something and came up a few seconds later to find Joe enjoying some ranch dressing from the comfort of the kitchen chair.

EEK! 

This boy can now climb on couches and chairs, and it scares me a bit!

 I'm so grateful that our home is warm and filled with laughter and love today!

Growing, Growing, Gone

I was recently reminded that Mr. Stannix and I have almost been married for six years! It's hard to believe it's been that long. Time has passed so quickly and we've been blessed with so much! Our kids are growing up so fast and it's hard for me to think that Camilla will be five this Summer. It feels like just yesterday she was toddling around the house and calling her belly button a "bo". Now she speaks very eloquently for a four year old and takes great care of her two younger brothers. Her favorite movie/obsession right now is Frozen. She likes to watch the music video for "Let it Go" and has all the lyrics and actions down pat. She told Hyrum the other day, "Once you see this movie, Hyrum, you'll be BOUNDING to get it!". She loves to dress up, and has danced her way out of a pair of ballet slippers I made her a while ago. She tried to tie the hole in the toe of her slippers back together with string! Today I made her a special Winter head band. Of course I took a picture. As I looked at the picture I couldn't believe how grown up my little girl is! She is beautiful inside and out and I'm so glad she's mine!

Bed Head

This week I've been trying to nail down Joseph's napping schedule. Since he's started playing through his afternoon naps I thought I'd cut him back to one nap a day. Both Camilla and Mr. H always napped at 1:00PM when they were this age so we tried it out! Adjusting to a new schedule meant a few crazy nights (teeth were a contributing factor). When littles don't get enough rest during the day, they will often have hard nights.

It's was rough for a while.

I kept trying to keep him awake until after lunch, but he would be super whiny, or just fall asleep in the middle of eating. So now he just goes for a nap when I notice that he's getting tired. The last few days he's been wanting to nap around 10:00am and always wakes up happy!

If the house is too quiet in the late afternoon he sometimes has a short snooze in his highchair or on the floor. He's such a funny kid!

Spontaneous Delight

 I was reading ahead in our joyschool curriculum the other day and came across the unit on spontaneous delight. Those two little words have been on my mind a lot lately as I try to help my children delight in the simple joys of life. After lunch today we drove Daddy to the office. On our way home Camilla was begging to do something fun instead of going home. Since Daddy has had the car for work, I think we've all suffered from a bit of cabin fever, most especially my social little Camilla. Last minute, I decided to take a right turn into a favorite park. The weather was nice enough, though I didn't have a diaper bag and there was no near by bathrooms for Hyrum. We stayed, ran, laughed and played until fingers were cold and Hyrum was doing the potty dance. It was nice to just spontaneously do something!

 Camilla delights in the fact that she has finally learned how to blow bubbles with her gum! It's pretty cute. Over the course of the day I think I've seen a hundred little bubbles. 

 We were all delighted when the Canadian Women's Hockey team won Gold against the USA. We all wore red to cheer them on! The game was crazy as we were down 2-0 in the very last period and came back only in the last couple of minutes forcing the game into overtime. It was totally epic! So proud to be Canadian. 

While I began dinner Mr. Joseph decided to spontaneously take a second nap. All of that cheering must have tuckered him out!

Family Day Fun

After a very productive morning, the only thing we had left on our list was tobogganing with the littles! The weather was beautiful and begged to be enjoyed. We drove to a nearby park with a nice hill and went crazy. They were so excited that they cheered when we arrived.

 Hyrum jumped on the saucer first thing and asked for a push! I hesitated since he's never tackled a hill this big before, but I knew he could do it. He screamed all the way down and Mr. Stannix and I weren't sure what would come of it. 

 Once his saucer came to a halt, he popped off and shouted up to us, "That was AWESOME!" 

 Joseph was obsessed with riding down the hill and loved when Daddy went with him. If he wasn't on the sled, he was whining to get on the sled and go again. It was pretty funny!

 The hill was pretty slick and the littles enjoyed rolling and sliding down without anything.

 I was glad to get one picture of Camilla as this was pretty much the one and only time she went down. She kept asking us where the little hill was, or would start half way down.

 She was always close by for pulls up the hill though!

 Joe hasn't experienced too much Winter fun because of the cold, but he sure enjoyed his time!

 He and I had a few good runs on the saucer! I'm sure he could slide all day (my bum however couldn't)!

 We finally convinced Camilla to join the boys for one last go down the hill before she, Joe and I made our way to the car.

The boys weren't far behind though and rode out the last leg to the car. Hopefully the weather stays nice and we can squeeze in a bit more sledding this Winter!

Sunday Dinner

My Gramma and Grampa called us up a few weeks ago to invite us for dinner today. It's always a treat going there for dinner. Camilla told me, "Gramma's are the best cooks!". We enjoyed a delicious meal and homemade cookies for dessert. The best part is, we didn't spill ANY drinks at the table this time! My Uncle and Aunt joined us as well as my big brother, Chris. We managed to snap a busy picture of us all before we left. The older two broke into a giggle fest at the doorway on our way out. It was super hard to peel them away from each other and manage to get everyone to the car. Mr. Stannix and I smiled all the way down the hallway and partly felt bad for the other tenants of the building as we all giggled our way to the door. I sure do love my grandparents and the example of love and patience they are to me! It's so special for our littles to spend time with their great-grandparents!