Building Blocks

Early this afternoon Joseph became fascinated with the building blocks. He sat and built tower after tower on a little board book for over an hour! He was being so quiet and good that I let him stay up way past his nap time. When he finally started yawning and lying on the floor to build, we made our way upstairs to bed. He fell asleep within minutes. It's not often that this guy sits still, so I thought I would snap a few pictures to remember the moment! A lot of concentration went into these towers.

Sweaty Lips

Today was a pretty great one! Joseph slept through the night and didn't wake up until close to 7:00am. That's pretty much like sleeping in on a Saturday. We got a lot done around the house and I had Mr. Stannix to help me with the groceries in the afternoon. Mr. Stannix also changed every single burnt out bulb in the house and helped me move some furniture around. It felt great to get so much done in one day!

Later that night, every child went for a bath. Joseph bathed first while the other two watched some Charlie Brown. When their show ended, the other two went into the tub, one up and one down. I tidied the upstairs while keeping half an eye on Hyrum. Joseph found some fun things to get into in the bathroom after he finished brushing his teeth. I came in after leaving him alone for a few minutes to find him making funny faces and wiggling his tongue around the inside of his mouth. Upon closer inspection I noticed my opened deodorant in his hand with smudges of peanut butter on top. When I realized that he had used my deodorant as lip gloss I quickly washed his face and tongue. Just the thought of that on his lips was totally disgusting, but I couldn't stop giggling the whole time I was wiping it off. Mr. Stannix got a good laugh out of it when I shared the story with him. Never a dull moment around here!

Showers in November

 Yesterday morning we traveled on nice dry roads out to the Acreage for a visit and a bridal shower! I have a terrible time driving long distances and made sure to bring lots of munchie things to keep me awake. I was super happy when we pulled up to my parents home.

 This morning, at the children's request, Gramma made everyone her special pancakes for breakfast. Eating at Gramma's is probably one of Joe's highlights. I got a kick out of his enthusiasm at breakfast...

 I spent most of the day running errands, making food, and decorating for my sister's bridal shower that evening. Thankfully Uncle-to-be Ryan was there for a little while to help entertain the kiddos. Hyrum sure had a blast building a snowman with him!

 Camilla made a little "olaf" of her own and was quite pleased with it!

 Before our guests arrived, we snapped a few pictures. I will have to get the ones with my Gramma and my Mamma off my sisters camera. 

We had a pretty awesome turn out. There was lots of fun to be had with the awesome games my Mom prepped and the delicious food! I am so proud of her and can't wait to see her and her husband to be sealed together in the Calgary temple in a couple of weeks!

"Joe Come Too"

 On Monday, when the littles started going crazy around the house, I bundled them up and sent them to the backyard to burn some energy. It was near the end of the afternoon, but the sun still felt warm on my cheeks as I sent them out the door. 

They had a lot of fun running around and pulling each other on the sled.

 This guys personality totally cracks me up lately!

 I loved the way the suns rays hit our backyard in the late afternoon.

 I also love how well these two get along!

 This guy was looking pretty handsome all suited up!

Shortly after we finished, Daddy had finished packing for another week away. This time it was only four days and for some reason that sounded so much better to me! Joseph was trudging through the house in someone's winter boots and a hat. When he learned that Daddy was almost ready to go, he walked over, looked Daddy in the eyes and asked sincerely, "Joe come too?" It was such a sweet little moment. After Daddy explained that he would be back soon, Joseph was okay to stay with me. We watched out the window and waved as Daddy drove away. We are counting down the weeks until we don't have to do this anymore! It is exciting that the end is in sight! December will be a good month.

A Ray of Sunshine

The other morning we woke up to the most beautiful sunrise. Camilla and I took a few minutes to admire the pink sky behind the snow covered rooftops. We also admired the way the frost sparkled on the trees as the sun came up. Frosted trees are one of my favorite things about winter. Though that moment was short, it was super special. 

Camilla has been growing and maturing a lot lately. She is like a little "Mom" stuck in a five year old's body. Lately she has been saying things like, "Don't worry, Mom, I can do that! I've been watching you, so now I know how!" Ever since she has started saying that, I have been watching my actions a lot closer. It was such a good reminder to me that I have a little mommy-to-be following in my footsteps and watching me closely. Her independence and excitement amaze me each day. She is always willing to help out with a smile and is super good at thinking up creative, fun ways to get her brothers to do things that I need them to do. Whenever I get a "no" response from Hyrum, she quickly jumps up and makes the problem into a game and Hyrum happily does whatever it was that I asked him to. I don't know what I would do without her!

Whenever we go grocery shopping she always chats with the cashier and says things like, "I'm five, he's three, my little brother is two, and there's one on the way!" Then she goes on to tell them how much she helps out around the house because "mommy's pregnant, and has a hard time with those things." 

She is one of the most thoughtful little people I know! She has been sick with a cough lately, so when I tucked her in the other night I told her to come and get me in the middle of the night if she needed anything. She then told me that usually she needs a drink of water, but she is too scared to go downstairs. I told her she can either wake me or Daddy when he's home and then she told me, "No, I won't wake Daddy tonight, because he has a long drive tomorrow and he really needs his sleep." There have also been more than a few mornings where she has gotten up and poured herself and her brothers a bowl of cheerios so that I could have a few extra minutes to rest. 

She loves to help me in the kitchen. Whenever I am making bread, she will pull a chair up to the island just to watch. She tells me it's because she wants to know how to do it when she's a mom. Whenever the cookie jar needs refilling she gladly grabs all of the ingredients and enjoys measuring and pouring for me. She is extra good at rolling the dough into balls for gingersnaps! 

It's hard being the oldest sometimes. I feel like we expect more of her because of how awesome she is, and sometimes I have to remind myself that she is just a kid. We sure do love her and her optimistic personality. Wherever there's a problem, there's an awesome solution from Camilla. She is such a happy-go-lucky girl and I hope she never loses that!

Two Years Old

 I can hardly believe it has been two years since Joseph joined our family. Time has gone by so fast! It's been so wonderful watching him learn and grow into the little man that he is today. I will never forget the joy I felt when he was placed on my chest seconds after being born. A chubby faced, sweet baby boy who was perfect in every way. I felt so blessed.

He was a tricky baby from day one, and has always been a big eater! The very first night we spent in the hospital he did not stop crying until a nurse fed him a bottle of formula. He nursed the most of my three babies and we have developed a pretty special relationship thanks to many many nights spent nursing and consoling.

 For a while he was nick-named "Mr. Serious" thanks to his furrowed brow and dark hair. Even though he seemed serious most of the time, we were still able to catch a few sleepy grins. It was pretty easy for the older two to fall in love with their "baby go". Hyrum still calls him "Joe-Joe" and it's the cutest.

He has delighted us all with his crazy personality lately! He is still "anti-sleep" and climbs more things than the other two ever did put together. He has been pretty excited to celebrate his "bip-day" and be "two". When we ask him what his name is, he replies, "Dough!" When we ask how old he is, he holds up his two pointer fingers and brings them together. He will repeat a lot of what people say these days and is learning new words every day. The first word he says every morning is usually "Hi!". He calls Hyrum "High-ya" and Camilla "Bubba". I love how well they all get along! I can't wait to see what a good big brother he will be! 

Two for the Road

Since Joseph is turning TWO next week, we decided to celebrate today with Daddy! It was a pretty low key day, but nice to relax and spend time together. I spent a few minutes checking out pinterest for a "fun" cake idea and came across a truck cake that looked simple enough. I baked up an old fashioned chocolate cake and constructed it into the shape of a truck.

Daddy offered to decorate it for me and did a fabulous job! I always love when we get to work together in the kitchen.

We both decided that it's the windshield wipers that made it.

And I also loved how the tail lights turned out.

While I finished up dinner, the littles hung out with their favorite guy and watched movie trailers. They were all pretty happy to have him home for the weekend!

After dinner Daddy lit the candles and we all sang "Happy Birthday" to Joseph.

He wasn't entirely sure what to think about that sparkler...

And he had no problem blowing out his candles thanks to all of the great help he got from his big sis.

I had Camilla snap a shot of Mr. S and I with our little man and Hyrum wanted in on it too!

It didn't take long for the littles to pick all of the candy and cookies off!

Earlier in the morning when I had gone to the grocery store with Joe, these two decided to wrap him some presents of his own. Camilla wrapped up a favorite teddy of hers and some little people from downstairs. Hyrum gave him two of his favorite trucks. It was super cute seeing how thoughtful they were being, even if they were used toys! The real heart melter for me was when I opened up one of Hyrum's cards that he made to find a doodle of the two brothers holding hands. I sure love these kids of mine!

Shortly after gifts, we started the bed time routine. Mr. Stannix and I went to bed soon after the children because we were just too tired to stay up late and do anything else. A very successful day if I do say so my self! Happy birthday Joseph!

Satisfying a Craving

 I have been craving a day like this for a long time. A day with almost no responsibilities, no projects to be completed, no errands to be run, and no need to drive anywhere. Not only have I been craving it, but I have been needing it. I haven't felt quite like myself lately. I've felt frazzled, busy, distracted, lonely and unmotivated. After today I feel a bit more like my old self.

We woke up to frosted trees, which is one of my favorite winter sights. The snow gently fell all day leaving just a skiff on the sidewalks and cars. I spent the morning playing with the children and building block towers with Joe. When it came time for his nap, I snuggled next to him instead of waiting outside his door for him to fall asleep. I thought about how quick these last couple of years have flown by. I can't believe he will be TWO on Monday! After he fell asleep I went downstairs again to see what the other two were up to. My messy kitchen distracted me on the way and I decided to do some damage control. I then realized we only had half a loaf of bread left and knew that I would need to make another batch soon. I felt super unmotivated to do it, but pulled out the bread bowl and started measuring and mixing anyways. 

It wasn't long until I was joined by the older two. Camilla proudly showed me her paper airplane that she folded all by herself after watching me only a few times. I kneaded the bread while paper airplanes whizzed around my head and the snow silently fell outside. It wasn't too long before Joseph joined us, clicking his tongue to notify me of his hunger. So we made up a batch of my favorite chocolate chip cookies and spent the rest of the afternoon flying airplanes and eating a pan or two of those.

 I loved watching them visit with each other...

 And experiment together...

 And laugh together...

 These cookies are seriously my favorite ever!

 Homemade bread just seems so comforting to me on a cold Winters day.

 While the bread was in the oven I also made up a couple dozen bagels. I realized part way in that we were out of cheese to put on top, so I experimented and made half of them into cinnamon and sugar swirl bagels. They aren't the prettiest, but they sure are tasty all toasted up, smothered in butter, and topped with a bit of brown sugar. I always loved when my Mom would buy these at the store. Since they were so expensive, we didn't have them often, so it was always a treat! I extra love that these didn't cost me very much to make at all! 

 Dinner time was sort of uneventful. I made spaghetti because the kids love it so much! The older two gobbled theirs up, leaving Joe and I at the table to finish up. 

 

 It didn't take long for our quiet time to turn into an awesome game of peek-a-boo!

 "Boo! Mommy!"

 And then he would laugh and laugh and laugh...

I am enjoying some quiet time now that they are all tucked in, the dishes loaded in the dishwasher, and the laundry tumbling in the washer. It is nice to sit down at days end and feel proud of a good days work. I enjoyed the time I got to spend today baking with the littles and adoring each of their big personalities. I am blessed.

Oilers vs. Sens

Tonight I got to go on a date with Mr. Stannix. He scored some tickets to the hockey game, I lined up a sitter, and off we went! It was so great to have him home a day early, the littles were so excited! It was also nice to have a night out, just the two of us. It's been a while. I loved sitting next to him at the game, laughing and holding hands. I loved when he would put his arm around me and pull me in close while we chatted. I sure have missed that guy this week! The game was pretty intense. Even though we lost, I think we played well. They made a great come back in the third period but got killed in the sudden death OT for a final score of 4-3 for the Sens. Good game though!

Post Lunch Snapshot

Just a little post lunch snapshot of my little guy and I.

He is so cute some days that I could smooch his cheeks all day.