Snow Day

 Yesterday afternoon the children begged to go outside. It was super cold and I knew they wouldn't last long. Sometimes it seems like we spend more time getting dressed in our snow gear than we actually do playing outside. When I was leaving my midwife appointment the other day a sweet Gramma told me that she hated all of the bundling and belting the kids in the Winter. I completely understood where she was coming from. I have often had numb fingers after zipping three coats and belting three children into the car. But yesterday I had numb fingers because I couldn't stop taking pictures of the sheer joy and excitement that covered their faces as they jumped off the deck into the fresh deep snow, or fell backwards trusting the snow would break their fall. 

They were so excited that the snow was so deep! They spent a good chunk of time making trails and rediscovering the joy of snow.

 I loved watching Hyrum trail through the deep snow with wonder in his eyes. Life is so exciting when you're a kid. It was so great to have a moment where I saw things as he did and felt some of the excitement he must have been feeling.

Camilla was the last one to come in. She made herself a nice cozy hole and pretended to take a nap in it. When they were all cozied up at the table to a cup of hot chocolate I looked around at the snow gear dropped on the floor and the puddles that were forming beneath their boots and for once I wasn't annoyed. I had spent some time capturing their joy and seeing life through their eyes. A new perspective sure is nice sometimes.

Warm and Cozy

Winter has officially arrived! We woke up yesterday to a lot of snow. Before we could go to my Midwife appointment in the morning I had to shovel us out of the house. Though it wasn't fun driving to my appointment, it was nice to arrive to such a cozy office. I loved being able to cozy up with the kids on the couch and chat with my Midwife as the snow gently fell out the big window. Joseph always helps at my appointments and I love how my Midwife encourages it. Since the children were already bundled I made sure to run all of my errands while we were out in the morning. 

When we came home, you could barely tell I had shoveled. The children were begging for some baked goods (namely banana chocolate chip muffins) so I decided to go to work repairing the oven. Mr. Stannix said he would do it for me on the weekend, but with all of the snow we were getting, the prospect of him making it home was looking very slim. I am happy to say that I successfully changed the element in the oven with a lot of awkward bending and squatting to get around my belly. Half an hour later I was pulling warm banana chocolate chip muffins out of the oven. We each had one along with some warm homemade vanilla pudding. While we ate, the snow slowly fell outside. And while we played downstairs, the snow kept falling and falling. After I tucked the littles in and made sure they were asleep, I bundled up to shovel. When I opened the front door, I laughed out loud because the snow had drifted part way up the bottom of the door. It was quite the workout to find those sidewalks again!

We got more snow over night. At least it's the light sparkly stuff. It's a beautiful winter wonderland out there. I just wish the roads were better so that Mr. Stannix could come home for his birthday this weekend! We sure miss him! Joseph keeps counting down the "fweeps" until Daddy is home. We are nearing the end of our milk and eggs and I should probably go grocery shopping, but I'd rather cozy up with the littles and spend the day at home baking and crafting. After I put Joseph down for his nap, I  stopped to admire how cozy and content he looked and suddenly was wishing we could all cozy up in our beds for the afternoon while the snow slowly fell outside. But I guess snuggling up to a movie is a close second!

Sibling Date

 Tonight my little brother treated me to the Symphony. It was really great to get out of the house for the evening and let someone else put the littles to sleep! Downtown was beautiful. I love the way they light up the trees at Christmas time. We sat nice and close to the front and got to admire the way those string players move their fingers. The music was delightful, but I think we both really enjoyed watching the conductor! There were a few times where we were quietly laughing together while she bounced around and shook her hair to the music. It made me ache to play my flute again and be a part of such great music. One day I will find some community band somewhere and join it! It was great to enjoy a night out with my brother taking in something we both love so much. 

In Summary

Whew! It's been a busy day. Mr. H started puking shortly after he woke up. It's always so sad to see them sick! So I canceled all of my plans (believe me, today was busy for a Tuesday), the children stayed in their jammies all day, and Thomas the Train re-runs played all afternoon while Hyrum slept on the couch between puking sessions. Meanwhile, Joseph only pulled the toilet brush out three times, nothing got thrown in the toilet, and my phone only got highjacked by little fingers once. After dinner I threw Joe in the tub to kill time. Minus the buckets of water he dumped on my bathroom floor, I'd say it was a success. I've been having some awesome Braxton Hicks all day long and I'm crossing my fingers this baby stays put for a few more weeks! Camilla was a huge help when she wasn't plugging her ears and closing her eyes to block out Hyrum's puke sounds... And now I've stayed up way too late! Wish me luck tomorrow!

(This cheesy grin keeps me going!)

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!