Classy Dudes

Today our poor Daddy woke up with the flu. Since we have switched to afternoon church with the new year I had all morning to dress the littles and get them fed. Even though we had tons of time it was still a rough morning. I had children complaining that they were hungry and then complaining that they were full because they didn't want to eat what I made for lunch. Joseph has perfected his high pitched scream and it really makes me crazy when he does it. We managed to make it to church with twenty minutes to spare. As I was getting everyone unbelted I realized that I forgot the diaper bag at home. By the time we had made it home and back we were two minutes late. We quickly ran into the building, took off our coats and rushed to the chapel to find a seat. I left Finley in his carseat and only took him out when he woke up part way through the meeting. Thankfully after I swaddled him, he went right back to sleep so that I could deal with the other three. One of them decided to flail about the benches and complain about how hungry they were for the whole meeting. Joseph alternated between running the full length of the bench over and over and making farting noises on the back of his hand. Overall I think they did pretty good. They loved their classes and the only other chaotic part was getting coats on at the end of the day. When I got home Daddy had managed to clean the kitchen for me and was feeling a little bit better. Uncle Arland and Auntie Naomi dropped by for a surprise visit later on in the evening. We all thought it was pretty cute the way Finley and his uncle were all matching. 

Nap Time

Finley is two weeks old today. I love that he's here and I am able to check his breathing whenever I'm worried.  This afternoon when he was sleeping I snuck into his room to check on him. I loved watching his chest rise and fall as he slept in the quiet corner room. He looked so content and peaceful. I could have watched him sleep all afternoon. 

 

New Years Day

 Our New Years was pretty low key this year. We packed our skates but it ended up snowing, so we never made it to the rink. I spent the morning over at my grandparents house watching Gramma enjoy her baby snuggles with Finley. She used to be a nurse back in the day and told us stories about when she had to care for fourteen newborns in the nursery at the hospital. I loved the way she handled Finley with such care and love. 

While he was up on her chest she placed her left hand on his back and held him close. I admired her hands, worn and wrinkled from years of service and mothering as well as her gold wedding band which was a simple symbol of the love she and my Grampa share. I would have taken a picture but it wouldn't have done the moment justice. I enjoyed visiting with them and hearing the stories they had to tell. I only wish my memory was better and that I could record those stories more often.

 The littles spent most of their afternoon outside. Grampa pulled them behind the quad and they even went and picked up the little neighbour girl to play with. They had so much fun being gently whipped around on the sled.  We spent the afternoon over at my aunt and and uncles enjoying a delicious meal and great company. It's so great to be able to spend time with family over the holidays!

Being at my mom and dad's also gave me a few quiet moments to enjoy Finley while the other kids were being loved by their grandparents. I sure do love this little guy! I can't believe he will be two weeks old on the weekend!

 

We finished off the evening with a little bit of tummy time and a couple games of Ticket to Ride. We all stayed up way too late, but I enjoyed winning a few games for once!

New Years Eve

 This week we made a spontaneous decision to ring in the new year at the acreage. It's always nice to get out of the city and Finley had to meet his Great Gramma Purdon before he got too big! We traveled out in the early afternoon and spent a lot of time relaxing and enjoying my mamma's delicious cooking. 

 We are still enjoying having our Daddy home! I have really appreciated the time he's had off work to be with us over the holidays. 

 The littles took advantage of the warmer temperatures and went tobogganing until the sun set. Camilla is the best big sister and loved pushing the boys down the hill and listening to them giggle.

Happy New Year!

Choosing to Laugh

Today was a fairly productive day. I feel like I'm finally getting the hang of this mother of four thing. Lately I have moments where I feel stuck and think that I will never be able to leave the house again because four kids is a lot, and then I have moments where I think to myself I got this.  The morning seems to come earlier and earlier each day and Joseph has started waking up at night again. After setting up the crib it has taken us a while to figure out the bedrooms. Dressers had to be swapped to make more room and clothes were piled high everywhere. Finley has soaked through at least five outfits a day and the laundry seems never ending, but we are trucking along. I have managed to bake bread, fill the cookie jar and keep the kitchen pretty tidy so far this week. Joseph has started getting a little jealous of Finley and almost every time I sit down to nurse Joseph stands beside me crying his eyes out while begging me to play with him. One time today after a long ten minutes of crying, Joseph gave Finley the biggest glare while he angrily growled at him. Mike and I couldn't help but laugh, it was pretty funny. We are trying to work with him though and I'm sure he'll get over it soon. 

Tonight I decided to make up some butter chicken and homemade naan bread for dinner. I passed Finley off to Camilla while I cooked. She gladly sat with him on the couch telling him how cute he was in her adorable little mothering voice. Every few minutes I would call out to her and make sure things were going alright. I continued working, measuring and mixing ingredients for the naan bread. Just as I started kneading the dough Camilla frantically told me to come help her. Finely decided to soak through another outfit and it leaked onto Camilla's favorite dress. "It's warm!" she said to me, her eyes brimming with tears. I scooped up Fin, consoled Camilla and went upstairs to quickly change the diaper. While I was changing it Joseph was pulling on my legs and pockets crying for something and Hyrum asked me three times to help him into his spiderman costume. Just as we finished up and started down the stairs I could smell our dinner burning. Finley was screaming to be fed and Joseph was still tugging at my pant legs for attention. I shut off the stove and sat myself down in a chair to feed the baby. My first reaction was to cry, but after replaying the whole thing in my mind I had to just smile. Thankfully I could salvage the chicken, and the naan turned out awesome, we just ended up eating an hour later then I had planned.

Lately I have just learned to roll with whatever comes our way. I have been trying to give up my vision of how things should be and enjoy them as they are. I love my kids, Mr. Stannix and our crazy house. I am excited to see what next year will bring!

Boxing Day

I was pretty glad when Finley decided to make his appearance before Christmas. I would have been worried about him coming ON Christmas all week long had he not come early. It's been fun having a baby over the holiday season and we have enjoyed lots of visits from family and friends.

On boxing day Emma and Ryan came up to meet their new nephew.

My brother Mike and his fiance Kristen also stopped by for a bit in the afternoon.

My parents drove up to spend the day with us and Mum helped me give Finley his first bath.

Before they left I snagged this sweet picture of Grampa with Finley. His middle name is after his Grampa.  We think he is a pretty special man for Finley to look up to.

Brother, I'll Follow You

One morning this week the boys joined us in our bed for snuggles with the baby. Mike asked Joseph if he was going to serve a mission and he replied with a firm, "No!". Next, he asked Hyrum the same question and he replied with a little laugh, "Yeah". Then Mike looked at Joe again and said, "Hyrum's going to go on a mission. If Hyrum goes, will you go?" Joseph thought for a second, nodded his head and said, "High-ya go, Joe go." It was such a sweet little moment and one that I hope they will remember later. 

Today the boys had their last Sunday together in Nursery. Next week Hyrum moves into Sunbeams and Joseph will be on his own. They have wonderful nursery leaders and we always hear funny stories about the boys when we pick them up after class. When Joseph first started in nursery he had a really hard time and would often seek out his brother for comfort. Hyrum would sweetly hug his brother until he felt better and then the two of them would go off and play. The nursery leaders thought this was so cute and even took a few pictures of it. These boys have been so lucky to spend this time together! Things are going to be different for them both in the new year, but I hope that Joe will always remember the example of his big brother as he follows him through primary. The brotherly love that they are showing now is living up to their names.

One Week

 Our baby Finley is one week old today! Time seems to go faster with each baby. This week has felt like a blurr of days mixed with days. I am getting used to functioning like a zombie again, but can't complain all that much because Mr. Fin really is a good little sleeper. He is such a good baby! So chill and relaxed. He loves being held and will sleep up to four hours at a time in my arms. He's also spent a couple of nights in his crib doing two and a half hour stints. When he is awake he is pretty charming for the most part and the only time he ever cries is if he's starving or getting his bum changed. He is adored by his siblings and they are always fighting over who gets to hold him. He gets at least one hundred kisses a day and they love to touch his little head. 

I have been trying to cherish as much time as I can with this little guy before Mike heads back to work and my attention gets split four ways. It's been hard for me to put him down and there are many times I wish I could hold him all day long. He is such a snuggler and I love having him in my arms. I like the quiet moments we share in the evenings after everyone is tucked in for the night. I love watching him sleep, especially when he flashes me those sleepy baby grins. I adore giving him eskimo kisses and holding his face next to mine as I kiss his little cheeks over and over again. I can't get enough of his little feet, long fingers, and fuzzy hair.

 

He has spent a lot of time sleeping in his first week of life and is just starting to have more awake time. When he is awake and fed he is happy to hang out in his big sister's arms while she talks to him. This usually results in a bad case of the hiccups because he gets to excited, and then Camilla can't stop laughing because he sounds like a squeak toy. Hyrum loves spending quiet time with the baby and will often lay beside him on our bed when he's asleep and just stare at him. Joseph has become quite familiar with Finley now and sometimes tries to pick him up when he thinks I'm not looking. When I change him and he cries Joseph will come in and say, "It's ahhh-kay buddy, it's ah-kay!" Finley is definitely well loved around here!

Christmas Day

 On Christmas morning the littles didn't wake up until 7:00am. I was up shortly before them to feed Finley and waited patiently for everyone to join us on the bed and open their stockings. Joseph sat on the floor beside me opening chocolate after chocolate. He couldn't be bothered with the presents Santa left for him in his stocking. After they finished we all made our way downstairs, plugged in the Christmas lights and slowly opened presents. I think one of my favorite things this year was watching them open the presents they got from each other.

 They each went to the dollar store with Daddy and picked out a gift for each other to put under the tree. I was so impressed by the thought that they put into these gifts. Hyrum got Camilla a frozen coloring book and she loved it! She got him a cool army set which he set up right away.

 Hyrum excitedly watched as Joseph opened up his dino. I loved seeing them so excited about the gifts that they gave. So special.

 One of Camilla's favorite gifts was her Elsa dress. I've never seen her change her clothes so quickly!

 Joseph enjoyed his little "Kee-kee Gorsh" jack in the box.

 We took our time playing in between present opening.

 Hyrum got a lot of super hero stuff, including an awesome Spider Man costume!

 Joseph killed me with cuteness in his fleece moose jammies.

 Nana came by in the late morning and surprised the littles with some great gifts. 

 I couldn't resist piling them all in the sled for a picture!

 We spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying time together.

I can't get over how big this boy looks these days!  He is sure a great kid. We finished up our day with Turkey dinner (big thanks to Mr. Stannix for all of his help)! Everything was super delish. By the time the littles went to sleep, Mr. Stannix and I weren't too far behind. It was such a wonderful day!

Christmas Letter

 Dear Family and Friends,

We wanted to wish you all a merry Christmas and happy new year! It's been a busy year for us, full of great memories! The beginning started out a bit tough with the loss of a much anticipated fourth baby five months into the pregnancy but we learned a lot and grew closer together as a family. Despite our trials, we continued to count our blessings each day. 

In February we attended Mike's CA graduation at the Shaw Conference Center. It was a wonderful day spent honoring all of his hard work and dedication over the last six years as he has worked towards accomplishing this goal. We are so proud of him! 

The Spring time brought us a new van, puddle jumping and lazy afternoons spent painting. In May we took a mini vacation and attended my little brother's wedding in Vancouver. It was great to enjoy the spring flowers and gorgeous blossoms while we were there celebrating with family and friends. 

During the Summer months we took advantage of our back yard and enjoyed many afternoons outdoors blowing bubbles, playing in the sprinkler and enjoying the sandbox that Daddy and Grampa built. We also spent a few days at the Legislature grounds swimming in the wading pools and exploring nature. In June we took the kids to the Calgary zoo for a day. We all enjoyed the animals, especially the penguins! In August I started up a little crochet business and has been keeping fairly busy with orders since she opened up shop!

In the Fall Camilla started Kindergarten! She has enjoyed reading, writing and math and is constantly learning and asking questions. In September Mike was given the opportunity to get more education and experience in his firm. This opportunity required him to train with the office in Calgary for three months and though the timing was bad with me being in the last three months of a pregnancy, we decided to go ahead with it. The littles and I spent some time at the Acreage and enjoyed visiting Daddy for a few weeks on and off in Calgary. Mike was a trooper and drove the roads home on the weekends to see everyone. We definitely cherish the time we are together more than we ever have before!

December has been an exciting month and we are ending the year with our hearts full to the brim with gratitude and happiness. Mike finished up his training and is back home full time. The kids love having Daddy back and are so much happier when we are all together. A few weeks ago we went to Calgary to see my little sister marry in the Calgary temple. It was a great day spent with family and friends! Just a week later we welcomed our newest addition into our family. It's still weird to think we are a family of six! He weighed 6lbs 15oz and we named him Finley Garth. As the Christmas season is upon us we are enjoying our new little baby and the sweet spirit he brings into our home.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year!

Love,