Some Little Things

It is pretty late and I'm pretty tired, but alas here I sit to keep up our family record. Before I sat down I glanced around the main floor of our house. Super hero costumes are strewn around the kitchen, empty sippy cups hide in the corners of the couch and mismatched socks dot the stairs. These last few weeks have been pretty crazy. I wish I could spend all day holding and cuddling Finley while he sleeps. Luckily I get lots of cuddle time in the evenings. I'm even typing this one handed as I snuggle Finley in my other arm, waiting for him to drift off to sleep so that I can sleep in my own bed for a few hours.

Mr. Stannix is back to work this week. I am pretty emotional still some days as I survive on limited sleep and eat here and there when I can squeeze it in. Days still blur into each other and I end up feeling quite unproductive at days end because all I've managed to do is nurse the baby, change a bunch of diapers and keep bellies full. I have felt totally stuck, and the thought of leaving the house with four kids was terrifying to me. Today we did manage to get groceries out of necessity because our fridge was empty and I missed having cereal for a quick breakfast. I am so grateful for a loving husband who looks me in the eyes at days end and says, "You're a good mom. We have happy kids."

One of my goals this year is to spend more quality time with the kids. Not just being present each day, but really being there for them. I want to give them more hugs and kisses, and make sure they have my full attention when they tell me things. I want to lecture less and love them more. There have been many evenings where I've been in tears as I go over the days events regretting not having made that extra effort with one child or another (or sometimes all four). I long to ask those mothers of large families how they successfully divide their time between so many children. Sometimes the only thing that keeps me going is to blog and record these little things that I jot down each day to savor later.

Camilla is so grown up and says the funniest things. She does such a great job with her little brothers and enjoys being a little "mommy". She is constantly reminding me how lucky I am to have her. I think helping out makes her feel good about herself. She has such a giving heart and eyes to see the needs of others. Sometimes when I'm sitting on the couch she will wrap me in a blanket to warm me up. Lately she has been coming up with these hilarious ideas and the way she explains them always leaves us laughing together. Her latest is, "What if we had a robot that makes spaghetti so fast you'll have it in a jiffy?! I wish I had one of those." Her imagination is still used constantly and I love hearing the three kids imagine and play together. Tonight after I finished tucking her in, I could tell she still had something to say. "Do you have a question for me?" I asked. She replied, "Well yes...but I forget. Oh yeah! It's a funny one..." She let out a little laugh and then elaborately described a day from this Summer that she tucked away in her memory. I layed beside her in the dark and smiled as she spilled out every detail. She is sure a special girl.
 

Hyrum cracks me up lately, though he has really started to enjoy picking on his brother and making him scream. One morning when he had spilled his cereal for the second day in a row I muttered, "Bummer dude" as I cleaned it up. Then Hyrum happily exclaimed, "Nope! Not on my bum! Gee that's clean mom!" He is really into super heroes lately and is always pretending to be one hero or another. He sometimes sticks his play sword down the back of his shirt and pretends to be a ninja turtle. He adores his new spider man costume and has some pretty sweet sound effects to go with it. When we were out at the acreage last Hyrum came up to me one morning and said, "There was somebody in my bed last night, Mom." I replied, "Oh really? Who?" He said, "I dunno, but it sounded like this..." and then made some sweet snoring noises. He was convinced there was someone in his bed with him, but I think it was someone in the house who sometimes snores really loud. We all got a good laugh out of it. Lately it's been hard to get a good picture of Hyrum genuinely smiling. I'm not sure why that is, but we are working on it! Sometimes when we are driving or eating at the table Hyrum will say, "Camilla, Is this a good smile?" It's super cute watching him practise all of his different smiles. He is such a sweet kid and has such a desire to be good and do what's right, even if he is a bit of a "rebel" right now.

Joseph is as busy as ever. He rang in the New Year with a bang, literally. On New Year's eve he fell off a tall chair onto a cement floor right on his noggin. The next day he was sledding and went right underneath a parked truck. He's looking a little rough and tumble these days. He also has a "big boy" hair cut now. It's super short and I still want to cry over all of the blonde locks that were on the floor that night. I miss my baby Joe. He is so grown up now! Some of the things he says just kill me. Whenever I ask him to do something he replies, "Ahhhh-kay Mommy...Ahhhh-kay." He is talking a lot but can still be tricky to understand. Anything that starts with an "S" starts with an "H" if you're Joe. Soup is "Hoop".  A Sippy is a "Hippy". When he is done eating he will say, "I needa cwof a wipe hans". "Joe do it!" is also a popular phrase these days. Whenever we stop at a store I will hear "I anna come too! Joe come too!" And when he says he loves you it comes out "I woof you!" He loves to brush his teeth. He is constantly stealing my phone (or the "he-wo"). He is a little parrot and loves to repeat what the older two say. He has a strange obsession with the toilet brush so I've had to hide it. He's a total show off, has a pretty awesome cheesy grin and a contagious laugh. He loves to take his pants off and will often pull them down when company is over just to get a laugh. He asks for "bepest" (breakfast) all day long and is constantly hungry! Camilla's name is now "Wee-a" which is totally adorable. He will often point at our family picture and name each of us, "Da-dee, Wee-a, High-a, Mommy, Dough!" He calls his shadow a ghost and pretends to be afraid of it. He loves curious george and calls him "Kee-kee gorsh". If you kiss his cheek he will exclaim "Ucky! Pee-you!" while he wipes it off. If he toots in the car and you call him a stinker he will respond, "Noooo. High-ya a tinker!" and blame it all on Hyrum. He is a busy boy, and keeps us on our toes, but we sure do love him!

And then there's baby Finley. He is such an easy baby! He still sleeps a lot and is very easy going. He is passed around from sibling to sibling most of the day and just eats up all of the attention and snuggles. The noise doesn't seem to bother him and he will still nurse while Joseph screams away beside us. Every day I wish I could just sit on the couch and snuggle him while he sleeps because I know all too well how fast this time passes!

The Early Afternoon

 The early afternoon brought me a sleepy baby on my bed.

Let's take a closer look at that double chin...

 

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!