Unseasonably Warm

 The weather has been unseasonably warm! It's November and we are still wearing t-shirts outside! This afternoon my little monkey's took to the trampoline for some brotherly bonding. I went out and watched them pile on top of each other over and over and giggle their heads off. The breeze was warm and the sun felt wonderful! I have been making them play outside as much as they can before the snow flies and we have to be cooped up a little more often. It was such a lovely afternoon with these guys! Boys are so fun!

Piggyback Rides

This morning while I was on the phone, rocking the baby and appeasing Joe's complaints....Hyrum ran by with Finley propped up on his back. They were both giggling away! The ride would end with Hyrum throwing him onto the couch, and then Fin would stand up and climb right back on again. It was nerve wracking to watch. I kept thinking Hyrum would trip over toys and both of them would fall, or that Finley would let go and Hyrum wouldn't be able to catch him. While I was listening on the phone I would whisper "please walk" over and over again. Eventually I just let them be. They were having so much fun and no one was getting hurt. Having four boys is certainly chaotic some days, but today I caught a glimps of the fierce love these brothers have for each other and it made my mamma heart smile!

Visiting Nana

We had a great visit with Nana this weekend! She gathered the Stannix side together for a nice brunch. Mike's Uncle and Aunt got to meet Oliver for the first time.

And Uncle Mike gave the boys endless piggy-back rides. They love playing with their great-uncle!

The kids were super cranky mid afternoon thanks to a midnight bed time and early morning. I knew they needed naps so we buckled them in and went for a drive. Finley and Joe passed out before we even left and the other two weren't far behind. When Camilla woke up she did her best Robin Williams impression and the first words out of her mouth were, "Ten thousand yeeeeeears....gives ya such a crick in the NECK!" It made me laugh so much. I love that girl and her humour.

Nana's new place backs onto the ravine with a trail just outside her door. The kids kept asking when we could go on a walk into the "spooky forest" and were thrilled when we went out late Saturday afternoon to explore.

While the chicken cooked in the oven we went out to enjoy the last bit of sunlight!

The kids love getting off the beaten path to explore on their own. Daddy went up this giant hill with them and they were thrilled with the view at the top!

I sure love this handsome guy!!

Hyrum collected sticks along the way and used them as swords. He is all boy!!

I got to walk along side my big girl on the way home. I can't believe how mature she is getting. I love listening to her talk and having conversations with her. She keeps telling me that all she wants for Christmas is her two front teeth!

Date Night

 We are up in Edmonton visiting Nana & friends for the weekend. Tonight after we tucked the kids into bed we went out on a double date with our favorite couple! Since moving away from Edmonton a year ago we have averaged a visit with the Wolsey's almost once a month! Tonight we went to Moxies for some appetizers and dessert! 

Oliver smiled and cooed at Jessica for quite a while! We laughed at the fact that we weren't allowed to get a pitcher of water, so they just kept bringing us glass after glass. 

 The waitress forgot to put our food order in, so we had a pretty long wait. Then she came back to the table and let us know that dessert was on them. I ordered the dessert trio because I couldn't decided which one I wanted. They were all delish!

We finished off the night visiting at their home. We are so grateful for great friends and uplifting conversation! It was so wonderful to see these guys again!

Sunshine in my Soul

It's been a rough couple of weeks! This whole post-partum thing is hard some times. I've never really struggled like this after any of my other babies, but this time, with so much on my plate and so many littles needing me I am having a hard time staying on top of things. I can spend a whole afternoon doing dishes, only to have the counter full of them again shortly after dinner. I can wash all of our clothes, only to have the basket fill up again before the day is through....

These last few days I've given up on house work. Instead I spent my days curled up in my favorite chair reading a novel while listening to the children argue and grump while they worked off their Halloween candy. I chose to ignore it, and let them work it out. I needed some Mommy time to recharge my batteries and feel normal again. I read over half of my novel in just one afternoon while the dishes sat on the counter and the toys scattered all over the basement. It was exactly what I needed!

I finished the last little bit this morning, and then took the boys to play at the park for the afternoon. The weather has been amazing for this time of the year and I want to make sure we soak up as much of this sunshine and fresh air as we can before Winter hits.

I am super grateful for Mike's patience and love as I struggle to find myself again and get into routine. Ollies dimpled grins are also a huge help when the days get tough! I am so so blessed.

Six Week Visit

Today we went into the city for our last and final visit with my midwife. I've said it before but I am so grateful to have gotten on with a midwife team again. The care they give is outstanding! Hayley was excited to see us when we walked in and couldn't believe how big Oliver is already! He weighed in at a whopping twelve pounds and she said he's doing great! The three boys played with toys at my feet while we chatted about how things are going with five. She also admitted that Oliver was her first delivery as a registered midwife, but didn't want to tell me that when I was in labor. We had a good laugh about that! Before we left, Hyrum took a few pictures for us and we exchanged hugs. Hayley was awesome to work with and I will miss our visits!!

Trick or Treat

Our Halloween preparations were a bit behind this year. Usually we carve pumpkins the Monday before Halloween, but life's been busy! I told the kids we were just going to do it on Halloween day and Camilla made sure to let me know that she would like us to do it after school because she doesn't want to ever miss out on any traditions. She is a girl after her Momma's heart!! I love traditions and it's been fun creating them with our family of littles over the last few years.

It's a good thing we did wait until after school because Camilla was a champ at scooping out pumpkin guts. Neither of the boys were very into it. Hyrum asked to wash his hands a few minutes after touching the insides of the pumpkin.

We took our time and I let them do most of the work!

When Finley woke up he was pretty excited to join in on the fun!

"Ewwwww!"

I made them all pose on the front porch nice and early in the evening to get a picture of their costume choices. Finley used Hyrum's old superman costume from when he was that age. Joe chose Spider man. Hyrum wanted to be a ninja and Camilla and I came up with the grape costume together.

Daddy got home from work just in time to join in on the fun!

We went up our street and back. We took the GoPro and got a video of it all, but I haven't had time to upload it yet. Finley got tired after two or three houses and decided he'd rather stand in the middle of the sidewalk and eat his chips then walk to more houses. He didn't quite get the concept of trick or treating. It was super funny. Near the end we were wishing we'd brought the wagon. The two little boys were done by the time we made it back to the house, but the older two went back out with Daddy for a little bit longer. They came home and excitedly went through their loot. Daddy and I picked out the yucky stuff and they put the rest away for tomorrow. After tucking them into their warm beds, I turned out the light in our dear jack-o-lantern and joined Daddy for a spooky movie. 

A Quick Visit

 We slipped out to the acreage last week for a quick visit. I wanted my grandparents to be able to meet Oliver before he got too big for them to hold and cuddle. We drove out Thursday afternoon since Camilla had no school the next day. 

Friday morning we woke up to the most beautiful snowfall. It was wet and heavy and stuck to the branches of the trees around the acreage. It was so nice to cozy up inside and visit with everyone.

 Ollie was quite captivated by Gramma and grinned constantly while they visited.

 The little guy has chilled out quite a bit over the last couple of weeks. I love his little personality. He's pretty easy going like the rest of them!! 

 I hardly got any pictures of the other kids. They were busy playing with auntie's puppies and building lego all day long. Hyrum really enjoyed building this lego plane and was quite proud of his work!

Camilla and auntie Emma dug out Gramma's paints one afternoon and painted some awesome pumpkin pictures. I was so proud of Camilla's work I had to snap a picture of it!

Before we left I went over to visit my Grandparents one last time. Gramma didn't want any pictures taken, she hadn't had time to fix her hair yet. My sister snuck this one of Grampa and Oliver. His middle name, William, is my Grampa's first name (but everyone calls him Bill). I wanted to make sure I had a picture of the two of them together. Grampa told me that Oliver farm equipment used to be some of the finest farm equipment around. I held my Grampa's shaky hands before I left, gave him a hug and told him I loved him. He has a hard time saying that "L" word, but I can always feel of his love when we visit!