Jason's 34th Birthday

This handsome guy that we are so lucky to have turned 34. 

We had breakfast burritos to kick off the day and then mostly just hung around here. I was on day 2 of the flu and  felt awful from the flu and awful that I couldn't do much to put together a whole lot. There were plans for an outing into Montreal that had to be postponed. But I did make a cake that ACTUALLY turned out which is a pretty big birthday present to the birthday boy in and of itself! Add a greek dinner to the mix, the mild weather that permitted a little bike ride in a nearby park, lots of extra hugs and kisses, and handmade gifts from the kids then it was actually a fairly big success (all things considered). Milayla made some gingersnaps for Jason and decorated them with faces. And Atticus made a little ring box for Jason from clay because he can't seem to remember where he puts his rings when he takes them off! 

It was a fun day. We are so happy and blessed to have Jason in our family. He is so patient and hard working and loving. I know I feel like I hit the jackpot with him as my husband and eternal companion. And I know the kids are head-over-heels with him as their dad and look up to him so much. The kids couldn't wait to celebrate Jason's birthday and wanted to spoil him with as many hugs, kisses and wonderful memories as they possibly could. Thanks, Jason for letting us celebrate YOU! Words truly are not enough to explain or express how much we love you (and your ability to make us laugh :) ). HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Hope it was a great one for you. 

Snippet of life lately with the kids

Phineas doesn't seem a fan of winter. Can't say I blame him. In the eyes of an 18 month old winter consists of taking a long time getting layers upon layers on to go outside into the cold. The cold where you can hardly move because of all the layers and can't walk many places because you aren't big enough or steady enough to walk through all that snow.

I think he is slowly making peace with it all though as he gets better at navigating those playing-in-the-snow days. Yet, the duration he would like to stay outside is significantly shorter than his big siblings.

Though, I must say there is very little in this world that is cuter than a bundled up babe waddling over snowy sidewalks. Even cuter is when he picks up his own little blue shovel and gives his absolute best go at helping to shovel the driveway. He is so determined. And so enthusiastic about it.

Thus is the latest demeanour of Phineas about everything; our little 19 month old. You have never seen anyone nod their head so deliberately and full heartedly until you have seen Phineas do it after giving you a very contemplative face about whatever is questioned of him. He is so insanely inquisitive and seems to be soaking up everything like a sponge. He points at everything and will keep pointing until you tell him what it is he is pointing at. I'm sure he is storing all that vocabulary in there securely but he rarely uses it yet. Though 'mama' is securely and consistently used every singly day in multiple ways and multiple tones. Hearing your children call you mama (or any version of it) is sweet beyond words. And his giggle and squeals fill up this mama heart; sure would love to hear him start using that bank of words more though. He loves to give hugs and kisses and adores his bed time ritual of giving everyone in the family a hug and a kiss before bed. And he will never be one to be left out of a hug. You can bet if there is a hug going on that he will be joining. And then tackling you and giggling about it.


Milayla has the sweetest little voice ever and with her vocabulary soaring it is an epic blend of sweet and incredibly smart. I love hearing how she phrases her sentences and questions. Not to mention the way she talks with her hands and full body movement. They are so thought out and deliberate. Then there is her determination to apply herself to things of interest. She is so creative and will fill any time she can with self directed art. She loves art. On days when she's grumpy it only seems to take some momma cuddles, some art time and a book with me to turn things around. And she is so very thoughtful. For example, after lunch the other day I had taken Phineas upstairs to get him ready for nap and asked Milayla to clear her lunch dish from the table. When I called down to see what was taking her so long she told me that she was doing some secret service and would be up in a minute (if that was all right..). She had cleared her dish, washed off the table AND was sweeping the floor. Wow! Talk about initiative, thoughtfulness, and just a big heart of gold. She volunteered to give the family home evening lesson this week and the most important thing on her mind to teach about - love.


Then there is her dancing. She loves to dance. It's so lovely to see her twirling and creating her own dances. And she is now dedicating herself to daily piano practice. She is in the stages of learning the basic building blocks and she gets so excited for her practice time each morning. Oh, and she's reading. That's kind of a big deal. It's fun to watch the world come alive in a whole new way to her. And then there is the way she creates incredible imagination play with Phineas and Atticus. She is doing so well at being a big sister and Phineas just adores her. She is learning the art of patience as Phineas wants to do everything the big kids do but some of his abilities aren't quite there yet. She is a true delight. And so creative. Currently, she would like to use that creativity to learn how to build houses. How fun! I took her on a little mid-day date last weekend and it was so amazing to sit down with just her and hear all her thoughts. We grabbed hot chocolate at the book store and looked at books. She loved seeing the coloring books (the tougher, bigger kid ones that are so popular right now) and was really interested to see some books that had some pictures of different homes. We're both already looking forward to the next date together.


And Mr. Atticus is just coming up with new ideas all the time and usually building them out of lego. He thinks he'd like to become a train engineer. Though, we do our best to remind him he has plenty of time to figure that out. His lego creations are really quite incredible and well though out - from safari trucks to animals to homes with fireplaces (that all look remarkably good!) his brain processes building really well. He also loves cooking with us, reading, and the fact that he is learning division. He loves read aloud book time during homeschool but also loves stepping up and offering to read a book to Milayla. And recently he has begun trying to share some of the things that he is learning by teaching them to Milayla. I love hearing him teach the new things because he is so patient and encouraging. He gets so excited when his siblings accomplish something. I would like to hope that he is modelling that behaviour from us as we teach them because I know we sure try to relay positive encouragement to our children. I took him on a morning date on the weekend and we went sledding. We laughed so much. It was the perfect sledding day. And it was so awesome getting some time with just him. He has some great ideas and great thoughts. He is an old soul. And there is also his art - he loves getting learn to draw books from the library and has been drawing some really magnificent things. And learning cursive. Oh and he loves science. Loves it. He is just a great kid, and a really great big brother.


And those three delightful children are the largest part of my life and I wouldn't have it any other way. Homeschool is busy, sometimes a little crazy, but working just right for us. I'm learning the art of knowing when to stick to the routine and when to let the day adjust and bend with the events of the day. Which is a big milestone for me.  I've already begun planning the next step in our curriculum and there will be some fun items for sure. I took some pictures of the kids the other day to finally fill some of the empty frames on the wall. I was aiming for true-to-life pictures and I think I certainly got a few little details of those beaming personalities. Those pictures will come in a separate post. They're worth the wait :).

February Snippets

Life's been a bit crazy lately and my focus hasn't been on getting pictures done all that much. So I am actually writing this well after February, but glad to be getting it done regardless. I'm learning that there are a lot of things that really don't matter. As I see what has really mattered to the kids, I know that time with them really tops the charts, but I will say that they seem to really love looking back at all the few picture books that I have managed to put together. Atticus thinks it is a great idea to try to memorize them so that he knows all the funny stories to tell to his children. Documenting memories through photos, writing and video is so important. I need to do better at it. I've begun allotting time and aiming for 30 minutes per day. I'm hopeful that I will get caught up on this year and years past so that we can get a nice array of all our family memories so far while still allowing for me to live in the present and not miss out on all the incredible and wonderful things happening now! 

Which brings me to February. I kind of love going back and looking at these photos. Jason was able to have a great opportunity with his work to do some volunteering which was a good and humbling opportunity for him. The kids even got to pitch in a bit and pick out some art supplies that they could send with Jason for all the children and families that he was working with. 

Phineas has taken a keen interest in my camera. It's bigger than his head. Melt my heart!

Milayla is making some pretty awesome mosaics. Easily one of the best toys that we have. I love how Atticus, and now Milayla, have learned to follow details of instructions and see the finished piece. She is so proud - as she should be!

It has also given Atticus an opportunity to go back and try some patterns as well. He loves it!

Phineas likes coming into the kitchen in the early hours and helping out. That smile. Seriously.

We finally set up a bed in the room that Milayla has been sleeping in. She really wants to be in the room with the boys (and was for some time), but it works out a bit better for her to be in her own room right now. She really wants a little sister to share the room with. I think I will have to let her have a little sleepover with the boys, she loves being with them. She also thinks it would be brilliant that her and I have a girls sleepover. Oh, my heart. I love that sleeping angel!

Phineas throws fits to help vacuum. Yep. He thinks it's the bees knees. Actually, all the kids are pretty excited about vacuuming. It's great!

I did a sewing lesson with the kids and they did stitching around some valentines that they made to send out in the mail. They seemed to really enjoy it and the valentines that they made turned out great!

I ended up with one of Milayla's socks when I arrived at my workout one day. Someone must have accidentally rolled one of her socks with one of my socks and I just grabbed the sock roll and threw it in my bag and went off to class. Needless to say, it didn't fit but I did the class anyway. When I showed the kids after I got home they had a really good laugh about it. I did too, actually.

A really nice lady from church came over with her daughter one Saturday morning to play with the kids while Jason and I got to do a session at the temple. It was lovely to get some time together and lovely to get big hugs from the kids when we arrived back!

Jason doubled checked with a coworker that his signs that he had made in china said what he thought they said and he was pretty happy for them to get a place on the wall as they were in my parents basement until just a year ago.

The kids went ahead and built a fort together. I love when they work together and they love doing it.

Phineas dashes away with my phone and gifts me with screen shots and pictures of his nose.

We ditched the car in the winter in favour of bundling up and walking to swimming.The kids did great. It's a big trek for them in snow gear.

Phineas has taken to joining in on craft time, just need to stay close as he learns that craft supplies aren't for tasting.

Those 3 siblings just put a big smile on my face, and on each other's faces.

Milayla doesn't always nap, but when she does she falls asleep mid play - glad that she has a bed set up in her new room now!

Date with Jason to glow-in-the-dark mini-golf.

Phineas makes a tunnel out of everything. It's pretty cute.

And I found the bread recipe of all bread recipes and the kids LOVE it. I enjoy making bread for them again. There is something comforting about making these kiddos home made bread.

A great month. I just love those little monkeys and their incredible smiles.

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