Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve and I'm listening to my kids playing nicely together while Neil plays Christmas hymns on his guitar.

My heart is so full of love and gratitude.

I have three healthy beautiful daughters, and a husband who is hard working and patient. I feel so blessed!

We opened jammies after dinner tonight, and then watched a video of the Christmas Story.

Soon kids will go to bed, Santa will stop by, and Neil and I will watch a movie while doing a puzzle I picked out yesterday.


Eve in her new jammie jams.


Adia showing off her hip pjs.


And Lily in her cute jammies.


Ready and waiting for Christmas morn.
- Angelica Oler

Baby's First Boo Boo

I had the ladder out today hanging lights. Lily love just couldn't help but try to climb after me.


Best I can guess is her hand missed the step and she caught it with her poor little face.


It's seems my kids do this kind of stuff a lot.

Poor Lily Pie :(

- Angelica Oler

Creative Outlet

Finals week is coming up which means this past week was last for classes, projects, and assignments. Makes for a very rough couple of weeks, not only for Neil but for me as well since I get to play "single mom of 3".

Wednesday was just a rough day. By the end of it I was begging Neil to come home early (about 10:30pm).

Being the awesome man the he is he came home, took the sick baby, and played hall monitor while I ran to the store. When I got home the kids were asleep and Neil was watching Hook. I knew I would never get my mind to slow down if I just sat and half watched the movie.

So I watched the movie while I concentrated on cutting out these...


Snow flakes out of double sided wrapping paper. It turned out super cute if I do say so myself. It made me happy when Eve came out of her room and saw them the next day and said "Mom! It's snowing!"

Today was a "reading" day for Neil... really, a Saturday.

I hate when they do that!

So I made these.
I'd been toying with different ideas on how to display the Christmas cards we receive, and I landed on this one.


I really liked the snowflake wreath idea but felt it would end up too cluttered if I did it on all of my higher cupboards. So I used matching ribbon on the other cupboard door to tie it in with plenty of space to clip cards.

I'm pretty excited, I think they both turned out well, and I didn't spend a single penny on any of it. It was all made from stuff I already had on hand *bonus*!
- Angelica Oler

Festivities!

We got our Christmas tree today!
For the past 4 Christmas's we have gotten our tree at North Pole Christmas Trees on State Street, I highly recommend. They are always so helpful, complimentary candy canes and twine are always included. As well as a fresh cut off the bottom of your tree, and they make loading it look so easy, which they do without even being asked.

This little lady is simply loving her first Christmas season experience, as shone by this adorable cheesy little grin.


In action shot of decorating the tree.


Our tall beautiful Christmas tree!


I love this time of year!
- Angelica Oler

Fashion Sense

Adia and Evelyn dressed themselves today :)

Luckily we weren't going anywhere.


- Angelica Oler

- Angelica Oler

Sick Days

Our house has been the infirmary for most of the month of October. We've all been taking turns with this miserable cold.

Liliana was my bed buddy for the first week or so of the month. I can't complain being able snuggle this sweetie so much.


Evelyn curled up in my spot. Most of last week was spent like this.


Last night Adia told me her ear hurt. My kids have never had ear infections before so I knew it was for real. So this morning I took her in to see Dr. Laret.

Sure enough, double ear infection along with pneumonia...

Awesome.

If one has pneumonia, chances are the other two have it as well, so I dropped Adia at home and took Liliana and Evelyn to be check out as well.

No pneumonia.

Thank Heaven.
But...

They both had double ear infections as well.


So 4 hours and $200+ later here we are. After administering ear drops, antibiotics, amoxicillin, and probiotics all the kiddos snuggled up on the couch for a nap while Neil sings everything from Elvis to John Denver to Primary songs, and rocks the Lily pie.

What a picture.

It's miserable having everybody so sick, but I sure cherish these heartwarming moments.

- Angelica Oler

Make up

Eve got into my mascara again...

There is no place in this house where my makeup is safe from mischievous hands.

I heard Eve turn on the water in the bathroom.

Me: "Eve what are you doing?"
Eve: "I gotta wash the makeup off my hand."
Me (in the "you are in trouble" voice): "Eve did you get in my makeup again?"
Eve (in her "I'm so excited!" voice): "Yes Mom! Look! I have pretty eyes like you!"

I'm such a push over...



- Angelica Oler

Window Art

We had some mischievous hands at our house today. So I decided to redirect that energy into something a little more controlled and a lot more productive.


So I drew and cut out a couple of jack 'o' lanterns and Frankenstein heads for Eve and Adi to color. Then for the part they found most exciting. They loved taping up their masterpieces and running outside to admire their work.
(sorry the reflections make it difficult to see very well)


I decided to wash the windows (since the sprinklers have been turned off for winter) and added some spider webs from the inside with dry erase markers.
- Angelica Oler

A little hint from Evelyn

Eve felt that Daddy needed some baby powder in his shoes. Apparently she thought they stunk...



a lot.
- Angelica Oler

So much Love!

I was scrolling through all the pictures on my iPod and loved what I saw. So I wanted to share some that I took with intention of blogging them but just haven't done it yet, and some I just love.

Eve simply adores Lily to pieces. It's a real treat for her when I let her hold the bottle or help somehow. I often find her in Lily's crib with her, or just curled up on the floor next to her. She's always saying how much she loves her. It's so sweet.


Erika and Travis came to visit a couple weeks ago. It was wonderful to finally get to meet little Cash. Here is Lily and Cash together on the floor at Grandma May's house.


All three of my girls are so completely smitten with their Daddy. And of course one of the many reasons why is because he us so silly and fun with them.


Silly Eve decided to put her jammies on backwards. They are always doing funny things like this to make me laugh.


Best buddies! These two are lost without one another. I love how much they love each other.


Sonny and Cher! Fountain Green has a theatrical production every year for Lamb Days. This year's was a radio show of different musical performers throughout the years. My mom and dad were Sonny and Cher and they Sang "I Got You, Babe". They also had the Carpenters, Shirley Temple, Elvis, Willie Nelson and more. It was a laugh a minute. And Eve and Adi loved seeing Grandma and Grandpa sing.


4th of July outfits! These outfits were infinitely easier then their Easter dresses, and significantly less stressful.


My sweet silly Lily, oh how I love her! She has been such a great baby, and so completely patient with her sisters and her mom. She is 4 months old now and its crazy to think back to before she was born. How did I ever live with out her?


Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the stories and pictures.

P.S. After writing this post I thought it would be fun to see how much I said the word "love" or something similar. 10 times... or 11 counting this last paragraph.

So much love!... 12
- Angelica Oler

Magic Golden Flower?

The Day Lilies outside our dining room window have started to bloom.

Below is the first to completely bloom. Eve and Adi stand and stare saying "it's the Tangled flower mom" or "we need to sing that Tangled song mom"

It took me a second to realize they weren't just pretending they had the "Tangled flower" but that to them the Magic Golden Flower from Tangled was growing in our flower bed.


Looks like a pretty good match to me girls!


Everyday is such a blessing and an adventure with my girls.
- Angelica Oler

Oh the joys!

Yesterday I bought a box of Otter Pops at Costco and could only get about half of the box in the freezer.

I knew I shouldn't have put off finding a place to store the rest of the box.



And of course I had just mopped the floor the day before.

Oh the joys of toddlerhood.

I swear they wait until Neil and I are completely distracted and they are so quiet and sneaky about it too.
- Angelica Oler

Sleeping Shuffle

Sleeping arrangement shuffle seems to describe what's been going on at our house fairly well.


Above is where Liliana has been sleeping for the past 3 months or so, and she will probably sleep there a while longer... we'll see.


I just got done setting up the crib for her in Evelyn and Adia's room.


While I was tying on the bumper pad and setting up the mobile I wrapped her up and put her in there because she was being fussy. That way she could see me, and I could talk to her and still get some things done. I'm just about done and I look down and she is totally snoozing.

I'm not gonna lie, I got a little choked up seeing my little Lily love sleeping in what I thought was going to look like this giant crib holding this tiny baby, but it wasn't that at all, she fit in there.


Above is Eve and Adi's new bunk beds. They love them. Notice the pile of toys on the top bunk, and the 2 pillows and 2 blankets on the bottom bunk. I think the idea of sleeping so high off the floor is a little unsettling to them and will take some getting used to.


And once again I'll admit I got a little choked up seeing my girls in such grown up beds.

Time goes too fast.

- Angelica Oler

Summer Fun!

A little update on our light, easy, and fun filled summer days.

A couple days ago I decided to try putting Lily's hair in a piggy. It worked! Isn't it so cute!?


Of course I think I still prefer her little tuft in the natural state. Neil calls her his little frost top. I love it!


Of course summer equals swimming, Eve and Adi love their new swim suits. Even on top of their pjs.


I made this cake the other day when Kirk and Teresa came for dinner. Kirk insisted I take a picture before cutting into it.


Ready for a day in the sun! We love having a pool so ready for our own use anytime.


Stay tuned for more summer fun!

- Angelica Oler

Girlie girls

Grandma Oler sent some fun things in the mail.


Including these adorable skirts.


Eve and Adi love to wear dresses, skirts, tights, shoes, and any other pretty girlie thing they can find.

Thank you Gma O!
- Angelica Oler

CORDLESS!!!

Most of you were already aware that Lily came home on an apnea monitor. Not because she had apnea but simply as a precaution for babies that start out with lung issues.
When they originally told us they wanted to send her home with this they said "3-4 weeks tops".
After 4 weeks they did a download study that came back normal.

Automatic reaction "We're done then, right"...

Wrong.

No Neonatal Specialist would give us the "all clear" with only one month without any events.

They want to see two consecutive months without events.

Anyone who has had kids knows that having to haul around a newborn and all the gear that comes with them is stressful enough. To tack on another bag with a cord that is constantly tripping you up, will drive you over the edge.


I had a meltdown. I was furious, and frustrated having been originally lied to about how long I would have to haul around this dreadful box.

Mindy(Dr. Adams' nurse(the pediatrician)) calls me after hearing this and gives me a little pep talk(I love her for this). So I make a new resolve to get through this next 4 weeks.

Mindy called me today with glorious news!

ALL DONE!!!

I would have hugged her had it not been over the phone.
- Angelica Oler

First Pick of the Year!

About a month ago I potted some strawberry plants. The very first strawberry to start growing was promptly picked by Evelyn long before it was even close to ripe. Then Adia and Eve went through a "pick every flower you see" phase which consequently removed most the blossoms from the strawberry plants and my flower beds. They were finally able to keep their hands off long enough for some blossoms to turn into strawberries.

Evelyn has been watching over this particular strawberry very closely for the past couple of days. So I decided she would have the honors of picking our first strawberry to ripen this year. She was pretty excited!
- Angelica Oler

Family Home Evening!

We've been making an extra effort to have family home evening regularly.
Yesterday was such a beautiful day, I decided the lesson would be on the creation of the earth. We went up Provo Canyon to Strawberry Reservoir (Eve insisted on calling it the ocean) and had a picnic. It was just the fun family time we needed.


Throwing rocks, sticks, leaves, and whatever else they could get their hands on into the water.

It soon got too cold to be out anymore, so with much protest we loaded back up in the car.


We will be returning.


After we got home Eve and Adi went to bed and Neil and I sat down for some quiet reading time. Lily wanted to join.
She sure loves her daddy.
- Angelica Oler

Easter!

This year for Easter Felicia and Chavonne talked me into making the same skirts for my girls as they were planning to do for their daughters. Easy for them to say, they each have only one daughter... I have three.
(I know, no sympathy from mother)
They turned out so cute and I love them.
They were very time consuming with all those ruffles.
But in all fairness they are probably looking into putting my name as "see also" after the definition of procrastination.

Like I said though, I love them.


The Easter bunny waited til after church and naps to come by with baskets and to hide eggs.


I think the Easter bunny did a great job keeping things toddler appropriate, and went with mostly toys and very little candy.


Uncle Kirk joined us for the festivities. It was so fun to see how excited Eve and Adi got while hunting for Easter eggs.