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.

Color Therapy

Today I was feeling
overwhelmed...

very very overwhelmed.

I decided to do a little doodling...

well, a big doodling.

It helped me blow off some steam.


I used to do a lot of the artistic stuff when I was younger, I loved doing it, it was fun and expressive. Sometimes I miss it and wish I could do it more often but it's hard to find the time
- Angelica Oler

A new Look for Spring

Adia came bounding up the stairs to show me...


She had given herself a haircut.

Oh help, this stage already?!


It was very much a mullet, and there was nothing I could do to salvage her long locks without her looking like Joe Dirt.

So a bob it is for Adi Lady's new look.

As a side note: it could have been a lot worse. Evelyn's hair would not have been such an easy fix had she decided to cut her's as well.


Note: the cowlick in all it's glory...

Not very conducive to bangs.

- Angelica Oler

Lily's Birth Story

At about 11pm March 17th we went to the hospital because my contractions had been consistent for a couple of hours. They checked me, 2 1/2 cm dilated, so they sent me walking. Up and down the hospital halls for an hour and they checked me again, barely 3 cm dilated, so they sent me home. Frustrated I was going to bed pregnant, I took a couple TylenolPM and willed myself to sleep. My next realization it was 8am and I was still very pregnant and showing no more signs of that changing very soon. Due to my false alarm the night before my parents and Corinne had come up. Corinne slept on my couch and my parents slept at Charity's.
I woke up wanting french toast with buttermilk syrup. Only problem was I didn't have the stuff to make it. So I decided I'd drive down the street to Harmon's and get the ingredients I needed. As a last minute thought I took Corinne with me. We laughed and joked about me going into labor in Harmon's and my water breaking all over aisle 5. By the time we got back I didn't feel much like eating anymore. So I sat in the rocking chair and time my contractions that were now a little more painful and very consistent.
It was 10:30 when I decided we better head over to the hospital, they checked me at 10:50, I was dilated to 5 cm. At 11:11 Liliana was born.


She came down through the birth canal so quickly her poor little face got bruised pretty badly, and the cord was around her neck so she came out blue, but she pinked up once she started crying. She had some haziness in her lungs so they put her on antibiotics to take care of any infection. After 10 days of oxygen and antibiotics they started her on probiotics and weening her off oxygen. 2 days after that we were able to finally bring her home. And what a sigh of relief that was.
I'm still in awe of the fact that I get to be the mother of another beautiful daughter and completely humbled that this sweet spirit has been entrusted to me. She is so loved in our home and family, I fear a little too much by her older sisters sometimes though. I couldn't be happier to finally be able to hold my little Lily love.

- Angelica Oler