Merry Christmas

 So my Christmas was great... how about yours?

I"ll just show a few fun photos and call it an update.

My brother Steven being very merry and lumber jackish.

Five of the seven brothers were there Christmas Eve at my moms.
(Jonny,David,Steven,Bill,Michael)

My three girls in their Christmas p.j.'s



Setting out cookies and milk for Santa



Shane picking the cookies up off the ground



After Santa came and before Shane and I wnt to bed

Olivia not really sure what to think.

At least Eliza likes it

fun



cute



Sooooooo cute



The dining damage from Christmas brunch with the Hoys was not so bad.
(and Shane didi the dishes)



Tabitha



So I made my own hospital gown. I figured that I'd be in it for a while and I might as well look and feel as cute as possible for someone having a baby. And it worked!!! I think everyone of my nurses,  my doctors, my anesthesiologist and even the people I passed in the hall said they loved it and wanted one.
 Shane said I should sell them.
 NO WAY!!!
Once I start doing it for money it wont be fun any more, and then what will I do for fun?
Run?... uh uh.



Right after little one was all clean and warm.
( I didnt want to put the first picture because I think that only the mother who bore the
 child thinks they're cute when they are screaming and slimy.)



Daddy holding his third girl for the first time.



My little Ninoshka about 1 week old.


The labor and delivery was a breeze. Super easy and relativly pain free (love me my epidurals). I think I was in labor a little less than 4 hours and pushed 3 times. Thats the way I like it,
She was taken to the NICU about 6 hours after she was born for some breathing distress and was there for two days.  She is home with us now and happy and healthy and has been smiling  a bit for the past two weeks.

I'm adjusting slowly to being a mother of three and having a house to clean and food to prepare.
Shane has been a dream husband and such a help around the house, in the kitchen and with the girls.
I couldnt be more blessed!



I am alive

...For any of you who may have been wondering.

I am happy to report all is well with me and mine! Shane is busy at work, Olivia is potty trained, Eliza is one and is going to be a big sister come October. I say I'm alive but only just... I almost didn't survive the first 4 months ( I may be exaggerating)...

but things are getting a little bit better every day.

This is my little family at Easter.

And though I may look a little haggered in early pregnancy I still love this picture because it is the only family picture I have of all four of us...That's not entirely true... There is a Halloween picture with all of us but since we are all in costume its not really wall worthy.

Shane and baby Li

Olivia and cousin Emma
who has changed Olivia's name to
Sugar Butterfly
And though Emma may not remember naming her that...
Olivia corrects me several times a day when I call her Olivia.


Till next week....or month

...or year

My latest project has been practicing making the pansies that go on the toes of my aunt Lore's bebe shooz(click bebe shooz for link, so cute). She is so talented and I am fortunate enough to be her little flower maker. Are they good enough Lore?

Better late than never. Right?

Not the cutest family picture ever but it just so happens to be our only family picture.

I am not really 12 months pregnant by the way.

Olivia liked the candy at this house so much that she sat on the front step and helped herself. Convenient that it was Grandma and Grandpa Hoy's house.

Does your child ever make a face and you wonder what in the world is going on in that little head? This was one of those moments for me.


Eliza loved her 1st Halloween. Riding aroud in a decked out storller looking like a big fluffy pumpkin with her favorite drink in hand. You'd like it too.

Ryan, Livi, and Li-li (pronounced lie-lie) at the Armstrong Halloween party.

Fall is my favorite... and Winter, but we'll save that for another day.

I love fall for lots of different reasons, the colors, the clothes,the parties, the pumpkins and the apple desserts. We had a really good shephards pie last night and to top it off we had sauted apples with a brown sugar glaze served a la mode toped with whiped cream. Not at all healthy but oh so good!

I also love Fall because of all of the fun things that happen, My moms bithday seems to kick things off every year in the middle of October. Here Shenda and Rainn are dancing on my lawn at my moms birthday party. Yes it really is that much fun!

My mother, and some of her nine children and most of her 16 grandchildren celebrated her 48th bithday. . . for the sixth time.

( I lost track of how many time she turned 47).

Little Jonny was very helpful when it came time to blow out the candles.

I worked on Olivia's Halloween costume this week. I bought it in late September and it was just a tish snug and when we went to try it on her two weeks later... dang thing busted at the seams!
So I got the best fabric I could find to add three inches to the body and ended up doing a verry shotty repair job. Good thing for me you can't tell just how bad from this picture.
So I made a few fabulous silk ribbon flowers and placed them over my horrible sewing job.
I think it turned out super cute and am just a little pleased with my self.
I love the head band.


We went to Ben and Erins new place for family home evening this past monday. She made a super delicious brocoli and cheese soup served in sourdough bread bowls and then we painted pumpkins that Shane grew in our garden. We figured carving was a bad idea for two year olds.

Olivia and Ryan kept saying "Oh so bewtifullllll!"
They had a lot of fun. However I'm not sure how Olivia didn't end up with paint on her face too.

I can't wait for the weekend! Church party and trunk or treat on friday. Ryan, Jenn and Baden Armstrongs Annual Halloween Dinner Party and trick or treating on saturday!
Like I said. . . Fall is my favorite!

I know, I know... too many pictures...but too cute, right!?!?

I love pumpkin time! We took our girlies to Bates Nut Farm this past week and took 1,000 pictures. Olivia had a cold and was less agreeable than Eliza, but we still got some good pictures in anyway.

I love my babies. If you look at the end you will see a picture of me kissing Olivia

in a very similar top when Eliza was in my tummy.






Yes, Eliza is eating dirt. And straw.

We were trying to get Livi to be cute and she wanted to be silly.

This was the compromise.

Here we see Olivia being a good sport

while Eliza picks on her...

Here we see Oliva getting a little irritated

when Eliza gets a bit more aggressive...

And very shortly after that Olivia reached her limit...

Pretty sure Eliza wanted the pumpkins to herself.

Seriously...

I'm pretty sure that was her plan.

This girl's got a thing for dirt and straw.

Olivia would Rather be with her dad anyway.

Or in a wheel barrow.

It is so fun for me to see my little girls grow up.

Here are the past threee years with Olivia at Bates.

3 months old

15 months old

2 years old