Crazy Life!

I just cannot slow down! I feel like life is pulling me along so quickly and I am dragging my feet behind me. The last few months have gone ridiculously fast! I turned 22 in December which is crazy to me. I mean 22 already?! I ended up making a last minute trip to AZ and just met up with old friends and went out to dinner with my brother. Then obviously Christmas came and it was so relaxing and fun! The girls had a great day and the kitchen turned out fabulously! The girls play with it all the time. Then I started classes in January. Talk about kicking into overdrive! Even though the classes are a little more difficult I know I found the perfect major for myself. I never imagined I would find something I am so in love with to study. I have never enjoyed classes before but history makes me giddy. Yes, I know I am a nerd. I came to terms with that a long time ago.

So, January came and went in what felt like 3 days. Then it was February already which meant our 3 year anniversary was coming up. If you know us well, you know Paul and I don't really do gifts for each other for any holiday. Its not that we are against them or anything we are just so innately frugal that we would rather save the money. We aren't really into "stuff" like knicknacks for around the house. We lead a pretty simplistic life. But anyway, I had planned a trip out to Arizona on Feb. 17th for a dentist appointment. I know, its kind of crazy that I still go back "home" to my dentist but I tried one out here and it turned into a horror story. If you are reading this in Tehachapi, DO NOT go to Dr. Walch. I planned on being home that Monday because our anniversary was on Wed the 23rd but things didn't go exactly how I wanted them to. Both the girls and I got really sick out in AZ so my Aunt Mary and Mom were both taking care of us and we couldn't drive home. Peyton ended up having RSV, I had a bad sinus infection and Audrey had a bad cold. So we ended up driving home on my anniversary that Wednesday. Paul and I were going to have a date that weekend to celebrate but our babysitter got sick as well. So as of yet, we still have not celebrated our 3 year anniversary. It really makes me envy all my friends out here that have family close by. To you ladies, DON'T take it for granted. A friend of mine, Christen, offered to watch the girls this Saturday so we can finally have a date night. She is so sweet.

So now we are in March and things are not going to slow down anytime soon. Paul is studying for his ATP written that he scheduled for the end of the month.  Meanwhile, we are kind of battling it out for the laptop. His Dell took a dive a while back and has never recovered so we are down to just my old vaio. Everyone pray it lasts a while longer because we are not ready to purchase a new computer yet. I have tons and tons of schoolwork each week and a huge paper I need to start writing that is due in April. I don't like waiting until the last minute because something is guaranteed to go wrong!

Audrey....oh my moody almost four year old teenager. She is something else! She will be so sweet and loving and then the attitude comes in and wow it is not pretty. She is still obsessed with ballet. She puts on her little dances for me with all her costume jewelery and it is the cutest thing in the world! I cannot wait until we can put her in a ballet class this year. She loves art projects still. I bought her a bunch of Ispy books and they are her favorite. She will sit on the couch for 30 minutes finding all the stuff and watching her concentration warms my heart. She is still a complete Daddy's girl. The look on her face when he walks in the door from work is priceless. She runs at him so fast she squints her eyes. She calls it her "super fast" run. She is such an amazing little girl and she is growing up way too fast.

Peyton is certainly one-of-a-kind! Even our pediatrician is baffled by her. "I have never seen a child as stubborn and strong-willed as Peyton"-quote straight out of Dr. Rao's mouth. The girl would rather starve to death than eat or drink something she doesn't like. Honestly, back when we were trying to get her on formula she would have ended up in the hospital from her stubbornness. She is only 16 months and already in her terrible twos. She is incredibly smart and knows everything I say to her but deliberately does not obey. Although, she already enjoys the potty and will go pee on it a few times per day so that is great. If she potty trains as early as Audrey did I will be a very happy Momma! She isn't always a trouble maker though. She is still a mommy's girl and we enjoy our cuddle time together and our little games we play while giggling like crazy.

Life is crazy but I love it. I love my husband and our kids are happy and healthy. What more could I ask for? Well maybe a pause button...that could be useful.

Crazy day for Dad?

Those two are so silly together

Valentine's Day party at Audrey's school

Audrey loves the dress up box as you can tell.

Peyton is loves going to big sister's school and hanging out with the big kids.

Audrey and Klayton-they have so much fun and get into a lot of trouble together.

Winter Blues

Every member in my hosuehold has severe cabin fever! Audrey hasn't had school in two weeks and most of our friends are still out of town. It has been cold and windy with lots of snow on the ground which equals no parks/outside time. All-in-all we are going a little crazy in the Waller household. We bundled the girls up yesterday because it was a little over 30 degrees which is warmer than it has been and took them outside. They lasted a whopping 20 minutes before tears came. Audrey fell in some mud and Peyton was just cold so back into the house we went. Thank God, literally, that we had church today and all got out of the house. There could have been a blizzard outside and we still would have gone. Its our first winter in Tehachapi and I knew it would be rough but, WOW. I will say one nice thing about Bakersfield-because of the heat they have some awesome indoor play stuff for kids. Tehachapi has NOTHING for children indoors. I would pay a lot of money to have a Pump It Up or a Wild Child up here. If I knew I was going to be here for a long time I would consider starting one of my own.

I guess enough of my whining...Christmas was really nice. It was just the four of us and we stayed home relaxing. The kitchen turned out BEYOND amazing. The girls love it. Both the grandparents bought little kitchen stuff for it and it all came together so nicely.

Paul has been working a lot lately. I mean don't get me wrong his job is still great compared to the hours he would work anywhere else but with the commute he is gone a lot longer. Add that to the girls and I being couped up all day and the minute Paul walks in the door the poor guy gets bombarded for attention. We decided in February I am going out to AZ with the girls. I am going to head down to Phoenix one day for some much needed "me" time which includes some shopping and a mani/pedi while my mom watches the girls. Meanwhile Paul is going to have a guys weekend in Tehachapi and invite some of his college buddies up. Hopefully the house will still be standing when we get home!

I start school again in two weeks and I'm pretty nervous. Three classes is going to be very challenging. I originally planned on a Child Development course but I'm still number 7 on the wait list so I might add another history requirement instead. It would be really hard taking two history classes at the same time along with the music class I have to take but I'm doing as much as I can to be finished with BC so I can transfer.

Peyton is starting to use a lot more words. She also loves talking on the phone already. Everytime I'm on the phone with my mom (which is usually at least once a day) Peyton has to hold the phone and listen to her talk while repeating "hi" over and over. Its pretty cute. We are officially getting rid of the changing table because she has outgrown in along with the high chair. Hopefully she will potty train as early as Audrey did! 20 months is pretty amazing so I don't know if she will or not but its worth a try.

Audrey's favorite thing in the world right now is to press my buttons. Seriously she knows exactly what to do to really set me off. It sounds rediculous because she is not even 4 yet but she has a real talent for it. I am really working on just letting some things go but at the same time I want her to be a well behaved, well mannered kid. She can be such a sweet heart sometimes though. She loves to take care of her babydoll and her stuffed cat. She loves to help me cook. Her art projects and coloring are getting more and more detailed. I find it hard to believe she is going to be four in four months. Where has the time gone?

Audrey pretending she has a mustache and goatee

Christmas is fast approaching!

December has flown by! I can't believe in 6 days I will be 22. I feel so young and old at the same time. I have done so much in my 22 years but I still have so many things I want to do! Its crazy how fast life goes by especially when you are busy juggling everything. We have been so busy getting ready for Christmas I haven't even had a moment to blog. This is our first year staying home for Christmas and not traveling at all. It's bittersweet to me. Half of me is happy to stay home with my beautiful family and start our own traditions. The other half misses my family and their traditions too. Paul and I are trying to make this Christmas really special for the girls since its just us four. I was reading about different Christmas traditions and one really caught my eye. It's already been dubbed the Christmas bunny in our house, courtesy of Audrey's fabulous imagination. Every night starting 12 days before Christmas santa's "helper" leaves a present at the door. I loved the idea of having a new book everynight to read together before Christmas. So after dinner when the doorbell rings Audrey starts screaming and jumping up and down saying the Christmas Bunny is here! I know its a silly thing but books are so important in our house and the look on her face is priceless.

Now on to our Christmas picture drama...ugh! I was a good girl and bought all our Christmas cards early this year. I hand filled them out and addressed them and everything. Then, I realized we didn't have a picture to put in it yet. So now comes me nagging Paul, who really doesn't enjoy picture time, to take a family photo yesterday evening. An HOUR and 75 photos later we still don't have an acceptable one. You would think with only a family of four we could manage to use the self timer and get one decent one. Nope, wrong. I ended up calling my life saver friend Rachel who came right over and proceeded to take about 30 more pictures. Needless to say, next year Paul and I agreed that we will hire a photographer in November and get family photos. We did manage to get 2 decent photos in the end so just know when you open our Christmas card and see the picture it was number 102. A couple of examples:

Audrey loves seeing the presents under the tree already. My mom sent our package out early so our tree looks just right. I'm actually pretty proud of my tree this year compared to last year's. I let Audrey and Peyton play with the ornaments and put them on then after they went to bed I went out and did the whole tree.

Paul's kitchen project is looking amazing! Unfortunately, he did the paint and we agreed the colors didn't look that great so he has to redo them this weekend. But after that it should be finished! I'm so proud of him. Now that this project is almost finished he is already thinking of the outside playset he wants to build for them for next summer. We should just own a home depot at this point. This is without the faucet, the oven door, the knobs for the stove and the stove burners. This is the primer before he painted it.

Both the girls are doing great. Peyton is using her sign language and words like crazy right now. Its amazing how much the baby sign language opens up the lines of communication and helps us avoid temper tantrums. Audrey is having so much fun at school making all kinds of Christmas stuff. They learn and talk about the advent wreath everyday. She comes home talking a million miles per minute about the different candles and what they represent.
I am thoroughly enjoying my little Christmas vacation from school. I can't believe how much lighter my everyday load is without it. I am so close though to being able to transfer that I have to push forward and not get sidetracked. Taking three classes next semester is going to be brutal and I will just have to deal!

Thanksgiving in sunny San Diego

Aboard the USS Midway-checking out the jets

The Cabrillo Tidepools

The Waller boys before surfing

Last week was amazing. Paul's parents decided as an early Christmas present to the family they would rent a house in Carlsbad so everyone could get together for Thanksgiving. It was so much fun. The only negative part was that Peyton was sick most of the week. She had croup which is not fun at all. Especially because we were four hours away from our pediatrician so she just had to fight it off naturally. I'm all for taking medicine and feeling better way sooner than being miserable and grumpy...

We did lots of fun things. We went to Sea World which both the girls loved. I hadn't been there in about 5 years so it was nice to go back and experience it with the girls, my hubby and Paul's family. Grandma and Grandpa watched the girls so the guys and I could ride the big kid rides and get completely soaked. Keep in mind it was about 62 degrees out so we were freezing afterwords. Luckily we were smart enough to save those for right before we left. We also went to the Cabrillo National Monument and it was gorgeous! The view of San Diego from up there was breath-taking. After hiking around a little up there we ventured down to the tidepools. It was a bummer because the tide was too high but it was still a really fun place.

We had lots of beach days and the guys got to go surfing. They had so much fun and were completely exhausted afterwards. We were also very excited because Paul's Aunt Betsy, Uncle Corwin and the kids rented a house nearby so we got to spend lots of time with them. Audrey and Peyton adore Paula and Michael.

I have to say Audrey and Peyton have the best Uncles. My brother and Paul's brothers are amazing with the girls and they have so much fun together. I feel really blessed to have such awesome family on both sides.

Well this week is going to be brutal! I slacked off on my homework while we were gone so now I am swamped. Plus, I have finals next week.

Paul is a busy man getting the girls' kitchen done. It is looking so cute I can't wait for it to be done so I can post some pictures. We are still debating colors for the paint but I know it will turn out great.

Audrey is so happy to be back in school this week. The first thing she said when she woke up this morning was,"Do I get to go to school today?!" I had to laugh because Mrs. Teri asked how her Thanksgiving was and her only reply was telling her about the Christmas cookie Grandma and Grandpa gave her when we left.

Peyton is doing much better and I'm sure she is happy to be sleeping in her crib again. I don't think the pack n' play is that comfortable.

Good mood Thursday

The view we will enjoy while staying in San Diego

The beautiful pool

That hammock has my name written all over it!

Sometimes Thursday is my favorite day of the week. Audrey had preschool in the morning so it puts her in a good mood the rest of the day. Peyton gets me all to herself for the morning so that makes her happy. I know the next day is Friday which I am either going to a MNO or staying home and playing games or watching a movie with Hubby. Paul knows he will get to work in the garage over the weekend. All-in-all Thursday puts me in a good mood.

Just had my friend Amanda come over to take some pictures of Peyton in the Baby Mohawk vest she made. She is starting a business on etsy and it's really cute. If you want a unique Christmas gift or just something cute for your little one I will post the link to her website once its up. She is even making them in Audrey's size so I am really excited!

Paul is working really hard on the kitchen and it is looking amazing. I'm actually a little jealous of the girls. I will probably get yelled at for locking them out of the room so I can play with it. ;D

I have been working really hard to get ahead in my classes so I'm not stressing too much during our San Diego vacation. I'm on the very last chapter in my Statistics class and I have only one more assignment in my Anthropology class. I can't believe this semester is almost over. I just had to pick out my classes for next semester and I'm pretty excited. I'm still getting a lot of the required classes out of the way but I allow myself one "fun" class every semester so I don't go too crazy. Next semester I my fun class is (If I get into them on time because it's always a race) History 2-the world since 1500 CE. In case you didn't know they no longer use B.C or A.D. now it is B. C. E. which stands for Before Common Era and C.E. for Common Era. Yes, that is my nerdy future history professor side coming out. I am also taking a music appreciation class because it's required. Well either that or I have to take band and no one wants to hear me plan an instrument. I am also taking Child Development: Birth-Adolescence. When I checked ratemyprofessor.com I found out the class is a lot harder than it sounds. But I have to take some child development courses so we will see how it goes. Just three classes closer to what I want to do!

Enough about me though. I know you only read this to hear about the girls. Audrey just had her progress report for preschool (I wish I was joking but they really do that in preschool) and it looked great. She has a hard time waiting her turn to saying something. When she wants to talk everyone better shut up and listen, at least that's what she thinks. But, as you know that's how every three year old is so no big deal. This morning I was woken up by Audrey climbing in my bed with one of my novel's from the bookshelf in our room. There are no pictures because it's not a kiddie book but she made up her own story and laid down next to me for 20 minutes "reading" to me. It was precious and I love hearing her make up her own stories. That is one thing I am so proud to have passed onto her. Audrey randomly walked up to me today and said, "Do you remember Peyton used to be in your tummy? She was in you forever and finally got out of there." I love how random things like this come out of her mouth.

Peyton is such an attention hog. If I put Audrey on my lap it is just unacceptable for Peyton, she must be there too. She really loves the days Audrey has preschool because its just her and I playing all morning. Once a week or so we have a playdate with other babies but she would still rather it be just us. She is social with other babies though so that makes me feel better. Sometimes I get worried that she will be attached to my hip for the rest of my life. The only time she wants nothing to do with me is when we are dropping off or picking up Audrey from preschool. Peyton loves to play in her classroom and act like a big kid. I know she will love preschool once she is potty trained. I'm trying not to get my hopes up though that she will potty train as early as Audrey did. Audrey was potty trained by 20 months which was really early. I guess I'll just have to cross my fingers that she follows in her big sister's footsteps for that.

A couple more days and we will be relaxing in beautiful San Diego. The forecast looks awesome for out trip and I can't wait! I'm sure I will have a billion pictures to share when we get back.

1 year old soccer star!

Sorry about the glare from the light. Our dining room wall was looking sadly empty so we decided to go with the vintage airplane theme because we already had the Italy one. So we picked one from Japan, Italy and France. I love them!

My handy husband is working on the girls' Christmas present and it's going to be so cute! Paul decided with no prompting from me what-so-ever (that's just how awesome he is) that he wanted to make the girls a play kitchen. We are getting rid of the glider which is in a corner of Peyton's room and it will be the perfect spot for it. Paul drew up the design and I was very impressed. One thing I love about my husband, he always surprises me. I know I shouldn't be because he has so much talent for a lot of things but he thinks of the best ideas and always follows through with them. So while he works on building the kitchen I am going to start sewing them some pretty little aprons. I may have to make a mommy sized one as well while I'm at it! I promise to post lots of pictures after he is finished. Its going to have a lot to it so I think it may take a month for him to finish.

It's funny because with all my schoolwork I always push things like sewing off even though I love doing it. I'm constantly saying, no I don't have time to make that because I have so many assignments due ect...ect...But Paul, knowing me so well, gives me the little push I need to do my homework tomorrow and do what I need to do today. Its hard sometimes, multitasking being a mom which includes way to many things to list, being a wife (also too many things to list), being a student, helping out at Audrey's preschool, getting involved with my church, being apart of the MOPS group...Going 100 miles per hour all the time is exhausting but I love my life. I have a lot to be grateful for and sometimes I forget that. Paul is the one that helps me slow down and realize that I need to enjoy life instead of racing through it like I tend to do. Sorry to get a little heavy on you guys, I just write what I feel at the moment.

On a lighter note, 13 days until San Diego with the Waller side of our family! I am so excited. I haven't been to San Diego in probably 4-5 years so it will be fun to go back. We definitely want to take the girls to Sea World and probably the zoo. There is so much to do there I don't know how we are going to fit it all in.

I saw Peyton actually kicking the soccer ball the other night and I had to get it on video. I am trying to get a video of Audrey and her made-up song that she keeps singing but she won't let me yet so stay tuned and I will try to get it! She is so stinkin cute!

Wait, is it really November already??

The beautiful curtains I made for Peyton's room.

Checking out all the candy they scored.





Two things that were screamed at me today: "It's not fair!!!" and "You're a mean mommy!" I always thought it would bug me when one of my kids finally said that but it just made me want to laugh. Obviously, I couldn't laugh while reprimanding her but I laughed about it later when I told Paul. I bet you can guess the exact words that went through my head when she screamed its not fair---come on I know your parents said it---Life isn't fair! However much I wanted to use that as my response I didn't only because I wanted to get down to the bottom of why her not always getting her way isn't fair to her. In regards to being a "mean mommy", I don't care if she thinks me keeping her safe is mean, that's what moms do.

Halloween was a lot of fun. We carved pumpkins with our good friends Will and Rachel. Our pumpkin was not quite as successful as theirs but it was a good idea. Paul carved Dora the Explorer but gave her fangs. Audrey was not amused. The first words out of her mouth were,"that's a scary Dora. I don't like her." Maybe next year we will come up with something amazing. Trick-or-treating was fun. We did the trunk or treat in downtown Tehachapi but it was packed! After waiting around for a while we decided to just hit up a few houses on our street. Audrey is still pretty shy which is my fault for drilling stranger danger into her, so she whispered trick or treat when someone would answer the door. Both the girls looked adorable though! Unfortunately, we didn't get any family pictures but we managed to get one of the
girls and I.

Coming up in the next few weeks... I will be signing up for my spring semester classes. My statistics class I took this semester is the last math I ever have to take so I am thrilled!! Paul is making Audrey and Peyton's play kitchen which will be their big Christmas present from us. His design is going to be really cute. Audrey has all kinds of things going on with her school. We are practicing her songs for their Christmas pageant. Peyton has some beautiful new curtains that I finally finished. Yes, I sewed them all by myself. Paul's parent's have rented a place in San Diego so we can all spend Thanksgiving together. We are hoping the month goes by fast because we can't wait to go and see his side of the family!!