Fall is just right

I LOVE fall. I have to say it's my favorite season. I love the coloring of the leaves, the cooler temperatures, the need to hang some festive fall decor, everything about fall feels peaceful to me. I am searching for "the perfect tree" right now for some beautiful fall photos of the girls. The problem is it can't be too tall or you won't see it and the leaves have to have all the right colors. I know, all these expectations over a simple tree.

We are gearing up for our Prescott trip this week. We leave either late night Wednesday or early morning Thursday. It just depends on what time Paul gets off work Wednesday. It should be a fun visit. I love seeing family and friends and catching up with everyone. Paul surprisingly says he is really looking forward to going out there. Never in my life would I think Paul would say he is excited to go to Prescott. HAHA. We are having the girls baptized on Saturday and following that we will have Peyton's first birthday party.

Even just typing "first birthday party" brings tears to my eyes. I can't believe she is turning one and walking all over the place already. I wish she would stay a baby forever and always want to cuddle with her mommy. She is driving us a little crazy though because of her picky eating. ALL she wants for every meal is a PB&J. Really!? That has virtually no nutritional value! Maybe a few grams of protein in the peanut butter but that's it. So we have been trying to sneak in fruits and veggies with her meals but her anti-healthy-food eyes always find it and she picks it out. We will just have to keep trying. Luckily, I'm pretty persistent when I want something so we will see who wins this battle of the wills. She loves to "share" things right now. Meaning she gives it to you but you must give it back when she's ready. We are working on that one.

Audrey is just a ball of energy. Some days I don't know how to keep up with her! Like her Daddy she has to be moving nonstop all day. Her art projects at school are starting to look amazing. She really takes her time and works on making them look just how she wants it. She did not get her creativity from me though, that one is all Paul. Maybe some art lessons from Uncle Steven are in the future?? She is still completely infatuated with rocks. Every time we go for a walk I have to empty at least 50 that she had to bring home in the stroller. I learned pretty quickly to ALWAYS check her pockets before doing laundry. It turns out the loud thumping in the washer was not just from a heavy load, she snuck some decent size rocks in her pockets that I missed somehow.

By the way, I thought taking statistics would be much easier than calculus and now I am seriously reconsidering that thought. Statistics is not such a walk in the park. I have to thoroughly apply myself to understand what I am doing. I do love my anthropology class though. It's very thought provoking and makes me question all kinds of things in today culture.

Pictures to come...

Vegas Baby

Well Paul and I took our first trip away from the girls in a long time. We didn't want to go too far and we didn't want to spend too much money so we decided on Vegas. You are probably thinking...Not spend too much money??? How is that possible in Vegas?? First of all we are not into gambling. As Paul would say, we might as well flush quarters down the toilet to see if they come back. So that wasn't a high priority for us. We also aren't big drinkers, unless you count 1-2 drinks per month as drinking a lot. Now you are probably thinking well maybe you just wanted to try all the good restaurants there?? Nope, we purposely picked a nice hotel that came with a kitchen so we didn't have to eat out a lot. But even without all that, we had an amazing time. We got to do a little shopping, during which we remembered how relaxing it can be without kids tagging along. We slept in a little and enjoyed a quiet breakfast. We got dressed up and went out dancing. We did lots of people watching because Vegas is probably close to number one for places that have the craziest people. Of course we missed the girls the whole time. Our hotel, The Polo Towers, has the coolest looking kids water area. It has all kinds of water toys and features so everytime we walked past it we would look at eachother and laugh because we were both thinking how much the girls would love it.

Meantime, my mom and Dean came to Tehachapi to watch the girls while we were gone. They apparently had a blast. Both the girls were excited to see us but sad to see them leave. We will be in AZ in October though for Peyton's 1st bithday so they won't have to wait very long. Hopefully we can see our CO family soon because we miss them too.

My mom told me that they were driving around and Audrey said,"my Daddy goes to work every morning." My mom asked her what Mommy's job is and Audrey replied,"she goes jogging." At least I have something to put on my resume right?

Paul had a really good birthday weekend. Can you believe he is 25?! I told him he's practically over the hill now.

Time just won't slow down

She obviously did not want to wear it as much as Audrey!










Is it really already September??? Seriously, it feels like Peyton was just born yesterday and Audrey is still 2 1/2. However, Audrey is an independent, sassy 3 year old and Peyton is practically walking and almost 1.

It has been one of those days where I feel emotionally overwhelmed because I feel so blessed. Let me toot my own horn for just a second...I have an amazing husband who I fall in love with more everyday and two beautiful, healthy, fun-loving girls that brighten every single day. I'm done.

Audrey...oh my funny, stubborn, lovely child. She is so much fun but she is so like me sometimes its scary. I have come to terms with the fact that I'm the most stubborn person I know and unfortunately I passed that trait to her. Sometimes I feel like she is already a teenager though! Yesterday I asked her to put her books on her bookshelf and you know what she did? She said FINE and slammed her door. That does not fly in this house though. She was in some deep trouble for that one. But, she is not always difficult...She has the most amazing, interesting imagination I have ever watched. She loves to fly in her airplane with Daddy. This consists of sitting on the floor next to eachother and Paul making airplanes noises while they crash and roll. She loves having ice cream parties with me (instead of tea parties). Maybe this is her way of telling us she doesn't get enough ice cream?? It is a rare commodity in our house. Dress up is another favorite of hers. She will put on her leggings with one of my shirts and all her play jewelery and then outrageous mismatching socks with her disney high heels. I will be sure to get some pictures. She is also a big music lover. When I am studying in the evenings and Paul is watching the girls I can hear them rocking out in the living room and dancing around. I'm thinking some ballet, tap and jazz are going to be something we get Audrey into very soon. One very good thing that Audrey got from me is her love of books. If she had it her way we would read every book she owns everynight. I finally had to limit her to 3 before bed.

Peyton is just a giggling, demanding, mama's girl. She LOVES to hide around the corner and play peak-a-boo. When I tickle her she has the funniest laugh. She laughs so hard it sounds like a screaming animal but she clearly thinks its the greatest thing ever. When she is not following Audrey's every move she is constantly in need of personal attention. She has the I-want-what-I-want-when-I-want-it-and-now syndrome which she is quickly learning doesn't happen as much as she'd like. If I am in the middle of making her bottle she is yelling because its obviously not fast enough for her liking. Audrey is a complete Daddy's girl and I was always jealous saying I hope the next one is a Mama's child. Well Peyton certainly is. She would be content just playing with me and being attached to me all day. When she gets hurt or falls down she will not be quieted down until I hold her in my arms and sing Baby Beluga. I will be the first to admit, my voice could make people cringe but Peyton loves when I sing to her. She loves to hold hands and walk when we go to pick up Audrey. I think she feels like a big girl walking around Audrey's school. Overall, Peyton is happy doing whatever.

Paul is up for his annual check today at work. I have no doubt in my mind he will pass with flying colors. He knows what he's doing and he's good at it. He's still happy at IFTA but we are definitely looking to the future and what he wants to do next. Oh and I almost forgot to mention, Paul is officially a Gold Seal Flight Instructor. It pretty much means he has an amazing pass rate for his students (meaning he's an awesome instructor) and it looks great on the resume.

Classes are going really well for me. Statistics is much harder than I was anticipating. I thought it was supposed to be easy??? No. But I love my Cultural Anthropology class. Its fascinating learning about different cultures and customs. History is still my love though and I still plan and majoring in it.

I'm Free!!!

From breastfeeding that is! Okay so the La Leche League would call me a bad mom for saying that but....WOOHOO!!! For those of you that know about our bottle struggle with Peyton you can understand that this is a miracle. I might as well share the whole story. (It's basically a novel)

As some of you know my mom was planning on coming last Wednesday for a visit. I was excited and stayed up a little late cleaning the house Tuesday night. Well I went to bed around 10:30, not unusually late, and woke up at 1:00am feeling incredibly sick. Paul did as well. We were both up all night throwing up and being horribly sick. Unfortunately, it didn't get better the next morning. So we are both trying, unsuccessfully I might add, to take care of the girls and run to the bathroom every 4 minutes. It was horrible. Paul was able to drink water but I wasn't because it came right back up. The poor girls were so good but they were starving because all they had so far that day were tons of cheerios. Finally my mom and Dean showed up around 3 pm and took them back to their hotel to take care of them. Unfortunately I became so dehydrated I had to go to the hospital. I was there for a good 6 hours before I was well enough to be released. The next morning we were feeling a little better but bad news, my milk was almost completely dry due to the dehydration. This was bad for Peyton as you know because she still refused the bottle and sippy cup. I tried all day to get my milk production back up to no avail. The next day I received a package that I had ordered a couple weeks prior and it was a different kind of bottle to try for her. Paul went out and bought a different kind of formula and we gave the new bottle a shot. IT WORKED!!!! I don't know if it was because she was so thirsty because I had no milk, if she liked this kind of bottle, or if the new formula tasted better but thank god she took her first bottle. So, the worst day I had in a long time turned out to be a blessing in disguise because my baby is finally off the boob for good.

Well Audrey is all about asserting her independence right now. Paul and I are about to go crazy. Some days she just wants to fight with us all day and I know I have to keep my foot down or she is going to walk all over us. We are trying to find the best techniques for dealing with her and so far none are working. I think I am going to try a book store and pick up some discipline books. Whoever said terrible twos were a horrible age obviously doesn't remember terrifying threes. On the other hand, when she wants to be nice, she is so funny. She was talking to someone while sitting on the potty the other day and I asked who and she said "God, and he's really old." I started cracking up. She has lots of conversations with God before bed and its adorable.

Peyton is still on the verge of crawling. But that doesn't mean she isn't mobile. She gets where she wants to go, just by rolling. You look over and she is just rolling over and over to get to something. I have to get it on video. Audrey is starting to actually play with Peyton and its so much fun to watch.

Paul is a busy man! His flights are really early right now so he is up at 4 am. Needless to say he is in bed by 8:30 every night. But his new students aren't terrible so that makes him happy. They also speak decent english which is a plus.

I finally made a friend in Tehachapi! I know I sound pathetic but if you met a lot of the people around here you would understand. I know I tend to be a little judgmental sometimes but some of the people around here are really "different". But anyway, I met my new friend Rachel at the park and we really hit it off. Now we kind of have a standing coffee date twice a week in the morning after we drop our oldest kids off at preschool. I think our husbands will get along pretty well when we get them together. Some other good news...our yard is finally going to be landscaped. Our landlord kind of kept putting us off because she was so busy but she is coming this weekend to finalize and give the go-ahead on the plans! We are beyond thrilled!

You can always check out our up-to-date pictures at
http://picasaweb.google.com/WallerFamPhotos

Well our big girl turned 3 yesterday! I cannot believe that three years ago Audrey was born. We had a pretty laid back day. After asking her what she wanted to do she replied, "I want to find rocks." (Jim and Aunt Mary I know that makes your proud!) So that's what we did during the morning up in the mountains. After nap time we made cupcakes and frosted them and had our little family party and opened a few presents. Her big present will be this Friday when we take her to Disneyland. I don't know who is more excited though, me or her? I love Disneyland.

Peyton is so close to crawling. She is up on all fours and rocking back and forth and scooting backwards. Any day now I am going to be chasing after her and Audrey. Oh boy won't that make life exciting!

Paul is getting ready to start with his new students. He says he is looking forward to it but he thinks after the first 3 missions he is going to be sick of it again haha. He is signing up to take the test to get his gold seal for flight instructing. I am so proud of him!

I am getting ready to start two more summer courses. Back to the books I go. It has been nice having a little break. We spent a week in Denver with Paul's family and it was amazing. It was so nice to be with family and do a lot of fun things. Plus, Paul and I got some time together child-free which can be really nice! (And help us retain a small portion of our sanity) Then, the day after we got back my Grandma and Grandpa Duthie came out to visit for 4 days. I missed them so much and it was great spending time together.

We are looking forward to Disneyland this Friday and then my mom and Dean come to visit a few days after that! I am loving all this family time! It can be really difficult living so far from family.

You can always see our up to date pictures by going to

http://picasaweb.google.com/WallerFamPhotos

So close!

Audrey and Shiba

Hiking 10 miles from our house





I am so close to the end of this semester! I have a final 10 minute speech to give on Monday. I have one more exam and a final in History and 2 more exams in math. I have to toot my own horn a little bit and tell everybody how great I am doing in history. I received a 106% on the first exam and a 120% on the second exam in history. There is always an extra credit essay you can try so that is how I was able to get the higher score. I have no doubt that history is what I want to major in once I transfer to a university.

Enough about boring me...haha I know you all check this to hear about the girls! Audrey is so funny. I stubbed my toe the other day and it brought tears to my eyes so she said "Mommy don't be sad. If I kiss you, you will be better." She loves helping me in the kitchen. Anytime she is grumpy I just ask if she wants to help me bake and she perks right up. She also loves helping daddy in the garage with his tools. She tells me all about her new school which she loves. Even though I loved her last one this one is great because its smaller so I think she gets a little extra attention. I also love her teacher Ms. T.

Peyton is really showing her personality. She makes you aware if she doesn't like something. She knows how to control me already! Unfortunately she still isn't taking a sippy cup or bottle so it makes nights that I have class a little difficult. At least she is loving her solids so that helps. I have been making all of her baby food and so far its working out great. The doctor said the way I am making it is perfect and she says if people have the opportunity to do it, she highly recommends it.

Paul is getting a little break at work. His students finished their training so we had a big bbq at his group leader's house. It was a lot of fun. I can't say I have spent much time with Japanese people so it was great learning more about them. They have some funny games. One is sort of like pin the tail on the donkey or hitting a pinata. You tie something over your eyes and spin around a stick. Then you try to wack a watermelon that is on the ground as people are coaching you where to go. So funny to watch. Paul did surprisingly well too. Audrey loved being the center of attention with all the students. After about a month Paul will get on with the next class and fly the bonanza again.

We are heading out to CO next month and I am so excited! Every weekend we have something going on. We fly out to CO and when we get back my grandparents visit. Then we have Audrey's birthday. The week after that we are taking her to Disneyland to celebrate. The weekend after that my mom and Dean are coming out to visit. Should be exciting!!

Check out my picasa album for more pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/WallerFamPhotos

All moved in...sort of

Once again it has been too long since my last post. Time is flying by already this year. I cannot believe it is April already!

Due to Audrey's allergies her ear, nose and throat doctor recommended we put her on steroid allergy medication. This is all due to the wonderful air quality in Bakersfield. (For those of you that don't know, Bakersfield is number 2 in the nation for poor air quality) Don't get me wrong I am a firm believer in medicine and the amazing things it can do but that was taking it too far for me. Audrey has already had two sets of tubes in her ears and now we have taken her adenoids out. So instead of putting her on the steriods we made the decision to move up to Tehachapi!

Moving is never fun. Especially with two kids. I didn't think having a second kid would make it more difficult but somehow it is. It's taking me much longer to unpack with this move than the last one. But the house is great! There is a big back yard that is being landscaped as I type. It is nice and new and updated with granite countertops. We have a really nice landlord instead of a horrible property management company that just wants to steal our money! The only downfall is that Paul now has to commute to work and I have to commute to school. But the pros definitely outway the cons at this point.

Peyton is getting so big! She is sitting up on her own and playing with toys. She is eating big girl food and she is still all smiles. Paul and I have been so blessed with two amazing girls!!

Audrey starts her new preschool this week and I'm sure she is really excited. Spring break is officially over for me so I have some major assignments due this week including an 8 minute speech! I still do not like speaking in public and contrary to popular belief it does not get easier the more you do it.

Paul is busy setting up his work bench and tools in the garage. He is really excited to have a yard and a new place to build stuff for. Once the patio is extended he has already planned our little outdoor oasis!

Sorry there are no pictures this time his computer is not playing nice this evening. I promise soon I will put some up!