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!

I love my crazy life

It has been a while since I have posted. Don't worry I have good reasons. One, I am a stay at home mom, that should be enough said. Two, I am a part time student with three tough classes. Three, if I just sat around and blogged all day my husband would probably leave me.

Anyway, things have been really crazy in this house the last few weeks. Where do I even begin?

Classes are getting into the nitty gritty and I am starting to have exams every couple of weeks. I am doing much better in math than I did in high school. Maybe because I actually have to pay for my schooling??? Speech is still nerve racking. I am a pretty outgoing person but tell me to give a speech in class and I want to run away. History is my favorite. It should be seeing as that is what my major is. So overall I am doing pretty well in my classes.

Paul is working a lot right now. His students are doing multi-engine training so the flights are much longer. But that is a good thing because the more time he builds the sooner we get out of Bakersfield.

Speaking of leaving Bakersfield, we might be moving up to Tehachapi. It is about 45 minutes away and would be a crappy commute but unfortunately Audrey's health is not doing so well in USA's number two city for smog(LA's number 1). She has been really fussy for about a month and I decided it wasn't just terrible twos and took her to her pediatrician. It turns out she has severe allergies. Basically she is allergic to Bakersfield. She has about 90-100% hearing loss in one ear and 50% in the other. Don't freak out she WILL get her hearing back it's just from the liquid that is building up due to allergies. We have an appointment again with her ear,nose, and throat doctor next friday. I am guessing we will have to have her adenoids removed. Last year it was putting tubes in.So we finally came to the conclusion that we might have to bite the bullet and move up there for the rest of our time at IFTA. We will see what happens...

My poor girl is trying to be tough through this though. She is so amazing and still makes me laugh so much throughout the day. She is all about asking questions on everything. How does the dishwasher work? What are you doing? Can I feed my baby like you feed Peyton? (That was a great one)

On a positive noted, Peyton is the healthiest baby in the world. This chubbster is already 16 lbs 1 oz and 26 inches long. Yes she is only 4 months and weighs more than some 8 month old babies. She is onto solids by the doctors recommendation and she is loving them! Don't worry she isn't going to be obese she is just a healthy baby. She loves being in her bouncer and goes wild jumping around. She is rolling from front to back and is really close to rolling back to front. She is all giggles and smiles. Paul and I call her our smiley cyrus. She adores her big sister and watches her every move.

Paul and I celebrated our 2nd anniversay on Tuesday. Well not really celebrated seeing as he worked from 7-5 and then I left at 5:30 to go to my history exam but we will be celebrating this weekend. A friend of ours has a beach cottage in Cambria so we are renting it this friday and saturday. It will be nice to get away with the girls and have some r&r.

And I am off to work on my never ending pile of homework. Ahh life as a mom, wife and student...

Here's to a new year...

Is it really the middle of January already?! I am still playing catch up after the Holidays. We had a great Christmas and Audrey loved the snow. We headed out to Prescott for New Years and it was fun. We got to see my mom's new house. She told me it was pretty far out there but you don't really understand how far until you are HALFWAY to Flagstaff!!! Seriously, it is in the middle of nowhere on some horrible dirt road. After the shock of basically 4 wheeling our way there...It was really nice. Lots of trails for them to play in the Razor, lots of wildlife to watch, a never ending supply of rocks for Audrey to play with, and the inside of the house is beautiful. We also got to see my Aunt Mary's new house which is only about 5 miles away. It is gorgeous as well. Paul and I were able to go out for New Years with my brother and My mom, Dean, Aunt Mary and Uncle Bim watched the girls. No one believed us that Peyton will absolutely not take a bottle until all four of them ran out of ideas that night. It would have been a funny scene to watch their attempts. In the end she decided to just fall asleep for the night and wake up at 4am for her next feeding.

I already started one of my classes and the other two start next Monday. I spent all of our retirement money buying books. No surprise there. I'm not sure why I thought they would be cheaper at a community college but my total for 3 books was $340. Goodbye idea of getting a wii! haha

Audrey is cracking me up everyday with the things she does and says. She has to know how everything works. She loves all her dress up clothes. She thinks helping Daddy in the garage is the best thing in the world. She has some play tools and she fixes everything for me. School is still her favorite thing to do during the week. She is starting to tell me everything they do during the day and I love hearing it. There aren't very many boys in her classroom so a little boy named Braxton gets all kinds of attention from the little girls. Everyday Audrey gets a smile on her face and talks about playing with Braxton. It's adorable.

Peyton is getting so big already! Just took her to the doctor yesterday to ask about ideas for getting her to take a bottle. She already weighs 14lbs 7 oz. We have a bumbo and she absolutely loves it. She will sit in it and watch her sister and you can see in her eyes how much she wants to get up and play with her. She is still our little cuddle bug. She would be thrilled if I just held her all day long. She giggled for the first time two nights ago. Paul and I were laughing because we were so frustrated that she wouldn't take a bottle and as she is breast feeding she lets go and starts laughing with us. Too cute. She also just had her first tooth come up on the bottom!

Paul is back to work with his students this week. Lots of sim time. In his spare time we are finishing up Peyton's room. Paul built some adorable box shelves for her wall and we are adding some colorful fabric to the back of them. He also used his new jigsaw to cut out some butterflies from wood and is currently painting them. They are so adorable. I will be sure to add pictures when they are done. I am currently sewing the curtains for her room as well.

I think this is going to be a fabulous year.

5 days to go...

Five more days until Christmas! We have taken Audrey to see Santa twice and it was a no-go both times. She screams and will not even go near him. Last year she just gave a mean face while on his lap but this year she can't even get within a foot of him. That is until he bribes her with a candy cane in which she grabs it and bolts.

Last night we went to the "Magical Christmas Forest" here in town. It is basically just lots of different light displays. We went with our friends Carol, Randy and thier son Brandon. The kids had a blast just running around seeing all the pretty lights.

Today was my birthday and it was a very relaxing day. We took the girls to the park and had a picnic. Paul got me red tulips which are my favorite flowers. Also, Paul and I finally finished the toy bins for Audrey's bookshelf. He made the frames for them and I sewed the covers.

Our plans for Christmas day are to go up to the mountains and go sledding and I will be making a yummy Christmas dinner. I have some new recipes I am going to try so we will see how that goes. If they turn out horrible we can always have Denny's right??? Haha