Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Food, Friends and Flowers

Look Grandma, the flowers are still alive...and so are we. :)
The girls love taking care of their garden.





My girlfriend Jenn came to town to visit us last weekend. We had such a great time with her and hope she was at least humored watching us attempt to manage our house of monkeys. Thanks for taking the time to come! We loved having you and I'm up for another pedicure any time you are ready!




Is it just me or does this little baby get cuter every day?!



Alexis had the great idea to go out for a picnic... and so we did. It was our first time out of the house with me and the girls on my own. It was just at the park in our neighborhood, but felt like an accomplishment to me. :) (Mom, you'll be happy tp know I let my girls run around in their bare feet the whole time. Don't fall off your chair; I even took my shoes off!

Did someone "say cheese"?




This was one last activity with Grandma Carolee before she went home last week. (Yea us for surviving our first week on our own!) We sure do miss you Grandma!

Tagged

I've been tagged! (To those who've tagged me before to whom I never responded, accept my apologies and this as a substitute.) I believe I am supposed to make an acronym of sorts using the letters of my middle name to describe myself. Since I don't have a middle name, I will use my first.

...and I am tagging Lauren and Rachel...

A - Adventurous. ( j/k - I know some of you are laughing out there.) I would like to be though; the idea of being adventurous sounds adventurous and intriguing to me. I would like to claim I was fearless and that nothing ever got in my way, but really, I'm afraid of germs and bugs and giving my kids a bath (mostly because it's more of a suicide mission). I would love to have some great adventure I've come home from to tell you all about but I think for now my adventure is my home. Alexis, Aubrey and Allie are the true adventures in my life right now and very well may be the greatest I experience in my life...even if I do make it around the world one day!

L -Love... I love to travel and I love to be home. I know these sound like opposites but I do love them both. I love to have somewhere to look forward to going. I love sitting by the pool at a resort eating an ice cream bar. I love the smell of hotels because I know I'm on vacation. I love leaving the world behind, just for a while. In sharp contrast, I crave routine and that's why I love being home. I think routine is a sanity saver for me as a mom and so home is just an easier place to be.
(Okay, I'll confess that my first thought for the letter "L" would be "losing my mind," which I think I might one of these days but I'll try to be smiling when I do!)


Y -Yellow. I love the color yellow. It reminds me of sunshine and being cheerful and represents friendship. I love friends!

S - Social. I love to be social. I love people and having someone to talk to and spend time with. Another "S" word would be serious. I've been accused of becoming more serious since becoming a mother. Kind of hard not to considering all the new stresses and worries that come as part of the package; but I still think I'm fun. :)

S -I love... Sweets (I inherited this from my mom); Sunny Days (thus my love for AZ where it's sunny every day of the year!); Sewing and Scrapbooks

A - Awestruck. Amidst all the craziness in life, I am awestruck by the joy I feel in "the moments in between." These are the moments that, if my life were a movie, would play in succession of each other with music in the background, leaving out all the chaos as if it never existed. Awestruck in the moments when I'm cuddled up next to Adam feeling safe and secure under his arm. Awestruck when I'm gazing into the eyes of my newborn baby. Awestruck listening to the laughter of my girls as they play or as they take my hand and say "Come on mom!" and lead me away to a land of make believe.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Lovin' Life


The A.Wahl Girls




Grandma Carolee planted a beautiful garden for
us with help from Aubrey and Alexis. She completely
transformed our yard into something we will really
enjoy taking care of and relaxing in. Thank you!




Little Allie continues to be a sweet, cuddly
baby whom we love having in our home.
She receives oodles and oodles of kisses
from us every day.



A little pre-lunch snack! Allie loves her
fingers but shows little interest in binkies.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

One week old


I can hardly believe it! Allie is one week old today and I'm still marveling at how wonderful my experience has been with this baby. From the spontaneous labor and easy delivery (YEA for VBAC!!!) to a speedy recovery and lots of love and help from many friends. My wonderful mom has been here to help and allowed me the precious gift of spending every waking minute cuddled up with Allie during these first precious weeks that go by too fast. Thank you mom for such a gift and to all of you for sharing this happy time with our family! Life truly is a beautiful gift!

Monday, April 14, 2008

Our New Arrival !!!

Allie Wahlquist

April 10, 2008

8 lbs 3 oz -21 inches


Big Sisters

Alexis can't get enough of holding little Allie -who can?!


Ready to come home


Cozy in her swing

We are loving every minute!

Thursday, April 3, 2008

The month we've been waiting for.

April is finally here! I can hardly believe it. Any day now, we will be graced by the arrival of our new baby. We have kept very busy getting better from being sick, a few times over, and getting things ready for the baby. The girls have loved watching the house transform and become "baby land". Alexis and I were talking about the new baby coming and what she would and wouldn't be able to do when she is first born. Alexis looked up at me and said, "Mom, I know! I've read the book!" Kids say the silliest things. We have been reading the "I'm going to be a big sister" book to Aubrey and it sounds like Alexis knows all their is to know. And in case I ever get tired, Alexis has volunteered to let the baby sleep upstairs in her room. How sweet! All the little clothes have been washed, the carpets have been cleaned and my bags are packed. Now we just wait... wish us luck!

A Spring Thing!

These pictures are from about a month ago and by now , all of the blossoms have turned into leaves but we were so fascinated by their beauty , and their fragrance, that I just had to post them for you all to see. Our neighborhood is surrounded by these magnificent orchards, not to mention that the orchards and vineyards in all their varieties are scattered throughout Fresno. What a cheerful sight to see these blossoms every day as we drove about our activities. This particular day was a Sunday afternoon drive through what is called "The Blossom Trail". It is an area that has been mapped out for your ultimate blossom viewing pleasure. Alexis was so excited and had to stop many times to take pictures out the sunroof with her own little camera. I love kids! They get so excited about things. Her pictures were so important to her. Today I smiled as I watched Aubrey marvel over the first snail she'd ever seen. What a curious thing it was to her. We sure love spring!