Kason's Birth Story

Kason Kolt Piquet was born on July 3, 2013 at 7:40 PM.  He weighed 9 lbs. 8 oz. and measured 22 ¾ inches long.  We are so happy to have Baby Kase home with us.  I wanted to make sure to write the details of Kason’s birth, so we can always remember this long awaited day.  I’m not much of a writer, but at least you can get the full details if you are interested! It's VERY long, so I won't be offended if you just look at the pictures!  Here is Kason’s birth story:

On Tuesday July 2^nd, Kolt and I went into Monarch Healthcare for our weekly appointment.  I was like the typical pregnant woman, very anxious to get this baby here.  I had been experiencing morning sickness, afternoon fatigue, and evening nausea during the entire pregnancy, so I was ready to have this baby any day.  Kolt kept encouraging me to carry the baby 42 weeks just like his mom carried him, but I assured him that I would never let that happen. As we sat in the waiting room, I told Kolt that I wasn’t leaving until she told me I could have this baby before the 4^th of July.  

Well, I got exactly what I wanted. When the doctor came in, she asked me when this baby was coming.  I quickly replied, “We’re having him tomorrow.”   I measured at 40 weeks, and his heart beat sounded great.  I was dilated to a 3 and 70% effaced.  Dr. Huggins commented that this baby wasn’t tiny, and then asked me if I wanted to induce the next morning.  Even though she did what I was hoping for, I immediately was overwhelmed with emotions, my favorite side effect of pregnancy.  Kolt says it’s lke a 9 month long roller coaster!  Tuesday evening I hosted the Annual Flash-from-the-Past BBQ with my teammates and friends from high school.  The BBQ went so smoothly, and I was even able to take my mind of the big news of the day for a little bit to visit and catch up with all the girls.

Wednesday morning we woke up at 6 to call the hospital to see if they had room for us at 7.  They told us that they had some walk-ins last night and to call them back at 7:30.   We tried to catch a few more minutes of sleep, which worked for Kolt, but I couldn’t sleep for a minute.  At 7:30, they told us to come in around 9:00 AM.  We walked into Labor & Delivery at 9:10 AM.  We had a good drive to the hospital, talking about how the next time we drove home, we would be with our baby.  They took us to Room 121 and told me to get in my gown.  The whole morning was pretty special for Kolt and I; we enjoyed remembering how 5 years ago when we began dating, we talked about the day we would have a baby.  That made the day much more sentimental and rewarding.

After I got my gown on, we met our nurse Karen.  I loved getting to know our nurse because I kept thinking of Makayla, who just started working Labor & Delivery in the Rock Springs Hospital.  I would’ve loved to have her as my nurse!  Dr. Huggins told Karen she was ready to break my water right away.  I got hooked up to the monitors; it is always good to hear the baby’s heart beat and know that he is okay.  They also drew my blood and hooked up the IV.  Dr. Huggins came in right after to break my water.  I was a little worried about the pain, but it was a piece of cake.  Kolt and I quickly noticed the difference between my water breaking this time and when we thought it broke last time.  I was already dilated to a 4 and 100% effaced.  Karen put Pitocin in my IV right after to get the contractions going.

At 10:30 AM, I had already started very regular, intense contractions.  My mom came in right at that time.  I was dilated to a 5 right away.  The anesthesiologist had a scheduled C-section at 11:30, so we got him in to give me my epidural before he got busy.  We signed the first of a lot of paperwork for the day and got going right away.  I was just finishing a contraction when they asked me to sit up and roll my back over.  Karen stood in front of me, and the anesthesiologist, Douglass, told Kolt to go over by the couch.  I quickly told him that I needed him right there to hold on to, so he got to stand by me next to Karen.  This was the first moment I was really worried about.  I was so worried about something going wrong.  Douglass was awesome, and it went in perfectly.  I felt a stinging sensation during the numbing shot, but after that, it was completely smooth.  It felt very mild compared to the contractions.  Kolt was a great sport and let me squeeze his hand as hard as I could.  As Douglass left, he asked if we were having a boy or a girl.  When we told him we were having a boy, he quickly replied, “Douglass is a great name!” We had a great laugh.

At 11:45 AM, my contractions were quite regular, and I didn’t feel the epidural had completely numbed me.  Douglass came back in a shot a dose of a different anesthesia in my tube.  They warned me that it often makes your blood pressure drop.  About 30 minutes later, my blood pressure dropped to 88/42.  I was immediately light headed and felt nauseous.  It all happened so quickly, but Kolt threw the oxygen mask over my face, and Karen gave me a shot of Ephedrine and Zofran within seconds.   I couldn’t believe how quickly my blood pressure rose, and my symptoms went away.  Kolt just stared at me after and told me that was too scary.  

Kolt and my mom had a good time visiting.  They watched a couple NCIS episodes, Wimbledon, and the movie Rudy throughout the day.  I had to work pretty hard to get Kolt to even look at me.  He was pretty distracted, but I kept reminding him that he needed to pay attention to me.  We had a good time talking to Karen who is a mother of 6 boys.  She then adopted a little girl who is now 12.  We had a great time talking about raising boys.  I think it was about that point when I got very tired and tried really hard to sleep.  I couldn’t actually fall asleep because the Zofran was giving me a terrible headache. 

At 2:30 PM, I was dilated to a 7.  I was sure the baby was going to come any minute at that point because I had no idea how long labor could last.  The Pitocin was making me have contractions every minute which ran the risk of stressing out the baby too soon.  She shut off the Pitocin, but I did exactly what I was supposed to and maintained slightly less intense contractions every 2 minutes.  

At 3:00 PM, our nurse switched to Heather.  I was so sad that Karen was gone, but she was pretty good too.  She measured me at an 8.  I remember taking another short nap before I woke up with a lot of pain.  They said that the extra dose of Lidocaine had worn off, so they gave me another one.  We were all ready for my blood pressure to drop again, but within a minute, I felt nauseous and threw up right away.  It was a little difficult throwing up ice chips because that was all they let me eat! I was starving! I felt better afterwards though, and the anesthetic gave me great relief.  They put in a catheter which gave me much needed relief!  At 5:00 PM, I was measuring a 9 ½, but the baby hadn’t dropped past my pelvis, so the nurse didn’t think I was close.

I took another little nap, but woke up to what I thought then was the worst pain imaginable.  I had no idea what was coming.  The anesthesiologist had warned us that for long labors close to 12 hours, epidurals don’t necessarily wear off, but your body gets accustomed to it, and you will not feel the relief.  That was exactly what was happening.  At 6:00 PM, I was in tears telling Kolt I needed help.  He told me to call the nurse in and get help.  She came in and helped me get started pushing at 6:30 PM. 

The pushing seemed to be useless as I couldn’t see the progress, and nurse said I would be pushing for 2 hours if I started now.  They told me to hold my breath and push for 10 seconds at a time.  I had a really hard time pushing for the whole 10 seconds, but Kolt was amazing and helped me by holding his breath with me every time.  My mom later said that she was doing the same thing over on the couch.  I was in horrible pain though and asked for more Lidocaine.  He came right in and injected more, but it gave me no noticeable relief.  The nurse said that I just need to push the baby’s head past my pelvis.  It scared me immediately because I knew that my sister Natalie’s pelvis didn’t spread for her babies, so she had to have C-sections.  I was pretty panicked when she said that, but Heather assured me that my pelvis was spread, but his head was just big.  

At 7:00 PM, the nurse saw his head and said he had dark hair! I was pretty miserable, so she told Kolt to come down and look.  He came back with the biggest smile.  It was moments like those that helped me keep pushing.  Heather had helped me finish dilating to a 10 from the pushing, and I got the baby’s head past the pelvis.  There was several times I had Kolt put on the oxygen because I was getting so lightheaded.  My mom left the room and said she would wait outside.  At 7:20 PM, Heather said if I pushed 2 more times like I did, she would call Dr. Huggins.  I was determined to push with all I had.  At that moment, I thought I may just die.  I kept telling Kolt that I couldn’t do it, and he just got this sick look on his face and told me it was too late.  I must’ve done it because the next thing I knew she was on the phone telling Dr. Huggins to come because she thought we’d have the baby in an hour.  I looked at Kolt right away and said I wasn’t pushing another hour.  They also called the NICU nurses to come in and set up their baby station because Kason had had a bowel moment during labor and ran the risk of inhaling meconium.   

Dr. Huggins came in immediately, and I tried not to stop pushing.  She is an amazing doctor.  She kept it so light hearted and helped me focus and remember the ultimate goal.  I was really struggling right then.  Dr. Huggins commented on how Kolt must work outside because he’s so tan.  She was also combing Kason’s hair in a Mohawk as he came out.  She helped me find some handle bars to hold onto because I was pinching Kolt’s hand, pulling on his shirt, and once I grabbed him by the neck, which I feel bad about now! I still had a hard time holding on to it, but I sure tried.  They offered to get me a mirror, so I could see Kason’s head of hair.  I said no initially, but decided I needed something to take my mind off it.  When I saw how much progress I had made and how much of his head I could see, I gained so much motivation.  It hurt worse than anything I could ever imagine, but seeing my baby’s head helped me push with all I had.  The next 5 minutes lasted forever.  I pushed and pushed and tried not to let up.  The nurse was on one side, and Kolt was on the other.  I remember lots of people on the other side of the room, setting up a place for Kason.  After I had pushed all I could, Dr. Huggins told me to try to relax, and she helped work his shoulders through.  

As soon as I felt like I could breathe again, she set Kason up on my stomach for about 15 seconds while she cut the umbilical cord off.  The NICU nurses then grabbed him and started working with him.  Kolt stayed with me until Dr. Huggins stitched up my 1^st degree tear.  She and the nurse had worked really hard to prevent tearing during labor.  I felt every stitch and was so ready to be done when she put in the last stitch.  Kolt kept smiling at me and saying, “You did a good job, Susie.  You did it.”  When Dr. Huggins finished, Kolt went over to Kason and sat with him while they finished.  He cried and cried so loud, which we later found out was an indication that he had swallowed the meconium.   

Everyone kept commenting what a big baby he was.  One of the NICU nurses commented to my mom in the hall that he was ready to walk out himself.  The nurses yelled from his bed that he was 9 lbs. 8 oz. and 22 ¾ inches long.  I couldn’t believe it.  He was a huge boy! Dr. Huggins promised me she wouldn’t let the baby get that big next time.  I told Kolt to run out and tell my mom how big he was.  She couldn’t believe it.  The nurse asked me what his name was.  I smiled at Kolt and said, “Kason! Kason Kolt Piquet”  Kolt got to bring him back over to me, and we shared the sweetest moment as we looked our son and felt the most peaceful, calming moment.

The next 2 hours were kind of a blur.  My mom came in right away and helped me feed him.  Imagine that! Kolt’s son came out ready to eat.  My dad waited in the hall for a few minutes and then came in right away.  He was the happiest grandpa when he got to hold sweet baby Kason.  My mom did a good job taking pictures.  Landon and Shauna came next!  Paisley got to meet baby Kason.  Kolt’s family came just after that.  Everyone took a turn holding him.  They had to wait for Kolt to finish giving Kason a bath first.  Natalie also was there then, so we all had a great time visiting and telling them our entire story.  Our families had waited all day for this baby, so by 7:40 PM, they were ready to come see our baby.  At 10 PM, everyone left.  Kolt and I got to spend another hour looking at Kason and being together with our new family.

Kolt and I asked the nursery for help on Wednesday night, so we could get some sleep.  We had a great day Thursday with visits from both of our families and Makayla, Sam, and Mandi.  We just loved holding Kason.  Kason was feeding really well, and his mom was getting used to nursing.  We visited with Kason’s pediatrician, Dr. Southwick.  He mentioned that Kason had a slight heart murmur, but he only heard it once in 5 minutes.  We didn’t worry because I have a heart murmur that doesn’t affect me at all.  He told us that if we wanted to leave that night, Kason was good to go.  Dr. Huggins also came and told me I could leave that night also if I was ready. 

We worked really hard to get all checked off, so we could get discharged.  The last thing we did was send Kason to the nursery for his final checkout.  The nurse told us it would only take 15 minutes.  After 35 minutes, Kolt and I both had an uneasy feeling.  We were both anxious to leave, so we initially blamed it on that.  Kolt finally had enough and went to go look for him, but he couldn’t see him anywhere.  After 50 minutes, the nurse came in.  She was Kolt’s least favorite nurse of our entire hospital stay, but it’s obvious as to why.  Her first words were, “Kason is not cooperating.  He is failing his oxygen saturation test.  He is not going home tonight.” I tried so hard to keep it together as we listened to her tell us that he was going to the NICU and would need to be monitored because he had a heart murmur and was struggling to breathe.  She told us she would come back, so that we could see him before he went to the NICU.  That was the worst 5 minutes of my life.  I cried and cried to Kolt, and we both just held each other pretty broken hearted.  Kolt kept assuring me that it was okay, but the news broke both of our hearts as we unloaded the car again. 

Dr. Huggins told us we could stay another night, which helped us, so we didn’t have to leave Kason quite yet.  Kolt pushed me in the wheel chair to go see Kason for about 30 seconds before he was sent to the NICU.  All I could do was watch his chest and see how he was breathing.  It broke my heart to leave him.  It took about an hour until we heard from the NICU.  We went to the NICU and saw Victor running a heart ultrasound.  It was amazing to see the tiny things in Kason’s heart.  We met the Neonatologist who was called in to see Kason.  She teased us for ruining her firework show because it was the night of July 4^th.  We loved the doctor; she explained things beautifully and helped assure us that things were not as bad as they could be.  

She explained that Kason had inhaled some meconium during delivery.  Because of this, he was not taking deep breaths, and the oxygen was not getting through his body.  This caused an airway in the heart that is open in the womb, but closes during the first week of life, to stay open and not close completely.  By being open, Kason was not using his full heart to breath.  The extra breaths and lack of oxygen was causing Kason’s heart murmur.  All of the irritation in his lungs, which wasn’t an infection, caused him to have PPHN.  PPHN babies get stressed by lots of touch and noise, so our time with him was limited if we wanted him to improve.  The doctor said that Kason would need to be watched in the NICU for at least 48 hours.  It broke my heart to see Kason in an incubator, hooked to a machine with all kinds of cords.  He had a gavage feeding tube and oxygen in his nose.  They told me that I would not be able to breastfeed him, and we were only allowed to hold his hand in the incubator for limited periods of time.  

The next 12 hours were really hard for Kolt and me.  It was horrible being without him.  All of this had surprised us completely.  After having my baby for almost 24 hours, I hadn’t even considered the thought of him being in the NICU.  We weren’t prepared for it at all.  It was emotionally draining, but it just continued.  Initially, we didn’t really understand what was going on.  Kolt studied about Kason’s condition for hours that night, but it was hard for me to completely understand.  It just didn’t seem right that Kason could be fine one minute and not the next.   

 

Kason was released from the NICU on Sunday, July 7^th.  My dad came over Friday morning, so Kolt and he could give Kason a blessing.  We got to spend the day with him at the hospital Friday, but had to go home without him Friday night.  We got to visit with the doctor about Kason’s progress once a day.  On Friday, Kason didn’t make any progress, and the doctor said we would be here a little longer, just waiting to see how he progressed.  They said that he always acted hungry, so they increased his feedings.  They also called us and said that he needed to be held and asked if we wanted to.  Kolt and I were in heaven holding our little baby Friday night.  It was so hard to not be able to feed him or help him or make him breathe better.  When we finally left Friday night, we were very tired, and I was in a lot of pain.  We called the nurse to see how he was doing at about midnight, and she said he was on room air and doing great.  We instantly thought that maybe he’d be home Saturday night, and the roller coaster continued. 

On Saturday I sat at his bedside from 8 AM to 10 PM.  Kolt was there the entire day also besides a few hours to go back to work for the day.  He made so much progress through the next 2 days.  We turned down his liters/minute to 2 instead of 3.  He handled it great.  We also got to try breasfeeding on Sunday, and he loved it.  He just kept amazing the doctors.  They called him their little man at the NICU.  We held him the entire day on Saturday.  We loved having our family visit.  Jeanna also visited and lifted our spirits through the afternoon.  He got off oxygen Saturday night and maintained it all through the night.  On Sunday morning, the doctor told us to prepare for discharge.  It was still very emotionally exhausting as he almost didn’t pass the car seat test and struggled a little bit during the day.  Finally, at 5:00 PM on Sunday we got to carry our little boy out to the car and take him home.  It was the most rewarding moment of my life.  I sat in the back seat with my hand on his chest, just to make sure he was still breathing. 

 

We have loved having Kason home with us.  He sure made us work hard to bring him home.  I still have a hard time setting him down or not holding him because I just keep thinking of the hours when we weren’t allowed to hold him.  The first night he was home I never once complained about him not sleeping during the night.  I was perfectly content to hear him cry, breath, grunt, and fuss.  Having Kason in the NICU helped Kolt and I grow so much in our marriage and as a family.  As we spent our 3 days in the NICU, we realized just how lucky we are to only be in there for 3 days.  I am in awe of those mothers, fathers and families who have babies in the NICU for weeks and months.  I admire all those who are there with them each and every day because it is emotionally draining and physically exhausting to always be on ups and downs.  

 

 

We are so grateful for our amazing families and friends, who sent meals, texted, called, visited, emailed, prayed, and fasted for us.  Our testimonies of the Priesthood along with the power of prayer and fasting have surely strengthened.  We are so grateful for our loving and supportive parents.  They never fail to build the bridge that gets us through.  Thank so much for all the love, prayers and support.  We couldn’t have made it through without you.  Kason improved so quickly because of your prayers.  We are so grateful for the gospel in our lives.  We are so thankful to have our sweet baby Kason home.  We love him so much, and he has already become the center of our lives.  Thank goodness families can be together forever!

Annual Piquet Wagon Train at 38 Weeks

I am 38 weeks tomorrow! We had great news at our doctor’s appointment today.  The doctor said to come back in next week for an appointment if I’m still pregnant, but if not, he’ll see me at the hospital.  That was great news for us! I am 70% effaced and dilated to a 3.  I am measuring at a 39 weeks, so that doctor said that I might have been due on July 1^st which is one of the dates they guessed back in October.  The doctor said I am good to bring this baby along; he told me to get walking!  Baby has a healthy heartbeat again and has his head down.  He is still quite active; I can feel him readjust often, but feel less kicks.   He seems to be pretty big because he has dropped, but still can reach his feet and knees into my top right ribs.   One of my favorite foods is still carrots.  I set a new record.  Last week I ate 2 lbs. of carrots in 5 days.  This week I ate a pound of carrots in just one day.  This baby better have good eyesight; he took my eyesight for sure!

Kolt and I spent Monday through Wednesday working.  Kolt had quite a few waters this week, and I worked to get checks printed before the wagon train.  Monday night I went with Kolt and helped irrigate.  I was pretty proud that I could still help him move pipe.  I only lifted up the ends of the pipes and latched the end he was carrying in.  We moved 30 pipe in no time, but it was sure hot!  We got home at about 9:30 just in time for his boss to call and say that one of the other worker’s waters was overflowing, and that guy wasn’t answering his phone.  So I went to sleep, and Kolt went to fix that water.  He is a good sport to work late hours, including checking waters at 2 AM.  I never hear him complain about working early and late every day.  We feel pretty lucky that he can schedule around family events and make it home to have lunch with me most days.

Tuesday night we watched the Spurs lose to the Heat in overtime.  I think that was the first basketball game on TV that I have really gotten excited about.  We were pretty bummed when they lost, but even more bummed when we heard that the Heat beat them in game 7 on Thursday night.  Wednesday Kolt and I changed waters and then headed into town to do some grocery shopping.  We stopped by Sonic to use a coupon that we had.  Kolt was pretty talented to spill his chocolate banana shake all over the seat, console, and floor within the first 2 minutes.  We went to Albertson’s to get water and Oreos which were on sale.  We ended up finding a whole cart full of snacks for the wagon train.  

Thursday morning we got up at 5 AM to leave for the Annual Piquet Wagon Train trip.  Every June, Kolt’s family takes horses and wagons from Heise to Green Canyon.  Kolt and I had to work the first 3 days, but we made it the last 3.  So Thursday morning, Kolt finished carrying out the last of our things to the truck and loaded Chex, while I worked on making French toast.  We pulled out at 6, did chores at his parents’ house, and then headed up to Green Canyon.  Bryant was so nice to let us use his 4 wheeler, so I could have a smooth ride.  Kolt drove the 4 wheeler and I drove the truck and trailer to Thursday night’s camp site.  We were really happy we found it right away.  From that camp site, I drove the 4 wheeler and Kolt rode Chex back to meet up with the wagon.  About 3 miles down the road, Chex started limping pretty badly.  We noticed he had lost a shoe during the night.  He had scuffed up his hoof pretty bad, so we walked him back to the camp site, tied him up and drove the 4-wheeler to find the family.  We met them at the last campsite and heard about their eventful trip of losing their horse Choncho and Wednesday’s rain storm.  We helped them load up and then I rode in the wagon with Kolt’s dad for the first part of the trip until Kolt got back with a truck.  We then waited for them at the next campsite.  Thursday night we had yummy Eldorado casserole, one of Kolt’s mom’s specialties and Kolt’s favorites.  We stayed up late visiting with Clyde and Susan Waddell, who came to visit.  Clyde shoed Chex, so he told us to come up early Friday morning to Driggs, and he would put on another shoe, so Kolt could ride him.  

Friday we got up early to head to Driggs. Clyde put on a shoe in about 5 minutes.  He is so fast.  We got back just in time for eggs and sausage and to pack up camp.  Kolt, Shauna, and I drove the 3 trucks to the next campsite and then drove the 4 wheeler back to the wagon.  I rode along behind, and Kolt rode  Chex.  Kolt and his brothers rode all over the hills and fields, working Chex pretty good.   By the time he finished Friday, Kolt could swing a rope up over his head.  He was pretty happy about that.  I put a saddle bag on the 4 wheeler, so I could snack the whole way.  I was pretty happy I made it the whole way with the fuel light blinking! Friday night we had pork chops and potatoes, which Shane’s magical ingredient, apples! They were yummy.  We also drove up to Green Canyon to swim that night.  It felt SO good to get the weight off my back and feet in the pool.  I almost drowned when I found out how fast this belly floats!

Saturday we slept in and then ate pancakes.  I was so glad I slept well both nights.  Kolt and I put a bed mattress and lots of pillow in the back of the truck with the shell overtop.  It was so comfortable and kept us at a pretty good temperature.  Kolt and his brothers rode up to the top of some super high mountains.  We got some pretty cool pictures.  Chex made so much progress on this trip.  Kolt says the wagon train trip is where a horse completely turns the corner.  We were glad we were able to make it without having a baby on the trail! 

We got home at about 4 Saturday and got all unloaded and cleaned up at 6.  We headed up to Rigby to Bambino’s, my pregnancy craving.  I promised Kolt I could eat 3 Bambino’s, which are kinda like a pizza hot pocket.  He’ll never believe me again because I only ate one before I was too full.  We went to the Jefferson County Stampede Rodeo Saturday night.  Macoy Hill was Mutton Busting.  He did awesome and we were cheering pretty loud.  I think he was a little bummed he didn’t win! We had a great time visiting with Jared and Jeanna, but sure missed Tate.  We love being with the Hill’s and never  see them often enough.  Saturday night we barely crawled into bed before we fell asleep.

Sunday morning Kolt got to rearrange ours and the neighbor’s horses before church.  Joe Davidson had his farewell talk and did excellent.  We got to sit by Jacob Shipton and Zack Pickering.  It was good to see some friends that we graduated with.  Kolt taught the Sunday school lesson.  We played a scripture/Priesthood trivia game.  The kids have really been struggling with knowing the scriptures.  We hope they learned a lot, especially things that will help the kids in engage in discussion during the lessons.  We ended Relief Society with just opening exercises, so that we could make it to the Worldwide Leadership Training meeting.  What a neat time for missionaries.  We are so excited for the changes that are being made and are excited for what it means for Tyler.

False Alarm & Elder Lindley leaves

Another week has passed! Tomorrow I will be 37 weeks, which means this baby is finally full term.   I am still feeling the morning sickness, but it comes all of the sudden and doesn’t usually last all day, so I can handle that.  He has been a little less active because he is filling up my whole stomach.  We thought we were going to have a baby Friday.  Friday morning we woke up and I had lost a lot of fluid.  We waited a while, called the doctor, and then finally decided to go to the hospital.  The nurse thought I had definitely broken my water, and she started preparing us for delivery, explaining the process to us.  We were pretty overwhelmed, but finally got our heads wrapped around it as she brought back a negative amniotic fluid test.  We were pretty bummed when they dismissed us because we were ready for this baby.  There were a few good things that came from checking at the hospital though—we listened to the baby’s heart beat for almost 3 hours and he is responding well to the contractions.  I was also able to finally identify contractions.  The monitors showed very mild contractions happening every minute.  We had an appointment this morning where they redid the fluid test which came back positive again.  I am also measuring about a week ahead, so we are relieved that my water is not broke and the baby is doing well. The wait continues!

Monday evening I was really ambitious about walking and starting some contractions.  I followed Kolt around the field while he was irrigating for about 2 hours.  I was completely worn out by the time he finished.  We had a good time talking and enjoying the last few times we have together before this baby comes! We stopped by Rope and Brand’s Driving 4-H just as it was finishing!

Tuesday Tyler got up early and went irrigating with Kolt.  Kolt really enjoyed talking with Tyler and also enjoyed his help.  During Kolt’s lunch break, Tyler & he saw a Gatorade drinking contest on Sports center and were sure they could beat the record time of 4.5 seconds.  They tried twice; Tyler got around 6 seconds and Kolt got about 8.  They thought that was pretty fun.  Tyler got set apart Tuesday night.  He has been pretty excited to serve a mission.  The extra hormones made it a little bit hard to see my baby brother all grown up! We had some yummy refreshments afterwards and a good visit with family.  Wednesday we got up early to say goodbye to Tyler.  He sure looked like a missionary!

Thursday we took Charlie out to Rope & Brand’s Working Ranch 4-H Meeting.  Kolt helped the kids practice roping.  He was glad to have a few minutes to work on Chex too.  I had a fun time with Charlie.  Kolt and I sang the ABC’s to him on the way home.  He looked at us kinda funny and then repeated it completely audible all the way to the letter P.  He also knew all the parts of the body I asked him.  When we got to 4-H, Grandpa Piquet gave him an Idaho Spud which is wouldn’t set down for anything. He thought it was pretty cool to try to pet the steers.  He kept picking up dirt and letting it blow out his hands.  He thought that was pretty fun, until he found a big clump of dirt! As soon as I saw him and realized what it was, I shouted, “Charlie, that’s not dirt! It’s horse manure!” He thought that was pretty gross after I said that, and he stopped picking up dirt! I got to take Charlie home and see Kevin and Ashley’s new house.  It is beautiful, and it looks like they love it!

I was happy to have the day off Saturday, but Kolt worked all week.  During the day, I made Grandma Lindley’s special Peanut Blossoms.  They were delicious.  At the same time, I flipped through the Lindley cookbook and found my cousin, Erica’s, recipe for Blonde Brownies and decided I had better try those too.  I had just a little bit of a sweet tooth!  We went to Taylor Tolbert’s reception at the Rose River Reception Center with my mom and dad on Saturday night.  It was a beautiful reception, and Taylor & Mack looked so happy.  They had a Sundae bar; Kolt kept asking why we didn’t do that at our reception! 

Sunday I taught our Sunday school lesson.  We learned about how our scripture study skills can help us learn about the Priesthood. Thanks to lots of help from Kolt, it came together somewhat.  I gave them each time to make a list of the duties of the Priesthood from the Doctrine & Covenants, and then we made a combined list on the board.  Then I gave them each a scripture reference to a familiar story from the scriptures and asked them to stand up, tell the story, teach the lesson, and bear testimony.  We were a little short on time, so it didn’t do exactly as I had envisioned, but I think it will be a good idea for another week.  We had a yummy Father’s Day dinner at Kolt’s parents, Shepard’s Pie, a yummy strawberry/lemon cookie salad, watermelon, and rolls.  Kolt and I got his dad a movie, Pure Country, which we started after dinner.  We headed up to Sugar City a little later to visit Grandpa & Grandma Dalling.  Grandpa was glad we came; he said if guests wanted to watch the Spurs v. Heat, he could watch it. So we all watched the first half together.  Then Kolt and my mom went out and started a game of basketball outside with my cousins.  Kolt had a blast and came home pretty sweaty.

We are excited to celebrate our great fathers yesterday.  I got Kolt his first Father’s Day gift.  He got 2 new pairs of jeans he’s been needing, his favorite hair gel, and a new shirt.  I thought it was a pretty good Father’s Day.  

Watch Out Italy!

We are at 36 weeks officially tomorrow! We had a doctor’s appointment this afternoon.  My blood pressure was 118/72 which they said was great! They checked my cervix, and I’m officially dilated to a 1!  The doctor said he was pretty surprised I was dilated with it being my first pregnancy, so I was happy about that.  The heat is getting quite miserable, so I’m ready to get this baby out! He is growing perfectly though, and his heartbeat is always consistent and fast! We’re hoping not to have to worry about him having a heart murmur like his mommy!  I am quickly learning why many moms take time off of work before their baby comes.  I am definitely lacking in energy and motivation.  Putting in one load of laundry wears me out!

Monday night we went to Grandma and Grandpa Dalling’s cabin up at Sandcreek.  We ate hotdogs, roasted marshmallows, and fished.  It was a great time visiting.  We were able to go with Mom and Dad, Natalie and family, Kevin and family, and Tyler.  I worked on my roping a little bit, but Kolt showed us all how it was done.  He got Nathan to run away from him, and Kolt caught his heels.  He didn’t stop, so he totally face planted.  He thought it was pretty funny though, so I taught him how to not step into the rope.  He did it several more times, and Nathan stopped just as soon as he saw the rope, so he wouldn’t get caught! Kolt also reminded me why we never go fishing.  He got the line caught in the trees across the pond the first two casts.  It reminded me of a time we went fishing for a day date with Makayla Keck and Travis Henriod.  Kolt broke his pole in the first five minutes, asked me to borrow mine, and then broke mine.  The fishing trip ended a little early for us!

Thursday afternoon we went horseback riding with Mom, Tyler, Natalie, Brady, and Brooke.  We had an awesome time up at Little Kelly.  It was pretty hot, but it was worth the view.  I rode Cisco—it was a smooth ride! Kolt rode one of the horses he had worked with for his dad this spring.  At one point, Tyler and he were trotting, and Kolt’s horse tripped sending Kolt over top of the horse.  We spent the next 30 minutes trying to catch Choncho, but no luck.  Kolt ended up walking behind him as he followed us down the path.  We finally caught him about an hour later.  Kolt was a good sport—he was smiling when we finally caught him.  Thank goodness he has such a good attitude!

Friday Kolt went up to the Milo Ward’s Father and Son’s Outing.  He went with his dad, Rope and Brand.  They had a good time visiting, eating dinner, and roping.  They got back late Friday night and then left early Saturday morning for a cattle drive with Gaylen Stucki.  While they were gone, Tyler, Mom, Dad, and I went to the Pitmaster BBQ Grill.  It’s a new restaurant by the ISU IF campus that was opened up by Lisa Harding and her husband.  Her kids go to Foxhollow, and she is friends with Kolt’s mother, so it was good to support them.  Kolt got back just in time to hurry down to his cousin Brenda’s reception.  We enjoyed visiting with lots of family including Travis Sautter, who came from California.  Travis studied Medicine, so we talked about some good ideas for volunteer work.  We then rushed down to Pocatello to attend Lexi Strom’s reception.  She married Brenn Scheiss from Pocatello.  It was really good to see her.  Lexi was baptized in March by Brenn and is getting sealed next year in the San Diego Temple.  We are so happy for her, and I was glad Kolt got to meet her.  After the receptions, we hurried back to Kolt’s parents’ house for cake and ice cream for Landon’s birthday.  It might’ve been a little late for cake, but we celebrated nonetheless!

Sunday was a big day for us.  I’m dying because I didn’t take any pictures! We got up early Sunday for a last minute haircut and to make a salad for Tyler’s farewell dinner.  Tyler had also arranged a musical number with some of his friends from school.  I played the piano while they sang Come Thou Fount.  We practiced at 12, but not too many showed up.  By the time we got to the church, the chapel was full.  We called off the practice and I jumped on the organ to play prelude.  The chapel and cultural hall quickly filled up.  Kolt came up to sit by me to make room for Grandma and Grandpa Dalling.  I was really happy to have Kolt up there to help me with the volume on the organ.  Kolt and I said the prayers for the meeting; I played the organ, and then accompanied the musical number.  The bishop said that next time he’d have me speak, so I could just do it all! It was a great meeting.  The musical number was beautiful.  I was amazed because half of the people that stood up didn’t come to practice.  You couldn’t even tell; they were beautiful.  Zach Nelson spoke first and then Tyler.  They both did great, and Kolt is excited to see how they will both grow to have stronger testimonies.  We came back to a yummy dinner of pulled pork sandwiches.  Kevin made delicious rolls! Kolt’s family was able to attend Sacrament Meeting and came over for dinner.  We had lots of family and friends here.  There was just not enough time to talk to everyone! We also got to celebrate Kristi’s birthday! I can’t believe she is 26.  We watched some of the movies on Tyler’s list.  We watched Quigley Down Under, and then Kolt and Tyler were the only ones who stayed up to watch Shanghai Noon. 

We are so excited for Tyler to leave for Italy this week.  His bags are already packed.  He is going to be a great missionary, and we are excited to read his letters.  He will do great things for the Italian people.

Happy Memorial Day!

I am officially 35 weeks along! Doctor visit was great this week.  I told them to put my on the calendar to have this baby early! Everything seems to be growing fine, and he is still very active although there is less room to roll around now.  He still finds a way to lodge his feet in my ribs.  The doctor assured me that the sharp pains were nothing to worry about because he could feel the baby’s feet right up in my ribs.  I think he will be an active child!

We have had a great week starting with a great Memorial Day Monday.  We began the day with breakfast with the Milo Ward.  Kolt’s dad helped make pancakes, potatoes, eggs and bacon.  It was delicious!  Kolt enjoyed seeing members of his ward growing up.  We just don’t see them enough! We got to visit with the Howard’s, Jacob Shipton, Ty Cooper, and many others.  We are sure grateful for good friends and examples.  After breakfast, Kolt and I stopped by the Ucon Cemetery and visited Kolt’s niece Brylee’s grave.  This was the first year I didn’t get to go to Utah to visit Julie Ann, Daniel, and Trevor’s graves along with Uncle Blake and Grandpa Lindley.  I was sure thinking about them all day.  We are so grateful that families can be together forever.  Kolt went to work for the afternoon.  He has been working quite a bit.  Last week he worked 68 hours.  He is a hard worker, and I am very grateful he is working as much as he can before the baby comes.  

Monday evening we went riding up to Kelly Canyon again with Kolt’s dad, Shauna, Landon, Rope & Brand.  We took Nathan for a short ride in the backyard before we left.  Kolt and I drove the truck and trailer with Kate and Chex.  Kate did great except when she jumped the 2 creeks! I hit my belly pretty hard on the saddle horn the first time, so the next time I leaned to the side and about fell off. Luckily Kolt caught me! Kolt says I ride like a sack of potatoes.  Kolt fell off Chex while they were racing with his brothers and Shauna.  He didn’t have the cinch on very tight, so it was fine after that.  It was about a 3 hour ride—I came home pretty tired and sore.  I think that might be my finale until after the baby!

Tuesday we had some yummy Tortellini for dinner with a Caesar salad and fruit.  Tortellini is one of the few things I can make.  Wednesday night Kolt and I attempted to attend institute again, but it apparently isn’t Wednesday nights! We are going to try for Thursday this week.  So far, we are batting 1000.  On the way home, we stopped by volleyball practice at Bonneville.  The 17s and 15s are practicing for Phoenix.  They are looking very good, and I am bummed I can’t go this year, since it is the last week of June.  We enjoyed talking with Kaisha Udy, a little sister of one of the girls on my freshman volleyball team last year.  The highlight was her suggestion to name the baby Roger!

Thursday I took work off to help babysit Kamrie for the day.  She was fun to be with, and I tried really hard to keep her up, so she would sleep through the Kristi’s interview at 11.  We helped Tyler clean up his room and organize his things.  She found some old suckers and candy.  It seemed to be the highlight of the morning.  I kept working on some boxes of old school papers; it seems like this is going to take me all summer.  That evening we went to a fundraiser at Pizza Pie Café for Tatelyn Hill.  We met up with Jared and Jeanna at six.  Kolt got a cookie monster, and I got the buffet.  It was good to visit with the Hill’s.  We are hoping Chex will be a good fit for one of their boys by the end of the summer. 

Shauna’s birthday was Thursday also!  Kolt and I got her a Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream cake by special request.  We went out at seven and caught dinner with his family and Grandma and Grandpa Piquet, then enjoyed the yummy ice cream cake! Shauna’s father-in-law asked Kolt to ride another horse this summer.  The horse is a Chestnut 3-year old named Chester.  He worked with him in the round pen for the first time, and he seems to have a lot of energy!

Friday was the Father and Son’s Campout for our ward.  Kolt went with my dad and Nathan that night.   My mom and I stayed home and babysat Brooke while Natalie and Brady went to the temple.  They got us Pizza Hut pizza.  We thought we were in heaven! I met Jared and Trish on Broadway to pick up Lacey and Lindsey.  We stopped by the Greenbelt to look at the falls and then stopped by Arctic Circle for ice cream on the way home.  The highlight of the night was Lindsey.  She was so surprised at how many motorcycles there are in the “city”.  Over the weekend, she counted 23 and just couldn’t believe it.  

Saturday was Rope’s 11^th birthday! He wanted to have a birthday breakfast at the Ucon Diner.  My mom and I made his cake.  He asked for a “chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and if I wanted it to be a special birthday, I could put white chocolate dipped strawberries on top.”  We had to make it extra special, so we did that! I was pretty impressed—my mom is amazing.  I was getting discouraged, but she saved it! I was excited to hold little Paisley again.  Rope got a bow which he couldn’t stop smiling about! 

We hurried back home after breakfast to watch the kids while the parents helped Kevin and Ashley move into their new house. We had Evan, Saydie, Charlie, Nathan and Brooke.  Lacey and Lindsey were great help, and Natalie even stayed around to help.  We packed a lunch and headed to the zoo at 10:30.  They had a blast, and I was happy that I could keep up.  We made it home in time for naps.  It was a nice quiet afternoon! 

Lacey and Lindsey had their piano lessons just in time for us to head off to Kolt’s cousin, Amber Denning’s baby shower.  She is due a week after me and also having a boy.  We met with Shauna and Angela at Target and picked up a bumbo and a cute outfit.  We took a long drive out to Shelley, but made it there in plenty of time.  It was a beautiful shower. Lacey and Lindsey enjoyed lots of treats, and we had a yummy lunch. 

After the shower, we helped Kolt get off riding with Shane, Landon, Rope & Brand.  The girls and I went swimming in the hot tub.  We turned down the temperature and enjoyed a relaxing sit.  I remember the last time I swam with them, they splashed and splashed.  They are quite grown up (now 8 and 9), and they enjoyed a peaceful sit while we talked about what baby names we like.  They helped me make some caramel popcorn.  I’m not sure how much I did because they were great help.  We started watching Father of the Bride Part II a little too late though, so we had to leave 15 minutes into it to go meet Jared and Trish on their way home from Twin Falls.  I can’t believe how fast those girls are growing up.  I’m so glad I get to teach them piano, so I can see them often! Saturday night I watched the last couple hours of Titanic.  I’ve never seen it before, and I don’t ever want to watch it again! It is a pretty touching show.  I can’t even imagine being on that sinking ship.

Sunday morning we had a good day at church.  Kolt taught the Sunday school lesson about why it’s important to listen to our Priesthood leaders.  Our class had some great examples of why to follow our Priesthood leaders including our dads.  I shared a story of when I was at school at Western, and I had planned a trip with some friends to Utah for the weekend.  My dad sent me a text telling me he had an uneasy feeling, but also telling me that it was my decision to go or not and he understood that.  I made the decision to go, and my dad was exactly right.  I had a hard time feeling the Spirit all weekend and wished that I had stayed home.  I wasn’t feeling good after Sunday School, so I came home to rest.  We had a yummy breakfast dinner after church made my mom.  

After dinner, I took Tyler over to the church to learn to play the organ.  He wanted to try to play it in case he needed to on his mission.  I showed him the few things I know, and he played and played for a half hour.  He was awesome.  We are enjoying every minute with Tyler before he leaves.  We are just 10 days away.  He sure enjoys being with Kolt, and they have become really good friends over the past few months.  We are sure excited for all that he will accomplish in the next couple year and especially proud of his decision to worthily serve a mission.