We are finally sleeping!!

Kason is almost 7 months old! I decided I had better write down his updates throughout the week because I am having a hard time remembering things about him each week! Kason has been learning all kinds of ways to get around! He crawled 4 steps this week, but he doesn’t go very far at a time partly due to his huge size. He gets tired quickly! This week he has also army crawled as well as scooted, lunged and rolled to get around.  One day this week, I tipped over his big basket of toys and sat him down to play while I did homework.  A minute later, he has left all of his toys untouched and crawled over to the remote several feet away.  It was then that I realized that Kason can get around whenever he decides to! I also decided that I’m not buying any more toys for this baby as his favorite toys are remotes, shoe laces, and the newspaper! He has started this cute little fake laugh whenever Kolt or I laugh.  He also found his tongue.  One night he let his tongue hang out of his mouth for a long time like it was a new toy! He also started smacking his lips which he does all throughout the day! He is still in a mom stage, but is getting better and has been friendlier this week!  We also have started letting his fuss at night to help him sleep.  He has been waking up every hour throughout the night which is definitely more he should! The first night, he fussed for 10 minutes total and then slept the whole night in his crib.  He has been sleeping 8 hours for an entire week! He still wakes up once in the night, but he has found out how to soothe himself back to sleep without being picked up! It has been a great thing for us as we all have more patience when we are well-rested! 

Monday I printed checks at work.  I got all the invoices returned early in the morning, so I actually got the printed fast and finished in time to meet Kolt, Kason, Grandma Piquet, Shauna, Paisley, Rope & Brand at the movies to watch Hercules. It was a great show; I loved it! Kason slept during most of the movie which was perfect timing! After the movie, we spent some time driving a newspaper route.  Kolt has been looking for a good job to work while in school.  An early morning route seemed like a perfect fit, but after doing lots of homework and saying lots of prayers, we decided it wasn’t the best time for us.  We are hoping something will open up for summer time that will allow him to use his phlebotomy training and work with his schedule.  Monday night Kason and Kolt came with me to volleyball.  Kason and Kolt played with Nathan while we played! We won both games! I am still loving playing and especially wearing my new pink shoes and black workout capris!

Tuesday I had 2 appointments for my classes in Pocatello.  Kason stayed with Grandma Lindley while I drove down.  Grandma says he was a good baby which was a relief because it has been a little while since he has been left! Right before I left, one appointment cancelled and the other appointment never showed.  I was pretty disappointed about a waste of a trip, but I had a good visit with one of the kids in 2 of my classes.  It is nice to have someone to work with to make sure I am on the right track!  I went over to volleyball at Bonneville to help.  My cousin Ashley Dalling is playing on a team this year too, so it was good to be with her and help her.  She even got to come home with us before Jared & Trish picked her up. Kason likes being with Ashley!

Wednesday I took Kason to work with me, and we worked fast.  In the evening, we went to watch Brand play at Eagle Rock.  He played great defense and stepped up great when some were in foul trouble.  Paisley shared some of her Puffs with Kason which he loved! He even got to hang out with Aunt Betty for some of the game!

On Thursday I went visiting teaching and then had visiting teachers come visit me.  We have some neat sisters that we go visit, and I always enjoy feeling the Spirit in their home.  I also have some great visiting teachers who always leave a special Spirit and also bring the sweetest little gifts for each season.  Kason and I went out to Hamer to do piano lessons on Thursday.  Ashley watched Kason while I helped my mom with basketball practice for a little bit.  On the way home, I dropped off Kason at Taylorview for Brand’s game.  He stayed for Grandma Piquet for the evening while I worked hard to do homework and Kolt went to his lab in Pocatello.  I had forgotten how fast I can work without Kason to distract me! I got 100% on my weekly quiz and listened to all my lectures.  It was a very productive night! Grandma Piquet said Kason was a little fussy at the game.  We have learned that he doesn’t really care for the intense part of the games when everyone is yelling.  It is surprising, since he has spent a lot of time in the gym! He seemed to do much better at home when he got some dinner and had a bath! 

On Friday I went to work and Kason stayed with Kolt.  They took a good long nap! We went to Rope’s scrimmage in the afternoon at Taylor’s Crossing.  He made some great free throws at the end!  After the scrimmage, we picked up a movie and went out to Shauna and Landon’s house.  Shauna and I worked on a craft while Kolt and Landon watched White House Down and watched Paisley and Kason.  Kason is starting to definitely know when it is bedtime and likes to be home as he was pretty fussy when he got tired! We also had some yummy pizza, and Kason tired Corn & Sweet Potatoes for the first time and ate a whole jar! I had a great time working on the craft, and it looks excellent in our living room above the TV.  It is fun to work on crafts and have someone who likes to work on them too!

On Saturday, Kolt went snowmobiling in the morning with Bryant at Green Canyon.  They had a good time visiting! Kason and I went to Evan’s basketball game with Grandpa Lindley.  Kolt got home in time to go to Rope’s game in the afternoon, and then he took Kason out to Grandpa & Grandma Piquet’s house to work on a project in the bathroom.  Kason played with Rope while Grandpa & Kolt worked on the lights.  I stayed home and finished my paper due this week.  

On Sunday I played the organ and accompanied the Relief Society sisters in Sacrament Meeting while they sang Love At Home.  Kason was good during the meeting even though he was so tired! Kolt taught the Sunday school lesson about reading the Book of Mormon.  We have a fun, interactive class this year.  We also had a good Relief Society lesson about sharing the gospel.  After church, we had a good breakfast dinner with the Lindley’s.  Kason even sat in his high chair and ate bananas while we ate dinner.  He is sure growing up!

A Special Week

Kason had his 6-month wellness check on Monday! He is 21 pounds 3 ounces (95%) and 29 ¼ inches long (99%). His head is also in the 96^th percentile! We still have a big boy! He hasn’t gained any weight in the last couple weeks, but he is feeling better, so he should start eating better! He has been eating lots of meats and vegetables this week! He also liked little pieces of bread and tortillas.  It is fun to see him eat new foods, although he is a little pickier than we expected! He takes a little while to get used to new foods, but we now have expanded our menu to beans, squash, sweet potatoes, turkey, chicken, and ham.  He got his 6 month shots on Wednesday and actually did great compared to what I expected! We also had Brandi Simmons take Kason’s 6-month pictures! I can’t wait to get them back! He was such a stinker and didn’t want to smile, but I’m hoping they still look alright! He is much more active now. He is really good at getting from the sitting position to his hands/knees.  He is getting back to his happy personality although the past 3 weeks of coddling hasn’t helped! He seems to always want to be held! He had an awful week of sleeping except for last night finally! We let him cry for only 15 minutes, and he slept from 10 until 6. We are hoping that continues as we all woke up much happier today! He also loves spending time with his cousins and watching the older ones run around.  He is entertained for a long time when they are around.  Kamrie is great about entertaining Kason; she will bring every toy to Kason and hold it in front of him while telling him about it.  He loves Kamrie!

This week we finished watching the 6-year old boy from our ward.  We watched him while his mom was out of town.  His dad dropped him off at 6:00 AM, and then we took him to school at 8.  Kolt was great to get up with him, as he is quite energetic in the morning! I took him to school when Kolt has class this week.  Kolt is excited for the day when Kason is old enough to be a fun playmate!

We had our first week of school this week.  Kolt enjoyed his classes, and I worked on my online classes.  I think we are both struggling to get motivated, but we will get there! I got the 1099s sent out this week at work.  My schedule works nicely where I still go in 3 days a week and Kolt is home to watch him Mondays and Fridays while I work, so I only have to take Kason with me on Wednesdays.  

We also got to watch Brand’s first basketball games this week.  He had a team scrimmage on Monday and then played Sandcreek on Thursday.  He did great in both games! He has really improved on his ball handling and does well inside.  It will be fun to see him grow as a player through the season.  Kolt and I both enjoy going to Rocky Mountain Middle School and reliving some of our memories in the school and on the court.  It is neat to be back in that gym!

On Monday evening I played in my volleyball league in Rexburg again.  We had 2 players missing, so my mom came with us to play.  We won both games in 3 even with only 5 players! It was pretty fun, and I enjoy playing and not being pregnant.  It helps my vertical! Kolt came to watch this week, and Kason slept the entire 2 hours, which didn’t help his ability to sleep through the night!

On Thursday evening after Brand’s game, Kason and I went with Kolt to Pocatello to his lab class once a week.  The class was only 30 minutes, and then we drove down to Arimo to look at a saddle.  Kolt has been wanting his own saddle for a long time, so when we found a good deal, we got it.  The guy who sold it to us was a nice guy who knew Grandpa Monte Piquet.  It is fun to have connections. Kolt loves his saddle! He is looking forward to having one of his own.  

On Saturday, we watched Evan play basketball at 11:30.  We also took a couple of quizzes for class, rode horses, and cleaned house.  I am enjoying my Saturdays before club volleyball begins. On Saturday night we went to Stake Adult Session of Stake Conference.  Grandpa & Grandma Piquet watched Kason and took him to Rope’s game.  He did really well, but didn’t seem to like the noise when it went into double OT. 

Kolt and I haven’t been to many Adult Sessions before we were married, but have been to a few since we got married.  We have both discussed how much we love the Adult session.  It may be due to the fact that we don’t have to fight Kason during the meeting, but it also seems to have great messages. I wanted to share some of the things I learned during the meeting and during the general session today because I felt very inspired by the messages.  We were instructed to love your spouse, neighbors and others simply because of who we are.  We learned 6 different blessings from doing missionary work, one of which is that families can be blessed with peace from heaven as we do.  The speaker emphasized that the things of less importance disappear when we do missionary work.  That really touched me because in a world where there is so many things to do and a mother tries to decide what her family should spend her time doing, we can know that as we do the things that matter most, missionary work, family history, scriptures and prayers, the things of less importance will disappear.  

We learned that there is no sure way to defend yourself against the adversary than to immerse yourself in searching out your ancestors.  We also learned that those not of our faith need an invitation to be a part of our wards.  My favorite part of the conference was when we learned about 3 important teaching moments in our homes.  First, the refrigerator door can provide teaching moments for our children.  We learned that mothers can post powerful quotes and pictures on the door of the fridge in which we can know that our children, specifically teenage boys who visit the fridge often, will see many times a day.  He talked about a family who had this quote pinned to their fridge, “Average people talk about people.  Great people talk about ideas.” He testified that this family lived the quote they put on their fridge.  The second teaching moment in our home is the dinner table.  He talked about the importance of teaching at the dinner table where parents have the full attention of their children. He talked about how fast food and being in a hurry is very contradictory to the idea of families sharing meals together and edifying each other.  The last place he discussed was the walls of our homes.  Elder Schwitzer of the Seventy spoke about how the walls of our home can be teaching moments.  He talked about a boy who wanted to live on the sea, and his mother realized that she had pictures of ships in her home.  She immediately took them down and replaced them with other pictures.  I felt strongly that I want to have a picture of the temple in every room in my house, including Kason’s room.  He challenged each of us to do a spiritual audit of our home and raise the bar.  I am anxious to do that this week and “make home base strong” for my children.

I love the gospel. I know that families can be together through the temple, and I’m so grateful for that knowledge.  I know we are blessed as we follow even the little commandments. I took on the challenge extended from Bishop Bodily to avoid social media this week and increase spiritual moments with our families for 1 week.  Although I don’t think that social media is a bad thing, I have felt for a while that I needed to do this as a way to focus on the things that really matter.  I have felt many blessings this week as the peace in my home has increased and relationships have grown stronger. Most importantly, I have found that I am more receptive to the Spirit as I am more attentive to those in my presence.  I feel like I have been more attentive in Kason’s life and been able to spend more quality time with my family.  I read somewhere that spiritual moments should be lived in, not posted about.  I feel like I have been blessed as I strived to do that most this week.  Although I will probably go back to social media in the near future, I know I have been made stronger because of this experience, and I now know the blessings of enjoying the moment with those I love.

First Swim!!

We have been enjoying our last week before the spring semester starts! Kason is feeling much better.  After reducing the number of treatments each day, he stopped vomiting and seemed much happier.  We are excited to go to the doctor tomorrow and follow up on his progress.  He has been just a little spoiled this week! Since he has been sick, he has spent a lot of time with his mom and dad.  He spent even more time over the break with us, since we didn’t have school.  For the first time this week, he has seemed to be very much a momma’s boy.  He isn’t quite the social butterfly that he has been, but we are hoping with school starting this next week that we can work on getting him a little more social again! Kason has started interacting with his toys a little more and really strains to reach them.  He likes to sit on the floor and have a LOT of toys around.  He will eventually get onto his belly and scoot around to different toys.  He gets tired pretty quickly though, and we are anxious for the day when he realizes he can move farther distances and places all by himself. 

He has regressed quite a bit this week with sleeping and eating.  He is doing great with the 30 minute naps and hour long intervals at night! We are tired ALL the time! Kason also had his first well-balanced meal with rice cereal, chicken, beans, and bananas. He is skeptical of any new foods and only eats them if I mix them with bananas! We are anxious to get back to our usual routine hopefully soon! Kason also untied Grandpa’s shoes this week all by himself! He also got a new basketball hoop this week, and he thought he was pretty cool when he grabbed the rim for the first time.  It is fun to see babies learn new things!

Monday night I started my Women’s volleyball league at The Zone in Rexburg.  It is my 3^rd year playing in that league, and I love it! It is great to get back to playing volleyball, and it’s a good workout too! Natalie is also on our team this year!  It sure makes me miss playing in high school and college.  

I spent a lot of time at work this week printing checks and getting 1099s ready to send out.  I was grateful to be able to keep Kason at home with Kolt, so he could get better.  I am excited for my last semester because all of my classes are online.  I have 2 online classes, an independent study, and an internship which I am doing at the Post Register.  It will be great not to have to leave Kason, but also a challenge to find time to focus and do my homework.  I am welcoming this challenge! Kolt has another tough semester this year, but his schedule worked out really nice, and it looks like he will even be home to take Kason a couple days, so I can have some time to work as well. 

On Friday, Kolt helped at ISU’s Freshman Orientation at the IF campus.  Afterwards, we went into town and did some shopping and hit dinner at Sizzler.  We had a good time together! On Saturday morning, we watched Rope play basketball at 7:30 and Evan play at 8:30.  Both boys did great! Rope had a couple nice baskets, and Evan made a basket too! The highlight of Evan’s game might have been the boy on his team who was running in circles around the court to avoid his defender! Kids are sure cute at that age! After the games, we went up to Green Canyon with my parents.  We met Kristi & Bryant there and went on a snowmobile ride.  It was sure pretty up in the mountains! While Kolt went on a big ride with Bryant, the rest of us went swimming.  Kason had a great time swimming for the first time.  He kicked and kicked and even liked Grandpa Lindley’s dunks.  He never even cried! I think he was trying to keep up with his cousin Kamrie! He sure liked watching her.  After swimming, we had some dinner and let Kolt warm up in the pool.  We had so much fun up there and are very grateful for Kristi & Bryant inviting us up! 

We had a great Sunday.  I played the organ and Kolt taught the Sunday school lesson.  Kason is getting to be a little more of a handful during meetings, but we made it through! We had a great block of meetings, and we are anxious for the Stake-split next week! We are looking forward to a good evening of dinner with family and celebrating Grandpa Lindley’s birthday.  We sure love him!