June Update!

Kason is going to be 1 year old in 4 days! It is hard to believe he is going to be a 1-year old. Kason is walking lots more. He often walks across the room taking 5-10 steps at a time.  He is good at walking while holding onto one hand. He is an active kid and always on the go.  He is always talking and squawking which is quite a scene at church.  He loves being outside, rain or shine. He is a total boy, loving rocks and dirt.  He likes riding horses and thinks he needs to ride every time he sees one. His favorite toy in the toy box is still any sports ball. He is good at playing catch with others.  He eats all the time and never thinks he is full.  He says Mom, Dad, and sometimes Grandma & Papa.  He is a pretty good sleeper; he sleeps best in his crib and usually sleeps ‘til 5 or so in the morning and then takes 2 shorter naps in the day.  He loves his binky.  He is quite a Mama’s boy which we are all hoping he grows out of soon!

Here are the highlights of the past month: 

My mom and I finished our training at the Post Register and are in full working mode.  My mom works morning, and I work a 12-5 shift.  We are still working on splitting the new duties, but now are doing a good job of communicating each day and making sure we are on the same page. Kason has spent lots of time at Aunt Shauna & Uncle Landon’s house. We are so grateful for them always being willing to take Kason.  They took him to the cow sale and the zoo one day.  He loves being with them and joining in on their activities for the day!  I really enjoy what I’m doing at the Post Register in the Accounts Payable area and the new Accounts Receivable area.  I do miss having days when I get to be home, but Kason and I have good mornings together, eating breakfast and playing.

Kolt started his job at the Behavioral Health Center at EIRMC.  He loves it.  He always comes home with interesting stories and often sad stories, but Kolt loves working the younger kids and helping them.  He has started working several one-on-ones for those with severe issues.  He did several weeks of training in the first weeks of June.  During one of the training weeks, he worked 75 hours. It was a busy week for him and for Kason and me at home! He trained mostly 12 hours shifts 7 am-7 pm or 7 pm – 7 am.  Now that he is on his own, he is working a mix of 7-7s and 7 am-3 pm shifts which are a nice relief too.  He gets weekly emails with a list of open shifts.  He could work 24 hours a day if he wanted. It is nice to know there is always work if he needs it.  He is working about 40 hours a week for now.  We are grateful for this job that allows him to have patient exposure hours that he needs to apply for Physician Assistant School.  He sends in his application in the next week. 

In the end of May, we celebrated Memorial Day.  We started with the Annual Milo Ward Breakfast at the church.  Afterwards, we mowed lawns out at Piquet’s and then went to visit Kolt’s niece Brylee’s grave.  We missed doing our usual Memorial Day activities in Utah with the Lindley’s, but are grateful we got to visit the Ucon cemetery this year.  

On the 30^th, we celebrated Shauna’s birthday at Sizzler. We missed Kolt at work, but Kason and I went and had dinner.  We gave Shauna some craft supplies and an Exacto knife that I think she liked!  Kason was quite the handful at dinner.  He likes to make sure everyone knows he is here! After dinner, we picked up a Redbox movie The Host that my mom and I watched. My mom had never seen it before and really liked it. 

On May 31^st, Kason and I attended the EIRMC NICU Reunion Luncheon while Kolt was at work.  We met up with Shauna, Landon & Paisley for lunch.  It was a nice lunch with a huge turnout.  They had lots of activities down at Snake River Landing and lots of food.  We took pictures in the photo booths and walked around the river.  Kason and Paisley were both featured in the March for Babies walk they had earlier in the evening. They made a nice banner that we got to bring home with us. In the evening, we went to Heise Hot Springs to celebrate Rope’s birthday.  Kolt came swimming with us before he went into work that night.  Kason wore his new swimsuit from Jeanna Hill, with a floating device sewn into it.  I think it’s great! Kason had just woken up and wasn’t a fan of the cold water in the outdoor pool, but he had a good time in the hot pool.  Rope had a fun time with his friends.  We got home some fishing equipment to go with his new fishing pole. Rope got ordained to the office of a Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday after church.  Kolt and I are always grateful to live close by, so we can be part of special events like these.  Afterwards, we had dinner at Piquet’s.  

Kason went to his 1^st Fathers & Sons outing with Kolt on the 6th.  They had a great time.  My dad also went with Nathan and Evan, so they had a fun time with the boys.  

Kason loves his Grandma’s Day with Grandma Piquet.  They ride on the 4-wheeler and play outside.  She always gives him a warm bath and puts him in pajamas, so he is ready for bed for the night.  Last week, Grandpa Piquet and Rope gave him his bath! He loves being with his grandparents.

My mom and I went to see Divergent at the movie theater on the 7th.  She was waiting until she read the book, but I still haven’t.  She loved it, and I loved watching it again.  Kason went shopping and to the zoo with Grandpa Lindley during the movie.  Kason is not a movie-goer anymore, so it was nice to enjoy the movie!

Sundays have been busy days for us! I have been helping a lot in the Primary, which I love.  I sub in as a teacher in the sunbeams, as the chorister, and as the pianist.  Thank goodness I have Grandma & Grandpa Lindley to help, as well as lots of ward members who help us all the time! Kolt has had to work a few Sundays in a row, so I have had to ask for lots of help with Kason while I play the organ.  Grandma Lindley is excited for when she can lift Kason again.  She is almost 6 weeks out of surgery, and then she can lift Kason and help us on Sundays.  I have also been teaching Sunday school while Kolt isn’t there.  I’m getting better at it, but it still takes a lot of preparation to feel comfortable.  We have a great class though that makes it easy to teach.

On the 8^th, we went to Great Grandma & Grandpa Piquet’s house to see Kolt’s cousin Travis Sautter and his family who were visiting from California.  It was fun to see family.  We had a great dinner.  Afterwards, we went up to Sugar to visit Grandma & Grandpa Dalling for a few minutes.  Then we went to Landon’s parents land to have a BBQ and celebrate his birthday.  We got him a long lead rope to work with his new horse.  We also went fishing.  Kolt caught a fish right off the back. Kason was pretty excited about it! It was a great night!

On the 14^th, we went with Grandpa Piquet’s on a horseback ride.  Kason loved being on the horse, and was so good. We even had dinner at Stoplight Pizza on the way home.  I have been craving that place lately! When we got home, Shauna & Grandma had decorated his office at work for Father’s Day.  He loved the surprise, and it looked great!

On Father’s Day, we picked up Rope & Brand and took them to Grandma & Grandpa Dalling’s for the Annual Basketball game. Not very many people were there when we were, but Kolt and the boys played ‘til they were good and tired.  Kason was active in the house, and really liked going outside with Uncle Rod to watch the basketball and see the Uncle David’s dog.  

Kolt and I got to replace tires on both cars this month.  We are thankful our cars are so dependable, and are glad we only have to replace tires.

On the 19^th, my mom and I went to a Relief Society auction.  Kolt and I donated a babysitting night for the temple and a FHE horseback ride.  I bought a couple nights of babysitting and a couple dinners.  I am SOO excited for them! A couple of the ladies bid high for the horseback rides.  We are going to do that sometime in July! 

On the 21^st, we took the Palmer’s, a family in our ward horseback riding.  One of their boys who was in our Sunday school class was having a birthday and really wanted to go horseback riding.  We took Brayden, Katie, Jeff & Brenda.  With my mom, Kolt, Kason and I, we had 7 horses and 2 trailers.  We took a pretty ride up by Kelly Canyon where Kolt’s dad had taken us last week.  They loved it! Kason was a great sport too and loved riding.  He loves horses.

After the ride, we hurried down to Twin Falls for Brand’s All-Star game.  We were a little late, but we made it! It was so hot!! I was already sunburnt, but Kason was tan as could be.  He did not want to sit in the bleachers, so we played down in the grass for a while.  He attempted to crawl under a gap in a chain link fence and scratched his head a little bit, but he survived! It was pretty funny to watch.  After the game, we had dinner at Golden Corral. Kason had blast. Thankfully he got good and tired at dinner, so he slept most of the way home.  He was ready to be home at the end of the day!

Kolt has spent a lot of time this month riding his horses and getting ready for Wagon Train.  He did a lot of ground work with both horses.  His Palomino horse has been doing great and has made tons of progress. JJ has a lame foot right now, so he has been resting. Kolt has done a great job with the ground work for both of his horses.  He learned most of it from the Clinton Anderson videos.  They have a lot of good habits and do lots of things right on the ground.  Kolt is good at working with the horses.  He is pretty patient and slow.  They respond really well to him.

This past week we went on the Annual Piquet Wagon Train trip Heise to Green Canyon through the mountains.  We take a wagon and ride horses for 6 days.  I had to work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, so Kason and Kolt went on the wagon trip, and I came up in the evenings for the first few days.  We slept in the back of the pickup with the shell on, so Kason had a bassinet to sleep in, and it stayed pretty warm and protected from the weather. The pickup allowed us to take high chairs for Kason and Paisley and lots of other things that were nice to have.  Kason had a great time riding in the wagon and takes naps in the bed they made in the wagon.  Wednesday evening, it started raining and rained on and off the rest of the week.  On Thursday, it stopped raining enough for us to have a great ride to the next camp site.  It is fun to ride and visit with family all the way. It rained in the evening and a lot through the night on Thursday. We drove up to Green Canyon to swim on Friday, hoping the rain would stop, but it kept raining! Kason loved swimming at the pool, and it was great to shower and get warm and clean.  Kason learned how to slide off the edge of the pool into the water.  He thought that was pretty cool! On Friday night, we ate dinner and then drove the pickup home to sleep.  On Saturday morning, we took a couple trailers back and loaded horses and everything home.  We were sad to end early, but the rain made it too hard to camp especially with little babies!  

Saturday evening we went to Josh Smith’s wedding reception.  It was nice to catch up with Josh & the Belnap’s.  On the way home, we got ice cream at Kiwi Loco and did some shopping Wal-Mart.

Here's a collection of pictures from the month:

11 MONTHS

-Around 24 pounds
-5 teeth...almost 6!!

-Still loves to play with hair, but is getting to be a good hair puller
-Says Mama and Dada and just started saying Grandpa and Grandma a few times

-Learned to go down the stairs--Whenever he turned around backwards to slide down, it takes him a little while to back up in the right direction and not down the hall! So cute!

-Size 4 diapers
-Loves all sports balls and horses! We are getting him trained :)

-Always happy if outside

-Clucks his tongue lots and learned to smack his lips which he always does AFTER the kiss

-Loves going on walks with Grandpa Lindley

-Has the best skin that tans in the sun! Lucky boy!

-Getting tall and skinny this month 

-Perfected the bear crawl and is really fast!
-Loves riding the 4-wheeler out at Grandpa & Grandma Piquet's house

-Decided he likes formula this month after a long time of refusing. Almost time for real milk!

-Loves ALL food and has a good eye for anyone that brings food in the same room as him

-Sleeps pretty good now! Consistently goes down at 9 or 10 at night and sleeps til 5ish and sometimes longer!!

-Takes 4 or 5 steps, but not quite walking yet!

-Not quite the snuggler he used to be!

-Pretty happy outside boy :)

LDSSA BBQ--Stake Conference--BVC Coaches Banquet---Bike Ride Adventure

Sorry for missing last week! It’s been like pulling teeth to sit at the computer and write a family letter! Here’s some highlights from these last 2 weeks:

Kason is still rocking the 10-month old stage! He is interested in walking…sometimes! He loves emptying the kitchen cupboards. He is a jabber mouth and has learned lots of new sounds. He even did the sign for all done and actually said it out loud when he was finished. He absolutely loves riding the lawn mower and the 4-wheeler.  He sits and doesn’t make a peep and sometimes falls asleep.  He has learned how to go down the stairs finally! He is really good at turning around and backing up, but sometimes doesn’t line up with the stairs and scoots down the hall before he realizes he is off.  It is pretty cute.  He loves being outside and playing with dirt or rocks.  He loves Grandpa Lindley’s new swing set and could swing all day.  He still eats a ton! We took some time last week to pass through a flu bug.  Kason and I each took our turn being sick. He is a binky kid—which his mom and dad are trying to fix.  He also got his 3^rd tooth and is working on his 4^th.  Kason got his 1^st hair cut last week as well.  He was a great sport during it and looks so grown up with his trimmed nice! He is very cute!

Last Monday we had the Annual LDSSA End of Year BBQ.  I made a Strawberry Shortcake for dessert.  They are always looking for more to attend, so we invited my parents to come get some food. It is nice to visit with Brother Seedall and some of the other few that I know.  Kolt is excited to keep being the Vice President next year. 

I have been working a lot more hours at work and doing lots of training. It seems like most of my days are pretty monotonous.  I’m excited for when my mom can start working.  She is going to help me with the office hours and collections side of my job.  Hopefully that will help me have some time to be a mom as well.  For now, Kolt has been watching him most days, since he hasn’t started his job yet, but we are grateful for Aunt Shauna and Uncle Landon who are always anxious to help when we get in a bind.

Last Wednesday Kolt went out to help Mike Barbo with some electrical work.  He spent another day this past week helping him.  Mike is a P.A. at Upper Valley Family Medicine in Rigby.  He has been great to let Kolt shadow him and is writing him a letter of recommendation.  Kolt is learning lots of different things at his office and is glad to have the experience.  Kolt is getting really close to being ready to submit his PA application on the CASPA website.  He needs lots more patient exposure hours before he submits it at the end of June.

Kason has had Grandma’s Day with Grandma Piquet the last few Thursdays.e likes riding the 4-wheeler with her and being outside. Grandma is always great to give him a bath and put him in bed before we come pick him up!

Saturday Kolt and I went to pick up my new camera.  It has been fun learning to take pictures with it.  I’m trying to get pretty good before Kason turns one, so I can take his pictures.  I am learning how much memory these new camera photos use.  They are nice pictures, but they are making my computer work hard!

Last weekend we had a Regional Stake Conference Broadcast.  For the adult session, we had Tatelyn Hill come watch Kason.  She did great with him, and we enjoyed not fighting him during the meeting.  We had a great meeting on Saturday evening and on Sunday morning, learning about Hastening the Work.  We have lots of room to grow in that area.

This Monday we had the Bonneville Coaches Banquet at Pizza Pie Café.  Definitely a day we look forward to—marking the end of club! It is fun to eat and visit with everyone. 

This Friday Kolt and I decided to attempt to ride our bikes the 8.5 miles out to Piquet’s house.  Somehow I was sure we could make it there and back with the bike trailer on Kolt’s bike.  Sadly, we only made it out there, played a couple volleyball games in the grass, and then borrowed a vehicle to drive home.  It was sure fun to visit with Kolt though and Kason enjoyed the ride.

Saturday morning we got up early to help Shauna and Landon move.  Kolt took the truck and trailer out to help haul boxes. Kason and I got there in time to help unload into the new kitchen.  Kason fevered most of Saturday, but finally felt better Sunday morning.  He took 5 naps on Saturday and slept 7 ½ hours that night.  Hopefully he fought off whatever it was! Saturday evening we went to Kaitlyn Parker and Devin Bean’s reception.  It is fun to see 2 people I grew up with, one in Sugar and one in Idaho Falls, meet each other and get married.

We had a nice meeting on Sunday.  Kason found Grandpa up on the stand and thought that was pretty cool.  The High family was visiting, so Brooke came to sit with us too.  Kason looked like he was finally seeing an old friend again! We sure love that family.  Sunday evening we had a big dinner with the Lindley’s.  The kids had a blast playing on the new swing set and jumping in the bouncy house.  Kolt even got out Kate and gave all the kids rides.  They were so excited!

Graduation, New Jobs, Elder Lindley's Skype Call, First Few Steps

There are so many things to mention about this week, I can’t decide where to start! The most exciting news of the week is that I officially graduated from Idaho State with my B.B.A. of Accounting. On Friday, we had the College of Business graduation ceremony.  It was really neat. It was a more personal graduation where I got to be with the kids I had class with and be congratulated by the professors I had class with. Kason played with Kylen & Kamrie during the ceremony and then came for the reception part and met my professors and classmates.  On Saturday morning, I had my ISU formal graduation ceremony.  It was held in the Holt Arena.  My parents and Kolt and Kason were there.  It was great to walk and receive my diploma, although it was quite long! After graduation, Kason went home with Grandma & Grandpa, so Kolt and I could go on a date. We went to Winger’s and then went to a movie. I’m not sure I can remember the last time we went on a date by ourselves. It was so nice! Thank you!! We are a pretty happy family right now! I have a big list of all the things I’ve wanted to do once school was over.  At the top of the list is being with my baby of course! Second to that is to learn photography! Kolt and Kason are getting me a new camera for my graduation gift! I’m so excited to learn how to take pictures of Kason.

The next best news of the week is that Kolt and I both got new jobs! Kolt got a job at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in the Behavioral Health Department as a Psychiatric Technician.  He has been spending a lot of time this week getting ready to start. He is anxious to get a lot of hours in the next month, so we can turn in PA applications. I am starting a new position at the Post Register as the Credit Manager.  I will also do the Accounts Payable position as well, so it will be an increase in hours.  The great news is that my mom is going to help share the office hours part with me, so I can still be home with Kason for most of the day.  The rest of the work I will do from home.  I’m so grateful that she offered to help me do this.  Kolt and I are feeling pretty lucky to have good jobs that allow us to be good parents. 

The next most exciting news is that we got to talk to Elder Lindley on Mother’s Day.  He called at 7:15 in the morning! Kason still needs to work on his skyping skills, but it was great to see Tyler and have Kason hear his uncle.  We miss him a lot, but know he is where he should be! I’m so grateful he is serving the Italian people. 

The rest of this week was spent taking our last finals and turning in our last projects.  Thank you Grandma Lindley for helping with Kason during all of this.  On Tuesday evening, Kason and I went out to watch Kolt, Rope & Brand play basketball at the church.  Kason is definitely getting a regular night schedule and gets tired around 8 every night, so we had to bring Dad home early.  On Tuesday evening, I also went over to volleyball to watch the freshman girls practice and get to know the players I am getting next year.

On Monday Kason got his 10-month pictures done and also took some Spring pictures with Paisley.  Kason had about a good 30 minutes of smiles and was totally out by the time Paisley got there.  They still turned out pretty darn cute though!

On Saturday evening, Grandma & Grandpa Piquet took us out for a graduation dinner party at Sandpiper! It was super yummy! We had a great time visiting! We even got to see one of Kason’s nurses from the NICU that we loved!

On Sunday, we had a nice block of meetings.  I played the organ, and Kolt taught a good Sunday school lesson about reverence. We have a really good class who engages in discussion and wants to learn.  Kason was a good boy in Relief Society and loves playing all over the front of the room.  After our ward, we went to Bart Steltzer’s Homecoming Report in the singles ward in Ucon.  It was a good meeting, and Bart did a good job.  It was fun to see lots of people I had been in the singles ward with a few years ago.  Sunday afternoon we had a yummy Mother’s Day dinner with the Lindley’s.  We gave Grandma Lindley a sparkly shirt for Mother’s Day.  Then we went out to Grandma Piquet’s to wish her Happy Mother’s Day.  Paisley and Kason made footprint Sunshine Canvases for her.  We had lasagna for dinner that hit the spot.  We are so grateful for our mothers.  Each and every day I’m more grateful for my own mother and the countless things she has done for me and still does for me.

Kason’s Updates: Kason is an active little 10-month old.He is learning more every day.  Kason took his first few steps this week.  He gets tired easy—no doubt from carrying all the weight! His record is 6 steps! He gets pretty excited when we start clapping and definitely knows he’s doing something cool! He loves to say “Ah-Ho” over and over. I’m sure it means something! He says it very carefully! He has learned how to undo the cabinet locks.  He is making us work hard to keep the cabinets stocked.  He loves food: anything and everything anyone is eating.  He is quite intrigued by Grandpa Lindley taking off his glasses.  He doesn’t really care for him taking them off, but acts like he recognizes him again as soon as he puts them on! Kason likes to give head butts.  I’m pretty sure it is him telling me he wants to go somewhere as he likes to do it when I am sitting down and holding him.  He also has thrown his first fits this week.  He will lay his head in the carpet and kick his legs, just crying and crying.  It is quite entertaining! He is getting such a growing personality!

I also forgot to mention last week that Kolt and I have officially been together for 6 years this spring.  Seems like just yesterday that we talked about getting married and having kids someday.  Since we started dating, we have graduated high school, Kolt served a mission, I played college volleyball, Kolt got home, we got married, we had Kason, and now I have graduated college.

Grandma P's Birthday!!

Kason is officially 10 months old! It is hard to believe he will be a year in a few short months.  Kason is getting quite a personality.  He loves to play with any sports ball. He learned how to pass back and forth this week.  Kolt is pretty good about teaching him.  He really loves his Primary songs.  He sleeps with them playing in his room every night.  He is guaranteed to wake up if I don’t put it on repeat through the night.  He loves both his grandmas a whole lot.  He is quite intrigued by animals. He sits by the window and talks to the cat all day. He is sure fun to be around.  He found a cute new smile this week that scrunches up his nose and shows his 2 teeth. It is sure cute.

Monday we ran errands all day long.  I made Chicken Stir Fry for dinner with Raman Noodles. It is one of my favorites now. Thank you, Natalie! In the evening, Kason and I went swimming in the hot tub. He loves sitting in the water.

Tuesday I watched Nathan and Brooke for a few hours.  Kason could play with those 2 all day and not need anything, unless they are eating of course.  We ran into work really quick for a few hours.  Kason and I played outside for a bit in the afternoon, and Kolt went to play basketball at the Milo church in the evening.

Wednesday was Grandma Piquet’s birthday! I ran into work in the morning and Kolt stayed with Kason.  We all met Kolt at lunch to have Finals Relief Lunch before his class.  After class, Kason and I walked around Freeman Park. Wow! That’s a long walk, but we made it and Kason loved every minute of it! We dropped off a gift to Cade High who got baptized this weekend on the way to Grandma Piquet’s birthday dinner. Grandpa P made delicious Fried Chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner. I made macaroni salad to go with it that turned out great! We had lemon meringue pie for dessert!  We got Grandma a gift card to Edwards for her birthday! I think she liked it! We also played volleyball on the grass after dinner! It was a blast! Kason sat in the stroller and watched us for a good long time. He got hit in the head pretty good and didn’t think it was too fun after that! 

Thursday Kason and I went into work. He would not take a morning nap, so it was a long day! Kason went out for Grandma’s day with Grandma Piquet in the evening. I took a practice test, wrote an internship report, and started my capstone presentation. It was very productive night! Kason had a great time with Grandma P!

Friday I went into work for a few hours while Kolt packed for Utah.  At noon, we left to fill in for another coach and coach her team in Utah.  It was a great weekend of volleyball. The girls were so cute. They were a 12U team and did awesome. We finished 2^nd in the silver bracket. I was so impressed. The girls were coachable and got lots better over the weekend I thought.  On Friday evening, we went swimming with Kylen and Kamrie at the hotel. Bryant and Kristi helped teach Kason to swim a little! Kason didn’t love sleeping at the hotel, so we woke up pretty worn out! On Saturday, Candace & Justin came to visit us. It was so great to see them! I was also really grateful for all the moms that helped with Kason. Kolt was trying to study for finals, so it was a big help! We got home at a pretty good time on Saturday night which was nice too!  We even stopped for dinner at Winger’s in Blackfoot, so we could hit the end of the OKC and Memphis game.

On Sunday, I played the organ and Kolt taught Sunday school. I also filled in Primary as the pianist.  Kason had a great time with Grandma & Grandpa L during Sunday school and took a nap on Grandpa.  We had dinner in the afternoon—I made cheesecake for dessert.  We spent the evening preparing for finals the next week.

10 MONTHS...yesterday! :)

-Around 23 pounds

-Still 2 teeth

-Loves to clap all the time

-Likes his big boy sippy cup with juice or water

-Size 4 diapers
-Passes a ball back and forth with you on the floor

-Still loves his binky....can't go anywhere without it!

-Cruises around everything and just started walking while holding on to a hand!

-Waves with both hands and a big smile!

-Favorite toys: Any sports ball 

-Total GOER--wants to see everything and rarely sits still!

-Loves going for walks in the stroller

-Totally prefers sleeping in his crib, but still wakes up often for a little love at nights!

-LOVES being outside....could be outside all day!

-Eats anything and everything---no one can eat in a room without Kason coming to get a bite of it first

-Loves his Grandmas

-Great boy in the car still!

-Thinning into a tall boy

-Jabbers all day long--trying out new syllables

-Says Mama, Dada, and Ball over and over all day long

 -Always falls asleep to Primary songs at night

-Shy boy...loves to snuggle with Mommy and play with her hair