Another Week in Paradise

Kolay had her 4-month checkup on Tuesday. She weighed in at 14 lbs 6 oz (55%) and measured 26 inches long (97%). The doctor said that she has above average head control and that he belly button hernia is almost gone! It was a successful appointment. She also got another round of immunizations. I was so impressed by her 2-month shots because she barely cried but she made up for it this time. She was quiet upset!  Kolay is getting quite the personality. Over the last few weeks, it feels as though she has decided she would rather be part of the action than snuggled in her chair and decided she doesn't always want to go to sleep when we wrap her up. I think she had a bit of an agenda too! She learned to arch her back and now uses it so she can stand in our laps and move around or be in the Jumparoo which she used for the first time this week and loved. She loves being outside, going for walks in the stroller, and spending time by Kason even if she risks an accidental bonk on the head. She likes peek-a-boo which Kason often plays with her and also spends lots of time under the jungle mat. Yesterday she did a complete 180 around the mat for the first time and has done it several times since. She if figuring out how to move!! She also has taken much shorter naps during the day and less at night. We hope this phase passes soon! Her doctor said she is drooling quite a bit and thought she may be struggling to sleep because she is starting to teethe. Poor Kolay!

Kason is a pretty fun kid! He learns new things every day. He says new words all the time and now says a few phrases on his own. We are just introducing the idea of having a "Grandma Piquet" and "Grandma Lindley". He says "nindy" and "pitay" but hasn't made the connection yet. It is pretty cute to hear him say their names as he always smiles. He loves all of his grandparents. He learned this new trick where he puts his head down and looks out to the top of his eye, like a nice little glare. He thinks he's pretty funny because he usually laughs at himself afterwards. One day this week he came and asked for "hand!" I immediately reached out my hand as he usually says this when he wants to show me something. He said "no" and reached for Kolay's hand. I put Kolay's hand in his and carried her along side of him while he walked up and down the hall, hand in hand. We then did ring around the Rosie a few times. Kason was so happy! He loves playing with his sister. He also held her hand on our walk to the park today. Kason has eaten like crazy this week! He can get the fridge door open and now chooses his own snacks. He says the name of most everything he wants now. His favorite food the last few days has been "ogurt" (yogurt). Today he had 5 bowls alone. Kason loves to imitate Grandpa Lindley. Grandpa will make a sound and Kason will repeat it, or grandpa will give a certain look and Kason will try to do it back. They also do a cute little head "bonk". Grandpa asks for a bonk and Kason comes a running and they will "bonk" heads. Today in church, Kason looked through a book I made with all his family. When he came to grandpa Lindleys picture, he shouted "Bonk!" And hit his head on grandpas picture. It was so cute! He loves Grandpa Lindley!

Monday morning Kolt did his shadowing. He has learned a lot and loves he clinical environment. He is excited to go on to the next stage of learning. In the afternoon Kolay and I went into work. Kolay is getting pretty noisy for the office. My coworkers are great and love having her, but I always worry she is too noisy. I enjoy the things I do at work. When the weather is good, I am always anxious to get home. Monday evening, Kolt and Kason went to Rexburg to pick up some fencing supplies, then stopped in Menan for a Working Ranch club meeting. Kolay and I went to volleyball at the Apple to fill in for Kallie White’s womens league team. My parents were great to come with us and watch Kolay. We won our game by a big margin. After the game, we went to Kiwi Loco to get ice cream with some coupons. We got an extra one for Kason and Kolt for when they got home.

On Tuesday we took Kolay to her doctor appointment. After the appointment, we got a few things at Walmart, including baby Tylenol for Kolay. She and I then went into work to do some more training for May. In May, I am filling in for a coworker in the office while she travels to Ireland. I have been doing lots of training over the past few months for this. Her responsibilities include arranging the ads in the newspaper each day. For 2 weeks in May, I will be working all day every day in her position. I’m getting nervous, but I have been doing lots of training and think things should go fine. After work, Kolt worked with Clyde before his evening class.

Wednesday morning Kolt had another NVCI training for work from 8-1. We had a great morning at home, as Kason was happy as can be to play with his toys. It made it easy for me to do a little work from home. I printed checks for the rest of the month that day, as the check signer is leaving town until May. It took a lot of time to get in every invoice due until the end of the month. I was able to print the checks from home, but then I went in to pick them up and of course, printed a few more as I could think of them and as they trickled in to the office. I was able to get them all stuffed later that night after the kids went to bed. It was good to not have to be in the office much, as I could do almost all the work at home. On Wednesday night, we went to Nathan’s birthday party. We had yummy pizza that Natalie made! It was so good! Nathan opened his presents. The kids all wore crowns for his birthday. We got Nathan a Spiderman tracing/coloring book. He thought that was pretty cool. Kason couldn’t really figure out why he wasn’t able to open any presents, but loved the birthday cake! It was a fun night! Nathan is such a fun kid. I can’t believe he is 5 years old! I still remember the day he was born and how excited I was to be an aunt for the first time. He is such a fun kid with a loving personality. He is so fun to be around and while he likes his Aunt “Zuzan”, he loves his Uncle Kolt, and we sure love him. Kason loves spending time with Nathan and always wants to know when “Nay-Nay” will come over.

On Thursday, Kolt went to institute early in the morning. It has been hard to get to institute as it is almost the only class he has on campus. When he got home, I went into work with Kolay to do some more training. Kason went with Kolt into the school later in the afternoon to help a friend apply for PA school. Kolt said Kason wasn’t very friendly toward his friend as he must’ve felt he was missing his regular nap time, but he did finally get to take his nap! When I got home from work, Kolt went back into school for his senior seminar class while I taught Evan his piano lesson. The kids all liked being outside with Grandma while we did the lesson. Afterwards, Kason and Kolay went with Grandma Piquet for Grandma’s Day. The kids spent lots of time outside and Kason went for lots of 4-wheeler rides. Kolt did some homework at school and then came home to work with his horse. I went to volleyball practice. Kolt picked up Kolay and then came to pick me up at practice and took me on a date! We went to The Longest Ride at the movie theater. I loved it. It is definitely my new favorite movie, and I think I could watch it over and over again. We picked up some quick dinner before we picked up Kason. Kason went to Rexburg with Grandpa & Grandma Piquet. He played with the tractors at Valleywide for a long time! He had a great time! Kolt and I enjoyed our date. We love spending time together and enjoy the chance we have to enjoy each other when life is so busy these days.

Friday morning Kolt did his usual shadowing at Family First. The kids and I got to take Nathan to preschool. Kason thought it was so cool to have a cousin ride in his car with him. After we dropped off Nathan, we took Brand his backpack which he had left in our car. By 9, I felt like we had been all over town, and Kason thought he was having the best day ever. He loves being out and about, and especially seeing his uncles and cousins. In the afternoon, Kason went with Kolt to do some errands and go to Rexburg with Grandpa Piquet. I spent the afternoon working from home with Kolay. In the evening, Kolt, Kolay and I went to an Elders Quorum Date Night Activity. We had a delicious dinner and then a presentation from our Stake Indexing Coordinator. We have renewed our desire to index, and since then, I have already done 4 batches. It seems to be a good night time activity for me to help me wind down. Kason stayed home with Grandpa Lindley; they took a long walk and had a bath.

Saturday morning Kolay and I left at 6:50 AM for a volleyball tournament at North Fremont High School. I told my girls I would bring a treat to practice for every 3-hit play they got over the net. In 3 tournaments, they’ve only gotten one, and on Saturday, they got 4! I have to think of some good treats to bring on Thursday! They did a great job and it was fun to watch their excitement as they did things right. Thanks again to Aunt Trish and Aunt Kate for watching Kolay. I sure appreciate their help! After volleyball, I went to meet Kolt and Kason at Rope & Brand’s rodeo in Rexburg.  Kolt had spent the early morning helping a neighbor with some yardwork, while Kason stayed with Grandpa Lindley. I got to the rodeo just in time to see Rope’s chute dogging, breakaway roping, saddle bronc, and both Rope & Brand’s team roping. Rope won the chute dogging event in his first time ever competing in the event! We were pretty excited for him! Kason loved the rodeo and was constantly looking for Grandpa, Rope, Brand or Daddy in the arena, and of course, he was completely focused on the “tractor” when it came in and tilled the arena in between events. When we got home, Kolt worked with Clyde and then Kolay and I went with my mom, Shauna and Angela to the movies for Ang’s birthday in a couple weeks. We went to see The Longest Ride again. It is a great movie. My mom and Shauna hadn’t seen it, but Angela and I were both going back again. Kolay was a little fussy during the movie, which was completely different than on Thursday as she slept through almost the entire movie. It was a fun girls night out!

We had a great Sunday today. We had a slow Sunday morning, eating breakfast, giving the kids baths, getting dressed, and getting Kason his nap.  Kolay and I went with Kolt early to the church, so he could get set apart as the 2^nd counselor in the Sunday school presidency. Kason came with Grandma Lindley a little later. The kids were pretty good in church. Kason had a good time in nursery. He drank from the cups today without spilling! He is still working on sitting on the mats during the entire lesson. Kolt and I enjoyed going to Gospel Doctrine together and then our Priesthood and Relief Society lessons.  After church, we ate dinner with the Lindley’s. I was in charge of dessert, so I decided to make my first Carrot Cake this morning. It was so good! Thank you Pinterest! I was quite proud of myself. I was missing a little decoration on top, but it sure tasted delicious. I did pretty good with my first layered cake too! In the evening, Kolt and I took the kids for a big walk to the park. Kolt was supposed to work, but ended up being put on call for his 4-hour shift tonight. It has been a great day!

Kason's Sick Week & Kolay is a Talker! :)

Kason is 21 months old! Kason has learned lots of news words in the past few weeks. A few of them are "towel" ( when he's ready to get out of the bath), "dip-tures" (scriptures), and his latest word "home" (when referring to my gold Camry--apparently when I said lets go "home" he thought I was referring to the car, not our house! Lol). Kolt also has Spanish days with Kason. At first it just frustrated Kason to have Kolt only speak Spanish to him, but now they are making progress. He knows many Spanish words. He actually responds to "salta" better than "jump" now. We even watched frozen in Spanish last week. We decided if we're going to watch it over and over, we could watch it in Spanish too. He loves wearing hats, and since it was warm last week, he wore his baseball cap from grandpa and grandma piquet, and no matter how I put it on, he would always adjust it so they bill is sideways or turn the hat backwards. When Kolt takes Kason out to grandpa piquet's work, he now says "grandpa! Candy!" Without hesitating. He knows he always gets candy at grandpas work! Another time this week, Kason started yelling "mom! Mom!" From the bathroom. I went in to see, and he had the seats up on the toilet, was in all he position to go to the bathroom with clothes on, and said "potty!" I entertained he idea and as soon as he got on the seat and was immediately done, but quite proud of himself! He is definitely interested in going potty in the toilet! Both Kason and Kolay love their Easter bunnies from Grandpa Lindley. 

Kolay is almost 4 months old! She loves to smile, talk and laugh. I finally got a few videos this week of her talking and giggling. She is camera shy! She giggled at her Grandma Lindley for the first time in Sunday when grandma tickled her belly. She was quite a trooper last week while Kason was sick, pretty much sleeping for a few days in a row so we could tend to Kason. She's a good little girl! She is officially in size 3-6 month clothes and size 2 dispers. Thank goodness! We had a few too many blowouts trying to finish up our last size 1's. She is drooling all over the place which the doctor told us this week is the start of teething. She is definitely an early developing Lindley like Kason. She had also started sleeping only 4-5 hours at night near the end of this week which is still nothing to complain about after her brothers terrible sleeping habits.

Monday evening we watched the NCAA men's Basketball Championship with Grandpa and Grandma Lindley and Natalie's  family. We had homemade wingers chicken. Brand won our online Lindley/Piquet bracket! Right after the game started, Kason started throwing up. The throw up continued for the next 36 hours. He threw up 18 times in the period, finally finishing on Wednesday morning. It was a long Tuesday and especially Monday night. He threw up 11 times threw the night on Monday. On Tuesday we contacted his doctor and got some suggestions to try before he would need se rehydration. Between watching the movie Frozen, drinking sips of Pedialyte, and a priesthood blessing from grandpa piquet and Kolt, Kason was able to keep down his fluids and feel better.

Wednesday we spent the day recovering from sicknesses and in the evening I had volleyball practice. Kolt spent some of the week listening to online lectures and quizzes. Thursday i taught Evan his piano lesson. Kason is always obsessed with the "stickers" when he comes and now learned that the big candy is for Evans piano. Thursday afternoon we had grandmas day. Grandma Piquet took both kids and other than Kolay being a little fussy, it was a success! It was weird for me to not have any kids at home, but it was nice to pay bills and have a nice quiet shower. Kolt spent the evening doing homework.

On Friday evening we all went to the Young Women's Girls Camp Fundraiser Auction. We had a yummy dinner and Kason spent most of the night in the kids corner they had made with games and fun. We got a few things including cookies, quilting, and a headband for Kolay. I was excited that my homemade Oreos were a hit as well at the auction. After the auction, we went out to roping for a few minutes. Kolay went on her first ride with grandpa and my picture did not turn out which I was sad about so we will have to re-enact! We also got to see Hesston again that night.

Saturday was a busy day! Kolt got up early and worked with his horse. He had been working with the horse at least an hour everyday this week. I took Kolay to sugar for a volleyball tournament in the afternoon. Kason went with Kolt to a spring carnival at the ISU IF campus. We look forward to the carnival every year. They do a good job. Kason was not so good at the games at the booths, but he figured out that's how you get candy. After they finished, Kolt came and dropped off Kason in sugar so he could go to work in the afternoon, a 3-7 shift. He found out from his work that they are very happy to have someone do any 4 hour shifts so that makes it easier to find a shift that works for us. Kolay hung out with Aunt Trish and Aunt Kate for the afternoon. Kason cried and cried on my hip during the last game because he wanted to go "side" (outside). On our way home, we stopped by Brooke Hansens bridal shower in Hibbert. Both kids slept the way home. In the evening, the kids, Grandpa Lindley, Kamrie & Kylen, and I went out to Evan’s house to wish him a Happy 8^th birthday! Can’t believe I have an 8 year old nephew! Kolt, the kids, and I got him a Spiderman trace book which I think he thought was pretty cool. We hope he had a great day and can’t wait for his baptism in June after Tyler gets home!

We had a nice Sunday. Kolt subbed for a combined Sunday school class. Grandpa Lindley took Kolay for the rest of the block. He said she slept, then cooed and cooed and then fell right back to sleep. I subbed in the nursery for grandma who was sick. Kolt came in to help the third hour which was great. Kason is getting better at understanding the routine and he loves singing time. We always sing the song her learned in nursery "Bubble", what I learned as Tiny Tim with a few changes. He loves the "Pop" at the end! In the afternoon, we went out to Piquet's for a little bit. Kason rode the 4-wheeler. When Kolt was stopped helping back by the dummy, Kason stretched his neck so far to look he toppled right off the 4-wheeler. I'm pretty sure he would ride that all day if he could. Kolay and I stayed inside and visited with Grandma while the boys played outside.

Easter Week!

Kolay is almost 4 months old! She is the happiest girl, still smiling at anyone and everyone. She loves to talk back to you now and can find and follow voices across the room. She is starting to like standing up in your lap and likes to sit in the Bumbo so she can look around. She and kason spend lots of time together under the jungle mat. She is starting to grab toys! She can also keep her binky in a little better when she is sitting up which is exciting, although most of the time she prefers not to have it. She had started sleeping only about 4 hours a night this week. She must be growing because her car seat is starting to get really heavy!! She is still pretty fair-skinned and blue-eyed with a little bit of hair, dark in back and lighter on top. She had a very round little belly, and she is ready to be out of size 1 diapers!

Kason is 21-months old and is learning new things everyday. His new words lately are "pretties" (for any jewelry, sparkles on shirts, or Kolay's accessories), "belly" (always followed by a big slap on Kolay's stomach), "keek-a-boo" (always plays peekaboo with Kolay), Hesston, and "teef" (teeth). He can get the fridge open and finds his own "nack!" (Snack). He likes to put on Kolay’s headband and say “Pretty!”. He is also starting to say small phrases like "I want drink" or "where's Rope?" He is always asking where his cousins and Rope and Brand are. Kolt taught him to try to close himself in the fridge which he loves to do now. He is still our outside kid and isn't ever content unless he is outside, unless of course you can turn on Frozen fast enough to catch his attention or throw him in the bath. He is a sponge right now, repeating and copying everything we do. At Kolt's mission reunion Friday, he shouted "Cheese!!" in the silence and gave everyone a good laugh.

We have had an exciting week. Last Sunday, when I got in the car to drive home, it did not sound good. I waited for Kolt to come out and we decided to drive it straight to the mechanic in Iona. After describing the sound we heard, he didn't sound very optimistic. My little gold 1997 Toyota Camry had over 243K miles on it and has been with me everywhere since high school. Fortunately, we planned for this and so we were able to begin car shopping. We felt really fortunate to find a great car for us at Giles and Johnson Automart. We got a 2003 Chevy Trailblazer. We are excited that it is big enough for our family to grow and that it doesn't have very many miles. We feel like it is great for our family and we love it, although we are adjusting to the loss in gas mileage. Nevertheless, we are very happy!

Over the last month, Kolt and I have really been trying to work on eating healthy and exercising, both of which Kolt is doing much better than me at. While Kolt has been doing great at doing a T25 daily, my exercise most days consists of keeping up with Kason. Both of us have been trying to do a combination of eating a little healthier, drinking more water, and watching our portions. So far, I have officially made it back to me pre-baby weight, and Kolt has lost 10 pounds. It has been fun for us to get more motivated and have more energy.

On Wednesday, I had month end at work with my mom and Kolay and kason and Kolt helped Great Grandpa and Grandma Piquet in their yard. It was a pretty smooth close, so I couldn't complain. After work, I came home, made chicken cordon blue for dinner, made a dessert for the Relief Society activity, and realized I didn't have a favorite item for the activity. My dad ran to the store to get some peach rings for the activity. Unfortunately, I had to leave for my volleyball practice  before I could share it. We had a good practice at Bonneville and my girls did a good job of playing with the 14s team in a scrimmage at the end of practice. Kolt took his new horse, Winchester, that he picked up on Monday, to get his feet trimmed. Grandma piquet watched Kason and Kolay at the horse while they worked outside. Kolt loves working with horses and has 3 really good ones to work on this summer. He has been doing lots of ground work this week and making lots of progress already.

Thursday was another busy day. I printed checks at work with Kolay in the morning. Kolt got the oil changed in both vehicles. I hurried home for Evans piano lesson. I drove the new car home, left the keys in the car, shut the door without locking, walked around to get Kolay and released the doors had locked. It took me about 3 seconds to realize that Kolay was locked inside the car and we hadn't made a spare key yet. The next 30 minutes were extremely long! Kolt tried to break in, a neighbor came to help while we waited for our locksmith mechanic and once he got there it took about 7 minutes which felt like an hour. Phew!! Needless to say, Kolt drove straight to make several copies of the key so we don't ever have to do that again. Unfortunately I distinctly remember not locking the door, so this car might be a little smarter than us. I read in the manual that it has a cool automatic locking feature when someone "bumps" the car from the outside, so we are just taking the keys with us from now on. Kolt spent the rest of the evening studying at school.

On Friday Kolt shadowed in the morning and I got ready for our trip to utah. Kolt had a mission reunion in salt lake that evening. We had a great drive in the new vehicle. Kason watched frozen and took a big nap. We stopped at smith and Edwards and of course found a few too many things! We got to the reunion early enough to change into our church clothes and help set up. We enjoyed seeing old mission companions and Kolt's mission president who he loves dearly. Kason had a good time running through the halls of the institute building and Kolay had a great time being held by missionaries and their wives. We were excited to have one other baby there this year! The food was catered by Magelbys and it was delicious! We decided to drive straight home that night. The kids took a while to fall asleep but once they did, they stayed asleep til late Saturday morning. Kolt and I enjoyed listening to some old CDs in the car and relishing in our younger years.

Saturday morning we got up and listened to general conference. I surprised Kolt and kason with easter bunny pancakes for breakfast before the session. I also made Easter egg fruit pizzas for Aunt Karlas Easter egg hunt between sessions. Kason had a blast gathering the "footballs" (what he calls Easter eggs). He was quite busy grabbing one egg at a time and running over to karlas garden and throwing hem in there. Finally, we convinced him to put them in his bucket. Kolt and I participated in the adult egg hunt again and got enough candy for the whole year. We listened to the afternoon session of conference at home, and then Kolt went to he priesthood session with my dad while Kason and I colored Easter eggs with my mom, Natalie and her kids. It was not quite so successful for Kason as he would've rather thrown the eggs than watch them sit in the dye. However, we did color one green egg for the night. Kason always loves having Brooke and Nathan over!

Sunday morning we listened to the morning session of conference before  the Lindley Easter Egg Hunt. We had dinner first, then divided the kids into 2 groups for an egg hunt. Kason did a good job this time around. Grandpa and Grandma got the kids Easter presents. Kolay and Kason got a spring outfit, a pez dispenser and candy, bubbles and silly strings the kids had a blast chasing bubbles and spraying each other outside. Thanks grandpa and grandma! We watched the afternoon session at grandpa and grandma piquet's. Kason slept all the way through the session. Kolay smiled and smiled then slept as well. We left the kids and visited Hesston after the session. He's so cute and we were excited to hold him! We even got a couple farm boy shirts for Hesston and smith and Edwards and though paisley needed a Frozen backpack as well. Kason got to go on a 4-wheeler ride with Brand before we went home. He loves 4-wheelers.

We enjoyed general conference. The highlights for us were hearing the music of the gospel, holding on is not enduring to the end, and living in the now. It was another wonderful conference!