Fairview Demolition Derby

So, the other night Andrea and I went to a little town called Fairview, Utah. It's out in the middle of nowhere, literally. It was a lot of fun, though. We were invited by Andrea's brother and his wife.
We decided to leave Kienan with a babysitter, but after watching the derby, I think it would have been a blast to take Kienan with us. I can only imagine the surprised look on his face with the cars rev up their engines! He would have loved it! During the derby, Andrea turned to me and said, "These are the types of things you should come to with Kienan." (Did I mention how much I love my wife!?) My response was, "These are the types of things Kienan and I should DO together!" It'd be awesome!

The life I've always wanted

I know, I am an awful blogger. But that's why it's good this blog belongs to me AND Jeff, so that it actually gets updated every now and then. So- here is my official first post: The other day I was giving Kienan his routine bath. He had just eaten a real messy meal so I toted him down to the bathroom in his diaper. As usual, I set Kienan down in the bathroom and then turned to start filling up the tub and laying down the mat so his little bum doesn't slid all over the place. Immediately he pushes in his bucket of toys with a proud look for being such a good helper. But now that the toys are in the tub he is as impatient as ever about getting in. So I take off his diaper and put him and in tub. Seconds later I see the bubble bath and think- hey, that would be fun to try. (OK- so I don't know how well all of you know Kienan, but water is not his forte! Pools, lakes, any body of water beyond the bath and sink scare him. To be honest- baths would too if it weren't for the fact I fill it with toys.) So, as the bath is filling up I dump in a little bubble bath for the first time and then turn to sit and watch how Kienan does with this new exploration. Immediately he panics, so I lean down to help him touch and play with them, trying so desperately to show him how fun they are. Panic turns to overwhelming hysterics as he starts screaming and trying to climb out of the tub and into my arms. I'm laughing because I can't get over how funny he is around water, and bubble in water just will not fly! So, laughing I pick up my dripping wet son and try to comfort him. Once he is a little calm I set him down, and as he clings to me, I work on emptying the tub and pushing all the bubbles down the drain. It doesn't take long before my leg gets really warm. Oh no! I look down and yep! He is peeing all over my leg and the rug! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why didn't I think about that! Great! Ok, so the tub is empty and I stick him back in, and he is clinging to me like a tongue to a frozen pole. No way are you getting that off! So I turn on the water, pick up my son, and start to peel off my peed on clothes so I can climb in the tub and show him it's OK. Finally I get him calmed down enough to sit on my lap in the tub. The remainder of my time is spent praying that he won't poop on me before I can get out! Thankfully he didn't. So, that's about how life has been going for me lately. Savoring the moments! Although life isn't always ideal or what everyone would refer to as perfect, it is special. All my life I've wanted to grow up and be a mom and I finally am, and I would not trade it for the world!

Soon-To-Be Birthday Boy!

So, our little Kienan is coming up on one year (July 28th). It's so hard to believe that time has moved this quickly! It must be due, in large part, to the simple fact that he is so much a part of our lives that it is nearly impossible to imagine life without him. It's as if he's always been with us. We love you so much, Kienan!

King Kong and Babies

I know the title of this post is a little outta-the-blue, but let me explain. So today when I came home from work, it was so nice just to be able to spend some time with Andrea and Kienan, my two favorite people. Somewhere along the way, I sat down on the hardwood floor with Kienan, and we began building little towers out of building blocks. Come to find out, Kienan had a far greater interest in demolishing than he ever did in building. Every time I started to build something, he would come crashing down on it. I compare it to someone trying to build a sandcastle with the tide continually washing it away. Not only would he knock down what I was building, but any block that was standing on end HAD TO GO! Blocks in my hands....yep, those had to go as well. It was hillarious! I'm guessing he's going to be one of those kids that struggles getting along with other kids when toys are involved. (Hopefully not!)



The second part of this post's title refers to my EMT class today. It was on Obstetrics and Gynecology (yeah, not exactly two words I'd find myself using in my next Sacrament meeting talk). Now, I was there for all of Kienan's delivery and birth, and I was truly impressed then with the miracle of life; motherhood is truly something to be admired. However, today really opened my eyes to a whole new ball park. Pregnant women face many potentially life-threatening situations. Many that I never knew possible before my class today. All I can and will say to all you mothers, soon-to-be mothers, thinking-about-being-a-mother mothers, and so on is....thank you! Thank you for all the risk you take to bring something so miraculous about. I've seen and been through the 9 months of hell with my own wife and our son, just to get up to the plate and have to face the roller-coaster ride of labor after it all, but it was worth every moment and every shed tear to see the bright smiling face of my little buddy today! Thank you to all you who make this possible and hold it as something so very special! Thank you!

Public then Private

So, we've realized that there are many of our friends and family out there that may not have our contact info in order to be added as authorized bloggers. There are many of you that we do not have contact info either. If you fall into one of these two categories, please send us your email address (jeffnandreayoung@gmail.com) so we can add you. We're going to keep our blog public for a little while and then go private. Please contact us. We would love to keep in touch.

Carpet Burn...

So, this is a little old, but it was very funny!
This is what happens when your baby doesn't
like his diaper and has just learned to army crawl.

Captain Kienan

Kienan @ Lagoon's Kiddy Land

What's Happening Lately...

Well, things have been very busy around here lately. Kienan has been "toddling" around like he owns the place for a few months now, and that keeps momma on her toes constantly. His new thing is climbing stairs. He's not such a big fan of coming down, though. He chickens out pretty readily every time. (Guess that's a really good thing when you think about it; he probably won't be intentionally trying to go down them on his own any time soon.)
The other day he had his mother laughing when he decided to climb a few stairs on his own. Andrea came in the room and said, "No, No, Kienan." Usually he's very understanding of this and backs off from whatever it is that he's doing. However, this time he turned around, sat on the step facing his mother, and shook his head back and forth with a big grin on his face, as if to say, "I run the show around here, Mom!" (What a little squirt!)
A little while back we were able to go to lagoon with Andrea's family for her father's company party. It was fun! Even better when we were able to take Kienan on a few rides. We were a little disappointed that there weren't more rides for kids his age and height, because Lagoon charges so much money for even little kids. You'd think they'd have a bigger selection. Anyway, he was able to captain his own little boat and ride a small whale. We were even able to ride on the little train that takes you through the zoo there. He enjoyed them all, with the exception of being upset when the whale ride came to an end.
As for me, lately things have been super busy, too. I've been taking an early-morning EMT-Basic course for a possible promotion at work. The position is for a medical supervisor, and it would not only give us a nice little boost in pay but great patient exposure for my med. school application. It runs each morning for a few hours. Next I go spend a couple hours at an internship followed by my shift at the plasma center. All in all, I'm usually away from home about 7am to 9pm. It's busy, but it'll be over in a few months and helps us take a few more steps toward our goals.
Well, I think I'm pretty much done with this novel. Want to wish you all a HAPPY 4TH of JULY. We hope it's filled with family, friends, and fun for you all.

Kienan Baby Pics

This is a slideshow of Kienan from our original blog. He's considerably older and bigger now, as he was only a few months old at most in these pics, but they're good memories. We'll be posting more up-to-date stuff soon.

Starting out...

So, as many of you may already know, we are not the best of bloggers out there. However, after much prompting and prodding, we are finally going to make it a priority to keep in touch with all of you out there and tell a little about what is going on in our lives.

First off, to set the stage, here is a little background on our little family. Andrea and I met about two years ago in Rexburg, Idaho. I was working as a phlebotomist at the local plasma center. (If you are or have ever been a poor college student in Rexburg, you most likely know of the place.) One cold January day in 2008, Andrea decided to donate plasma with her older brother, Ammon. Now, my version of the story goes on to say that when I walked onto the donor area there was a heavenly light directly over Andrea and angelic trumpets resounding through the center leaving no doubt in my mind that "this is the one!" Andrea's version may include minor details, such as my using of cliche pickup lines in a desperate effort to get her phone number.

Well, regardless of whom you'd prefer to believe, we were married in the Rexburg temple on July 25, 2008. It was a warm, beautiful day. We had our reception in the Thomas E. Ricks Gardens on the BYU-Idaho campus. It was a day we will never forget!

The following year we spent in Rexburg working and completing our studies at BYU-Idaho. We both graduated in July 2009, Andrea with a B.S. in Exercise Physiology and me with a B.S. in Information Technology. We were actually quite surprised to be able to walk at the graduation ceremony as Andrea was two weeks from our first son's due date. The joke was that Andrea would be walking up the stand to get her diploma and go into labor on the spot. Thankfully, that did not happen.

Two weeks after graduation, we were blessed with our first baby boy, Kienan Wesley. He was 7 lbs. 1 oz and about 20 inches long. From day one, he's been such a joy and blessing in our life. Even now, not a day goes by that he doesn't bring a smile to our faces. He's my little buddy and definitely a momma's boy.

Since then, we have moved to Orem, Utah where I am working on completing the prerequisites for medical school. I am still a phlebotomist for Biomat USA (formerly PCCI). Andrea is a full-time mom, and she is very good at it. She loves being able to spend time with our son. (For all those who doubt that this is indeed a FULL-TIME job, have obviously never had children...that goes without saying!)

So, that is our history in a nutshell. We're coming up on our two-year anniversary, with many more to come. We hope you enjoy our blog and please feel free to comment, and DEFINITELY keep us up-to-speed on your lives, too.