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.