Law School Graduation

Nate graduated from the University of Idaho Law School on May 1st.

I could not be more proud of him.

These past 3 years have flown by.  It seems like yesterday we moved to Moscow to start this journey and now we have been in Boise a year and have a 5 month old.  It is crazy how fast time goes and home much changes in a couple of years.  As fun as it was to move far from home and meet some of our dearest friends, I am glad to be done.  I know Nate is really excited to be finished and to begin his career.  We are ready to settle down in a permanent place.  Nate doesn't have a job lined up right now but he is waiting to hear back about a couple of jobs.  We are optimistic something will work out!  I know wherever he gets a job he will do a great job and they will be lucky to have him.
 

 

Since graduation was on a Wednesday night it wasn't easy for family to come celebrate Nate's accomplishment.  We were lucky to have Nate's mom, my parents and Grandma Carlson come for dinner and the commencement. 

Nate had some great friends in law school.  It was even better that his friends had great wives!  We have had some good times with the friends we met through law school.  I will miss the game nights, dinners, frisbee golf, girls nights, intramural football and basketball, shopping trips, the husbands wrestling, walks, workout groups and all the laughing.

A couple of the families also came to Boise for their 3rd year.  It was fun to have friends in Boise to do things with.  Wherever we end up we will miss our law school friends.  I hope wherever we move we meet as great as people to be our friends as we had in law school.  We will not forget the friends we met and we hope to have many reunions with them!

 The weekend before graduation we got together with law school friends to have a party. 

It was fun to get together with the friends we have come to love through law school.

As you can see Kate was having one of her episodes and was not so excited about being at the party.

For the next two months, Nate will study for the deathly bar.  Kate and I hope these next two months go fast because I don't think we will be seeing much of daddy.  We love Nate and are so proud of all the hard work he has put into school for our family. 
See you in two months daddy!

Happy 5 Months

 

  

This past month has had its highs and lows.  Last month I wrote how Kate had become so much happier and fun.  While some of that is true, she has also developed stranger anxiety.  I don't know if you can even call it that because we have never left her with anyone.  When she has her stranger anxiety episodes we are right by her side.  The first time it occurred was about a month ago.  We were in Utah with family for the weekend.  The night we got there she just started to scream bloody murder and it pretty much was that way the rest of the weekend.  If she got too close to other people she would start fussing which would sometimes lead to screaming.  The worst part about it is I could not console her.  She would not have anything to do with me when she got this way.  She would not even feed to calm down.  That weekend she would go 4 to 6 hours without eating when she usually eats every 2 to 3.  Luckily, she liked Nate and he would be able to calm her down but if he would try and give her to me after she had calmed down she would freak out again.  It was like she was mad at me.  It was the worst couple days of being a mother.  I did not know what to do for my baby and she did not even want me.  I cried a lot.  Since that time it has happened at a get together with friends and then with Nate's family last weekend.  Last week Nate at one point could not even console her so she sat in her car seat and cried/screamed.  People probably think we are horrible parents but when nothing consoles your baby you just have to let them scream.  I am really hoping this is a phase and she grows out of it SOON.  If anyone has any tips/advice we would love to hear it.

I am so grateful Kate is not that way all the time.  At home, Kate is quite pleasant.  It makes me sad that people, especially family, do not see her cute, fun, happy side.  Yes, Kate does have her moments at home where she is not happy and cries but nothing like around other people.  Me and Kate have such a good time at home.  We sing, read books, play on the ground, I dance and act crazy while she smiles and laughs at me, we sit in front of the mirror so Kate can touch and figure out how the heck she can see herself, we go for walks, Kate babbles and babbles while I pretend I know exactly what she is talking about, we just have fun.   She is one bundle of joy! I love my baby Kate!