Kate's Broken Arm

Okay, really it is fractured, but she has a hard time saying that, so she says it is broken.

Yep, fractured. How can she be my first child with a fractured bone? Really? She beat Enoch? What are the odds?

On Thanksgiving she was jumping from the chair to the ottoman and she missed. She has done this thousands of times, but it only took one miss. After a very bad night, we visited the doctor the next morning. He thought it could be her collarbone. Off to the hospital for x-rays.

She did great with the x-rays. I was really worried about how she would do in radiology. She was great. She stood there, perfectly still, and let them take a few pictures. She even smiled when they said they were ready to snap a picture.

We got the word later that day that her collarbone was fine. We were told to give it a few more days and she how she was doing.

Still hurting on Monday, so we took her back to the hospital for more x-rays, this time of her arm. After taking a few pictures, the x-ray tech called the radiologist to look at the pictures right then. Thanks goodness. The radiologist suggested we do a few more this time higher up on her arm (even though the doctor didn't order that). Turns out that is where the fracture was - right up close to her shoulder.

Back to the doctor's office. What a waste. The doctor (not ours) tried to put a sling on Kate. She wouldn't let go of Greg and so they just sent us home with a Snoopy sling. Kate refused to wear it because it wasn't pink. Oh, for crying out loud! Literally.

The next morning, I took apart her sling and used it as a pattern to make her a pink one. I think it turned out cute. I think I should go into business making pink slings. Everyone who sees it tells me their story of their little girl not wanting to wear the black or gray sling they got from the doctor's office or Walgreens.

Kate is pretty good about wearing it. The problem is is that her arm feels fine. Unless she bumps it or falls on it, she says it doesn't hurt. She can use it, move it like normal. She isn't taking it too easy like to orthopedic specialist recommended. Yeah, she's three.

Last night, she feel on it and we had another bad night. I think she re-injured it. Great, more sling time. Well, we will do the best we can.

She is so tough, much tougher than her brothers. She is so sweet about it too. When I remind her to put on her sling, she'll say, "Okay, Mom. I really like my pink sling." She's taking it all really well. And hopefully, not too much longer until she is as good as new.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Our Thanksgiving didn't quite go as we had planned. We were wanting to spend the weekend at my parents house with my entire family. My parents leave on Monday for their mission to Sierra Leone, so we had big plans to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas and have a lot of family time. Unfortunately, sickness got in the way. Gavin had been sick for at least five days and things didn't clear up until after Thanksgiving.

We took it easy on Thanksgiving morning. We ate our Thanksgiving at home with just our family. Not as fun, but a Thanksgiving we will always remember. I was assigned sweet potatoes, stuffing and a few pies for our Thanksgiving feast. I made them up ahead of time and sent most of it down with my sister (minus the pies, which I didn't make and they still had plenty). I kept enough for our family. Grandma Fowler was wonderful and sent up some turkey and gravy. My sister dropped off some rolls when she picked up our food. And finally, Greg snagged a pumpkin pie at Costco the night before. The only thing left to fix was mashed potatoes. Everything was delicious! Poor Gavin wasn't able to each much, but the rest of us enjoyed our Thanksgiving.

Since we were quarantined to our home, Greg and I decided to break out an early Christmas present to help entertain the kids. We found these on Costco.com and am so happy we got some. The kids have loved their Brik-a-Bloks. They are large plastic panels that snap together to form tunnels, forts, rooms, etc. The kids had a great time. Enoch did most of the building, Kate did most of the playing and Gavin gave instructions from the couch. We squeezed our structures into the family room and left it up for a few days (until we got our tree).

Later that night, Greg and I were talking in our room when we heard a loud thud and then Kate screaming. Greg ran to see what the matter was and came back holding Kate with Kate holding her arm. She was inconsolable. She couldn't even tell us what happened. We figured she must have hurt her arm because she was very careful with it. She ended up sleeping in our room so we could keep her from rolling onto that arm and waking herself up screaming. Greg, finally slept on the floor after trying to fit three of us in the bed. Kate does not share bed space.

The next morning, Kate was still really hurting and Gavin still wasn't any better. After visiting with the doctor, he felt that Kate possibly broke her collarbone and that Gavin had pneumonia. He sent us to the hospital for x-rays. Gavin's came back positive, Kate's negative. We started Gavin on antibiotics and he perked up within a few days.

We spent Saturday working on Enoch's new downstairs room (the baby is getting his current room) and cleaning up from the weekend. We also had fun watching a hot-air balloon land in the field behind our house. Greg cleaned the church and I took care of sick and injured kids.

Saturday night my parents stopped by and dropped off Christmas that we missed the day before. The kids were so excited to see Grandma and Grandpa and open their presents. Greg and I each got a book and gift cards to Ikea. Gavin got some books, Pinky and the Brain DVDs and a Spock Santa hat. Enoch got a Eyeclops (the thing that you hook up to your TV and it magnifies everything by 200 times). Kate got the Playmobil dolphin set. Enoch and Kate also got a wiggle car each. It was great! Everyone loved their presents and have played with them every day since. We let the kids ride their wiggle cars in the kitchen and they have loved them. And Kate has played with her dolphins every day since getting them. She is having so much fun with them.

The next morning, Grandpa and Grandma came over to visit some more and we loved having them over. After spending the morning with us, we all went to church. After Sacrament Meeting, we said good-bye in the parking lot, which was hard, but short, so that was good. We will miss them so much!

It was a crazy weekend, busy and lazy at the same time.

Adventure Club

We have a bunch of six-year-old boys in our neighborhood. However, for some reason, Enoch doesn't play with a lot of them. I thought it would be fun to get them together every few weeks so they could all get to know each better. We are calling it our Adventure Club. Each mom takes a turn every other month to host an adventure for the boys. So far we have had two and they have been a great success. Enoch is loving it and I hope the other boys are too.

I put myself in charge of the first adventure. We went horseback riding at the Steenecks. It was so fun! We had a small turnout because of prior commitments for some of the boys, but those who came had a wonderful time. Annette and Heidi taught the boys about how to act around horses and how to treat them. We also learned how to keep them clean and what they like to eat.

Then all the boys were able to take a ride on Harry. They loved it. We also had a few younger siblings (including Kate), who took a ride as well.

It was very cold and windy. The kids were troopers, but frozen by the end. Cousin Jennie was so kind and invited us inside for hot chocolate. Yum! And the only mishap was when Enoch spilled his. Thank you for having us over, Steenecks!

Adventure Club has been great. I hope we keep it up for a long time!

Hot Chocolate with Grandma and Grandpa

This weekend Greg and Gavin were spending the night at Goblin Valley on a Scout camp-out. I decided to take Enoch and Kate down to my parents house to spend the weekend with them and my sister, Valerie, and her kids, Carson, Brynnley and McKay.

We had a wonderful time. The highlight was waking up on Saturday morning at seeing snow! The kids were thrilled. I was worried about Greg and Gavin (later found out they experienced gusting winds and extreme cold), but Enoch's and Kate's excitement over snow was infectious.

The first snowfall of the year. We have a tradition in our family of having homemade hot chocolate with our breakfast the first time we see snow. My mom was great and added that to the menu. The kids all enjoyed it (after adding milk to cool it off).

After breakfast, the kids bundled up as best they could (we didn't bring any snow gear) and headed out. It was very chilly so they didn't stay out long. Enoch lasted longer that Kate. Kate is really meant for milder climes, so she isn't too impressed with snow. Enoch and Carson had a great time with the sleds and found a few good hills. They were both frozen when they finally came in, but had so much fun.

It was a great weekend. I'm so glad we decided to go and spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa before they leave in November to serve their mission in Sierra Leone.

Kate & the Camera