Gone skiing!

Last weekend Heidi went skiing for the first time. She was so thrilled to go she could hardly contain herself. Dave took Ethan and Heidi and it seems they had an absolute blast! Heidi was so excited to be skiing that she kept waiving at strangers from the lift and would tell people it was her very first time on the slopes. She did really well on her first day.

Baby Sofi

Sofi Katuska made her grand entrance into this world on Thursday December 2. My due date was December 6th so she almost made it to that date and I have never been so pregnant before. We thought she would be born a couple of weeks earlier so we have been waiting and waiting. I labored for 13 hours before she was born. Sofi was finally born at 12:30 pm. She was 8 pounds and 19 inches long.  We are so thrilled to have her and feel so blessed.

No Cavities Club!

Today Gavin went to the dentist and did awesome. I never met kids that love going to the dentist as much as mine do. Heidi even wants to be a pediatric dentist when she grows up! They love getting a new toothbrush and a toy every time they go. Ethan, Heidi and Gavin went together today and got their picture taken and put on the No Cavities Wall.

Check mate

Today was Ethan's first chess tournament of the year. For this particular tournament a varsity group was created formed by the highest ranked players who would play each other regardless of grade. Well, Ethan happens to be ranked very high and was put into this group so I explained to him that if he agreed to be part of the varsity group he would play against the best players the other school had and would most likely loose most rounds. He agreed and was very excited for today's tournament. He played against two fifth graders and one sixth grader (she won first place at the tournament) and lost every round. He was upset and disappointed. To add insult to injury, they forgot to announce that varsity players would get their awards at the end and not with their grade level. So when second graders were called, Ethan went up and was the only one whose name was not called and remained sited on the floor without any mention, any medal or trophy. I then found out that he was the only second grader in the varsity group. Needless to say, he was very upset. When the varsity group got called up they were received with a warm round of applause and were cheered on (there were some in tears after each round so I was pleased Ethan had held up so well) and were reminded they were the best players each school had so regardless of their standing in this tournament it was an honor to be part of varsity, blah, blah, blah…. They found out after the last round was played that there was a glitch in the system and there were errors in doing the pair ups, which meant that many of the players (Ethan being one of them) played harder players than they should have played against. He did get a trophy and was much happier after he received it. 

Baby news

Today I am 36 weeks along. I had another ultrasound and I was able to see the baby in 3D. This is the first time I get a 3D picture of any of my kids and it was exciting and thrilling. I was told that they don't do the 3D at 20 weeks because the baby has no fat at that point but by now I would get a good peek at what the baby looks like. And it was confirmed that it is a girl for sure! Her estimated weight as of today is 6 lbs. 10 oz. so she is in the 80 percentile. The technician kept saying it was a larger baby but Kailey was born at 36 weeks and was 7.2 lbs so was much bigger.
Here is a 3D picture of her face. 

Look who's three!

Gavin turned three on Saturday. I usually do their first big birthday party when they turn three but I am running out of energy so I didn’t do a party. He still had a good time at the zoo, had a yummy ice cream cake and a piñata to break open with his siblings. Grandma Ginny helped decorate so it looked like he actually had a birthday.

Parties and so much fun

We have been really busy in October. We attended a fall festival, a Haunted Hollow at the city park, a Halloween carnival for Kailey (probably the best event of all), a Halloween party for the primary kids at church, Ethan and Heidi had Halloween parties in their schools and of course all (but Kailey) went trick or treating with their dad.  Heidi decided to stay home during their potty break after about an hour but rain did not keep the boys from going back outside and get more treats.

Our weekly field trips were also fun as they were all fall and Halloween themed. We also kicked off our baking season this month and made several ghostly treats.  

Dave and I went to an alumni dinner at BYU that was great! It was a fancy dinner with a quartet of violinists that set just the right mood. It made the whole dinner feel more elegant. We also went to a regional Scout dinner. Not only was it nice to have some couple time, but it was great to get away from kitchen duty.

October has been the last month I teach in 2010 in Relief Society and Sunday School. I may resume teaching in early 2011. Dave is still as busy as ever at church, the branch president is constantly gone for a couple of weeks at a time. 

Two weeks ago I started weekly OBGYN doctor visits to closely monitor the rest of the pregnancy and do non-stress tests on the baby. The weekly visits are earlier than usual but that is what diabetes does to you. I am almost 35 weeks along so I am almost to the end considering the doctor prefers that the pregnancy not go beyond 38 weeks.  A couple of days ago the doctor told me I can now check my glucose twice a day and occasionally three times a day which is great, less bleeding!

The kids’ music, karate, tumbling classes as well as our weekly field trips are all on hold until January.  Kailey’s in home visits are also on hold until January.  I am shifting gears and will now focus on getting myself, the family and the house (specially the freezer) ready for the new baby.

V.I.P

Heidi was very excited to be the V.I.P in her class this week. Her 11 classmates peppered her with questions about her favorite things. She was the special helper all day as well.
Gavin came into her classroom and was right at home taking toys off the bins and did not really want to leave. He was so thrilled to be part of her class for a little bit.
On another note, we got blasted by a storm that brought LOTS of snow! What is up with that?

Trustworthy

A few of days ago I was looking at all the stuff Ethan had brought back from school. I looked through his work package for every subject and it was all marked with a perfect score, even math and Chinese. I then found a letter from his teacher. Once I started reading it, my chest puffed up filled with pride. Ethan had been selected to receive the "principals pride award" for exemplifying the quality of trustworthiness in school. On Friday we attended a ceremony in which he was given his award.
On the other hand, Kailey surprised us a few nights ago. I heard some noise from the stairs so I panicked because I had not put the gate up so she would not fall down the stairs. So I dashed as fast as I could to the stairs to make sure she was not going to roll down and to my surprise Kailey was coming down in full confidence and at full speed. Me and the kids cheered her so she stopped and clapped! Usually kids learn to climb up the stairs before coming down, but she is doing it backwards, much like her teeth. She has two top molars but not two front teeth. I am thrilled she is progressing so well.

Ethan with the other recipients of the award. Ethan is in the orange shirt.

October Fun!

We have been busy this month and have had several fun activities. Here are lots of pictures.

Ethan participated in a play at school, he had one line but sang really well the rest of the play.

We were able to finish our front porch decorations for a spooky season!

Here are my pirates of the caribbean ready for some arrrgh fun!

Gavin, the most feared pirate of all, is lost in a hay maze

Ethan, our ghostly pirate.

Heidi, the pirate princess left her shoes at home so she had to watch all the fun from afar.

Ginny, the fabulous one, turned the big 60!

20 of the 23 Christensen cousins are in this picture. There are 4 more to come within the next 5 months!

Karate Kid

Ethan started Karate classes about a month ago and even though it has been a short period of time, his instructor recommended he take the test to advance in belt colors. He had his test this past week and did well except for a couple of times he lost focus. Heidi thought Karate was hilarious because they yell out loud, “yes ma’am” and also yell "Hi" through out the test and then informed me she was not interested in learning karate at all. Ethan really enjoys his class and is now an orange belt! Here is a video of part of the test.

Harvesting

Part of the fun in the fall is going to a pumpkin patch and being able to pick a nice pumpkin. We were invited to a garden patch to do some harvesting. We have gone twice and had a great time, except for the time I lost my keys and had absolutely no idea where they could be. We looked everywhere with no luck and Dave was out of town. So I had to go home in hopes of finding a spare key there. When I returned, someone had just found them! I was very relieved. Dave had warned me it would cost over $200 to get a replacement. When I got back, Ethan had taken it into his own hands to get potatoes before they were all gone so like a good Idahoan descendant, he got to work and filled up a bag with red potatoes.

Sugar love

Some of you know I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes a week ago last Monday. I was really bummed and frustrated with the news. I was given little information about my condition and was set up to meet with a counselor this week to go over what would happen. I was told two other things, daily blood tests and insulin shots. So I did what everyone else would do, I turned to the trusted internet. There were thousands of pages on diabetes. So much and yet I felt there really was no information. I had an appointment today at the diabetes clinic and by the time I left I felt much more educated, empowered and all the misinformation and myths were dispelled. I did, however, get a glucose meter. I have to check my glucose FOUR times a day and that I am definitely not happy about. I don't care what anyone says, that little prick DOES hurt! But I am ok with it and I hope to get used to it soon. I will have to go through this routine until I deliver the baby. The irony of it all, I don't like sugar very much at all. Go figure!
As for my fall down the stairs last week....I learned to turn the lights on before going down early in the morning (no matter how sleepy I may be) so I am certain it won't happen again.
Some of you know I ended up spending my entire morning at the hospital last Friday. I am doing well, I have had some sporadic contractions but no preterm labor. One of the tests that was done showed there is no likelihood of a preterm birth so I am thrilled about it and I have no infections of any sort.
However, now that I know I have to prick my finger four times a day until delivering the baby, I am definitely hoping this baby comes at exactly 37 weeks and not a day earlier or later!

So much fun!

We've had so much fun in September. It is hard to believe that Fall has already started and September is almost over. We still have Summer weather so we have enjoyed three fun carnivals. We are trying to hit the park before it gets cold and start hibernating.

Day at Trafalga Fun Center

Day at Trafalga Fun Center!

We attended the yearly Buddy Walk and Carnival from the Down Syndrome Foundation

Cooling off in the shade, it was so hot at the carnival from the Down Syndrome Foundation

Enjoying our last summer days at the park

Kailey loves the swings

Heidi in her tumbling class

Gavin in tumbling class

Heidi does really well with tumbling and enjoys using the equipment they have

Kailey in her music class with her little friends

Ethan had a great time at the school's carnival

Ethan in Karate, he is the first one from the right. He will be ready for pretesting to move up a belt next week.

Motivation

Yesterday I made new sticker and reward charts for the kids. I printed some Halloween design ones for obedience and doing chores and I also printed one for showing love and kindness. They were so happy to see their charts and really liked the designs. When I woke up this morning, Ethan walked into my room with a huge grin in his face and a sparkle in his eyes. His hair was all wet and neatly combed and he was already changed and ready for school. He said, “good morning mom! Guess what? I got all ready for school, I made my bed, cleaned up my room, washed my face, combed my hair, set the table, put breakfast out, and even made a decoration for the center of the table and I even got the vitamins out for dad to give them out! Do I get a sticker for doing all that without being asked?
Needles to say, I was dumbfounded! Dave and I just looked at each other surprised and not really knowing what to say.
Of course he got his stickers, I gave him three for showing great initiative. When I went down stairs everything was just as he had said. It was awesome and so helpful because I was not rushed to get everything ready. His dad reminded him he still needed his socks and shoes on so he quickly put them on and then ran out to get the paper for us.
Wow! Was this for real? What a little motivation can do for a child! But that is not all.
Later in the day I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things. Gavin unloaded all the bags by himself, he could hardly walk when bringing into the house the gallons of milk. He asked for help and then continued unloading the car. He too got a sticker for being so helpful without being asked.
I took the kids to the library for a signing class for Kailey and we then went to the book area so the kids could pick some books and movies to take home. Heidi told me that since Ethan was not there to pick his own she had picked a book and a movie so he would not be sad. She too got a sticker later on in the day for her kindness towards Ethan.
When I asked Heidi and Gavin to do their chores they quickly did them. So they received a lot of praise.
Although there were a couple of quarrels amongst them I can say it was a great day at our house. On days like this I realize that heaven on earth is definitely possible....within our homes.

We are back!

We have been very busy in the spring and summer months. I can't believe it is almost Fall. It is my favorite season! We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. We did not celebrate it as we had originally planned but managed to get an overnight escape.

I was miserably sick for a couple of months.....pregnant with our fifth heir! I am due the first week of December. Maybe a girl. Many asked me if I was worried about having another baby with Down Syndrome. I was not concerned about that but I was definitely worried about my sanity and the time I need to spend with each one of my children. The kids are excited and ask me almost daily when the baby will be born. Heidi is worried about who is going to take care of them while I am in the hospital.

Ethan and Heidi had swimming lessons and really enjoyed it.
In June Ethan received the distinguished dragon award at school for outstanding achievement. He has his certificate and medal proudly displayed on the refrigerator. Now that school started again he is reading chapter books and seems to be quite proud of that fact. I guess he is one of the few in his class at that level. His favorite subjects are math and Chinese writing....whose child is this?! He is thrilled to have started Karate and this week, at his request, he starts Chess again.

Heidi started preschool and loves it. She can write her name, sort of, and thinks that she can read. She started tumbling and loves it.

Gavin loves swimming and thinks he knows how. He is in tumbling with Heidi. He spent the entire summer chasing grasshoppers in the backyard. He uses a stick to capture them.

Kailey turned 1 in July. This petite sized toddler started to crawl at full speed recently and is trying very hard to climb up the stairs. She finally managed to get a tooth out. We are working on signing and walking right now.

We had some camping trips, Dave's family reunion in Yellowstone Park, lots of my family over for my sister’s wedding, and my own family reunion. It was the first time all of my siblings got together since my wedding. The only one missing was my dad, I am sure he watched from the other side.

We decorated our house with fall and Halloween stuff and the kids are already wearing their Halloween shirts.

In BIG trouble?

We have a couple of laptops at home, one is old and slow and I call it the dinosaur. Gavin has a certain love affair with the keyboard and following in the footsteps of her older siblings he did the same evil did they have done in years past. I am not sure what distracted me, but after 15 minutes I noticed a dreadful silence and that is never good news at our home. I immediately started looking for Gavin. I found him playing with some toys. Whew!!! big sigh of relief or so I thought. It was not until later in the evening and before Dave got home from work that I noticed what he had done during those quiet minutes.  When Dave came home he sternly called Gavin over to explain himself. But before his father could utter a word, Gavin looked at the laptop and started to cry remorsefully and would not stop. Dave ended up consoling him, telling him how it is okay to make mistakes and ended up giving him a treat!!! I could not believe it but so it was.