Thursday, March 3, 2011

Kate the Great

Kate turned 10. She had a wonderful day and the party hasn't even started yet! Tomorrow she will go to the skating rink with a few friends. They're going to pretend I'm not there watching so they can be cool pre-tweens.
Here are some fun facts about Kate...

1. As you can see in the picture she is a BYU and sports fan. She is turning into the perfect son for her dad. Just tonight Dad was teaching her (in the house) how to throw a perfect spiral. For her birthday she got what she wanted: BYU football paraphernalia.

2. Kate is very responsible. She is the best oldest child a mother could ask for. Sometimes I think she's more responsible than me. She does a great job helping her younger siblings and is the very best babysitter. It's thanks to her that we have worry-free date nights!

3. Kate likes to play practical jokes. Whether it's hiding in ambush and scaring one of her sisters half to-death, or sneezing spaghetti noodles out of her nose, she likes to go for the shock value.

4. Her favorite cuss word is "poop." If you want to cuss her out call her a "girly-girl."

5. Kate can draw very well, certainly better than either of her parents and the evidence can be found all over the house. She might draw mustaches and tattoos on the people in the obituaries. We might find a scrap of paper with football player running with a ball or a girl with spiky hair and heels in the corner of her homework page.

6. P.E. and recess are her favorite subjects. (Definitely a kid after her dad's own heart.)

7. Since she was little she has always been trying to think of ways to get money. She has sold the neighbors cookies, lemonade, rocks, crafts. She does all the planning, prepping, and baking and then recruits Brynn to do the soliciting. Once she and Brynn went around with a box selling some of their old toys. They made a few dollars and then turned around and spent it when the neighborhood kids started selling their old toys. What does Kate do with her money? She usually invests in a couple big bags of candy. One to eat herself. The other to "pay" her sisters to do her jobs. "25 skittles to clean my room, anyone?"

8. If Kate had her way, we would move to Hollywood so she could pursue a career in Acting. I'm all for it if it will pay the mortgage on our beach house.

9. Kate is our "miracle baby." After 20-ish hours of labor, Kate's heartbeat stopped. I was rushed to the O.R. for an emergency c-section. The scariest experience of our life followed. As the medical crew was frantically scrubbing up I prayed and prayed. I had a feeling of peace that everything would be okay but then I worried , "Is that an okay that she's going to live or an okay that she's going to die?" I couldn't imagine going through all that anticipation and sickness of pregnancy and then not coming home with a baby.
By the time they got Kate out she was not breathing at all. Her Apgar scores were low and she was basically lifeless. The doctor would have sent her by air-med to a bigger hospital but couldn't because of a huge snowstorm. I was under full anesthesia during the delivery but Brandon wasn't. Thank goodness his parents were there with him. Brandon and his dad and the doctor gave Kate a Priesthood blessing. A few minutes later she cried! And cried and cried for the next few hours! To everyone there, this was nothing short of a miracle. You can imagine how grateful I was to wake up and find out that she was not only alive, but she the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. We have been extra grateful for Kate ever since and for the healing powers of heaven.

10. Brandon chose the name Kate and we gave her the middle name of Sharon, after her "nana," my mom.

6 comments:

Sherie Christensen said...

As usual I enjoyed every bit of the birthday post. Kate has spunk! I like learning more about your kids this way. I'm glad you got your miracle.

Megz said...

Kate is pretty cool. How come she and Ike don't hang out talking sports and drawing?? (maybe one day....)
If she bought good gummy candy I'd do some of her chores for pay.

Sheree said...

She sounds like a great girl! I want to get our girls together sometime, I bet they would have so much fun. They can really relate to that "girly-girl" thing. Her birth story is amazing!

Michelle said...

Her birth story still scares me. When my parents heard about it and talked with him he still had a look of horror in his eyes. We cannot be more blessed to have Kate as a relative. She is obedient, happy, and a joy to be around. Happy birthday Kate.

cold cocoa said...

I didn't know she wasn't a girly-girl! I thought she was because she always has cute clothes on.
Happy Birthday! What a great gal.

stephanie said...

seems like you have been celebrating a lot of birthdays lately. You sure have some great kids.