Henry

Henry just turned a year and is a sweet boy.  He didn't care for his birthday cake or his birthday song.  He has taken a few steps, but still prefers to speed crawl.  He loves to cuddle and play with balls and anything with wheels.  We love this sweet boy!

Avery

I looked at an old picture of Avery as a toddler tonight and had the sad feeling that she will never be at that stage again. It was a small reminder to enjoy my kids now and quit griping about the hard work that is raising people.

Avery is high-energy. She is also very loving and exciting and happy and smart. She is a lot of fun, and also sensitive to other people's feelings. She is many more great things that I am forgetting at the moment or I haven't discovered yet.

Recently, Avery told me that my real name is Shelly, but she is renaming me Sara. This morning she asked Eric, "If there isn't a bed at work, then where do you sleep?" This afternoon she solemnly told me about her dolls, whom she usually names "rock and roll", and how they go to movies and where they sleep, etc. As we loaded into the car to go to Winco she remembered to run back into the house to get her wallet. Among her 3 earned quarters was a dollar she hasn't seen. I told her about how our very nice neighbor found $2 crumpled by the mailboxes and told me to give them to the kids. Avery said "Oh, thank you mom! I love you so much!" She bought a sucker for herself and one for Tate, with her own money.

 After dinner she wanted to earn more money so I had her load the

washer and put the clothes from the dryer onto the couch. She climbed on the stool and twirled each item of clothing from hamper to washer as she dramatically and with lots of giggling told the story of how it was going for a swim. As the hamper was emptied she had to reach further and fell head first into the hamper with her legs stuck in the air. I was surprised she allowed me to laugh because she often chastises me for laughing at her. Anyway, by the time she was ready to unload the dryer, she was pretending to be a puppy. On all fours, she would grab an item of clothing in her mouth and walk to me for approval before dropping it on the couch. Never a dull moment indeed! I do love Avery.

Farm

Here's some pictures of our visit to the Severe's farm today.  The little goats are a month old and very cute.  Just before we left grandma's to go to the farm, Henry fell face-first from a toy onto grandma's pavers.  Good thing we took his year-old pictures earlier this week.

Avery has been obsessed with death lately.  As she watched me put on make-up, she asked if I am going to still keep it in the bathroom when I die.  A few days after that comment, she saw me put on some socks and asked, "Can I try those on when you die?".  In the car a few days ago she says, "It's taking you long to die."  I asked why she wants me to die and she said that she wants me to be with Jesus and hug him and be happy.  Crazy kid.

As we pulled into Pendleton today Tate commented that he sees a "furllection" in the car, referring to the light reflecting in the backseat.  Then he said that Pendleton is so beautiful, as we passed a factory, the delapidated mental institution, and the prison.  Then, he commented that the houses in Pendleton are so cute.

We stopped by Eric's work this morning and the kids had never been there before.  Tate asked if dad works alone in that building and I told him that dad works with other people.  Tate then asked, "Are they his slaves?".

Green

Christmas Dinosaur

This is why our family pictures showed some shots of us running.  Our Christmas card this year included a photo-shopped dinosaur.  Travis came up with all the following funny caption ideas...

"Family Dining"

"You don't have to be fastest -- just faster than mom and dad"

"Pamplona was nice, but the Hibberts craved a real challenge"

"They convinced her she was vegetarian, but Edwina just didn't care"

"Almost eaten by T-Rex.  Our day was ruined."

"Jurassic Park 4 - Why Do People Keep Coming Back Here?!"

"The questions perplexed young Henry.  Why did the dinosaur only have one leg?  Why was Dad shrieking like a small child?  Why was he the only one WEARING A HAT?"

The Edwina comment only makes sense if you have read "Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct" by Mo Willems.  It's a great kid's book.

Christmas 2013

This Christmas was a Plan B occasion.  Bre and I planned on staying the night Christmas Eve at mom and dad's home.  Then, the day after Christmas, mom and dad were going to drive to the beach to vacation at a rental home with Trav and Ty and anyone else willing to make the trek.  Plans were changed as this Christmas vacation turned into THE SEASON OF MAJOR SICKIES!  Mom got the flu so bad that she nearly passed out at the doctor's office a couple days before Christmas. Once she returned to the land of feeling human again, dad came down with the same illness. 

So Bre and I stayed in Kennewick and put together a last minute Christmas dinner with our Christmas Costco gift cards from the folks (thanks a million!).  I admit that I am glad I ended up hosting in this last minute manner because I probably would have stressed about cooking my very first turkey dinner had I been given more time to do so.  Under the circumstances I just picked up the grub and put it together and Bre contributed half of the meal and it turned out yummy!  It really helps that Bre owns every kitchen gadget known to man, so she had a turkey-cooker-grill-thingy that made for a delish bird.  So, I was patting myself and Bre on the backs for pulling off our first holiday meal all by ourselves like real adults.  Yay!

The day after Christmas I was down for the count with laryngitis.  Eric had it the previous week.  The kids caught colds/coughs, and Henry's goopy eyes continued to worsen.  He's had a goopy discharge from him eyes for his whole life, and we thought it was a stubborn clogged tear duct.  However, when we visited the doctor a few days before Christmas they took a swab of his discharge for the lab to look at.  While we waited for the lab results, we were given a medication to put in his eyes, but it didn't help.  The next week, we got a call from the doctor for a new prescription that is helping.  Anyway, Bre and her kids are fighting sickness now.  The worst of it is my little niece who ended up sick in the E.R. on New Years.  We're still waiting to find out what that was all about.  So, it's been a dumb health season not only for us, but for many of our friends as well.  I'm happy to report that we are well now, but I'm a little worried about what will happen with school starting again tomorrow.

Now it's 2014 and our family has made some resolutions.  Tate wants to do a kind deed for a friend every day.  Sweet child.  Avery's goal is to go to Great Wolf again.  I'm saving up because I'd love to go again, too!  My goal, as usual, is to do family home evening every Sunday night.  I'm making a plan and it will happen this year!  Eric's goal is to hit the gym at least 4 times a week, and to throw up after every dinner.  Happy thoughts =)  Obviously he's kidding about the puking part, I would never let him waste my good meals that way!

Christmas Pajamas

We broke tradition and opened our Christmas pajamas tonight instead of waiting for Christmas Eve.  Now we can enjoy their festive striped and monkey pants all month!  We also made gingerbread homes at Aunt Bre's home this afternoon.  The houses are sparse on candy, but the children's bellies are full (of candy).