Potty Paradise

In case you didn't get the Facebook status update, I have

NO MORE KIDS IN DIAPERS!!!!!

Did I mention how happy we are about that? I decided, again, last Monday, that we'd try the underwear thing again. Actually, the bare bum thing. Neta kept telling me when she was peeing in her diaper. I thought about Mom and how she said, when she was potty training Grant, every Monday she's start again.

So I did. In the last week, she's had one wetting and two pooping accidents. That's it!

 

We gave away all our diapers last night and couldn't be happier!

THANK YOU NETA!!

Frozen Family Fun

I think it was a week ago, on a Saturday, that we went sledding. We finally had enough snow fall, and stay, that we could play in it. The sun came out and I took the kids sledding at Ellenburger Park. It's a great park to play the other times of the year and it's half way between my house and the kids' school. They have a playground and swings, and a pool at the top of the hill and a baseball diamond and tennis courts at the bottom of the hill. The hill that is run down in the summer is slid down in the winter. The kids had a great time!

I was grateful that Neta fell asleep on the way there and stayed asleep the whole time. I felt just a touch of "that's too bad" that she got all decked out in her snow gear and didn't use it for snow. It did help keep her warm in the car though.

We only have one sled, which we bought the year we went to Nauvoo. Four kids and one sled I knew meant a referreeing headache for me, but I wasn't sure what to use. In Nauvoo, we used cardboard left over from presents but I didn't have anything that big. I had just washed the two cookie sheets I have, so I grabbed one. The kids are small enough, I thought, that it should work.

I had to use my frozen foot as a brake.

They made it to the bottom of the hill without rolling over.

The cookie sheet was fabulous and the kids each took turns with it and the big sled. They all tried it and went down on it. I even tried it and I can't complain. Not the fastest thing on the hill, but it worked. Until the end.



Xela kept falling or rolling off of it and bonking herself on the head and wanted to trade someone for the bigger sled, but they'd lost interest in the novelty of it. The last few rides down the hill were four bodies on a two man sled. Good thing we are small people with small kids!

After about an hour, maybe it was 90 minutes, either way, my toes couldn't take the cold anymore, despite the two layers of socks, and I told them one more ride. Xela and Ro each snuck in two. We went home and had some hot chocolate to help thaw ourselves out. Here are some other pics of our frozen family fun day.

Four little monkeys sitting on a sled...

Up the hill for another ride

Pass the Cube

For Christmas, Grandparents Hibbert got us a Rubix Revolution. It's fun to play individually and as a family. One night during the Christmas break, before having family prayer, Daddy decided to have a family Rubix playoff. I think Daddy eventually won, but here is the first round.
Nate and Neta had their own little competition.

Nate the Great

Eric is playing his video game, the kids are "asleep" so I thought I'd try to do a little blog catch up. These will not be in cronological order unless I remember them that way, but at least it will be documented. First, a flash back to Dec 30, 2009. Nate the Great turns FOUR!

He was excited to finally have his birthday and Grandma made it wonderful with the arrival of her package. I told Nate that we were going to wait until the package came before we opened any presents, so all day he was asking if "my birthday come yet?" Mail doesn't arrive until between one and two o'clock, so we kept busy with Christmas toys and things around the house.

When the package did come, he exclaimed with all the excitement a birthday boy could have "My birthday's here! Xela, Ro, my birthday came! Neta my birthday came!" We huddled around the top secret box and cut through it's nearly impermeable wrapping (Grandma is a professional packing taper). Then I sent the older three into the kitchen with all the package padding: fruit snacks, granola bars, marshmellows, tortilla chips and Nate's birthday marshmellow cereal (I don't typically buy that so it's a favorite treat). With the package unpadded, I put the lid back on and said we had to wait for Daddy, so have a fruit snack and "go play." Isn't that cruel? They went and played while I made dinner.

I had mutual that night and would have to leave after six-thirty, so after waiting until six and Eric was still not home, I decided we would open up the presents. Eric walked in just as we'd finished, but I don't think he really minded all that much.

Here are some pictures and videos of the happiest four-year-old that day.

He named the webkin Foxy Snake

The mini remote control car was the hit of the night.

Can't go wrong with Legos!

Brownie for the Great Birthday Boy

Christmas 2009

So it's the middle of January and I'm finally posting about Christmas. That's okay. I"ve been busy with Young Womens and we are making some progress on the house. I don't take a lot of free time, but since the hot water is down and I can't do laundry or dishes, I thought I'd do a little blogging.

In case you're wondering why the hot water is down, we're are installing a tankless hot water heater. Our big one has been leaking for a few months so a friend from the ward is installing it for us in exchange for a palette and a half of shingles that we gave him. He's replaced the intake valve for the water shut off and run new pex (tube piping for the water). The old pipes were a bit corrodid (I think I spelled that wrong).

ANYWAY....
 
This year they were really good at making presents for each other, which we let them open Christmas eve. Earlier in the month, Eric and I heard hammering upstairs and were a little curious about what was going on. After a "what are you doing up there?" we were told they were making presents. That's one way to get rid of the extra wood! Graigry, who didn't really take time to build anything, when he saw presents under the tree for his siblings and realized that he hadn't put anything under the tree, ran upstairs and put some of his toys in plastic bags. One for Neta and one for Nate. Sometimes he can be so sweet and thoughtful.

Gifts from the heart

Graigry's = boat for action figures (from Xela)

Nate's = wood fan writing thing (from Ro)

Neta's = stuffed dog (from Graigry), wood house and doll blanket (from Ro)

In keeping with Hibbert tradition, the kids had to be up and dressed, rooms cleaned, parents up and everyone fed before presents could be opened.  We usually make french toast, sausage, eggs and have oj and are done somewhere around ten o'clock.

After breakfast, we let them dig into their stockings. Eric hung them Christmas Eve. Last year we nailed them to the stairs, so the kids wanted to do it again this year. It's as convenient a place as any, so we did. They are more or less standing under their stocking. They thought about laying on the stair above their stocking, but we over ruled that idea.

The stockings were hung by the stairway with care

 TANGERINES!!!

Clementines have become a Scott stocking tradition.

After stockings, we had the kids sit down on either the couch or chairs. Santa was good at dividing the presents and putting them in piles in front of the Christmas tree so we let each kid have a turn. They also took turns opening the family presents. With the little three we had to emphasize that they were opening FAMILY presents, something to SHARE and it wasn't THEIRs to keep. I had bought a small feeder fish and it was in the one gallon tank behind all the other family presents. It took them a minute to realize they had a pet and then they got excited. We went through a nomination and voting process to come up with a name. Treasure Kat, which they abbreviated and called TK. Unfortunately, TK died two weeks later and I have since replaced it with a betta fish. We have not named the thing yet though there are a few swimming around the house (I'm pulling for Mr Fish or Cat Bait).

MORE LINCOLN LOGS

"These are for EVERYONE to SHARE"

Back on topic.

The kids had fun unwrapping their gifts. Santa didn't realize that he'd brought two of the same lego set for the boys, but hey! Now Graigry can't say that they are all his. Xela got sewing stuff as that has become a hobby of her's and I was tired of always having to go get my needle and tread and find scrap material for her. I made her a little bag to keep everything in, which when she saw me finishing it on Christmas Eve, decided to start making herself one. Luckily mine was a little more sturdy and complete by Christmas morning.

Xela uses her sewing stuff to make Corduroy more clothes.

Aurora's dolly is fun for Neta too, who...

...got her own "Princess Neta" doll.

Graigry's lego plane that...

Nate got too!!

(Santa should take better notes)

Eric made Graigry the plane and I made Nate the Helicopter.

Here are some other assorted pics.

PUT 'EM UP!

Mittens disguised as boxing gloves

Monster Truck Race

(from Great Grandma Staude)

Blendy Pens. It took a while to figure them out,

but the girls had fun once they did.

After lunch and toy time, we went to the Robinsons and spent Christmas night playing games and munching on Christmas goodies