Recipe for a Happy Hinze Halloween...

- 1 Princess Riding a Unicorn
- 1 Knight Riding a Dragon
- 1 Baby Unicorn
- 1 Church Party
- 1 Block Party
- 1 Extra Hour of Sleep via Daylight Savings Time (Hooray!!!)

Randoms from the day

These kids are just too funny.

Early in the morning, they captured "Lizzy the Lizard" and loved taking care of her throughout the day...enough so that I offered to buy Savannah a real pet fish. Needless to say, she wasn't impressed with my offer...she's holding out for the dog. (dang.)

When Savannah got hold of my camera, she took this pretty awesome photo of Lizzy. Good thing we have the photo as a memory, because last time I asked the kids about Lizzy, they had no idea where she had gone. (Obviously, we're not ready for that real pet yet...)

I couldn't resist snapping this one of Savannah dressing up Will in the tutu. Of course, they were both loving it, but I'm truly curious to see how much longer Will is going to put up with this type of humiliation...

The highlight of our day was the Westminster Kindergarten Halloween Parade. Savannah sang loud & proud, front & center. (She's the Princess Riding the Unicorn on stage...More Halloween costume pictures to come later tonight!)

We stopped for gas on our way to another Halloween party, and I offered to let the kids do the job. Of course, between opening the tank, swiping the card, selecting the fuel, and pulling the trigger, they got a big kick out of the whole process.

And here's a crazy one of Savannah with her freshly carved jack-o-lantern. We can't wait for Halloween night!

Fairies in the Forest

A sneak peak of our recent photo shoot...

Clothing Request

After a solid 5 years of living, Savannah has proven herself to be completely UN-interested in fashion.

She truly doesn't care what it is she wears...so long as she's comfy-comfy-comfy. Savannah's just a busy girl & simply doesn't appreciate anything getting between her & her fun.

Recently at gymnastics, Savannah came racing out to the viewing area, saying, "Mom! Come quick! You've GOT to see this!!!" To my surprise, I was led to the front of the gym, to a sparkly rainbow leotard on display. After a few "pretty pretty pleases" I was happy to purchase Savannah's first-ever clothing request.

Cute stuff, Savannah!

Busy Busy Busy Busy

I just don't know that there's a better word to describe Lila.

Busy Busy Busy Busy...all...day...long.

Lovin' the Dentist!

Since when did kids start lovin' the dentist?!?

Since the dentist's waiting rooms started looking like this...

Since the adorable staff started giving pint-sized patients 5 different options of kid-flavored tooth polish, sky's-the-limit choices of character toothbrushes, and gobs of attention...

Since sweet hygienists started introducing crazy dental suckers & squirters as "Mr. Thirsty" and "Mr. Tickle", stopped even THINKING about asking 2-year-olds to lie back in a chair, and started performing entire cleanings in a completely melt-down-free, up-right posture...

Since dentists started offering the 5-year-olds super-cool, super-sparkly pairs of sunglasses to block the bright light that just might become bothersome while lying down in the chair...

And since they all figured out you really can convince kids (and moms!) that oral hygiene is a down-right good time!

Seriously, we love the pediatric dentist.

My kids have been begging all week long to go back for more!

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

SUCH a cute movie.

We don't brave the theatre often these days, but we figured some 3-D action would make it worthwhile!

So Happy Together

These 2 continue to amaze me...


Savannah & Dre are just a good combo!

Done!

About a month ago, Will decided to take up potty-training.

Something just clicked for him, and it's been a completely fantastic addition to our lives.

Will is QUITE the little fashionista...MUCH more interested in clothing selections than either of his sisters & a VERY fun shopping partner.

So, I wasn't surprised when he developed both excitement & strong opinions about his choice of underwear.

A conversation from the other morning...

Will (hopeful): Mom? Did you wash my Buzz underwear?
Mom (apologetic): No, Will, they're still dirty.
Will (disappointed): Ooooh, but I wanted to wear my Buzz underwear!
Mom (encouraging): Just choose something else...maybe Lightning McQueen?
Will (completely irritated): But Mom, Lighting is not even cool!

The conversation went on for a while, with Will insistent that he needed cooler underwear, but we compromised on basic blue...

And I decided to not let myself feel too guilty when I picked up a new 7-pack of underwear for Will the other day & secretly traded out 2 of the Lightning McQueen pairs for 2 of the Buzz pairs from another pack.

Surely another 2-year-old is going to be super excited about getting extra Lightning McQueen underwear in his pack?

Will, showing off his stack of underwear.

And here's what he deems as "cool" (although somehow I'm certain that not ONE THING about this entire blog post will be deemed as cool when he sees it in a few years!)

My little boy crush...

I am so in love with this kid!

Pushing It...

Savannah has a frequent way of taking things a little too far.

Lately she's been climbing her way up to the top of the pogo swing.

I have to admit, I'm pretty impressed...but is it really necessary Savannah?