HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILL!

Will turned 2 on Sunday, November 9th!
We were SO excited to celebrate his special day.

Here's the man:

Here are his candles:

And here is the special guest appearance that Grandma & Grandpa made on his big day! They joined us, via Skype, to sing "Happy Birthday"!
(Download & use it for free! Seriously cool!!)


We love, love, love, love our William.

He is such a sweet, fun, tender-hearted kid.

He loves his sisters so much, and he's just the perfect middle child. Always looking up to the big one, always taking care of the little one, and always fun to have around.

He is very orderly, very tidy, and loves routine. Every morning, when I change his clothes, he insists on putting his pajamas in the laundry room, right where they belong. He loves putting things "back" and is always a good clean-up helper.

He's pretty easy to discipline (a stern look goes a long way and, if that doesn't work, he'll do anything for an m&m!) & eager to please.

His laugh is contagious, his smile is amazing, his blue eyes are unbelievably beautiful.

Will is completely obsessed with cars, and currently refuses to watch anything on the television that does not involve Lightning McQueen. He enjoys playing on the pogo swing, throwing balls, jumping on the trampoline, wrestling with Daddy, reading books with Mommy, and doing anything that Savannah is doing.

Will's diet is very "2". His very favorite things to eat are crackers, popcorn, Ovaltine, and fruitsnacks (lovely), but he also likes rice, beans, bananas, and toast.

He hates bathtime, but mostly because he has to share the tub with his sister, who REALLY enjoys her water hot. Since we've recently agreed to compromise on temperature, he's feeling much happier.

Will is definitely a "lover" & enjoys being snuggled. He really deserves some type of trophy for being such a super-champ-of-a-sleeper. He loves his rest, has never missed a day of napping, and blesses us all by being cooperative at bedtime.

Thank you, Will, for being in our family! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Going Private

I'm taking the blog private.
Please leave a comment if you would like to be invited!!

My Treadmill & My Shoes

The blog is usually all about the kids. But the two little ones (Lila & Will) are asleep right now and the two big ones (Savannah & Rod) are off on a weekend trip to Austin. So I'm all alone, all relaxed, and completely enjoying complete quiet.

Which leaves me with a minute to blog about something random.

I love to run. The first time I ever ran for exercise was in 1998, when I started dating Rod. We ran the BYU PricewaterhouseCoopers 5k together (by together, I mean we both ran the race, not that we actually ran side-by-side). I hated it. It was so hard for me to run the whole way, but I felt obligated to participate since (1) I wanted to impress my new boyfriend & (2) I felt like hot stuff since there were so few girls in the accounting program, and even fewer who were willing to stop thinking about debits & credits long enough to get some exercise (myself included), that I figured I had a pretty good shot at winning the women's division. So, even though I came away with a trophy, it was a pretty pathetic victory.

10 years later, I'm dedicated to my daily run. Every morning, almost without fail, I hop on my treadmill & bust out my 3 miles. I love it. I finish feeling refreshed, oxygenated, and ready to go for the day. It's my sanity, really. I'm not sure if I would be able to function mentally anymore without it (seriously).

Last week, when Savannah & I were talking about Halloween costumes, I asked her what I should be. She thought for a second and said, "Well, you could be a treadmill!" That kind of freaked me out, but it also made me laugh. (I'm not so sure how I would put that costume together!) Anyway, her statement pretty much summed up the importance of the treadmill in my life.

So, out of curiosity, today I checked out my "since inception" time & mileage on the treadmill. Here it is:


That's 311 Hours (which comes out to 13 solid days) & 2,157 Miles.

www.convertunits.com calculated the 2,157 miles to be the distance between Ronald, Washington & Bishop, Georgia. So, over the last 2 1/2 years (Rod bought me the treadmill when I was pregnant with Will) I've run in place, in my bedroom, long enough to complete a coast-to-coast trip (rather Forest Gump-ish!)

Isn't it just crazy to think about all of the little things we do in life, every day, and of how all those minutes add up?

On another related note, I bought these shoes for $40 at DSW when the treadmill was new:


They're the only shoes I wear to run. I love them. Over time, I have attempted to replace them with 4 other pair of much more expensive, much more cool shoes, but NOTHING is the same as this pair.

I'm embarrassed now to wear them in public. I've worn holes through the sides, they're permanently gray, and they make me look completely poor, but I love them. I've e-mailed Saucony, hoping they could somehow dig up another pair for me. I've scoured every random running shoe store on the internet, hoping to find a replacement. No such luck.

I'm afraid they really are almost really dead, and I'm just not sure what I'm going to do about it.

But now, since the house is still quiet, I'm going to bed. I have to run in the morning.

A Real CowGirl

When asked what she would like to be when she grows up, Savannah has always said she wants to be a mom...until today.

After a successful ride on the pony at the zoo, Savannah said to me, "Mom, when I grow up, I want to be a REAL COWGIRL."

I guess she's a Texan!

And here's Lila at the zoo. I almost always have her snuggled into my bjorn or my sling, so this is my constant view of her. She's such a content little girl.

What do you with your spare time?

Savannah is just a funny kid. Always has been, always will be.

This morning, I went into her bedroom to find her baby dolls hanging out on top of her ceiling fan. When I asked her about it, she told me she had to work pretty hard to get them to all stay put--several trips up & down the bunkbed, coupled with very gentle fan rotation.

As a mom, I just think it's HIGHLY entertaining to see what the kids do with their spare time.

Pajama Day, Library Time & A Bath Victory

For Election Day, Savannah's class voted to wear pajamas to school.
So here she is, ready to go:

This afternoon, we spent a good chunk of time at the library. The kids loved it.

And Will had a HUGE bath break-through.
The kid seriously HATES the bath. What in the world? What kid hates tub time?? He finally enjoyed it and he even laid himself back to rinse out the shampoo.
Hooray!!

Reverence Please!

Since reverence during church is a continual struggle for the Hinze family, Rod decided to focus on the issue last night during Family Home Evening. He told the kids he would take pictures of them doing activities that are appropriate during our weekly Sunday meeting. Mommy's in charge of making a "quiet book" for church, using the pictures we took.

Here's what they came up with...

#1 - Folding Arms & listening to the speakers

#2 - Reading Books

#3 - Coloring

#4 - Playing quietly with toys

#5 - Eating quiet snacks

#6 - Singing the hymns

Even if it doesn't work, at least we tried...
and it sure left us with a cute photo shoot!

She's All Smiles!

At 2 months old, Lila is a big smiler! I've spent a large chunk of my day making silly faces, playing peek-a-boo, and just enjoying my precious little Lila.

I snapped a few pictures while I was holding her on the sofa. She looks a little crazy but, trust me, she's really really cute :)




And here she is again, helping me do the laundry.
She was so happy to hang out in the basket of warm clothes while I pulled out & folded everything surrounding her.

Fun at Home

We had a fun afternoon today, squeezing oranges & carving pumpkins.

The kids are seriously obsessed with drinking orange juice, so making their own was a complete treat! (And good preparation for our upcoming Thanksgiving trip to Arizona--Savannah was SO impressed to hear that Grandma Hinze has a whole yard full of orange trees!)



Savannah is very intense about her artistry & did a great job drawing the face on our pumpkin. I love this picture of Will, observing his big sis.

Bat Family (and Bjorn Borg)

Halloween was a huge success!

Our little trio dressed up as Bat Family, complete with Batman, Batgirl, and Batbaby. (Daddy, of course, couldn't resist pulling out his Bjorn Borg get-up!)

Our neighborhood always has a huge party where we eat dinner together (Texas-famous Frito Pie!) and then head out to trick-or-treat as soon as it gets dark.

Little Lila

Lila looked so adorable the other day, all bundled up in her little sweat suit (a hand-me-down from Savannah, given to us by the Stapleys--we still love it!) It's tough for me to capture on camera how completely adorably sweet & beautiful she is. Lila is such a treasure. She is so content & already growing up WAY too fast.

Is This Really My Family??

Last Saturday we decided to go, as a family, to the Arboretum. It's absolutely beautiful at this time of year & we were all excited to spend a crisp autumn day outside together.

On our way to our lovely family outing, we stopped for lunch...at Taco Bell.
I'm not a fan. So, I didn't eat, but I sat & watched (& laughed) as my family completely embraced the entire experience that is Taco Bell.

This picture says it all...


Rod is teaching his daughter the "true art" of taco eating. Specifically, to tip her head sideways as to get the biggest bite possible with the least amount of shell breakage.

Will is standing with his shirt off, devouring his pintos & cheese. Every time he takes a bite, a little pile of beans lands on that cute round belly.

Definitely not our proudest moment but, I have to admit, everyone was happy!

The Lady Bugs

Savannah is wrapping up another fall season of soccer.

She officially carried on the Hinze family tradition (started, I believe, by Uncle Matt) by wearing #57 (as in Heinz 57.)

Good work Savannah--you sure look great in that uniform!

GO COUGARS!

Every other year, the BYU football team comes to Fort Worth to battle it out against TCU (Texas Christian University).

We were so excited to go this year, especially since we've added 2 new members to the Hinze family since the 2006 BYU/TCU game. (I was pregnant with Will the last time we went.)

The traffic was terrible, parking was crazy, the kids were wild, our team lost...but it was all part of the experience & we were so happy to go & support our beloved BYU & reconnect with a lot of old friends.

Future Zoobies?


Savannah loved posing with "The Big Kitty".


More fun with Cosmo


Lila enjoyed some game-time refreshment...


Then burped like a real football-watching pro


Go Cougars!

Siblings helping Siblings

Since our family's recent expansion, it's been so much fun for me to see the children interacting with one another.

Will is a fantastic helper with Lila. If she's crying, he runs straight to her and tries to solve the problem himself. If he can't sooth her with a pacifier, he makes sure that I take care of her RIGHT away. He loves to hold her, feed her, hug her, and love her.

While Will has been busy taking care of Lila, Savannah has been busy taking care of Will. Savannah loves to give him little assignments (especially throwing away her trash) & Will loves to please his big sister.

Last night, Will came in to my bedroom with no diaper on. When I asked him where it was, Savannah informed me that "Will needed to go poopy, so I took off his diaper & put him on the little potty." GENIUS! Will was proud, Savannah was proud, and I was thrilled. I got so excited that I told Savannah that if she potty trains Will, I'll give her ANYTHING she wants. She thought hard for about 5 seconds, and then announced that, more than anything, she wants...CANDY CORN.

It's a tall order, but I think I can manage to scrape up some candy corn in exchange for potty training assistance. Thanks Savannah!!!

Thomas Pajamas

About 3 months ago, my parents sent Will a package in the mail. It contained a very cool pair of Thomas pajamas. I'm not one for letting my kids run around with characters on their clothes, but I'm happy for them to wear any kind of pajamas they like...and Will LOVES wearing his Thomas to bed.

So, you can only imagine Will's excitement when Papa showed up in Texas with his very own grown-up Thomas pajamas! What a super-cool Grandpa!!

Finally a Texan?

I've lived in Dallas for 7 1/2 years now. The Texas State Fair comes to Dallas every fall, and it's a VERY big deal. The kids get holidays from school specifically to attend the fair, and everyone goes crazy over the food, the fun, and the general fantastic-ness of the whole event. So, I go to the fair every year, but always with a sense of obligation--just because it's a tradition & just to feel like I can talk about corny dogs & Big Tex with everybody else. I'm just really not a fair person.

But something in me changed this year.

Rod & I took the kids to the fair on Thursday evening. The weather was crisp & cool, we were all in great moods (no kid meltdowns!), and somehow it just felt different this year. I REALLY liked it. I guess I've finally lived here long enough to feel like a real Texan...and it feels great!

Posing in front of Big Tex

Will couldn't get enough of his fried turkey leg!

Savannah's proudest moment! She has begged me for cotton candy at least a half dozen times, and I have never let her have it. She was THRILLED to have her first taste of the pink stuff.

My favorite event (of course) is the pig races. They're so cute!

Savannah watched the parade from Daddy's shoulders

Rod, Savannah & Will all braved the slide...the kids are still begging to go back for more! (And I think I just might take them again!)