Hiccups and a Lobster

Latest news from the Six Hendricksons:

Joy loves to cuddle Todd (who wouldn't?).

Papa came to visit the day he arrived home from Colorado.  Apparently he was still pretty wiped out from his trip, or maybe he just thought Todd made napping look fun.  Either way, we're touched that he came even though he was tired.

It's lobster week at Daniel's preschool, and a few days ago he came home wearing this awesome hat.  I love it.

Last but not least, Todd got hiccups tonight, which the big sibs thought was absolutely hilarious.

Hello, Baby!

We'd like to introduce you to somebody.

His name is Todd . . .

. . . and he weighed 9 pounds and (almost) 3 ounces when he was born this morning.

He's already got lots of adoring fans: Daddy, . . .

. . . Mama, his sibs, . . . 

. . . (though Anna was more interested in the stuff in my hospital room than in the little, red-faced kid in the receiving blanket), . . .

. . . one grandma, . . .

. . . and another grandma.

Papa would have visited, too, but he was in Colorado bagging a big whitetail this morning (nice shot, Dad).

Welcome to the family, Todd!

Pill Bug on Parade

Joy had planned to be Darth Maul for her school's Halloween parade (and I had braced myself to get up an hour early and paint her face), but a few days ago I realized that her school doesn't allow weapons (fake or otherwise) in the parade.  Joy didn't want to be a Sith sans light saber, so we brainstormed alternative costume ideas and Joy decided to be . . .

. . . a pill bug (rollie pollie), cuz she's kind of obsessed with them lately.  She originally asked me to paint her face black and attach a bunch of pipe cleaner legs to her shirt, but as the morning wore on she decided that she didn't want to deal with face paint, and the legs were a hassle (she pulled them off in the car on the way to school).

In the end, she just wore black clothes and pipe cleaner antennae headband, but she was the happiest pill bug in the parade.

Here she is post-parade, with her kitty cat teacher and one of the Dallas Cowboys.  Incidentally, someone asked me if Captain America's shield should be allowed at school, since he technically uses it as a weapon.  Some questions in life may never be answered.

Speaking of pill bugs, Joy brought one home today so she could start keeping it as a pet.  We did a little research about proper care and feeding of pill bugs, and it looks like this little guy will help us polish off our vegetable scraps in the coming months.

This evening Phillip took Anna on a date to Target (because toddling around a store is as much fun as going to Disneyland when you're two years old), and I took the Pill Bug and the Prince trick-or-treating.  Good times were had by all.

Halloween at Preschool

Anna and I joined Daniel for a little Halloween celebration at preschool today.

The kids arrived in their costumes, did a little art project, . . .

. . . then paraded onto a stage . . .

. . . and performed a musical number (which Prince Daniel didn't sing a word of) . . .

. . . for their adoring fans in the audience.

Then they all bowed and curtsied.  Are they cute, or what?

OK, 'nuff of that.  What's next?

Spooky Family Dinner, and a Nap

We headed out to my parents' home for dinner tonight.

In addition to the usual guests, it was fun to see Aunt Lisa (dressed in festive October orange), who is in town for a few days.

Mom made her traditional Skull-Island-shaped meatloaf  (which I have once again failed to photograph) and Loch Ness Monster Jello salad, and I brought some gingerbread skeletons for dessert (thanks to Pinterest for the idea, and Nauvoo missionaries for the gingerbread recipe).

Phillip crashed on the couch before we even got to dessert.  He's been working on a big presentation for days, and was pretty wiped out.  Good luck tomorrow, Sweetheart!

Trunk or Treat 2013

Our ward held its annual Trunk-or-Treat this evening.

I dressed Anna as an angel, Daniel wanted to be a prince (though the crown was so big that everyone asked if he was a king, and he got a little tired of correcting them), and Joy decided to be Darth Maul from Star Wars Episode I.  The face paint took me nearly an hour, but hey, it's a small price to pay for granting a child's wish.

Before we left home, Joy lamented that there were no Jedi around to fight with.  Phillip quietly got his light saber out of storage and brought it to the activity, then when we arrived at the carnival he whipped his saber out and challenged Darth Maul to a duel.  To everyone's surprise, she dropped her double saber and ran away crying.  Apparently Darth Maul doesn't like unexpected confrontations.  She recovered quickly, though, and we had a great time.

The carnival had plenty of fun games to play, including this ring toss hosted by our bishop.  Prince Daniel missed with all three rings . . .

. . . so Jedi Master Daddy offered to show him how it was done.  He missed all three times, too.  Apparently the Force was not strong with him tonight.

Darth Maul and I took the "Donut on a String Challenge" (yes, folks, I'll do just about anything for a free donut) . . .

. . . then we set to work Trunk-or-Treating.  Our little angel had no concept of what that meant before tonight, but she caught on quickly.

Once we got home, the Trunk-or-Treaters spread out their loot to trade for what they wanted most.  I remember doing that with my brothers when I was a kid.  Ah, the memories.

Big New Additions

About a week ago, I connected our camera to the computer to import photos for the first half of October . . . and there weren't any.  I think that's mainly because our red Chrysler bit the dust at the end of September, and the quest for a replacement vehicle kind of consumed our lives for the next few weeks.  Long story short . . .

 

. . . we've joined the minivan club.  Our whole family loves the extra space, but I'm still getting used to how huge it is.

Speaking of big new additions, this box arrived on our doorstep a few days ago.  The kids were content to use it as a seat or a jungle gym, . . .

. . . but its actual identity was "bunk bed component container."  Joy gets the top bunk, Daniel gets the bottom, and Anna gets the big crib (which Daniel has occupied until this week - don't tell the kids at preschool).  Anna's former bed (our portacrib) will move to our bedroom just in time for Baby Boy to start using it in the coming weeks.