A Frozen Halloween to remember...

Like many other little girls, our preschoolers wanted to dress up like the sisters from the movie Frozen.  People on Facebook joked about it, but Halloween night was a bitterly cold evening and many say say that "Elsa froze Halloween"!  We took a few Frozen pictures, but when it came to trick or treating, the girls were dressed in snowsuits and mittens.  Abby only lasted about 15 houses.  As you can see from the photo below, she thought it would be best to stay inside the warm house and just eat our bowl of candy.

The Frozen family:  Elsa (Sophie - Age 5), Anna (Abby - Age 3), Watson (Sven - Age 5)  Daddy was Kristoff and Mommy (not pictured) was Olaf

Sophie chose to be a Pirate at the school party

Girl power!

Spooky Dance Performance

Hopefully, we will see the video on here soon, but here are a few sneak peaks of Sophie as Annie dancing to "Purple People Eater" and Abby as a pirate dancing to "Thriller".  

School Pictures 2014

Abigail Grace - Age 3 - Preschool

Sophia Ann - Age 5 - PreK

Classic spaghetti

Sophie and the rest of us really enjoyed our day in the city as well as her lunch at Eataly.

Cress Creek Halloween Party

Lots of fun was had by the Binkowski family at the Cress Creek Halloween Party.  Sophie dressed up as a princess ballerina and Abby went as Sofia the First.  Grandma had a lot of fun on the dance floor with all of the girls, but the big dancer of the evening was certainly Ava with her devil outfit and crazy fun dance moves!

Fall Photo Shoot in the city

It was a gorgeous Indian summer day as we met up with our wedding photographers for a fun photo shoot of our family in Millennium Park. Here are a few of our favorite pictures from the day.

Coach Daddy

I love seeing this picture of Rodger with his team! Thanks for a great season, Coach Daddy!

Fall Fun at the Glass Pumpkin Festival

Sophie wanted all of these... it was hard to explain to her that only Mommy was getting a glass pumpkin.

Rodger and I rarely take pictures with just the two of us anymore!

Kids + Hill = Old Fashioned Fun

Fall cuties!

Frozen scarecrows were our favorites

Grandma and Papa

Pre-K Soccer 2014

Rodger didn't know what he was getting into when I told him that I signed him up to be the head coach of the Kendall Park Pre-K Soccer team.  Yet, after just one short season, he has had so much fun seeing these sweet little girls turn into soccer players.  The first game was a tough loss (though we blame it on the wind and a slanted field).. but from that day forward the team proved to be a powerhouse-- well, as far as 4 year old soccer goes!!!  Every single girl had fun and learned about soccer.  We are really proud of Sophie for her hard work on the field.  She is a strong player who doesn't shy away at the ball.  She scored in many games and was always a good sport by telling the opposing team "good job today".  We are so happy for this positive team experience and look forward to many more to come.

Sophie was not afraid to get in there and bully her way through the crowd.

Kendall Park Soccer 2014 Team Photo

Just posing for Mom...

Raina, Sophie, Olivia, Elle, and Grace

Team Mascot

It's not even Halloween yet...

I swear it was not my idea.... Sophie insisted on a trip to Toys R Us so that she could make her list for Santa. (in Mid-October)  I know that there are some traits that are learned and some that you are just born with.  Did Sophie inherit the "holiday Val" gene??  Let it be known that there actually were ornaments and wrapping paper on sale and it wasn't even Columbus Day at Toys R Us. 

I am so lucky to have little girls who love the holidays.. and so lucky to also have her status on the "naughty list" hanging over her head for the next two months!

The  experience of watching your child write a letter to Santa is definitely one of the best parts of parenthood.  I hope to remember this day forever!

Sophie and Abby's List to Santa 2014

SC = Santa Claus

P.S. Santa, don't forget I'll be at Grandma's House

Double trouble

Kayla and Sophie in their sassy poses

Sophie just loves playing her friend and neighbor Kayla.  They decided to dress alike and do a little show for us one day.  I think I should be worried what these two are going to do when they are teenagers!

Birthday twins

No words...

Kuipers Pumpkin Farm 2014

Pumpkins, apples, cider, and doughnuts are just a few of our fall favorites.  Another favorite is a trip to Kuipers!  This year we invited a whole bunch of neighborhood friends to join us on a perfect fall day.  Here are a few of our favorite pictures.

Favorite Picture of the Season

Abby mastered the slide all by herself this year!

Happy girl

Love

Monster Tires - Girl Style!

My precious 5 year old

Pilgrims Addition Group Photo (minus a few families)