I’m telling you, Halloween is one of those holidays that just gets better and better as the kids get older.
Year One? SUCKED.
Year Two? Cute, but not old enough to really have any clue what was going on. And I love my claim that Rebecca is “no butterfly or princess.” HA. Two- and Three-year-old Rebecca would beg to differ.
Year Three? Loved the costumes, psyched to go trick or treating.
Year Four? Remembered the year before, started asking about Halloween in AUGUST, and all-in-all totally psyched about the entire experience.
We got little pumpkins and painted them.
Poster paints with Q-tips for brushes, tarp on the kitchen table, plastic-wrapped plates to hold the paint.
We got big pumpkins and carved them.
As they lack both the dexterity/coordination and strength to actually carve the pumpkins, I blatantly stole my friend’s plan and had the kids tell me what they wanted their pumpkin to look like, including what shape to make the features.
A happy pumpkin, with circle eyes, a circle nose, and one rectangle tooth in the middle.
A grumpy pumpkin, with triangle eyes, a triangle nose, and one rectangle tooth on the side. Eyebrows added by mom, so it looked grumpy instead of just sad. And yes, Rebecca is trying to make a grumpy face for me. And yes, she’s wearing Sesame Street elbow pads. And no, I don’t know why.
We went to a preschool costume party.
There was a storyteller. It was loud. The kids excitedly pointed out every kid from their classes that they recognized. There were a lot of princesses, a lot of very small Jedis, and a lone Darth Vader.
They picked their own costumes (from Old Navy… No, I don’t make them myself.)
You had her at “pink.” And at “fairy.” And especially at “magic wand.” And thanks to my kids’ recent love of Super Why!, when she first put the costume on, she immediately proclaimed, “now I have the power to spell!” Thank you, PBS. That’s EXACTLY what fairies do.
This was the biggest hit with everyone he saw. Apparently the kids talked about their costumes at school, and nearly every kid in Daniel’s class went home and told their parents that Daniel was going to be a hamburger, because they thought it was the funniest damn thing they’d ever heard. It didn’t occur to me that it would be that much of a standout, maybe because I simply clicked and ordered it online from Old Navy. But in a sea of jedis and batmans, I guess the way to make a name for yourself is to be a puffy fleece hamburger.
They were pretty freaking pumped, even before consuming a single piece of candy. And Rebecca does still have a bit of the ninja in her…
They trick-or-treated.
But not for long, because it was freaking cold, and my neighborhood takes FOREVER to start trick-or-treating. Unlike some towns, ours does not have any kind of posted trick-or-treat times, so hardly anyone goes out until it’s totally dark. We were the very first ones out at about 5:30, and at 40 degrees in costumes without hats, they lasted about 20 minutes before asking to go home. We visited a few more neighbors and were home in under an hour.
Happy Halloween!
I know, right?! Halloween gets more and more awesome.
The houses in the new neighborhood are pretty close together. The boys went out for round 1, had some candy to perk them up, then went out for round 2. Round 2 I met someone with newborn triplets and already have a plan to bring her dinner.
75 and sunny yesterday here!!
LauraC recently posted..The best Halloween ever- of all time- ever
Totally agreed – best year ever! Pumpkin painting and trick-or-treating were enjoyed all around! Alaina led the way and Aaron and Brady were SO excited to follow. And behave, and move all in the same direction! We had a little light rain start to fall so she called it quits, but Aaron wanted “more doors” so he stayed out a few extra minutes with Daddy, hitting all the houses on the way home instead of just moving quickly with the rest of us. Looking forward to next year when Brett will be 3 and perhaps follow his siblings instead of wanting to roam on his own. We ended up pushing him in the stroller to make things more manageable. Your costumes were ADORABLE!
We headed out to trick or treat at 6:00. I thought we’d be the first, but we met up with another family with two-year-olds so obviously, we had similar bedtime deadlines!
My girls had bandanas and gloves as part of their costumes and thank goodness they did because it was cold. I’d love to say I thought ahead, but next year I definitely will!
Erin K recently posted..Happy Halloween!
Yes!!! This was our third. The first two years I just felt obligated to do *something* but this year was totally different. They really *got* it and it made all the difference. They loved wearing costumes and I still can’t believe how much they loved trick-or-treating. I’m already excited for next year
Kara recently posted..Daddy’s the Bomb- Mommy’s a Pill
Great pictures! This year was awesome! So much fun with all 3 kids. We went out at 5:30 too and some people didn’t even have their lights on til they saw us. And it was freaking cold!
Amy recently posted..Way Back When-esday Halloween
Ya, we don’t have a posted time here either…and no one even begins to start out until 6:30. Crazy, right?
BUT … they had fun
Love the running commentary. Super cute Burger and fairy!!
Nancy recently posted..Makes My Monday- Hanging with Logan
i LOVE that hamburger costume. i wish i could predict my kids’ sizes for next year!!
our neighborhood doesn’t have sidewalks. or street lights. and people STILL wait until it’s totally dark to go trick or treating. what’s the deal???
April recently posted..Struggling
We had the same princess costume!
Our trick or treating was late…first kids came at 7, last kids came through at almost 9.
I’m a Halloween scrooge. But now that I have kids, I don’t have the luxury to scrooge it up. So, I suck it up. And give in to the craziness. My kids were superman and superfrog. Superfrog is a frog. With a cape. Superman? Self-explanatory. Kids in costume are absurdly cute. Even to curmudgeony old me.
Kami recently posted..Hallow-Hell