Halloween 2011

Well, I thought I'd go ahead and post about Halloween before Thanksgiving got here.  Plus, it's 4:37am and I have nothing better to do.  Ah, pregnancy.  (And if any of you comments "Well, it's good practice for when the baby comes!" I'm going to block you from this blog.  That's one of the dumbest things I've ever been told while pregnant.  WHO needs practice not sleeping?  I'll gladly take the rest now, thank you!)


So anyway, back to Halloween.  On Saturday night, we went up to a fall festival at a nearby church.  I wasn't expecting much, but thought I'd seize another opportunity for AJ to wear her costume.  Plus, it gave us something free and fun to do.  There were a few games she could actually play, but it was a bit overwhelming between the crowds and the sweet older people making such a fuss and hugging all over her.  She thew some bean bags, did some leaf rubbing, and got a heart drawn on her hand.  We went outside to the parking lot where they had several inflatables set up, but she had no interest in them.  We all enjoyed a quick hay ride around the campus before climbing in our cars to thaw out and go home for dinner.


On Sunday night, I drew a little jack-o-lantern face on the pumpkin we'd picked out at the patch.  Audrey helped David clean it out and carve it.  She was way more into it this year than last.  She dove right in, pulling out the stringy goop and seeds, loving that part as much as I used to (still do, but I let her have it.  One more of the 18 million things you give up for your kids that no one tells you about.)


On Halloween morning, we went over to a friend's house for a little pumpkin painting, "spider" snack eating, and playing.  After we ate lunch with them, we came home for Audrey's nap.  I had been reminding her all day that when Daddy got home, we'd get to go trick-or-treating.  She'd been hearing us mention it here and there for weeks and was excited.  When she woke up, she asked if it was time.  I explained we had to wait a little longer and we busied ourselves with snack, dinner prep, and playing until it was finally time to get ready.  She put on her pink crayon costume and we went outside to take some pictures and wait for David.  As soon as she saw him coming, she waved and yelled, "Hey Daddy!  HEY!"  Before he could get out of the car, she ran to him and said, "It's time to go trick-or-treating!"  After they indulged me with a few (or 10) pictures, we set out our candy bowl and started up the huge hill outside of our cul-de-sac.


She began walking boldly up to the first house with their lights on and then slowed down as she got closer to the door.  We assured her, she found her courage for the sake of candy, and rang the doorbell.  When the lady answered, AJ whispered, "trick-or-treat" like a pro, chose one of the full size candy bars (though Hershey's over Kit-Kat...we gotta work on that) and even remembered to say thank you as we'd been coaching her to do.


After that first house, she was game.  We hit about five or six others as we made our way back down the hill towards home.  It was still light out, but we decided to go eat dinner and let her be on the giving end of handing out candy.  She chose a Tootsie Roll Pop (again, gotta work on the kid) for her treat and set it by her dinner plate, lest she lose sight of it while eating.  She kept rearranging it and sticking it in her mouth with the wrapper on.  Yes, it was cruel to make her wait, but hilarious and worth it.  We considered it character building.  The second she finished her last bite, she tore into it.  She worked on that thing forever before finally calling it quits prior to reaching the center.  Still, I think she got her money's worth out of it.


The rest of the evening was spent racing to and from the front door, handing out candy to trick-or-treaters who came by.  She loved seeing all the costumes and saying hello to everyone.  We turned out our light around 8:15 so we could start settling her down for bed.  Even after she was in bed, she still took a little longer than usual to fall asleep for all the excitement.


It was a great Halloween and, as is so often the case these days, we loved seeing and experiencing it through her eyes.  I've decided that's the consolation prize for having to watch your children grow up so fast - at least the older they get, the more they get into things and the more you enjoy sharing those new experiences with them and creating memories and traditions.  That probably works up until the bratty teenager years and then it's no fun for anyone.  But, until then, we'll savor these sweet times!


Hope you and your family had as much fun as we did!  Check out our pictures in the Picasa gallery.  Since the blog is now private, I've put the link back on the side bar under "Links" so you can access it directly from here.