Let me just say, if I thought Halloween was fun before having a child I was wrong-Halloween with a toddler who is just learning the concept of trick-or -treating, now that is really fun! Last year we dressed Evie up in her flower costume and she was adorable, of course. We took her around the neighborhood in her stroller,but she really had no concept of what was going on or what we were doing. This year we dressed her up as a ballerina. Her grandma sewed her the most beautiful little costume, and we completed the look with some "ballet slippers" from target (rubber bottom sock/shoes that were made to look like ballet slippers)
Friday she took part in her Halloween party at daycare. Her teachers loved her costume and were quite impressed with grandma's sewing skills and of course my ability to shop for cute shoes. The classes took turns trick-or-treating and passing out treats-and yes I was the dorky mom that brought raisins and goldfish crackers for the kids-but at least she won't know I am the dorky mom for another few years. And although the kids were not allowed to eat their treats until they went home-she still learned a very "bad" word that day-candy! I did have to "steal" her for a bit to show her off in her costume to my co-workers (one of the many advantages to having a daycare onsite) And even the sternest doctor that I work for admitted that she was pretty darn cute! (that was after he teased me about not working and instead playing with Evie all day) That evening Evie had a blast carrying her treat bag around the house and shaking it it to hear the candy rattle around. I made the mistake of giving her the fruit snacks out of her bag as an after dinner treat because then she realized all the treats in her bag were edible and of course she must eat them. She brought me a bag of skittles and pleaded "candy! eat! candy! eat!" and when I told her no she threw herself to the ground and cried her baby blues out until she got distracted by the TV-then all was well. I have to admit her tantrum was kind of funny but I did manage to keep my stern mom face on the entire time. Saturday we went to a fall party/bonfire at Aunt Lea and Uncle Dan's house and Evie had a blast playing with her cousins and friends and gathering pine cones from their huge yard. She even attempted "bobbing" for corn. (corn hung from strings on a clothesline, and you try to pull the corn off using only your mouth) when she saw the older kids try she thought it was hilarious and took a turn for herself. She liked the bonfire-a little too much and probably would have ran right into it if we had let her. She would only sit still on Papa's lap and they had fun singing along to the music that was playing. I think she also liked the marshmallows that Papa kept sneaking her. Sunday she woke up with watery eyes and a runny nose-she looked kind of pitiful so we took it easy and snuggled on the living room floor with blankets, pillows and a veggie tale movie. After a 3 hour nap and some nasal spray she was ready to go-trick-or-treating that is. Aunt Erica came over to take some pictures of the little ballerina and made the mistake of telling Evie to "say cheese" to which Evie responded by running into the kitchen, pounding on the fridge and demanding "cheese! cheese!" so we had to give her some cheese since aunt Erica "offered" it. After getting her picture taken by mom, grandma and Erica we were ready for the main event. We loaded her up in her wagon, and we were off, but we quickly discovered that little miss independent wanted to walk on her own, and that is what she did. She was not shy at all! She waked right up and declared "tee to teat" (trick or treat) and with some prompting from mommy she would pick her candy, and give a grin and a "tank too" (thank you) and a quick "bye bye" before heading off to the next house. And she would not just walk to the next house, but rather run down the sidewalk declaring "go go go" Her pure excitement over such a small thing as getting candy was so much fun to watch. She was so proud of herself for being a "big girl" and picking out her own candy. I think her mama was beaming with as much pride as she watched her baby turn into a "big girl." I think I laughed almost the entire time just watching her in amazement-I am still not sure who had more fun. As the evening wore on our little miss began to get tired and a wee bit cranky and had an all out meltdown when I tried to help her with her candy bag-she had a death grip on that thing! So, we headed home and off to bed she went. And the big kids (Erica, Dennis and myself) spent the rest of the evening parked in front of the bonfire sipping apple cider, eating chili and chatting with neighbors. It was a perfect end to the day!
