This Halloween was one of the first that I didn’t have a costume. I’m bummed about that. I had great plans too…but on Halloween night I just didn’t have the gusto to get dressed up and climb the neighborhood hills with Will. So I chose to strap on my sneakers instead and play the role of ‘attempting-to-go-into-labor-mom’ (which I’ve heard bares close resemblence to Trailer Park Barbie). End of an era.
So since we have been avoiding all relatives (we are afraid to call folks because we don’t want to send them into a baby-expecting-frenzy), we thought this was probably the best way to give them the most recent holiday lowdown.
I also didn’t hand make a single costume item. I bought Will’s digs this year at Old Navy for $12. I was thrilled to not be strapped to my sewing machine for the month of October – it was easy and cuter than anything I could have made. Plus it was warm and just a smidge loose on him (which made it easy to layer a thick pair of pants and a sweatshirt underneath) so he stayed comfy even though we had a chilly night.
I asked my friend Jessica if she wanted to come over for a Halloween playdate on the 30th – we dressed up the boys and took a few photos.
This is Will’s buddy Kai. He’s the polar opposite of Will…which makes for very amusing playdates. Will adores him. I think the jury is still out on whether Kai actually likes Will.
He was an aviator. To me he looks like Tom in Top Gun. He’s got a need for speed.
During our playdate, we also roasted some pumpkin seeds (success for the first time! check me out and my bad seed-roasting self!) and decorated Halloween cookies. We had a grand time with bats, pumpkins and the Holy Ghost 🙂 not to mention, there was an M&M & frosting eating frenzy by three certain boys.
Later that evening, Jer and I took Will out to Walmart to pick out a carving pumpkin. Yes, we like the last minute stuff…makes it exciting….and yes, I got reprimanded by Jer for allowing Will on top of the pumpkins. I’m a rebel like that.
On Halloween Day, we spent the day out and about.
I dressed Will in his costume for the entire day. I figured I might as well get my money’s worth. I think the wild cat scared off the other kids at the train table at Barnes&Noble 🙂
Once Jer got home, we carved our pumpkin….I cut out the “W” and the little “2” and Will decided that he better punk that kin up with a spiky tooth-pick hair do. Jeremy took on the role of advisor to the candy bowl 🙂
And he took the pics 🙂 Since we talked about it SOOOO much, Will was totally ready to get his ‘treat’ on 🙂
We hit up 7 houses and Will was fearless in his doorbell ringing. He loves pushing buttons…in more ways than one….so this was his slice of awesome. He doesn’t however speak very loudly…especially to adults he doesn’t know….so we ended up growling at most folks and they were satisfied with that and his very timid “tank you!”….
Just like last year, our nearest neighbors created some very special treat bags just for him. Will literally had more weight in candy bags on the stroller than he weighs. I’m not kidding. And now that weight is on my thighs, thankyouverymuchneighbors. Also not kidding. I can’t tell you how much I love having amazing neighbors. Like a lot.
We finally got home and rang our own doorbell…and this hot man who looked like Mr. Wonderful answered with a big bowl of treats. Will was so excited to tell him how he got to push buttons and got lots of candy. Sorry about the ill-lit iphone pic…
Yeah. Eye of the tiger has whole new meaning now. Now it means about-to-be-high-on-sugar-and-up-past-my-bedtime. I fully plan on having the eye of the tiger for the next few days. make that months. ok ok….no need to correct the time. Let’s just say for a while 🙂
So what kinda stuff do you do on Halloween to make it special? Or maybe you are fall festival people? Or perhaps you don’t really do the whole trick-or-treating thing since it’s not feasible? Do you snuggle up with a good movie? Do you dress up as an adult? I must admit, one time I got my entire family – including both grandmas – to put on costumes and all the kids who came to the door got to judge who looked the best…it was a grand time. I would love to start a new tradition with Will and his little bro next year….what do you do?
I love living in Australia…except when I see such cute Halloween pics. I now also choose to associate eye of the tiger with sugar
For the last couple of years it has been a tradition for several moms from the neighborhood (who also became my best friends) and their kids to come to my house for a play date and being silly – we would all be in our costumes, some more and some less elaborate. It was always loads of fun and we would startle the trick-or-treaters who expected “normal” people to open the doors 🙂 Also, in my country (Croatia) we don’t celebrate Haloween, but our season for putting on costumes is during the month of February while Carnival days (a couple of weeks long) last. During that time we also eat loads of “krafne” (type of doughnuts) and drink mulled wine 🙂
Yum…your doughnut tradition sounds amazing 🙂
xo – kb
ummm look at all of those reese’s… yum! haha! It looks like Will had a fantastic time. That picture of him with the frosting on his face is just darling. Thinking of you in these next couple of days…!
We carved our pumpkin on Halloween day this year, and I think I may make it a tradition. Who wants a soggy pumpkin sitting around for days? Right? We procrastinated and I love it. Good deals on the pumpkin too! Will looks adorable in his costume:)
We are definitely fall festival people. We love hitting up the Common Ground and Fryeburg Fair every year (up here in Maine). While we do that, we also do Halloween around here but it’s a little different since we live in the countryside and it’s not really safe for kids to walk down our road (no sidewalks, and while cars aren’t often they go fast and it’s hilly). So, we meet at the farm and attached the tractor ot the hay trailor, which is stuffed with bails to sit on and decorated for halloween. Then all the kids meet up there with their parents and we all ride around the neighborhood on the trailor. My husband took over driving the tractor from the farmer a couple years ago, and it’s his favorite thing. This year he told me he can’t wait until our (not yet conceived or even trying to) kids grow up enough they bring their friends and then he gets to be “that” cool Dad. It’s kind of adorable.
Hello!
Katie B.,
I vote next year you make Will and the little guy eggs and bacon for Halloween! Combining your loves of bacon and costumania! Happy Monday. 🙂
Will’s costume is the cutest! Those doorbell pictures, man. They just get me! I’m not going to say that the ONLY reason I want to have kids is for Halloween but… I’d be lyin if I said it wasn’t one of the things I am most excited about!
Love the W pumpkin too!
Awwww that is sooo precious!
haha! I actually thought about me being bacon this year and Will being a giant egg (he actually is obsessed with eggs – it was one of his first words even!) but I couldn’t find one small enough for him. Definitely needs to be this in the future though 🙂
xo – kb
I live by myself, and since it was in the middle of the week I didn’t want to go out. I ate dinner, then turned off all the lights, lit a bunch of candles, and watched the remake of Psycho on Netflix. It was fun and simple.
That is one cute tiger! My two and half year old son, Canon, was a pirate this year. He had an absolute blast and still loves dressing up in that costume!
Will is just adorable. These are great photos. My favourite is the one of you & Will where he’s grinning up at you. Nothing cuter than a tiny tiger.
Love these pictures! Is the “2” on Will’s pumpkin a hint to the first initial of Baby Bower, or is it because this is Will’s 2nd Halloween (or his age)? 😉 So excited for the name unveiling!
Is there a betting pool for what you’re naming that baby? I’ve got a hunch. 😉
I live in Iowa and near us is a tourist place called Living History Farms. For the past 20 years you have been able to trick or treat in the 1890’s town , hear story tellers in the big barn tell ghost stories, ride on a wagon pulled by a team of horses, roast marshmallows, and walk a path with carved pumpkins and jokes. My favorite joke this year was “Why don’t zombies eat clowns?” -“Because they taste funny!”
Our usual Halloween tradition includes dressing the whole family, even my husband, in theme costumes (we’ve been the Curious George bunch and the movie UP) but we chose to get store-bought costumes for our 2 boys (ages 4 and 1) this year since I was due with our 3rd boy on Oct 27th. Of course Oct 27th came and went with no baby arriving (I’m sure you can relate to the feeling!) so I was able to go trick or treating in our neighborhood, 5 days overdue mind you. I’m glad my mom was able to join and help with the boys because that’s when REAL contractions finally started! 🙂 We finished going around the neighborhood, let the boys have a few pieces of candy, put them to bed, and my husband and I headed to the hospital while grandma stayed at the house. Our little guy, William, was born 5 hours later on Nov 1st. It turned out to be a great Halloween. 🙂
My two year old was a fearless tiger this year too! His six month old sister was a lion. I felt lame for not making costumes this year (both cousin hand me downs), so on Halloween day, I ran around the house trying to put together safari guide costumes for my husband and me! They turned out okay.
I love, love, love the “holiday season” as I call it. It begins with Halloween and ends with Easter! Then birthday season begins because the whole family and everyone we know (except just one of us) was born in the summer months.
So yes, there is decorating of the house, pumpkin carving playdates, about a week’s worth of trick-or-treating. This year I made my daughter a blueberry costume. It was way too much work, but she did look very cute. My 10 month old son was a tiger – just a target costume. When he’s old enough to make requests, I’ll start sewing for him too.
My daughter has a very severe peanut allergy (epi pen severe) so after all the hoopla, she brings her candy loot to her dentist’s office, where he buys it from her for $1 per pound. Not everything has peanuts, but with all the cross contamination it’s just not safe to pick and choose out of the pile. Then she goes on a little shopping spree at the dollar general! It’s awesome.
Now I’m getting ready for Thanksgiving!!!! Which is really just a massive celebration proceeding cutting down the christmas tree! Can’t. Wait. ::)))
Love the costume! Some times it’s just better to go store bought, there’s nothing wrong with it. We’ve done the every other year thing, not on purpose but it’s just worked out that way. My 3 year old loves to ring door bells too but got super scared when it came to saying something to a stranger. I had to go to every house with her and help her. She was so timid it was adorable because that is not my daughter! We do a family dinner then go trick or treating in my aunt’s neighborhood. It’s more kid friendly (as in there are people out!) and everyone participates. If the houses there didn’t cost 4 times as much as mine, I might move!
Sounds like ya’ll had an amazing time. Every year we spend a couple hours at the mall trick or treating at the different stores, then we head out in the neighborhood. Next year my daughter will be a bit too old for trick or treating so I need to think of a fun new tradition for her and I to do something neat while passing out candy together.
im geussing the “2” on the “W” pumpkin is a hint little baby’s name will also start with a W???? like W squared
Good guess! It could also represent Will’s age 🙂
xo – kb
What an awesome dentist 🙂
xo – kb
Nope…not a baby pool for the name 🙂
xo – kb
Good guess on the name thing…and yes, it is Will’s 2nd Halloween here in this house and neighborhood and it is also his age 🙂
xo – kb
Ooohhh…I used to do that in college….try to really freak myself out 🙂
xo – kb
this was our 3 year old daughters first halloween trick or treating. she was born at the beginning of october, so at 3 weeks old and at the height of the first h1n1 scare, we stayed home. her second halloween we lived out a rural road where we didn’t get any tot’ers and she was sick anyways. her third halloween (last year) we weren’t sure how she’d react to all of the costumes, so we stayed home and she helped pass out candy. that way, if there was anything scary she’d be in her own element and could hide if she wanted. this year i took her and her new brother out tot’ing. in our community, there is a section of town that everyone hits up on halloween, so that’s where we went. she was AWESOME! marched right up to those doors and said trick or treat and even remembered to say thank you, argh, and yo ho (she was a pirate). it took an hour to go about 4 blocks, due to the fact that she had her head in her bag checking out her goodies the whole time! can’t wait until next year when our son is one and can walk around with her!
Our little was 10 days overdue and even after I was induced she still refused to come out on her own. Apparently my womb is quite comfortable, maybe I should rent it out for a 5-star price? I know how you feel, lady, hang in there!
we had an adventurous halloween. we didn’t make it to the pumpkin patch this year, but we have a tradition of going to our cousin’s neighborhood to trick or treat and then hanging out at her house with the family afterwards. before heading over there, since this year was our first in our new neighborhood, we took our 2.5 year old and baby daughters around our street so we could meet the neighbors.
my girls were the cutest little bumblebees! but on the drive over to our 2nd destination, my toddler ended up getting sick on her costume from eating so much candy (we accidentally left her pumpkin full of candy in the backseat with her), so we had to make a quick stop to handwash it before we went trick or treating again. 🙂
i’ve also been serving as the official candy taster since then 😉
haha…something about a toddler getting sick from candy on Halloween makes my heart smile. It’s so perfect 🙂
xo – kb
haha…I think they call that a gestational carrier 🙂 And yes, you probably would get a 5 star price 🙂
xo – kb
Will and Kai are so doggone cute, but Kai does look like he might be a bit more “full of it” than Will! Kiddos growing up in a neighborhood like that is such a blessing. Our kids are 40ish with kiddlets and they still talk about how much fun they had on Halloween.