Halloween 2013

It feels like this is Eliot's first "real" Halloween.  It was his first time picking out his costume and also his first time trick-or-treating.  Nearing three years old, he is so aware and learning all of those difficult-to-explain abstract concepts, like holidays.

For weeks (well over a month, actually) Eliot has been asking to "go to Halloween" and "be Buzz Lightyear" and for Jack to be "Hoody".  I was counting down the days until we could go to Party City to buy that dang Buzz costume so Eliot would step begging allll day, every dayyy long to be Buzz.  "Pleeease be Buzz?" he asked.  Oh goodness.

Sure enough, tonight Eliot got his wish.  He was Buzz Lightyear and Jack was Woody.  I know it's not super original and I definitely didn't make their costumes.  So many boys love Buzz and then make their younger brothers be Woody (or the other way around), but it is so Eliot.

Eliot did an amazing job.  While we waited for the right time to start trick-or-treating, he patiently wandered the frontyard kicking pine cones and leaves.  He posed for all of my annoying photos and smiled (even though I can't ever get him to look directly at the camera for some reason).  We had rehearsed saying "trick or treat" and "thank you," which he was a little shy about at first.  He kept saying "trick or treat" as soon as he saw a person come to the door, far before they could hear him.  However, by the end of the night, he was shouting across the street to strangers, "HI!!!  Do you LIKE my costume?!?!"  He.is.hilarious.

Jack did well too considering that I woke him up from a desperately-needed nap in order to get him dressed.  And a baby and a cowboy hat?  Those two don't mix, but Jack just went along with it anyway.  I gotta say, he made a super cute Woody.  Then when we were about half-way done trick-or-treating, Jack fell asleep in Chris's arms and just went along for the ride.

It was really nice to have a chance to meet some of the neighbors that we hadn't met yet.  Cute kids in costumes makes for a pretty good icebreaker, too.

We don't give Eliot candy often.  I mean, before we bought Halloween candy to hand out, I'm not sure that he had more than one piece of candy per month, or even that much.  So, asking a toddler to maintain self-control with all this candy around?  Nope.  You guessed it.  Eliot ate about six pieces, ran around in circles, wanted to literally fight Chris for more Reece's cups, and passed out shortly after I took him to bed thirty minutes early.  Phew!  I think we'll be hiding the rest of the candy for a while, but it was an exciting night and quite the exception to allow him to enjoy his spoils of knocking on so many doors.

 

And just because I like looking back at the past so much...

Here is Eliot as a dinosaur in 2012

And an ewok in 2011.

It was a good night.  And now, like an old person, I am SO ready for bed.