Hallow-wet

After our first Ohio Halloween last year, we were really looking forward to Halloween this year in our new neighborhood. We had hoped to sit out in the driveway with the other neighbors and really have that community feeling as we chat with the parents and chaperones of all the trick-or-treaters.

Mother Nature had other plans. Instead of a beautiful, crisp Fall evening, we ended up with a cold, drizzly night. Miserable. Nonetheless, we tried to not let it stop us.

Fortunately Adam was already familiar with the fireman costume I made for his Fireman Birthday Party after the costume parade at school. (He was one of 3 firemen in his classroom.) He knew to say Trick or Treat! and certainly knew what his pumpkin was to be filled with. Michael and I even got in the fun with simple costumes of our own.

We set up a table in the garage to protect us from the rain. I took Adam next door for his first house, and our neighbor really loaded him up! Adam said Thank You, and then tried to walk inside. Guess he thought it was warmer in there. We went back home and Michael took Adam to a couple more houses before Adam decided he was too cold. He came back and sat on my lap and we wrapped ourselves in a blanket, ate popcorn, and handed out candy.

Mommy's little ones -- Fireman and Peanut (m&m)

Our neighborhood has a lot of kids in the 8-14 year old range. I have to admit, I really missed seeing the cute toddlers in their distinguishable costumes. For many of the kids that came by I couldn't assess their get-ups very well, and they were often in packs, coming in fast and dashing off to the next house in a hurry.

Adam really enjoyed being "a big helper" with the candy. The problem, though, is that he kept wanting to try all the varieties of candy. By the time we closed up shop, he was bouncing off the couch -- literally. We did manage to get his teeth brushed and in bed fairly easily, but even from downstairs we could hear him singing songs nearly an hour later. Then we heard, "Mommy?" and then, "Hey, Babe?"

See, this is his new way of calling for us. It started one night when he was in the tub and I told him to call for Daddy to come up. He stood up and yelled, "Michael?!" followed by "Hey, Babe?"  Hmmm, wonder from whom he learned those?

So we get a little chuckle out of it. You could say he had a little sugar in his system.

Because of the weather, we have loads of candy left. Fortunately we're one of those houses that buys the good stuff. (Or maybe Unfortunately...)  We also noticed that since our house is the first house on a dead-end road much of the traffic didn't bother coming down our way. Hopefully that was just due to the damp, cold conditions. We're already looking forward to next year.

I loved seeing all the pictures of our friends' and family's kiddos in costume. Here are some of my favorites:

I hope everyone had a fun (and warmer) Halloween!