Halloween Happenings

(Halloween 2010: Natalie the Kitty Cat, Ally the Unicorn, and Christopher the Cutest Boy on the Block)

At one point, I had declared that Chris and I would stay home and hand out candy while David took the girls Trick or Treating. But when the big day arrived we decided the whole family should traipse around the neighborhood and enjoy the sights. I am SO glad we did. I would have missed some priceless moments.


Ally is an old pro at the T or T thing. She knew what she was doing and had no fear. Natalie, however, was more than a little freaked out by all the folks in costume. This is the same child that insisted on looking at the "creepies" in every store we've entered in the last month ("creepies" is our word for the Halloween section - is it just me or has that section become increasingly MORE creepy as the years go on?).

Anyway, not three houses into our adventure, we encountered a large group of parents and kids (and one dog dressed as Superman). All but one of the parents were dressed normally, sans costume. One dad dressed like this character:


Oh yes, he did.

Natalie was FREAKING out. We opted to turn and take a route opposite from this group to save our child from later years of therapy. Just one or two houses later, she looked down the street at the guy and said, "Dad, he was nervous-in' me."

Later, a young boy dressed as a motorcycle racer gave Nat the creeps and she was noticeably afraid. The home-owner that witnessed it felt so bad for her that she ran inside to get her a juice box.

One of Nat's favorite things was peeking into the glass-windowed doors as she was waiting for them to come to the door. As we were leaving one house she let us know, "He was habbin' his dinner."

Because the night was cold, the noses were a-runnin' and Mommy hadn't planned for this scenario, so my sleeve was sacrificed to relieve my sweet boy's slimy face. But mercifully, one sweet grandmotherly-type answered her door to our little animals and said, "Let me get you a Kleenex!" After nearly every house, the girls would declare what they were given. ("Yes! Reese's!" or "Mom! I got licorice!") This time Nat declared, with excitement, "She gave me a Kleenex!"

As was bound to happen, Nat and Chris had a much shorter attention span with the whole thing, so we headed home while David and Ally ventured further into the neighborhood. They had a blast and took at least an hour to warm up once they returned home!

The little ones and I were sampling sweets and answering the doorbell, which they loved just as much as ringing the doorbells. At one point, Natalie asked, "Where the creepies?" I said that they were going trick or treating just like she had, and reminded her that they were just people in costumes.

She thoughtfully stated, "Maybe they scared of me."

I couldn't burst her bubble, so I said, "Maybe they are!"

But I'm thinking probably not.