Remnants from our Halloween weekend have followed us well into this week, as the days have become much shorter and our kids (ahem, Mila) thinks it's completely acceptable to stand by the upper pantry door and repeat, 'sucker' like a broken record. We are giving it a week and then the candy is going elsewhere! It was fun to celebrate Halloween on a weekend this year, giving us a chance to slow things down a bit and celebrate a little more before we officially say goodbye to pumpkin spice and welcome peppermint mocha.
We got our use out of the kids' costumes this year, starting with parties at school and the annual costume parade for the Naz staff and parents of Blessed Beginnings. Later that afternoon, Mom had the day off and joined me for a little trick-or-treating prequel on Main Street. The minute we approached Main and 8th, we contemplated our decision as we saw the gourds (excuse me, hoards) of people making their way down the street. I'll guess there were 1,000 kids alone and the sidewalks were swarming with trick-or-treaters slowly making their way to the various buckets of candy outside each storefront. We realized that parking was much easier to find up toward the end of the street, and found a perfect sheltered place to take a few pictures of the kids in their costumes and decide whether we should tackle the crowd or take them to the candy store instead.
When Cruz decided we needed to do this thing, we casually cut in by some fellow daycare friends and took part in the last two blocks of the chaos. The line moved slow, but pretty efficiently, as store owners and friends stood outside every single business to hand out candy and greet people. Music played, many store owners dressed up themselves, and the Phantom of the Opera caused quite the reaction as he stood atop the Oster Regent Theater sign and made gestures to the kids below. It was nice outside, Cruz had a lot of fun trick-or-treating with his friend, Drew, and Mila was an absolute kill. Watching her work the crowd (and the store-owners) in her little Dorothy dress was enough to make it worth it a thousand times again. I think Mom and I could have watched her all night.
Our little Dorothy wanted nothing to do with being held or assisted. She strutted along in her red sequin shoe covers with her pumpkin in hand, meandering her way through the crowds until she approached the next candy stop. Then, she'd either hold up her pumpkin and wait patiently for a treat, or she'd weasel her way up behind them, and sneak a piece of candy on her own. Her pigtails and small stature gave her quite the leg up and it seemed she took this to her advantage. She was always polite, though, usually exclaiming a strong, "Yo welcome," which often scored her a couple of more pieces of candy. She'd stop every so often to admire a sucker or flirt with a group of middle agers fawning over her from the window of a restaurant, but stayed on point and figured out the rules of Halloween with an ease and adorable little grace. She's gonna move mountains someday, or at least be someone's boss, we're convinced of it!
We got home shortly after five with the smell of roast filling our house. In between butterfingers and sweet tarts, we filled up on roast and potatoes, before carving our pumpkins and watching a Curious George Halloween special before bed. Cruz helped me sort out the seeds for roasting, and Beau decided to forgo the pumpkin carving kit I brought home from Target and use his jig instead. He proved me wrong when I failed to believe he could freehand a minion, and saved the day when I grew bored with my owl design. My favorite part of carving, though, was when our budding artist freehanded his own monster on his pumpkin. Daddy worked his magic and brought Cruz's design to life, revealing what might be my favorite jack-o-lantern that's ever sat on our doorstep.
It's so special to do these holiday traditions year after year, to remember those little memories that time stamp each year and stage, and have a front row seat to watching these little people reveal their unique personalities. They change so much with each year we're given, and I do my best to drink them in, soak them up, and enjoy it all.
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