A Happy Halloween Had By All

It seems to me that Halloween is already more fun as a parent...and exhausting, all at once! I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone that Paige was a monkey...we actually saw the costume at The Children's Place when we stopped at the mall on her birthday, and knew it was THE costume! It's so plush and cute...definitely helped keep her warm on a cold day! It's still pretty big, and I had to do some quick safety pin work so it wouldn't drag...so maybe she'll be a monkey 2 years in a row...nothing like saving a little cash while she won't remember :)

On the 30th, there was a fantastic family/kids party at our church. Matt and the high school students put together a spook house with a zombie theme, so some of them headed down to the now-infamous Zombie Walk downtown. There were plenty of games, treats, and a jack-o-lantern contest...Matt won first place with his owl! Paige loved the cake walk, doing her little dance to the Monster Mash. Unfortunately, not too many pictures...my camera batteries died, of course.




Saturday was a frenzy of Halloween goodness...Paige and I went to a wonderful local bookstore, Literary Life, to their kids' party. Although it was a madhouse at first, we hung out in a less-crowded corner reading books until it emptied out a bit, when she was able to walk along the bookshelves...she made some new friends too!
The staff took pictures of everyone and printed out little "portraits"...there were free treats and goodie bags, coloring and games...I can't believe how much fun is packed in one little shop. The kids AND parents all got along, too! The owner is an infectious disease physician, which was obvious with the bowl of Purell handwipes stationed next to the cookies...

Then on to the Fulton Street Farmer's Market for squash and pears...the last time we went was on Paige's birthday, when she got a free zinnia...this time she scored not one, but two mini-pumpkins! Gotta love the farmer's market.


After all that activity, I had one tired monkey on my hands...she fell asleep in the car, and budged in the crib only to reach for her "sleeping" monkey....



The day ended with trick-or-treating to a few choice neighbors (including some who had lived there for a long time but we had not yet met, and were feeling guilty about). The cool thing about trick-or-treating with a little one is that even when you insist on no candy ("just stopping by to say hi!"), everyone insists on giving you a few candy bars...no arguments from me! Paige and Daddy were off to Holland to trick-or-treat to Grandma and Grandpa Parrott, while I studied...unfortunately, I'm finding that I have to say no to fun stuff sometimes in order to keep up.




How do you like our jack-o-lanterns? Matt's intricate wolves and prize-winning owl, along with his tribute to our crabby neighbor, and my tribute to Paige...with 2 little teeth, of course. I can't wait for her to join in on the gooey fun! Hope everyone is recovering well from the Halloween festivities!