Happy Halloween!

This year was the first year Vincent had a "trick-or-treat" Halloween. We had an early dinner, and Vincent could tell something was up when I said we'd go upstairs to put on his costume. I don't think he understood "costume" but he got excited to do something different after dinner. Vincent was a "super-hero" (Roboman - or Oboma - if you ask Auntie Carmen ;-). Auntie Julia came over and dressed up too as a dark fairy. It took a long time to get everyone ready. Vincent had his costume on, and I felt like I was running around looking for little things (and mostly Mark was finding them!). Finally the basket, the horsey flashlight (thanks, Jenny Rodriguez!), the camera, and a cape were all assembled.


Then, Erin had to be dressed and fed too. She was much less interested in going out.


Vincent's sharing his superhero wisdom with his sister.

Vincent had on a glow in the dark necklace (thanks, Auntie Julia). It was his kryptonite to keep him on the ground ;-) We spent all of about 20 minutes outside. The neighbors across the street had treats especially for Vincent - they baked pumpkin cookies for him and had a gift of playdoh, candy, and those grow-in-water toys. We saw a couple other neighbors, but most of our neighbors had the lights all dark already! There is only one other family on the street with kids, and they are much older. I figured they might be at a party or out with friends. In any event, it was just the right amount of trick-or-treating for Vincent. I was pleased to see that he was hesitant to approach strangers' doors and didn't want to talk to them. I hope this inclination will keep him safe (as we teach him more too), but maybe next year he'll understand the uniqueness of Halloween. There is one neighbor on 23rd that has LOTS of Halloween decorations, the big blow up kind. He got scarred by the ones that moved and lit up! I never know exactly how he'll react to new things - it's like we're exploring right along with him.

Erin got to meet some of our neighbors too, but she was a little fussy and was more relaxed at home. She'll have her own "first" halloween some other year. I'm excited for our kids to go at their own pace. No rush - it seems to go by fast enough on its own.