Halloween in December

Yes. Just stay with me here. 

I figure it is only fitting that since Christmas runs over every holiday preceding it as far in advance as July, that Christmas should have to share some of the limelight now as I catch up with Halloween. And don't worry - there's a shout-out to Thanksgiving in here as well.

Halloween was fabulous.

I didn't get very far in the way of decorating, since I was still playing the I-just-moved-in-3-months-ago card (and just a forewarning, will continue to play said card until at least the year mark and perhaps tack on an additional year for good measure).

But I DID throw some costumes together.

My initial goal for a family "theme" this year was for each of us to choose a period of history to represent. This was going well when Kate decided to be an Indian, so Brooklyn decided she wanted to be a cowgirl to go with Kate.

I took it in a different holiday direction with the Indian and decided to dress as a Pilgrim, and then I could recycle Kate's chicken costume that I made when she was 1 into a turkey for Nolan. Because, you know, Thanksgiving!

She was a super cute little chicken.

PS Troy just informed me that he does not like Daddy's "Harry Potter glasses."

But what was I ever going to do with that awkward homemade chicken costume?

I dyed it brown, added a fluffy colorful tail, and voila! A turkey! 

Then Troy decided to throw us all off and be a train again.

So never mind.

I'm sure trains fit into the pages of history somewhere, right?

Two years ago he wanted to be Thomas the train, so I spent way too much time hand-painting an elaborate Thomas costume made out of a cardboard box. He barely wore it because it was too awkward to walk in, and it didn't make the cut when we moved the following summer and was tossed out.

No matter; we have plenty of boxes here! So I made another, definitely lower quality, train costume.

This one is green because he specifically wanted to be Percy.

Next year he wants to be James, so we kept the Percy costume in case he doesn't change his mind by then and we need to paint it red.

The year after that, he wants to be a robot.

Yes, he is the type who takes these decisions very seriously and plans them out well in advance.

Really, are you surprised?

Nolan tried to take over the train costume while Troy was not at home...

Um here is what we threw together in time for the trunk-or-treat at our church. My costume was not even finished yet, and Troy's was in the hall because it's a cardboard box.

The best part was when we were trick-or-treating and Nolan figured out what was going on. We knock on doors, and people give us candy! That is all he understood. When he was told he had to say, "Trick or treat," he did! He seemed to understand that this was the key, because he began waddling up to the door before it was even open saying "trick or treat" in his tiny little voice, with conviction!

I tried to get it on video, because it was cute.

Earlier in the week Kate got to wear her costume to ballet class

Travis threw together a "mad scientist" costume at the last minute. He doesn't totally get into dressing up for Halloween. It is sad. 

But the wig looked good on him.

Here's our classic "silly face" picture. Travis obviously didn't get the memo.

MAYBE I will even get to our field trip to the pumpkin patch with Troy's preschool class!

Maybe...