Dragon Brothers

Last year after Halloween, when I was pregnant with Henry, Mom and I found this really cute horse costume at Cracker Barrel for next-to-nothing. Henry, of course, turned out to be really good at growing, so the horse costume was a good size-and-a-half too small for him. So, I found this cute dragon costume for him:

I had no idea what Asher should be, and when I'd ask him what he wanted to be, he'd just say, "Ummmmm....I unno." We took him costume shopping, but he seemed completely uninterested in everything there was. A monkey? "Ummmmm....sumpin' else!" How about an elephant? "Ummmm....sumpin' else!" A shark - a shark would be cool! "Ummmm.....hmmm......sumpin else?" He was no help. Even the Thomas the Tank Engine costume at Target didn't phase him. So Mom and I went to Old Navy and guess what they had there? A dragon costume! Not identical to Henry's, but a dragon nonetheless!

So we got home and asked him if he wanted to dress up like a dragon like Henry. Dragon brothers! Asher thought about this and then seemed pleased with the idea. For the past few weeks, when asked what he was going to be for Halloween, he'd say, "Dragon brothers with Henry!"

They were definitely the cutest pair of dragons I've ever seen in my entire life.

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A Spook-tacular Day

Asher's first Halloween turned out to be a lot of fun, despite having started off on the wrong foot the other evening when we discovered we had a major wardrobe malfunction on our hands with his pumpkin costume. I tried it on him just to make sure it was going to fit, and it didn't, especially in the crotch area. Call me crazy, but I thought it would be slightly inappropriate to let him out in public with his (diapered) crotch hanging out. So, Asher went from being a cute little pumpkin to a cute little bat.

I took the day off so we could spend the day with Mom. Asher and NeeNee played while Stephen and I carved Asher's and Ella's pumpkins (Ella wasn't here, but Mom had bought a pumpkin for her when we went to the pumpkin patch, just in case she'd be visiting). Then NeeNee decided it was time for Asher to have a real treat and gave him a sucker. A BLUE sucker, at that. His face was priceless: his eyes were popping out of his head, he couldn't suck hard enough, and blue drool streamed from his mouth. Next, we went downtown to march in Logansport's Halloween parade. Asher really enjoyed riding in the wagon and staring at all the monsters, princesses, witches, rock stars, and livestock. Asher was one of the 25 kids picked for the best costume contest; he didn't win, but he did get a little treat bag with candy (that mommy and daddy will enjoy for him) and a WHOLE DOLLAR for his bank. I hope he spends it wisely, and not on strippers and booze. Once home, we only took Asher trick-or-treating to one of Mom's neighbors. I supposed we could have taken him around to other houses, but then I thought that would be a little too obvious that we were just using him to get candy for ourselves. Either that, or we'd look like bad parents for letting our ten month old gorge himself on candy.

Asher only had one nap today, so he was an absolute monster for a brief period during dinner and bathtime. The kid threw his first real temper tantrum, complete with screams and kicking! Ugh, I think I got a glimpse of life with a toddler and I'm a little scared, I'll be honest. Thankfully, between bath and bedtime, he was a pleasant, playful little guy. I'm sure he's currently upstairs dreaming of the hot two year old princess he was eyeballing this evening and that delicious, sticky blue sucker.

Me? I'm exhausted, and we didn't even do much. I've been so looking forward to the holiday season, but now that the first, and least stressful, of the holidays has passed, I'm wary of the next two big ones.

Here are pictures!

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Angie Gets Saved By The Bell-Ding

My friend, Angie, recently shared with me some of her photos of her wild night out for Halloween. I just had to share this picture - recognize the man in it? It's the guy who played Mr. Belding from Saved By The Bell! Looks like Angie was a bad girl and was sent to the principal's office. Who knew she'd be rubbing elbows with such high-profile celebrities now that she's living in Chicago? Who knew Mr. Belding would be looking so old? And the real question I know Angie's wondering, why the heck couldn't it have been Zach or Slater there that night?! Angie, just be thankful it wasn't Screech. We all know what he's been up to...

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It's Not So Much the Great Pumpkin, Stephen Barr

I really don't want to be one of those neighbors (you know, the "car on blocks in the driveway, upholestered furniture on the front porch" kind of neighbors), but it looks like I'm on my way. I know it's well over a week past Halloween and we should have trashed Mr. Pumpkin the next day, but honestly from a distance he appeared to be just fine. However, I've discovered we've gone from being pleasantly festive to disgustingly lazy in a matter of a couple of days. Today at lunch, I walked past him and noticed he sort of looks like he's trying to eat himself. His face is all sunken in, and his lid has collapsed. And, ew, gross, he's covered in mold on the inside! Luckily, I didn't notice any rotting pumpkin stench, but with the uncharateristically warm weather we're having this week, I predict there will be much stink in the near future. I suppose I could go rid the porch of him now, but, ew, did I mention there's mold involved?! I really think rotting pumpkin disposal clearly falls into the category of man's work. So, Stephen, I beg of you, please put Mr. Pumpkin out of his misery before the bugs make a home out of him and I get totally grossed out.

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I Want Cookies for Dinner

Not everyone is privileged enough to have Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz bake Halloween cookies with you, but Saturday was my lucky day. Okay, so it's actually Ella in her new Halloween costume. She informed us that she wanted to be Dorothy because she wanted to be a kitty. I'm not quite sure what that means, but who am I to question her reasoning? I was just happy that she was kind enough to model her costume for me, since I won't get to see her on Halloween. There are a few more pictures of Ella here if you so wish to view them.

We had a ton of fun visiting with little Miss Ella, along with my sister, mom and step-dad. Mom got to break in my new KitchenAid mixer that was recently given to me by my favorite mother-in-law, while I busied myself with cutting out the cookies. Ella had the most difficult task of all - licking the spatula and eating the broken cookies. She was determined to fulfill her duties to the best of her abilities - when asked what she wanted for dinner, she declared, "I want cookies for dinner!" Who doesn't?

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