Halloweenie Festivities

Costumes. Candy. Craziness. That about sums up our week of Halloween festivities. It all started Tuesday night with Harper's fall party at dance. Our little Minnie Mouse was full of energy and excitement for a special night at dance class. The 30 minute class was spent coloring, playing "pin the nose on the pumpkin", dancing and passing out treats. All four girls had a perma-smile on their faces and their little costumes were adorable. Harper ran out of class shouting, "that was so fun!" When I asked, "Harper, what was your favorite part of the party?" Her response, "getting the treats." That sounds like my sweet-toothed child!

Wednesday night we dedicated to family pumpkin carving. I love this Halloween tradition, it's something Mitch and I did together before we had children. Three pumpkins were cut, gutted and ready to carve. Harper wasn't too sure about the "guts." It took some convincing to have her touch the pile of pumpkin insides. She finally found the courage to poke the mushy gunk, but one touch was enough. Mitch free-handed his Minnie Mouse pumpkin, a direct request from Harper. While Mitch worked on his masterpiece, Harper and I came up with a few funny faces for the remaining two pumpkins. At the end of the night we had three fantastic pumpkins, ready for the doorstep! (Emmett quietly slept in his bouncer during this entire process and continued snoozing during our family photo!) 

Halloween is always a fun day at REACH. I love that my co-workers are festive and costumes are practically required that day. Our side of the office tends to do group costumes each year. Last year, "The Voice" judges turned out great, but this year our theme was based off of one of my all time favorite movies - Austin Powers. I grew up loving the series and was excited to finally have an excuse to dress the part! The five of us chose a character and put our creative minds together for costume ideas. In the end, we had Austin (of course), Number 2, Scott Evil, Felicity Shagwell and Foxxy Cleopatra. Another great Halloween in the books at REACH! 

After work, I met Mitch and the kiddos at Bob & Deb's. Harper and Emmett got dressed in their costumes and prepared for a night of trick-or-treating and Halloween fun. We made a quick pitstop at my parents house before heading home so they could see the kiddos all dressed up. Countless photos were snapped and I was happy to get at least one when they were both looking at the camera. 

We raced home to greet our very own trick-or-treaters and get Harper ready for her first door-to-door experience. The last couple years she's been too young to really understand the Halloween concept, but not this year! With her bucket in hand, she hopped in the wagon on a mission for candy. To be honest, I'm not sure who was more excited to go trick-or-treating - Mitch or Harper! The two of them roamed our streets for nearly an hour, ringing door bells. The cold weather cut their night short, but Harper came home with plenty of candy. The next morning we walked outside and Harper said, "let's go trick-or-treating again!" We explained to her we can only do that one day a year, on Halloween. She didn't like that response. I think it's safe to say, Harper is a fan of the holiday!

Our Halloween fun didn't stop October 31st. Saturday, we had two Halloween parties plus a birthday celebration to attend. We had a busy night ahead of us, but we had our game faces on. Like usual, Mitch and I waited until the very last minute to plan our costume. With our first party starting at 6, we started planning our wardrobe around 4:30. 

Mitch decided he and Emmett would go as Alan and baby Carlos from the movie, The Hangover. I ran to Goodwill and found Mitch an epic t-shirt. The entire front of the shirt was the face of a dog. Even the cashier giggled. As he slipped the shirt on, Harper looked at him and said - "Cool shirt, Dad!" We all had a good laugh after that comment, although I'm a little concerned about her taste in clothing! :) Both boys sported aviators and looked cool as can be. For a last minute costume idea, it came together nicely.

I struggled trying to find something for myself. Part of me wanted to stay in my stretchy pants, old sweatshirt and crazy hair and go as a "new Mom" but I decided to put a little effort into it. Since Mitch and Emmett were matching, I decided Harper and I would team up. We hung up the Minnie costume after three great uses and broke out her new pirate outfit. I rummaged through my closet trying to find the right elements to create my very own pirate costume. The majority of my accessories I borrowed from my 2-year old, but it all worked out. Harper and I were mateys! 

We were heading to the first party with my parents and the Shemon's. The Adam's were hosting a Halloween party and it's been years since we were all in the same place - so there was no way we were missing it. Amanda and I grew up playing basketball with Taylor and spent countless days and nights at the Adam's residence. Taylor and her husband, Chase recently welcome their first child - a sweet baby boy named Nixon. He's just days older than Emmett, so it was fun to get the two babes together. It was so great catching up with everyone and we all agreed we need to get together again soon!

 

 

After the Adam's party, we headed home. It was past Harper's bedtime and she was starting to get a little wild. Bob and Deb were sweet enough to come over to our house and watch the kids while Mitch and I headed to our next party. After giving goodnight kisses to Harper and Emmett, we were off to Paige's. Just this summer Paige bought her house in Golden Valley and I still hadn't seen it. When I got her email about a Halloween party, I knew I was going to my best to get our booty's over there to celebrate and see the place. 

It's always fun when I get together with my high school girls and when you add costumes, it's that much better! Paige's home is absolutely beautiful and she was a great hostess. I'm glad I got to spend a little piece of my Halloween with them!

With one more stop after Paige's, I needed a caffeine boost. It's been a long time since Mitch and I were bouncing around from house parties and bar gatherings, but we still have it in us!  It might have been late, but we had our party faces on and were ready to hang with another high school bud. We quickly changed into normal street clothes and headed to Northeast Minneapolis to celebrate McEwen's 31st birthday. It was great to see the birthday boy and be able to celebrate, even if it was for a short amount of time!

Staying out until bar close was fun, but I knew Emmett and Harper would be up earlier than I'd like. Plus, it was daylight savings - so we were all out of whack! Luckily both kids slept later than expected, but I was still dragging. I cracked open a Diet Coke and was already feeling a bit more energized. It was a pretty lazy day and all of us took a nap at some point, which was much needed. It was a nice way to wrap up a busy, but very fun Halloween weekend!

Last week Emmett had his 2-month appointment. They measured him, weighed him and did a routine checkup. Everything looked great and Emmett is proving to be a little chunker. He weighed 8 lbs even at birth. In just 2 months he's gained over 5 lbs! He now sits at 13 lbs, 7 ounces and is 23 inches long. He was a rockstar at his appointment and survived his first round of vaccines. Three pokes and an oral vaccination and he only managed to cry for a second. What a trooper! Harper continues to be our little helper and an amazing big sister. We're lucky to have such sweet babes. :)

 

 

Until next time…

The Helleen's