Spookiness and the Walker

It was a busy, spooky week leading up to Halloween. Our calendar was filled with dance and preschool parties, pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating. Harper was in Halloween heaven.

Pumpkin carving is a yearly tradition, it's something Mitch and I did together before we even had kids. This was the first year Harper created her very own pumpkin design. She marked up her masterpiece and I handled the carving. She tried to convince me she was "getting older" and was big enough to use the carving knife. I quickly poo-pooed that idea and told her she could watch instead. 

I realized pumpkin carving was a lot more work than I expected when it's just two of us doing all the gutting and carving. Harper and Emmett lost interest pretty quick, especially since Harper wouldn't touch the "guts" and we wouldn't let her carve anything. Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin seemed way more interesting, so the two of them went downstairs to watch and play while Mitch and I cranked out 4 carvings. We finished our pumpkins way past normal bedtimes, but I was determined to get my annual photo on the stairs. The kiddos cooperated despite being sleepy and we were officially ready for the Halloween festivities. 

On Tuesday, Harper had her dance party. I decided little kids dressed up in costumes might just be the cutest thing ever. We watched from the window while the kiddos did their jack-o-lantern dance, played a few games and most importantly swapped sweet treats. Harper couldn't wait to get her grubby little paws on that candy. I'm pretty sure she snuck a sucker in her mouth before we were out the door. 

Thursday was Harper's preschool party. I along with three other Mom's helped plan some special activities and treats for the class so I took the afternoon off to attend the celebration. 

At the very beginning of class the kids performed a few songs they've been practicing. Watching 20 three and four year olds sing is beyond cute, but when you add the fact that they're also in costume - it makes it that much better. It's no secret Harper is a lover of all things music. She's always singing, dancing or playing some sort of instrument. Right when the music started, I could easily pick out my loud singer. She was belting it out with a proud smile on her face. The little boy next to her happened to be a loud singer too which instantly made it a competition - who could sing louder? They both did an outstanding job and the whole performance left me in tears from laughing. It was pure perfection and I can't wait for the next performance. 

Us Mom's prepared their spooky Halloween snack while the kids trick-or-treated around the church. After snack time we stuck around for the game stations and story-time. It was so much fun to see the kids in their element and to see how wonderful the teachers are. After class Harper couldn't stop talking about all the fun she had - it was such a great afternoon!

To keep our Halloween tradition alive at REACH, we all dressed up Friday for our annual potluck. It's so much fun to have co-workers who are willing to be a goofy with you and dress in costume. This year I channeled my favorite animal and was a pig for my costume. Wearing an adult onesie all day was pretty amazing, I'm not going to lie. It was by far one of my most comfortable costumes to-date. Another fun day at REACH in the books!

Harper woke up Saturday so excited that is was FINALLY Halloween. We laid low most of the morning trying to save our energy for trick-or-treating. Both kiddos took great naps so they were refreshed and ready to go. We made stops at both grandparents to show off our costumes before trick-or-treating. Each house had special bags for Harper and Emmett filled with fun trinkets and sweet treats.

We rushed home and insisted an antsy Harper eat dinner before going around the neighborhood. Once her pizza was gone and it was officially dark, Harper and Mitch took off in the wagon on a mission to fill her bucket. Emmett and I stayed back to greet trick-or-treaters.

Every year I'm bummed how few trick-or-treaters we have. There aren't too many young families in the neighborhood, so we probably had less than 20 kids altogether which means there was tons of leftover candy. NOT GOOD. Over the last week I'm pretty sure I've eaten my body weight in Butterfinger and Reeses.

Harper and Mitch came home with her bucket filled to the tip top. She was so excited and couldn't wait to dump it out and see all her goodies. I couldn't help but watch and smile, remembering how fun and exciting this day is as a kid. Our little kitty had a very successful Halloween and our sweet Sully monster just liked chewing on candy through the wrappers.

After trick-or-treating was over, we dropped the kids off at my parents for the night and headed to Paige and Noah's Halloween party. Mitch finally lived out his 10-year dream and dressed up as the beloved Flavor Flav. I really thought outside the box for my costume, and quickly grabbed Harper's cat ears and tail and called it good. 

It felt like college all over again, except some of us were yawning and ready for bed by 11pm. We swapped stories and caught up on lost time. It was such a fun night with my high school gals. 

 

Besides Halloween stuff happening, Emmett has been busy WALKING! He is still crawling most of the time, but he's starting to go from sitting to standing on his own followed by double digit steps. I'm sure in no time he'll be an exclusive walker, but for now it's something he's just dabbling in. 

His personality has really started to shine. He and Harper play nice most of the time, but we've had our fair share sibling squabbles already. Both Harper and Emmett are guilty of initiating the scuffle. No matter who "started it," Emmett usually ends up crying. He also is starting to understand and comprehend the word "no" and it's not a word he likes to hear. This week he introduced us to his new tantrum, which tends to happen pretty close to bedtime. If we say to him, "No, no Emmett, " he'll lay on the ground, scream, flail his arms and kick his feet. Oh man, what does our future look like?

We have had some very sweet moments lately too. Both kiddos have sharing more and more, which is promising. Harper also tries to convince him during car rides to hold her hand. She'll scream, "Mom! Mom! Look! We're holding hands. Isn't that cute?" Yes, Harper. It is beyond cute and something I hope you keep doing for years to come. 

Until next time…

The Helleen's