Halloween

Now that we're WELL into November, I thought I would finally post pictures from Halloween.  Geez, my blogging (or lack thereof) has really been pathetic.

On Friday, October 29th we went to the pumpkin patch.  We caught the last hayride out of the day.

This is the best I got of the three of them together.

Cooper was off running in a patch somewhere, so he couldn't be in these pictures.

While we were walking towards the hayride, my niece, Kelly walked right by me.  It was so fun to run into her and her friends.

I would love to have gone and gotten pumpkins early enough to have a fun, stress-free carving experience, complete with pictures and smiles.  But, that is not our life right now.   Instead we went at the last minute and carved two pumpkins ON Halloween in the late afternoon.  And I didn't even get a picture of them!  PATHETIC!

Here's Harlie drawing her pumpkin.  And Tom carved it, too.  And it was really cute.  You'll have to just take my word for it, since I have no pictures.  :(

And here are the best pictures.  My three little Super Heros.  

With Robin getting his eyes poked out by Daddy, trying to get his mask on.  

Getting a good picture of the three of them feels impossible right now.  The only one that slightly listens is Murphy.  And outside on Halloween, there was WAY too much excitement to stand still for a photo!

A week before Halloween, my MOPS group had a Trunk or Treat, where we all parked in the lot and the kids went around from car to car for candy.  It was a quick and easy way to get some candy and for us moms to chat a bit.

Here are my Super Heros, again, not cooperating for a group photo.

And my little Super Girl taking a rest break.

You might remember me mentioning that Harlie's wonderful preschool teacher had them practice putting on costumes and going around "trick or treating" at school.  The practice completely paid off and Harlie had NO trouble putting on her costume for Halloween (thank you Mrs. Katie!).

In fact, I got the Super Girl costume for her last year and she wouldn't put it on.  As luck would have it, she's tiny, so the costume still fit.  I'm really trying hard to be more frugal with our money, which is what lead me to the Super Heros theme.  Plus, I made a rule that Murphy couldn't wear a full face mask, which pretty much eliminated 98% of the costumes.  Looks like I'm going to have to revise that rule next year.

And Harlie really seemed to have fun, despite the fact that she doesn't eat any candy!  I think that's pretty awesome.  Her teacher also got her a small little device that had a button for her to press to play a recorded "trick or treat."  Harlie was so excited to press it when the door opened.  It was a little emotional to hear the recording and see the reactions of the neighbors that I don't know, and who don't know her.  There are moments when I feel like I'm caught off guard with emotions I didn't realize I had.

What I'm trying to say is that while I am (of course) very sad that she cannot speak - that sadness is buried pretty deep most of the time.  I try not to think about it.  And I try to focus on all the things that she can do and soak up the joy of those things.  And walking around my neighborhood with my kids having fun is a great thing!  So I was happy.  And proud.  Very proud of my daughter who willingly put on her costume and wanted to enjoy the night and experience of Halloween.  I was happy.

Then in the group of kids yelling "trick or treat" on a doorstep, I watched Harlie position the device right, press the button, heard the recorded "trick or treat", watched the look of surprise on the person's face, and then I wanted to cry.  Just like that.  Out of the blue, in two seconds flat, I went from being happy to feeling... emotional.  Luckily, it went away again, as quick as it came.  And then I was fine.  Weird.

It was a nice night, but it got super cold very fast.  And the kids got tired of walking (even though they took the stroller from driveway to driveway).  So, we were home by 7:30pm and then Jennifer helped me put the kids in bed (Tom and Jennifer's husband were sitting outside with some other neighbors giving out candy).  Then we all sat down to watch Sunday night football (which wasn't so fun, because the Steelers lost).

So, all in all, a great night!  So, now you know about our Halloween.  Okay, still more blogging to do.  Stay tuned!

Thanks!
~Christy