Happy Halloween

I am so excited! My last baby boy got to wear my favorite Halloween costume this year!!! I’ve been waiting for this. Each of my boys (Nick for his first, Zander for his second and now Ben for his second) have worn this absolutely adorable octopus costume. I’m so happy because 1) none of them tore a leg off before now and 2) I got my money out of it and 3) that it is so stinkin’ cute!!!

Here’s Nick in 2006 at 11 months.

Zander in 2009 at 19 months

And Ben in 2012 at 17 months (I think I know who he is going to look like in a few years)

And the rest of the crew in 2012

I do have to say I am a bit sad to say that this is the last time this costume will be worn. It’s had a good life! After our pictures we visited our neighbors and then met up with our friends who live behind us to go trick or treating in the neighborhood. It was quite fun to have other adults along for the walk. And when Ben and Zander pooped out at about 7:15 I stayed out with Nick and the neighbors to finish up. We walked in just a bit before trick-or-treating ended at 8 p.m. I think we may have started a new tradition. At least until the kids decide that girls (or boys for our neighbor) have cooties.

Ghouls on parade

One of my favorite things about Nick’s school is the Halloween parade. The older kids (and parents) are invited to watch while the lower grades walk through the hallway and to the gym to show off their costumes. There are tons of really cute ones (one little boy was an aircraft carrier another was a garbage can robot) and then the traditional store bought ones like my kids wear (I don’t have that kind of creativity, talent or time). It’s also a good chance to hang out in Nicks’ room since I don’t get in there any other time of the year, except conferences.

A first grade classroom is total chaos. My hat’s off to teachers. I don’t know how they do it without losing their minds!

And here is our favorite librarian, who always joins in on the fun!

So organized

I snapped this quick picture of Nick’s desk while I was at school for his Halloween party. It is a stark contrast to the overflowing, paper-filled drawers next to his bed.

Nick said that the desk fairy visits every once and awhile and if his desk is clean she leaves behind a note and a treat. I wonder if that would work at home?

Musical monsters

Well, there weren’t many monsters tonight but they were awfully musical. Tonight was the annual “Get your money’s worth out of your Halloween costume” at Kindermusik night. This was the first time I also got a look at just how tight poor Zander’s Jake (from Jake and the Neverland Pirates – a Disney Peter Pan spin-off) costume was. It looked a bit like he should have been in the ballet version of the show! And Ben got to wear his super-cute octopus costume. I couldn’t believe that he kept it on the whole class and even kept the hat on for the first half of the class. Maybe we will get through tomorrow night after all!

And just a few fun shots from the rest of the class:

Chicken skin

I noticed Zander had little bumps all over his arms and torso when he got out of the bath the other night. I instantly thought of eczema, but since the bumps didn’t itch I figured I was probably wrong. While at the doctor for Ben’s check-up I asked our pediatrician about what they might be and he said it was probably keratosis pilaris which is also known as chicken skin. I went home, Googled it and decided I had one pretty smart pediatrician. We are trying to remember to put lotion on his upper body every night, but since the bumps don’t bother him it is sometimes hard to remember.

 

Nick also has some of these bumps, but given his history with asthma and allergies I’m not confident that his aren’t eczema. We will have to keep a close eye on them to make sure they don’t get worse. 

Takin’ care of business

My business that is. I spent Sunday cleaning out my closet, or more accurately, the filing cabinet in my closet. It’s amazing what I found in there, including taxes back to 1999. And it all needed to be shredded. Thankfully, I had some helpers. So, while I pawed through two drawers of ridiculously old documents my little helpers, Nick and Zander, meticulously shredded each and every piece of paper I passed along to them. And they loved it. Zander helped out for quite a while, but Nick, he spent the entire time hanging out in the closet with me, even when the shredder overheated from overuse. (Don’t judge, it was totally safe) Though it wasn’t how I imagined spending some quality time with my boys, it was nice just the same.

 

Superman

One of Ben’s favorite activities (if it can be called that) is standing on the couch and flopping forward onto the ottoman. Or standing on the ottoman and flopping forward onto the couch. Thankfully, he seems to be smart enough to realize when the two are, and aren’t, close enough for a safe landing.

I just wish I was determined enough to get that stinking paci out of his mouth so I could see his happy smile. He doesn’t have it at daycare, but I always cave and give it to him as soon as we get home. It’s sad that he is only 1 and I am already broken. I’m scared to see what he will get away with when he is 16.