Happy Halloween, everyone!
I know the Ghost of Halloween Past isn’t really a thing—that’s more Dickens’ Christmas territory—but today I was blown over when Halloween history repeated itself. Read more
Halloween
Trick or treat sign: Free Halloween printable
This is my first year as a mother when I’ve actually felt on top of Halloween. And that’s 100% because I decided to not go all DIY.
I’m so glad I’m half-assing Halloween.
When Peeper said she wanted to wear a Cinderella costume, my inner feminist cringed—but then I hopped on Amazon and ordered her a damn Disney dress.
Kiwi is still too little to have much of a preference or even know there’s a holiday coming up. So I figured that hey, she has fleece giraffe-print pajamas, so why doesn’t she dress as a giraffe? #twoforonepajamas
Now I have to get out and show off these top-tier costumes. And if you’re like us, you won’t be spending all of Halloween at home, either, waiting to give out tiny chocolates to almost equally tiny Elsas and Pikachus. We’ll be taking the girls out to get their own candy (which we’ll quickly appropriate, obvi). So I wanted to set out a trick or treat sign welcoming the neighborhood kids to help themselves to the treats I’ll leave on the front porch.
And hey, so can you, because you can download this Halloween trick or treat sign for free!
Download your free Trick or Treat Sign!
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Feeling grateful for the lack of a sugar hangover
The best part of having a toddler who could care less about trick-or-treating?
Not having a giant candy stash to gorge yourself on.
On Halloween, Eric and I took Peeper trick-or-treating at Multnomah Village, along with thousands of Elsas and Elmos and elephants. Parking was a zoo and shuffling along in the queue felt a little bit like going through TSA at an airport, but it was actually quite fun.
From our pot to yours, happy Halloween!
Peeper is a bit afraid of other children on Halloween and every other day, so she wasn’t thrilled about the group photo. Thankfully, this little lobster cheered up and spent the rest of the play date happily throwing balls, nomming fruit and toppling headfirst into toy bins.
Happy Halloween, everyone!
Is it Halloween yet?
Peeper is getting in the spirit of Halloween. Only a week and a half to go!
Motherhood this week
“I should remember this.”
The thought strikes me every day as Peeper does something funny or sweet or ridiculous, yet I don’t keep a baby book and I haven’t updated my Peeper journal for months. I’m afraid all the tiny moments will slip into oblivion while I mark only the big ones.
Here, then, are a few glimpses into our everyday lives. These won’t make the front page headlines, but I think they’re worth recording.
Friends with Freddy. Our downstairs neighbors decorated for Halloween, draping the bear statues with fake spiderwebs and hanging spooky critters. They also put up a lifesize paper cutout of a Freddy Krueger lookalike, which bares its sharp teeth at us as we walk toward our door.
Whenever we walk past, Peeper says “Hi!” to Freddy in her cheeriest voice.
“You’ll know to worry if she starts saying ‘hi’ to her closet,” my brother said.
Pumped up at the park. Yesterday Peeper was a beast on the playground. She was struggling to get up the first big step on the play structure but didn’t ask for help (“hep!”), so I didn’t intervene. She kicked her leg up to shoulder height and somehow pulled herself onto the step.
She was too busy moving on to the next one to celebrate or even recognize her accomplishment.
She climbed up and down the rest of our time there but by the end, she was clearly getting tired. Instead of giving up, though, she’d grunt and yell with the effort of dragging her little body onto the first step. She reminded me of a bodybuilder or Maria Sharipova. Peeper’s a beast!
Toddler irony. Peeper recently discovered my underwear drawer. She opens my nightstand, drapes my bras around her neck and tosses my undies over her shoulder.
I figured that since she was happy and occupied, I’d change her diaper while she played there. When I came back with a clean dipes, I realized she had pooped—on my lingerie.
Well, I guess that’s kind of what it’s for.
The kicker: She’s done this twice in the last week. That’ll teach me.
Family plans. Verizon and AT&T got nothin’ on Annie’s. Peeper has been using anything and everything—a box of mac n’ cheese, a cup of crayons, the remote control, a package of oatmeal—to call her grandma.
“Nana, Nana,” she says while cradling the object near her ear.
We’ll see if messaging and data rates apply.
How did you record your kids’ everyday antics?