Happy Halloween!

Before writing the 2009 Halloween post, I cruised the blog archives back to last year's Halloween, when Emma was seven months old and not even crawling, yet. She was a pumpkin last year and spent a good portion of the holiday waving an orange flashlight around. What a blast this last year has been. Thank you, Bee, for being such a delightful little girl and for bringing your parents such happiness. It's hard to believe it's gone by so fast.

OK, all mushiness aside, we spent this year's All Hallows' Eve with friends and took the tiny tots on their first trick-or-treat adventure. Emma was in her bee suit, of course, Emily was Mickey and Greyson was Elmo. We were also accompanied by Emily's brother, Eli, who was a storm trooper and Taylor, a family friend dressed up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.

Before strolling the streets in search of candy bars and other sundry treats, we feasted on pizza at Emily's house, where the little ones got to play on the trampoline, shoot (mini) hoops and watch some vintage Halloween Sesame Street. Fortified by cheese and pepperoni pizza, we set out to collect some serious loot. The base was alive with princesses, vampires, Mario brothers, storm troopers and Darth Vaders, and even a few bumble bees. Greyson's Elmo suit was totally a hit, as was Emily's Mickey costume. I am pretty sure they were the only ones that we saw last night. We didn't turn a single corner or approach a house without hearing a chorus of "Elmo!" from the delighted children.

We walked Lauman Ave at a toddler's pace (which is actually pretty slow, even with the enticement of candy) for about an hour and a half, and with bulging candy bags and absolutely exhausted toddlers, we headed back to Emily, Eli and Sara's house. The kids took inventory of their winnings and tasted some of their hard-earned candy. Emma tasted Dots for the first time, and Greyson was enraptured by a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Thank you, Sara and family, for a wonderful Halloween Night!