Halloween 2011

I woke up on Halloween morning at 4:08am with the worst pit in my stomach.   I layed in bed thinking I was the worst mom that ever lived.  All I could think about was the fact that Adrey was going to be going to school that day as a chicken and all of his friends would be showing up as super heroes.  May sound silly to you, but I was literally sick to my stomach.  It wasn't like weeks prior I had said to Adrey, "Hey Adrey, what do you want to be for Halloween?" and his response an enthusiastic, "Chicken!  I want nothing more than to be a CHICKEN!"  It was actually the opposite.  It's all about presentation with 3 year olds... the inflection in your voice... the enthusiasm... the hand gestures.  And I totally "roped" him into being a chicken.  We already had the cow costume for Charlie, so when presenting the chicken idea to Adrey I layed the glamour on thick.  "Hey Adrey, do you want to be the cooooooolest chicken on the planet for Halloween (super high voice, gigantic smile on my face, imaginary $50 bill in my hand)".  NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS remembering he'd be wearing this very same costume to school.

And when I woke up at 4:08 all I could think of was the disappointment Adrey would be feeling 5 hours later.  I wanted him to be happy in his costume, and feel PROUD wearing it.  And I was pretty certain a chicken wouldn't produce those results.  I mentioned it to John when he got up and John said that I was being silly, that Adrey was only 3 years old and it was fine.  I went for a walk with my friend at 6:00am and she has two boys in elementary school.  I asked her if she had any old 3T costumes stored away that we could borrow.  She said she didn't and then asked if Adrey had outgrown his costume already.  And that's when I burst in to tears.  The floodgates opened and I was a mess.  I felt like the worst mom ever and was afraid I was sending my "baby" to school only to meet ridicule from other kids dressed in super hero costumes.  I was sick.  Rosa and I walked for 45 minutes and I can't tell you one things we talked about after that initial conversation because that was the only thing on my brain.

When I got home I walked inside and John said to me, "I think we screwed up." and I asked what he was talking about.  He said, "I think you are right.  We should have gotten Adrey a different costume for school."  And 5 minutes later, at 6:50am Daddy was in his car and on his way to SuperWalmart to find a new costume. 

Best. Dad. Ever. 

So, Walmart's costumes on HALLOWEEN DAY were pretty picked over, but we managed to score a 3T Superman costume.  Adrey doesn't even know who Superman is (he's so into Buzz, Woody, Lightening McQueen... ya know, the NEW stuff!), but we managed to "sell" him on it pretty quickly.  Again, it's all about the presentation.  And anything with a cape is pretty awesome, right?

The school had a Halloween Parade for the pre-schoolers.  And there were Mommy and Daddy a plenty watching and taking pictures.  Adrey and Luke were the first in line for their class and they were "high-fiving" the people sitting on the sidelines as they walked by!  Too funny!

And for the record, there are 5 boys in Adrey's class... 3 were Spiderman, an army man and Superman.  A chicken just would have been plain silly...

And just because Charlie only stands 32 inches tall doesn't mean he didn't participate!

Cutest cow in town I tell ya...

We raced home from school, tried to gobble down a healthy dinner and they were back in their costumes and hot on the trail to trick-or-treat!

Our happy (and proud) little Superman...

And our cute little cow...

Who just sat on the sidelines for the first little bit just taking it all in.

The whole gang!

It took everything in Adrey's power to keep up with the big kids.  He ran, fast, toting his bucket that got heavier and heavier with each house he visited!

We had a deviled egg in our presence too (Zachary)...

Loving the action shots which is a perfect representation of the evening.

And about 30 minutes into the evening Charlie got a bit whiney so we took off his top thinking he might be warm.  And he perked right up!!  Happy as a clam once again!

Such a fun night!  Loved seeing Adrey really get into it.

And for the record, next year we will ask Adrey what he'd like to be for Halloween.  I think the days of themed Halloween costumes are a thing of the past...