Halloween

Our trip to New York sidelined my Halloween costume planning, and I was at a loss as to what Joshua and Caleb would wear to Ryker's costume party on Monday. Much to my surprise, we discovered that the lion costumes they wore the previous two years still fit! I used my neglected eyeliner to paint a nose and whiskers on their faces while they napped, since I suspected they'd have nothing to do with having their faces painted if they were awake. I cut a pumpkin face out of construction paper and taped it to my orange-shirted belly, then we headed over to Ryker's house where Miss Susan had gone all-out with her expansive menu of yummy Halloween-themed treats. The boys and I had a great time with our playgroup friends. When we got in the car to go home, Caleb caught a glimpse of his painted face in the rear view mirror and expressed grave concern. He fought back tears as he pleaded with me to wash it off. Joshua reacted similarly when he caught sight of himself in a mirror later on that evening. I am constantly amazed that face-painting is such a popular feature at most children's festivities, considering how averse our boys are to the concept.

I surreptitiously painted their faces again during their naps yesterday afternoon, and when evening rolled around the boys donned their lion costumes once again to go trick-or-treating. We stumbled upon a Halloween block party just a stone's throw from our house, complete with complimentary hot dogs and lemonade courtesy of our neighborhood's citizen's association. Neighbors also offered hot cider, marshmallows for roasting over a huge pit of fire, and other treats. The boys were most excited about the spider cookies, which were oreos with black licorice "legs".

At first Caleb and Joshua were wary of taking candy from other people, but they quickly caught on, preferring to select their own pieces rather than receive what they were offered. They were very polite all throughout the evening, amusing candy-distributors by saying, "Thank you, woman! Thank you, man! Good-bye! See you later!" at each house. Many people seemed surprised that such little boys who are not yet 3 years old would have such good manners (although if we were doing a really good job parenting we would have taught the boys to say "ma'am" and "sir" instead of "woman" and "man"). They were also quick to observe if someone had a ceiling fan in their house, in which case the boys would also say "Good-bye, ceiling fan!"

I am optimistic that with a few minor alterations, the lion costumes will make a fourth appearance next Halloween. And who knows, maybe by then the boys will actually want to have their faces painted! I'm not counting it, though.