2nd Halloween

Last year we were able to do quite a few fun Halloween activities with Brody, but with each year I know it will get more fun to do new things with him as he grows older.

So this year, we tackled pumpkin painting. I'm not brave enough to carve pumpkins with Brody yet, but since he does a lot of art projects, I thought painting would be perfect. But first, we had to head out to get a pumpkin...

We didn't end up finding a weekend to go to a pumpkin farm with hayrides, pick your own pumpkins and corn mazes. So instead, we headed to a farm nearby where all their pumpkins on are near the road. I also believe this is the cheapest way to go too.

Despite the low-maintenance pumpkin picking, Brody had a great time. He was able to pull around pumpkins in a small wagon, ride in a bigger wagon and pick out his own pumpkin.

Then we headed home to paint our pumpkins. Brody had a great time painting his pumpkin and my ever-so-patient Mom sat next to him to make sure paint did end up all over the floor and so Jason and I could paint pumpkins as well. The finished products:





Halloween at Brody's Daycare is also a big celebration. Every year they host a Costume Fashion Show. Parents attend of course, but it also draws a crowd from many others in the office. By the time we got there it was standing room only!

All the kids walk (or are pushed in a stroller if they're too little) across a stage. Walking is so much more fun, so I was excited that Brody was out walking on his own. He actually did a great job and I snapped a picture of him when he saw me. He pointed and yelled right away of course, but didn't try to run over. Many other kids get pretty upset when they can't run over to their parents right away, so I was glad that Brody did such a good job.

Our Little SpiderMan!

Friday night we headed to a Haunted House/Halloween party that my sister helps host every year. While it was cold, we were still able to stay for awhile, which allowed Brody to go through his very first haunted house. While it was a good/scary haunted house (which they do in a garage), when we took Brody through, we used a flashlight and all the people in the haunted house were extra nice to him. So, it wasn't truly that scary, but we still got a chance to check out all their hard work.

Since Halloween was on a Monday this year, our city chose to do Trick-or-Treat from 6-8pm on Saturday night. At first I was annoyed that it was so late. (Brody goes to bed by 6:30!!) Then I realized that at least it wasn't a weeknight and reminded myself that it's not the end of the world if Brody stays up until 8pm. We were in the middle of weaning the pacifier (more on that another day), so any disruption to bedtime was worrisome.

I personally believe that a 1 year old is too young to trick-or-treat (especially since he's not allowed to eat any candy). However, Jason disagreed, so he headed out to take Brody to a few houses. It was a great way for Brody to get the experience with some of our nearby neighbors, without doing too much. Although, he still ended up with a ton of candy! Apparently they thought he was cute.

Then they headed home and he helped pass out candy. This was by far his favorite activity. He would run down to the end of the driveway with a piece of candy to drop it in a kid's bucket. Then when it would quiet down, he would yell, "More Kids!!"