My love of HALLOWEEN

My love for Halloween didn't really become this full blown and undying until I was pregnant with Elisabeth. She was due on November 9th, but we all knew she was going to be early because of my toxemia. That's when I started wishing for her to be born on Halloween. We could have costume parties every year!!! Well, she was a couple days later than Halloween, but I was hooked. We put up decorations right after my birthday and Elisabeth loves to help. She knows that carving pumpkins is sacred to me and takes the shapes of the jack o' lanterns faces very seriously. She's always thinking of things we can do to make our house look more like a Halloween house. And, she comes up with FANTASTIC costume ideas that I then make my own personal mission to make sure she gets.

I don't remember loving Halloween so much when I was little. My mom openly admits it's not her favorite holiday by a long shot. I love the idea of Halloween. Getting to pretend you're someone else for a whole day. I like the decorations, the foods, the weather. We start planning for Halloween months and months in advance. In fact, Elisabeth usually knows what she wants to be for the next Halloween before we've even celebrated New Year's.

And so, here are my girls and their Halloween costumes:

Elisabeth's first Halloween. A pumpkin. Costume from Old Navy.



Elisabeth's second year she wanted to be a Penguin. Jana and I worked on her costume. Her Papa was Martha Stewart. :)



Elisabeth's third Halloween. Tinkerbell. Costume on clearance from the Disney Store.


Elisabeth's fourth Halloween. This is where she really started getting creative. A school bus. I worked on that thing for over a week. It's my favorite costume so far.



Elisabeth's fifth Halloween. A squirrel. Jana made the mask and I made the body and tail. Another favorite.


Elisabeth's sixth Halloween. Senator Amidala. From Star Wars.

Julia's first Halloween. Princess Leia. From Star Wars. Since she's a baby, she is forced to follow whatever theme Elisabeth has declared for the year. :)
Actually, we all did last year since I was a Storm Trooper and Evan was Obi Wan Kanobi.

This year? Well, Elisabeth is Cruella DeVille and Julia is a Dalmation Puppy. Don't worry, I'll be sure to post those right after Halloween. Who knows what next year will bring...