pumpkin Archives - Page 2 of 3

For her first Halloween, we dressed Avery as a pumpkin, and this year we’re using the same costume again. For one, it saves money, and two, we’re taking advantage before she has a say in her choice of costume.

It’s already happening with her clothes and diapers, and if we pick the wrong color, you’d think the apocalypse had arrived! Just like last year, Going Mom’s work had a fun Halloween event for the kiddos, so Avery and I made a trip to the event to see Mommy and friends/co-workers.

Selfie with my little pumpkin before going in to Mommy's work! — Selfie with my little pumpkin before going in to Mommy’s work!

She might’ve been in the same costume, but a lot changed since the first year. The biggest change was that she could use her own legs to walk around instead of carrying her everywhere. We thought she’d be shy around all the other kids and adults, but she proudly stated “I’m a pumpkin” when people asked, and she was quite playful.

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She even played football with a baby boy.

He was clearly not interested in the oblong ball as his costume makes it apparent he’s into basketball.

We had a few breakdowns while there, mainly because she wanted to go up and down the stairs (just like her dad!), but all in all, it was a great time. I enjoyed seeing/meeting everyone and getting to show off our beautiful, constantly growing pumpkin. Here she was in the costume last year…

….Fast forward to this year and….

Whoa, it takes a totally new camera angle! So, to answer the question of how much will a pumpkin grow in a year, I’d have to go with A LOT!

Our family pic with “the pumpkin” last year looked a little like this…

When compared to this year’s pic….

…..yeah, must be something in the good food and breast milk. Not only did our pumpkin grow more than double in size, she grew in terms of crazy too.

Or, maybe we all did. Who knows? Isn’t that just part of being a parent?

Have you reused the same costume for your kid or yourself before?

Another first is in the books as Halloween has come and passed. We didn’t do anything too elaborate, just bought a pumpkin costume from Costco and we were all set. Of course, Avery wasn’t too impressed with her orange attire…

Sorry, dear, next year we’ll try for more originality. Deal?

I’ll take that as confirmation that she’s okay with this.

For her first trick-or-treating experience, Going Mom, G-Ma, and I took turns holding our winter squash as we walked around a small loop of our neighborhood. We went to the homes of neighbors we knew just to say hi and kindly refused any treats they offered.

It was easy this year since Avery is still too young for candy, but I’m thinking next year will prove more difficult. I get that she’ll inevitably have candy, but hopefully we can keep it limited and I can’t stress enough how some of the sweets have ingredients we should never consume. Hydrogenated oils and basically all chemicals, for instance. Bleh.

Anyway, I’ll spare you my thoughts on ingredients in food……for now.

We have a really great neighborhood filled with fun-loving people and a lot of kids around the same age as Avery. It will be great watching them grow up together and hopefully creating lasting friendships.

Our pseudo-trick-or-treating walk lasted a little too long to Avery’s liking, but she didn’t throw a huge fit. Most of the time she just had a very unimpressed look which I think was partly because there were several little superheroes, animals, and plenty Elsa’s from “Frozen” running around squealing with delight from their bags overflowing with sweet treasures.

The night was calm and the air was cool and crisp from a cold front that just came in making it an ideal night to wander the streets. It was the ideal setting for Halloween and seemed to resemble the scene of kids out on Halloween in the movie E.T.

As usual, we stretched our limits for bedtime and Avery became very fussy as we sat her in her highchair for a late night dinner. She was still happy during bath time and after another bout of fussiness, she was out with Kelley nursing her to sleep.

Our baby is almost one, just two weeks from today, and she makes both Kelley and I extremely happy! I love experiencing firsts together as a family and want to share some of the better pictures of our Halloween on here.

Taking turns posing with our pretty pumpkin princess……who will look anywhere but the camera!

Had to bust out the “tickle bird” to get a few squirmy smiles.

I thought the shoulder time would help amuse her, but even that yielded sub-par, probably out of pity, smiles. She would hardly budge with Kelley trying to entertain her!