Rootin' Tootin' Halloween

Tammy, my friend and neighbor - and mom to one of NHV's best buddies, Owen - hosted a fantastic Halloween Par-tay for toddler and parents. She's one of those people who make entertaining look easy - I am so envious! Her dessert display was so gorgeous; I hope she posts pics on her blog for you to see. Anyway, it was just so nice to have a place to go, let the kiddos play, and then trick-or-treat in a mob of two year olds! Good times, I tell ya, good times!

On the walk down the street - to Tammy, Owen, and Scott's house, we prepped NHV for all the fun she could expect in the coming evening ... friends, playing, candy, knocking on doors to say, "Trick-or-Treat," ... all the good stuff!  Figuring we should kick-off the festivities at their door, we knocked and readied Natalie to say her cutest, "trick-or-treat."  Big, bad scary Scott opened the door ... dressed in this normal clothes - NOT a costume or a mask or anything -- illicited this reaction for my daughter's first Trick-or-Treat experience ....

And, no, that was definitely NOT happiness to see you.  She cried harder than the last time she got a shot at the doctor's office!  It was hilarious and awful to see her so upset ... so daddy started snapping photos while I did my best to console her.  Thankfully she recovered quickly once inside.  The toddlers had a plethora of toys at their disposal as well as a bouncy house in the garage.  The dads, bottles of beer-in-hand, monitored that chaos while the mommies took the opportunity to visit ... and compare pregnancy notes.

After coaxing a few bites of pizza into the younger bellies, we headed out for trick-or-treating in the 'hood.  What a blast!  It was so cute to watch our little mob of toddlers - nine in all - making their way to the porches.  The various costumes - from Frankenstein to Wonder Woman - inspired quite the response from the candy-givers.  I especially loved seeing N and her buddy O in their coordinating cowboy/cowgirl costumes.  (Owen's wig cracks me up!)

A little about Natalie's costume ... because it's very special.  That little cowgirl shirt was mine.  It was a gift from my Grandma Tex, a nickname bestowed on her because she was born in Texas.  I wore it for my second Halloween.  My sister wore it, and her daughter wore it.  Someday, BGV 2.0 will wear it, too.  Precious, right?

The rest of the costume (the original skirt was lost) was pieced together during my mom's recent visit to the NW.  We found the hat at the Halloween store for $2.50.  The skirt was on clearance at Children's Place for $3.99 - and will be more again and again.  The tights and boots are from Target - and will be staple pieces in her fall wardrobe.  Cute, nostalgic, and thrifty ... how about that!?

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Oh, and I threw together "costumes" for me and CPV, too.  I wore a clipart oven on my baby bump, and my baby-daddy wore a chef's hat and went as my baker.  Get it?  Bun in the oven ... baker?!