Halloween Fun!!

What a fantabulous day!!! It was our first Canadian holiday as a family of three and it completely lived up to our expectations! Traditions were born and the excitement was plenty...

Helping Daddy get the pumpkins ready for carving...

Paul had the opportunity to sleep in, but instead got up early, excited about carving our first pumpkins with Maelyn. She loved pulling out the guts of the pumpkins and even helped to separate the guts from the seeds. We loved seeing her experiment with the different textures and get messy! Her attention, however, only lasted for one pumpkin gutting. Maelyn watched Backyardigans and had a snack while Paul and I finished gutting the other pumpkin.

During lunch time Maelyn decided to throw one of the longest and most intense tantrums we have experienced with her. We have no idea what started it, but we were worried that she wouldn't be in the mood to enjoy the day. In the end, she calmed herself down and went on as if nothing had happened.

After nap time, we decided that we needed to make some modifications to her costume. April made her the most the beautiful ladybug costume, complete with ladybug shoes, hat, etc. Unfortunately, the snow that we had during the day made it so that the black clothing underneath the ladybug shell just wouldn't be enough to keep her warm. We consented to the idea that we would have to put her in her snowsuit and just make do -- hoping that Maelyn would play along.

In the beginning, she wasn't too thrilled at being so bundled...

In the end, she loved it!! :) Funny what a magic wand will do!

Mike and Nicole dropped by with Katelyn.....too cute!!

Maelyn's first glimpse of others dressed up....she just couldn't figure it out!

Neighbour fun -- to think, last year Genesis was the only little one in our group....

Trying to figure out why Mike now has hair....

We were wondering how Maelyn would react to the experience of trick-or-treating....but of course, our social butterfly ladybug absolutely LOVED it!! After the second house, she understood that if she said trick-or-treat (in her syllable-type talk) and held out her treat bag, people would give her treats -- the best trick in the world! As soon as Maelyn and Paul walked away from one house, she would be screaming trick-or-treat all the way to the next one. At one house, a kind woman bent down to talk to her and Maelyn helped herself to the treat bowl, taking handfuls of her candy. The neighbour laughed so hard that she just kept letting Maelyn grab the candy -- I didn't mind, either! :)

We went to many more houses than we had planned on visiting, but Maelyn just wanted to keep going. After an hour and a half, we finally got her inside and took off her snowsuit. She then answered the door and handed out candy -- screaming and laughing every time the doorbell would ring.

What a fantastic day! I am normally not a big fan of Halloween, but experiencing the holiday through Maelyn's eyes has made me see the holiday in a different light. It hit me hard last night -- how lucky we are to be parents and especially the parents of such an amazing little girl. Life is as wonderful as a bowl of candy!

Thanks, AM, for the planting the idea of not missing out on this holiday -- delaying surgery by a week was the best thing we could have done!!