Trick or Treat

 

Trick or treating this year was so much fun.  I explained the concept of Halloween at the beginning of October when most decorations went out.   For weeks after that, Eliza talked about dressing up in her costume and carrying her treat bucket around.  She practiced every chance she could until she finally perfected the sweetest, "trick or treat" one could muster. 

What I asked Eliza what she wanted to dress up as for Halloween, she coordinated our entire families attire. 

We have a pig:

A Duck:

 A Cow:

Note to self: a cow costume with balloons is not conducive to holding infants

And none other than Old McDonald:

E-I-E-I-O

 Complete with a chicken farm:

In all actuality - Bruce actually missed out on the Halloween festivities.  He was in Chazy, New York with the Dairy Challenge team, so our farm was without a farmer.  These pictures (minus me as the cow) were taken a week before Halloween when we were on our way to a Halloween party at a local preschool. 

On Halloween night, after a quick dinner, I threw costumes on the kids, put a bowl of candy out on the porch for the 3 or 4 trick or treaters we would actually get, and loaded them up in the wagon.  I figured it would take a while to go around the circle in our neighborhood so I wanted to get a jump on it before it got too late.  Little did I know how long it would take us. 

All excited to go trick or treating

The excitement was bursting out of Eliza.   And believe me when I say she was a cute trick or treater.  She insisted on holding both hers and Zaby's treat bucket.  After I rang the doorbell, she held her bucket out with gusto and declared, "trick or treat."  Most of the houses offered their bowls and let her choose what she wanted.  Things were the same at every house. 
She put both buckets on the porch.  As she picked a treat, she said, "one for my bucket and one for my brother Zaby."  When the deed was done, she looked at the person and said, "Thank you!  Happy Halloween!"  Then the explanations started.

"I am a pig and I say Oink Oink here there and everywhere!!  Zaby is a duck and he says Quack Quack her there and everywhere!!  Mommy is a cow and she says Moo Moo here there and everywhere!  And Bruce, he is Old McDonald and he say E-I-E-I-O."  (I don't know why she wouldn't call him daddy; she continually called him Bruce - maybe because he wasn't with us???)  This adorable phrase was repeated at every single house.  That's why it took us so long to trick or treat to such few houses.  As we walked from house to house, she chatted about all her treats and told me again what she told people after we rang the doorbell.  She commented about which houses had lights on and which ones didn't and thus which ones we could go trick or treating to. 

As the buckets began to fill, she decided to only hold hers.  I put both Zaby and his bucket in the wagon between houses because Eliza wanted to walk and holding him was getting heavy.  It was then that Zaby discovered the joy of trick or treating.  As you can see from this picture below, he really liked trick or treating.  He sorted his candy, (throwing what he didn't like over the side of the wagon) and ate 2 tootsie rolls and 1 sucker (with wrappers still on) before we got home. 

 Yes, he is too busy eating candy to pose for any pictures. 

 When I took the bucket away from him to put more in it, he had a complete conniption fit.  Throwing his body back, screaming, you name it.  He's pretty possessive of his bucket. But not near as possessive as he was when I took his sucker away to remove the wrapper.   

 I kept trying to tell Eliza to choose the brown M&M's, but she liked the yellow ones better.  I guess I'll have plenty of peanut M&Ms to eat.  I'm always nervous about Eliza eating her treats before I have a chance to take out the ones with peanuts (she's allergic).
 Happy girl with a full treat bucket!

 Zaby is a big fan of trick or treating

One in each hand

The overflowing treat buckets.  This year was so much fun!  I look forward to many more years of childlike innocence and trick or treating.  Happy Halloween everyone from Old McDonald's farm!