Halloweenie

Guest Blogger Today 😍 Lauren shares a bit of her own little life: 

“What would you like to be for Halloween?” I asked Brooks back in September. “An iguana with icing!” Brooks replied. That character was from “Halloween ABC’s”, a book we’ve read manyyyy times. I suspect he mostly wanted the icing. However, an iguana seemed like a great costume and I quickly found a dragon cape online that could pass as an iguana. Easy on, easy off, and didn’t hinder potty training progress by complicating lowering our pants - I’ll buy it! 

Halloween lesson #1: I asked too early about the costume. 

By the time the iguana costume arrived, Brooks had become obsessed with Mario. In my head, I didn’t want to buy a onesie (see complication with potty training mentioned earlier) that’s cheaply made and will be worn one time. I *thought* it’d be better to purchase overalls, a red long sleeve shirt, and a red hat that he could wear at other times. And I’ll just draw on a beautiful mustache. Smart? Smart. So I thought. 

The first of the Halloween events on the docket: trunk or treat at Brooks’ school. They message stating that costumes should be worn over school clothing so teachers can easily take them off. It’s also a little warmer than it may typically be this time of year. Okay, I’m adaptable! I dress him in shorts (see potty training again), the long sleeve red top, and offer him two Mario hat choices. I sprung for an official Mario hat that he ended up not liking, but resentfully wore for the event. Ryan even made a little felt emblem for his shirt to ensure that everyone knew he was Mario. 

Halloween lesson #2: go all out!

I missed the memo that all of the parents were bringing their top Halloween energy on costumes. One child was dressed in a full policeman get up. There were princesses with long hair clips galore. I went for practical, functional, and (my interpretation of) less wasteful. I really missed the mark. Brooks came home and said, “no one cared about me costume.” Knife to chest! I got teary. I cared about his costume and I had hoped his friends would too. But in comparison to all of the others, he felt not as important. I hit myself with the bad mom stick. Next year, I will be going ALL OUT. 

Determined to get the school memory out of his head immediately, I decided to take him to Beware on the Square in Celina the following day. It’d be a date, just he and I. 

Bootleg Mario strikes again! Halloween lesson #3: candy makes everything better. 

The event on the Celina square was a little overwhelming for Brooks, I mean Mario, but he had a blast. We practiced saying trick or treat, but when the time came Mario could never muster it. Despite this, he was loaded up with candy. So much so that we decided we better sit on the bench to people watch and enjoy some. 

Ah, yes. A little people watching and candy made the sting (to me) of yesterday’s costume snub disappear. We also have a whole additional year to practice saying trick or treat. 

To polish off the Halloween weekend, we decided to take the family to a Fall Festival at a church in Gunter. Bootleg Mario and Bootleg Luigi joined forces. 

Brooks was totally starstruck when he got to meet Princess Peach at the event. There were games, more candy, activities and a train ride. 

His favorite part was the train with Nana, despite the very cold weather this day. 

The Gunter event was much more our speed. Homemade costumes were sprinkled around on kiddos and only a handful went all out. Everyone was kind and laid back. This is what I had imagined the Halloween spirit to be like! 

The Cannon/Mario Brothers Family 

Overall, the weekend was a blast and I hope it filled Brooks’ head with happy Halloween memories of fun events as a family.

We didn’t end up trick or treating as we had planned because both kiddos ended up being under the weather. It turned out that Brooks had RSV, which he passed to Olive. To keep from reliving the details, I will summarize: Olive had a brief 24 hour stint in the hospital the day after Halloween and improved with the medical team’s care. We’re beyond grateful. 

Next year, I won’t be a Halloweenie and will step up my game. I’m coming for you, 2024 Halloween! I wonder what Brooks will want to be. I’ll wait at least until October to ask, make sure we have many candy-filled activities planned, and you better believe I’ll be going all out on his costume.