holiday season chapter one: Happy Halloween!

Lilly was the cutest Little Red Riding Hood on Halloween! You've gotta take my word for it, because at the moment, I'm unable to upload pictures from our camera to the blog (we need to refill our quota). Below are just a couple pictures taken with my friend's cellphone camera (her daughter's in the background) from when she took the girls to the pumpkin patch before Halloween.

Man, everything was great about this holiday this year. I remember last year, she was a little afraid when kids came to the door, but this year she loved it! All about it. I love how Halloween is not just about Oct. 31, but everything leading up to it, the actual day, and then the aftermath. Getting the pumpkin, carving the pumpkin (actually, Leighton carved one and she drew and put stickers on hers; I either helped her or worked on the pumpkin seeds, cleaning and then roasting them), reading about Halloween, talking about what's going to happen, how we'll get into costumes and go "trick or treat" and say "thank you" and "Happy Halloween!" Lilly and papa savoring some of their favorite treat: chocolate. Both some hot chocolate on the pumpkin carving night the Sunday before Halloween, and then some mini-chocolate bars after we'd come home from trick or treating and were counting the treats (I'd told her the treats were just for counting) before putting them away on Halloween the following Sunday.

Ahh, I love how holidays have become even more fun with a child around!

Now we look forward to Thanksgiving, and then Christmas (seriously, I've already start humming carols, but have vowed not to play any till after Thanksgiving). We look forward to having grandpa Kent and grandma Cheryl with us, and hosting our first actual Thanksgiving meal! I've already ordered the turkey from the Co-op and started stocking up on the things we'll need.