Halloween Costume link up

Because Elaina's birthday falls two days before Halloween, I'm usually scrambling to find a costume for her and Ellie. This year, however, I planned ahead, and I couldn't have been happier with the results.

Elaina initially said she wanted to be a dancing flower for Halloween. But one day, Josh and I watched her playing at a park, hopping carelessly (and sometimes dangerously...) from one piece of equipment to the next, and we decided she was like a little spider. A few days later, I saw a Spider Girl costume on sale at Zulily, and our little superhero was born.

Coincidentally, Arcadia, the girls' cousin and Elaina's bff, also went as a superhero, so it was sort of a family theme :)

For Ellie, her costume was borne out of a nickname her Papa gave her. When she was little, he called her Ellie-belly, and then his little "belly-rina". A tutu and onesie from Zulily later, and her costume was complete. She loved being a ballerina and insisted on twirling for everyone. I loved asking her what she was going to be: "I'm gonna be a bawwereeeena!"

We took the girls out for Merchant Night the Friday before Halloween--in our small town, several businesses downtown and along the highway open their door for trick-or-treaters. They had a blast, and I'm so glad we were able to go, because Halloween night was something of a sloppy mess.

The cousins at Merchant Night

We stil went trick-or-treating on Halloween, first stopping at our neighbors', Hans and Jo's, to fill up on goodies. (They love the girls and the girls love them. We are so fortunate to have such wonderful neighbors.) Then it was off to Gramma and Papa's, where their buckets were filled again, and my tummy was filled with some delicious Mexican hot chocolate (made with the normal fixin's, plus cinammon and cloves). My camera decided to stop working right as we were headed out the door, so I didn't get as many pictures as I'd like to. We went up and down their street and hit another neighborhood before the rain and a tired ballerina sent us home.

This year more than others, I just so enjoyed experiencing the fun of Halloween through my girls' eyes. It is one of the best parts of being a parent--getting to relive your childhood and help make memories for your little ones. I think this year was definitely a success!