Halloween 2016

...only two weeks late. That's not bad, right? (Okay, now almost a month late, and I'm racing to publish this post because today is Thanksgiving and we need to only be one holiday behind!)

We had several Halloween-related family events this year, starting with a visit to our local pumpkin patch about a week after Declan was born.

Marshall really liked the hay maze; in fact, it was the only activity there he was willing to try! (They also had a petting zoo, giant bounce house-style pumpkin slide, and more.) We just went in the maze about fifteen times, which was fine with me since I was still recovering from Declan's birth.

Eventually, we headed to the pumpkins and chose some to bring home. It took about 30 seconds, and I must say I was pretty happy that Marshall chose the perfect toddler-sized pumpkin for himself and then a super tiny one for Declan!

My boys in green!

Declan slept the entire time. :-) 

 Oh, we did find a bulldozer for Marshall, which was a hit for a few minutes.

On to pumpkin carving! I thought it would be cute to carve out on our lawn, but there were ants everywhere and it turned out to be more of a hassle than anything. 

So we went back inside for the artistic part.

Our finished products! (Declan's is a "d".) Mine is scraped out but not carved because that's the reality of life with a newborn.

Halloween night we got all ready and ate a quick meal once Marshall was home. He was willing to eat without the costume but the head was there to stay.

And then we headed out for trick or treating! Have you ever seen a cuter dinosaur?

He was a little shy, a little uncertain, a little excited. I soaked up every minute. Highlights included a huge cat ("cat tunnel") over a doorway, selecting treats, and Marshall insisting that he wasn't allowed to eat his candy until we got home (his own rule). 

We hit about six houses and headed home. It was truly a perfect little Halloween, especially for Declan's first. He was a dinosaur egg, all tucked into the Ergo. 

And now it's Thanksgiving and we're hosting and it's time to bake a pie!