Showing posts with label Pumpkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pumpkins. Show all posts

Friday, October 30, 2009

Halloween: The Past 3 Years


The past 3 Halloweens have proven to me that my boys are growing up.  My homemade costumes and upgrades have taken a backseat to the store bought kind, because this Mom can't create a detailed Transformer from scratch.  We've had a repeat of a couple of costumes and created a few new ones. Regardless, we have still become the characters that we most love.

Yeee Haaa!  Can't you just hear Jessie the Yodelin' Cowgirl now?  Toy Story is a much loved movie in our home.  It inspired our costumes and brought the return of Buzz Lightyear in 2006.  I created M's costume, as well as my own, with the exception of the Woody hat & holster.  My husband, C, wore a light blue shirt with the name ANDY (just as you see it on Woody's boot) written in fabric paint across the front.  Being a part of the Toy Story gang for Halloween was a lot more fun than being at Sid's house!  Of course the dynamic duo fit our boys to a T.  Buzz & Woody, best buddies!





In 2007 M's love of cars was evident.  To be specific, he finds a white VW bug with red & blue stripes and a giant black number 53 surrounded by a big circle to be his favorite car.  That's what brought me to create a "race suit" and Herbie the Love Bug costume for my youngest son.  His brother only wanted to be a Transformer.  Actually, he preferred Bumblebee, but the only robot in disguise available was Optimus Prime.  Without a theme to tie these 2 characters together, I decided to split our family down the middle.  C became Sam Witwicky from Transformers when he wore the infamous "The Strokes" t-shirt from the movie.  My Herbie never had a more loving mechanic when I took on the role of M's pit crew with a race team style shirt, pants, & Herbie hoodie.





Last year, we carved a pumpkin for the first time and discovered Transformers Animated.  O was so excited to find that a very smart someone had created a costume of the fantastic Bumblebee.  You couldn't talk him out of becoming his favorite Transformer if you tried.  M however, decided it was his turn to take on the roll of Anakin.  Of course, we prefer the heroic version of Anakin Skywalker, when he had not yet gone to the dark side.  My husband officially hung up his lightsaber this year, but I jumped at the chance to become Padme again.  Changes had to be made to my previous costume, as I had been not quite 5 months post-baby belly when I last wore it.  I  even upgraded the arm bands and purchased a new pair of boots for the occasion.



This year, my boys have decided to recycle an old costume and purchase a new store bought one.  Can you guess what those 2 might be?  Well, they fit into the same theme and sport logos that basically say "I'm with the good guys."  Did you guess Transformers?  If so, you would be correct.  Someone in the world of Autobots & Decepticons finally got wise and created that strongly desired movie Bumblebee costume.  O will finally be able to transform into that spunky yellow Camaro that he loves so much.  M decided that it would be nice to be the big boss this year and is taking on the Optimus Prime costume that his brother wore 2 years ago.  One thing is for sure, my 2 boys are more than meets the eye.



With my boys becoming Transformers, I decided that I didn't want to join in on their theme.  Who really wants to be Sam's crazy mom, become the bad girl Decepticon, or see a short girl try to dress as Mikaela?  Not me, that's for sure.  Instead, I debated on what character I would like to become in 2009.  After discussing it with my boys, I determined it was time to embrace a huge part of who I am.  With help from my fabulously magical Mom, not too mention a whole lot of pixie dust, I am able to become....



That's right, I embraced my inner pixie and became Tinkerbell!  Whether I'm dressed in her new "Lost Treasure" fashions or wearing the typical Tink green "leaf" dress, I'm happy to report that I feel completely Tinkified!  I'll see you in Pixie Hollow!





Have a safe, healthy, & fun Halloween!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Halloween With Kids: The First 3 Years


When my children were born, I couldn't wait to begin experiencing the "firsts" that come with babies.  I intended to make every holiday as special as I possibly could, including Halloween.  Having been trained in the art of crafts & sewing by my Mom, I planned to make or enhance purchased costumes for my kids.  My heart longed to dress a little girl as Supergirl or WonderWoman.  As I did not have any daughters, I assumed my boys wouldn't want to look back at photos of them in a skirt and instead went with costumes meant for boys that they would love as much as I do.  


It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... it's... Super Baby!  Yes, what better costume could there be for a little boy's first Halloween, but Superman?  As I am a super hero enthusiast, this was definitely perfect for my son.  However, I didn't want him to be dressed up all alone.  What fun would that be?  I pulled out that high school Supergirl costume and convinced my husband to at least put on a Superman t-shirt, with a red shirt underneath to represent the cape.  The best part of course, was actually gracing the local Sears photo studio for photos!


Once this tradition was established, I simply couldn't break it.  Every year since O came into our lives, I have continued to dress up.  I can't say that my husband enjoys donning a costume, so I have allowed him to gracefully bow out of the experience after a few years of torture fun.  He hated didn't enjoy dressing up as a kid, so he really went all out for his own kids.  However, as much as he isn't into dressing up, he does enjoy seeing me get into the spirit of this holiday.  I enjoy it so much, that I continue to make sure our pumpkins are decorated according to our costume theme.

Over the years, we've become a range of characters.  When my son became obsessed with "Buzz Lightyee," after a trip to Disney World, we went to infinity & beyond as a family of space rangers. 




Then came baby number 2, M, and the love of all things Star Wars surfaced.  The force was with us as we ventured to some of my favorite Michigan sand dunes for photos.  By far, these are my favorite Halloween photos to date!  My intent was to mimic the sands of Tattooine.  Do you think we pulled it off?


Would you like to see our Halloween photos over the past 3 years?  Are you interested to see what my costume is this year (no spoilers for those who do know please)?  Check back Friday!  Do you do things differently with your kids than what you did as a kid?  What are your traditions during this holiday?   



* I apologize if the photos are floating a little randomly towards the end of this post.  They were not fully cooperating with me.