Saturday, November 01, 2008

Buzzing through Halloween

We've been Buzz Buzz Buzz-sy with the events of Halloween, leading up to last night's big event...trick-or-treating our neighborhood for the very first time! For Pat and I it was another jack-o-lantern grin from ear to ear moment. Devi had the routine down, from knocking on the door to saying trick-or-treat and even a politely added thank you at the end, she was a pro at all 4 or 5 houses we managed to squeeze in before her bedtime.

For years, our tradition has been to meet with my parents for a harvest meal to help pass the time, anxiously awaiting the anticipated darkness, marking the moment that the trick-or-treaters emerge from the the darkness and begin their Halloween trek. This year it was stick to your ribs shepherd's pie, perfect to fuel the bones for the cold of the misty night we were having. Flickering lights and drifting fog, combined with the spooky music resonating from our garage transformed our friendly all-American neighborhood into the eeriest, spookiest Hallow's eve around. The bumble bee remained unphased, however :)

Devi requested a bee costume. With a 2 dollar price tag from the local thrift store, I put the sewing machine away this year and was counting my blessing that she is still so easily appeased. Pat and I went for the obvious bee keepers...seemed appropriate and brought us a chuckle or two from the neighbors :)


A couple of weeks ago, we began to prepare for this silly celebration of autumn. We went to Spooky's farm again and picked our pumpkins. Devi was much more aware of what we were doing this year and squealed with delight when she saw "SEEDS" inside her prized squash. "Pumpkin Guts" was also another extremely fun phrase for her to say over and over as she worked up the nerve to stick her hand into the tangled web of cold orange strings. Once inside, she was fascinated by nature's way of growing these peculiar orbs.



We attended Devi's first party this year too. A Harvest Party was sponsored by the Children's Home Society where our home study for adoption #2 is being done. They went all out with crafts, fun food and Devi's first opportunity to see what happens when she uttered the words "trick-or-treat". Each office gave out cute Halloween treats. Devi, having never had candy before was totally wowed by the colorful wrapping. She also came face to face with a child dressed as Elmo, which was hilariously confusing for her and offered a wonderful belly laugh for us.



9 comments:

Amy said...

The bee costume is adorable!!! I love all of her expressions in every picture. Love the bee keeper idea too - so creative. Great job on the pumpkin!

ColleenC said...

So cute! Our little guy came face to face with an Elmo AND a cookie monster- thought he'd died and gone to heaven, he danced around and squealed- it was hysterical! Ah, the little beautiful moments of parenthood.

Fenwick 5 said...

Love the costume,so cute.I bet she was busy as a bee.Could u keep up with her? LOL Gidget

Peter and Nancy said...

I love the bee! I like to make costumes too, but ours were off the rack this year. I did see a home-made chicken costume this year that I'm totally stealing, though! It was Anya Rashi's first taste of candy, too -- she's hooked. :o) I love the "pumpkin guts" glee!
-- Nancy

The Labontes said...

So much fall fun! We have the same Spidey 3 bag (I know you're shocked). None of my kiddos will touch the pumpkin guts - still.

Love the updates!
Kristy

Eric and Cheryl said...

What great costumes! So cute that dad and mom are dressed up also. I love having the family coordinated on Halloween, my kids are getting tired of it. :( I really enjoyed the post about your Diwali celebration. I love the way you have added little twists to make it perfect for your family. Very sweet and thoughtful! I know you had asked about Journeys as we are using the same agency and I would love to talk about our experience or answer any questions you might have. If it's OK I would love to exchange phone numbers and we can connect that way. Our email is: ecklobas@comcast.net. I look forward to talking with you.

Shad and Maggie Alsworth said...

Too cute!!!! Each of my boys were a bee when they were itsy bitsy!! Where does the time go?!

Cindy said...

LOVE your costumes....very original.

Sandy & Butch said...

Looks like you had wonderful Diwali & Halloween celebrations. Gotta love those pumpkin guts! I must say, your soon to be 2 little busy bee is looking more and more like a big girl and less and less like a baby. It sure happens fast!