Countdown to Halloween - Days 26-31

I hope everyone had a fun, chocolatey Halloween! I know we did. I'm kinda sad that October is over, it's been such a fun month filled with festivals, family time, yummy treats, and even a whirlwind Disney trip. That's probably why it all flew by so fast. I am excited for holiday season to be in full swing though. I have to admit, I'm one of those people that is fine with Christmas decorations popping up in stores the day after Halloween. They just make me happy. But before I get way too ahead of myself, let's recap the last week of October, shall we? If you've been joining up with Courtney, Amanda, Kelly, Elizabeth, and I for this whole month, I've loved reading about all the fall adventures you've been on. So many cute kid-in-pumpkin-patch pictures, spooky pjs, and fun crafts. I love it! So a big thanks for linking up. 

Starting with Day 26 (read recaps 1, 2, 3, and 4), here we go:

Day 26: Pumpkin Cookies.

It's not a holiday without some festive sugar cookies, and these were our best attempt. Not exactly Pinterest quality, or even homemade, but Ez had fun decorating them. And then pulling off all the candies and redecorating them over and over. They wound up entertaining him for much longer than I was anticipating, which is always a huge win in Toddlerville. 

Day 27: Pumpkin Art.

We got to the Target dollar section a little late this season, but we did manage to find one lone pumpkin sponge paint brush, which I immediately snapped up. Ez absolutely loved it. The well defined pumpkins had a little help from Mom, and the slightly more abstract ones are all Ez. Definitely a fun Mom and Ez play date while Declan was napping.

Day 28: Five Black Cats Crafting.

I really liked this monster rock craft I mentioned last week, but then Ez became obsessed with 5 Black Cats and we adapted the monster rocks into black cats. Or maybe skunks, depending on how you look at them. My artistic ability aside, Ez had fun collecting and painting the rocks and we've been using them for counting activities as we read the book. 

Day 29: Happy Mail.

Earlier in the week we mailed off some homemade cards, and then we got a whole bunch back in return. Technically Declan's first holiday was the 4th of July, but that's not really a card sending holiday, so he got his first holiday cards this week. First holidays are so bittersweet. They're just too fleeting. Even though Dec doesn't know what's going on right now, I like to save all their first cards in a keepsake box for them to look back at one day. As for Ez, he's at the age where he thinks all mail is for him anyway, so this was a fun mail week for him.

Day 30: Halloween Carnival.

On Halloween Eve we went to a Halloween carnival near Joe's work. There were a ton of games and Ez is at the perfect age to try them all out. The first game he tried was candy corn bowling, where he chose the smallest, lightest ball which kept stopping right in front of the pins. After I dragged him away so that other kids could have a turn he kept staring back wistfully, apparently dissatisfied that he didn't knock down all the pins. After that he couldn't bear to lose, so he basically cheated at each game, walking right up to the target and just dropping the ball or bean bag in, then jumping up and down in excitement. He had fun though, and that was the point. The games ended with a huge pumpkin seed hunt, aka - orange and black plastic eggs with little prizes hidden inside. Ez loved it until he opened up one of the eggs to find a plastic spider. He briefly picked it up then flung it back down, shuddering for a good twenty seconds afterward. Of course this prompted Daddy to chase him around with the fake spider while Ez ran screaming for his life. Not sure where he got his fear of spiders from, but it was real and it was dramatic. Spiders aside, a good time was had by all. Then we went home and watched Hocus Pocus. And when I say we, I mean I watched it in between listening to Ez sing the ABCs, make animal sounds, and recite his colors. Pretty much anything he could do to redirect attention to him, because clearly moms aren't supposed to watch movies that don't involve cars. 

Day 31: Happy Halloween!

We started the day off with...what else?? Donuts, of course! It was a Saturday, after all. Then we headed out for some early trick or treating in the downtown area of a nearby town. Ez loved it. Even more so if he got to put the candy in his own bucket all by himself. Afterward we headed home for some relaxation then we attempted another round of trick or treating. Our neighborhood was kind of a bust though, and Ez was over it after a few houses anyway. He wound up falling asleep around 7:00 in his stroller while we walked to a nearby restaurant for some Mexican takeout. Then Joe, Declan and I watched Planet of the Apes while eating nachos and chocolate. K, that last part might have just been me.

What 90% of my photos of the two of them look like.

All in all a very fun and satisfying Halloween, and the perfect sugar-fueled way to end a whole month of fun. Here's how we did on our Fall Bucket List:

I dropped the ball on pumpkin carving. Three trips to various pumpkin patches and we never actually got any carving pumpkins. I figured I'd just walk next door to the store and get some when we were ready to carve, which wasn't till right before Halloween, and the store was out of pumpkins. Oh well. I'm not super bummed since I know that at this stage I would've been the sole pumpkin carver. Maybe next year Ez will be more into it. As for Winchester Mystery House, it's open year round so we'll get to it this month, most likely.

Now it's your turn - grab a button and link up below. Can't wait to see some cute kiddos in costumes!

  

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