31 Days of Halloween: Days 28 - 31

Can't believe Halloween came and went so quickly! Here's the final recap of our 31 Days of Halloween.

Day 28: I realized we only had three days till Halloween and we probably wouldn't see Ezra's cousin in time to give him his treat bag, so we made him a little card and sent it as happy mail instead. 

I finally made a successful footprint art craft. Ez was a good sport, even though he wasn't too into having his foot painted. He did like painting the toilet paper rolls though, (and his legs and clothes) so that kept him nice and distracted. I'm already excited to compare this year's to next year's, although somehow one of the ones we made this year is like half an inch bigger than the other one, even though they were both made using the same foot like two seconds apart. So if this year's foot winds up being bigger than next year's, I guess that's why. We can just chalk it up to user error. 

The finished products:

Here's my attempt at Halloween-ish nails. 

Day 29: We got some happy mail too! My mom sent us some Halloween treats, but all the staged pictures came out blurry cause a certain little toddler kept making grabs for his presents. 

Finally got around to watching Hocus Pocus. Nothing like a deadline to get my butt in gear! As you can see, Ez was a fan:

Day 30: I took Courtney's (from Sweet Turtle Soup) idea to put treats in a pumpkin bucket, kinda like a Christmas stocking. I put a little monster activity pack from Target's dollar section, some orange play dough, skeleton pjs, and a Mickey Mouse Halloween shirt (that I got for $2 from the thrift store). The best part was that we finally got cool weather, so Ez got to wear his long pjs that night. 

This was Ez's first time using play dough, and he was a huge fan. And he only tried to taste it once.

Day 31: We got our trick-or-treating started bright and early, at 10 am on Halloween morning. We met up with some friends at a local Main Street where all the shops were handing out candy. It was super packed, and we only hit up a few shops before Ez started having his pre-nap meltdown, but it was fun while it lasted. 

That evening we took Ez on his first "real" trick-or-treating experience. I'm not sure what time you guys with toddlers go trick or treating, but I think we waited too long and there were packs of older kids out, so we only hit up a few houses and called it a night. I think Ez had fun though.

Day 32: We've got one bonus day! The weather was so nice and fall-like that we took an evening family walk on the 1st and we came across this house with amazing Halloween decorations. It was nice to be able to check out all the decorations without fighting through packs of kids on the hunt for candy.

So that was our Halloween month! Hope you had a great Halloween too :)

Linking up with Courtney, Amanda, Jenny & Jamie for:

Goodbye October & Fall Bucket List Update

October was full of so many fun activities, I'm a lil sad to see it go. This wasn't Ez's 1st Halloween, but there were still so many firsts now that he's walking and actually aware of what's going on. We crossed off nearly everything on our Fall Bucket List, and added a few more fun things I hadn't even thought of while making the list. Like brunch at Goofy's Kitchen, which was probably the scariest event of the whole month for Ez. A house full of giant rodents with permanent smiles...it is kinda creepy when you think about it. Lots of family time, lots of Gymboree - which Ez can't get enough of, too much candy (any candy at all is too much for Ez), AND we finally got some fall-like weather and rain. All in all a great month, and I'm looking forward to what November has in store for us. (Hint: lots more family time!)

Our Halloween

On Halloween Eve morning, Ez woke up to his pumpkin bucket full of goodies, including those skeleton pjs, which he of course wore that night. I'd actually bought them about a month ago, but it was way too hot for long pjs until this week. We actually got rain all last night, which was amazing!

We got our Halloween started bright and early with some trick-or-treating at 10 am in a nearby town with some friends. All the shops in the downtown area hand out candy and it was packed with adorable little kiddos all dressed up. Ez picked out his first piece of candy and put it in his bucket, and then promptly took it out of his bucket and tried to put it in his friend, Wyatt's bucket. And so began a ten minute game of switching their single piece of candy back and forth until all that was left was a melty, mangled mess of a twix bar. We didn't stay too long because Ez isn't at the age where he's willing to fight his way through a pack of kids for some candy yet, but he had fun until it got near to naptime he had a mini meltdown. He especially loved the un-frozen otter pop someone gave him, which he insisted on holding onto, including during the car ride home. When we got home I found an empty otter pop wrapper still in his little death grip, and one very sticky boy and car seat. Sticky mess + sugar high, I'm sure that was a common theme for most parents yesterday.

We went back over where near where we used to live for trick or treating at night, and again, the area was packed! We only hit up a few houses, but it was a fun first-time trick or treating experience. We got home in time for Amazing Race (priorities) and Ez ran around in circles on a sugar high. I had given him one Reese's around 4 pm, plus who knows how much he ate of the liquid otter pop, and that boy did not go to sleep until midnight. And that was after lots of tossing, turning, flailing, and chattering. Chocolate + Ez is a bad combo. Lesson learned. Again.\

Linking up with The Girl in the Red Shoes for:

Top 5 Toddler Halloween Activities in Southern California

Here are 5 of our favorite Southern California Halloween events that are perfect for toddlers:

1. Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland: At $70, this is by far the most expensive activity on the list, but with the ticket price you get free parking and you get into Disneyland's main park at 4 pm (3 hours before Mickey's Party actually begins, which goes from 7 pm to midnight). Also, their candy is far superior to the other trick or treat events we've been too, and you get a ton of it, so if Reese's and Snickers speak to your heart this is a good place to go. (You can read more in this post.)

2. Scarium of the Pacific: This event was a lot of fun, mostly because none of us had been to the aquarium in a long time. I think it would have been just as fun if it wasn't Halloween-themed, and probably less crowded. There's no trick-or-treating at the aquarium, but there were several craft stations set up, and the fish and animals were given pumpkins to play with, which was pretty cute in the case of the penguins. There were also a lot of activities we didn't take advantage of, like spooky storytime and taking photos with creepy critters (not my thing). We bought the Aquarium and Zoo combo tickets for $39, which saved $10 per ticket. (You can read more about our visit here.)

3. Boo at the Zoo: If Ez were really into trick or treating, this would've been great, but for some reason he freaked out when a stranger tried to give him candy (and we didn't even teach him that yet!), so this may be a better slightly older kids. We still enjoyed wandering around the zoo and Ez loved the zoo playground. (Read more here.)

4. Rise of the Jack O'Lantern at Descanso Gardens: This was such a cool and unique event, and perfect for a certain pumpkin-obsessed toddler. I found out about it through Groupon, and got us tickets for $16 each (instead of $28 regular price). You can see all of our pictures here - the giant dinosaur sculptures were my favorite!

5. Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch in Irvine: This is hands down my favorite pumpkin patch because not only do you get to pick the pumpkins off the vine (pretty rare in So Cal), but they have a ton of pumpkins. Kellogg Farms in Pomona also have pumpkins on the vines, but they were all picked over and rotting when we went last year. There's also a corn maze, which makes me all nostalgic for Halloweens in Modesto. And it's a good corn maze, with a clearly marked, dry path - unlike the Pierce college corn maze which we went to two years ago. That maze was muddy, with narrow pathways that just looked like corn rows and we had no idea if we were following the maze or blazing our own trail. Tanaka Farms has other activities like tractor rides, shooting pumpkins in the air, riding mini ATVs for slightly older kids, Ez's favorite: riding in the wheel barrow, and a farmer's market that's open year round. I also may be slightly nostalgic toward Tanaka Farms because I went to UC Irvine, and because it's where we took Ez for his 1st pumpkin patch visit. (Read more here and here.)

Since it's Halloween, I've got one more Halloween-themed toddler list for ya! Here's Ez's top 5 favorite Halloween board books (the ones that I have a feeling we'll still be reading well into Christmas season).

1. Five Little Pumpkins: This started as a library book, but Gangy just sent us a Halloween package with Ez's very own copy, which is great because he can't get enough of this book. It rhymes, it's short on words, and it features lots of pumpkins, which Ez loves to point out. What's not to love?

2. Peek-a-WHO?: I don't know if you can see it in the picture, but the author of this book is named Nina, so it automatically goes to the top of the list ;)  This is technically not just a Halloween book, but there is a ghost and an owl, so it works with the theme. There's also a train, and you can never go wrong with trains + little boys. Ez loves shouting "BOO!!" on the ghost page (one of the few words he knows).

3. Five Black Cats: Ok, this might be more my favorite than Ez's, but I'm a sucker for black cats and the illustrations are so cute. He'll sit through it a few times before requesting 5 pumpkins, so he likes it, just not quite as much as me.

4. Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin: This was another gift from Gangy, and it quickly became a favorite for Ez. He especially loves it if I yell "No!" (Is our pumpkin in the leaf pile, Duck? NO!!). We have to hide this book to give our sanity a little break, otherwise Ez would read it all.day.long.

5. I Love You Little Pumpkin: Ez has had this book forever, and it's a year round favorite. We started off the month reading this on repeat daily, but as his Halloween book collection has grown it's been pushed to the back of the pile in favor of newer books. It's one of those lift the flap books, and once Ez got a huge kick out of those once he finally figured them out.

Linking up with The Farmer's Wife for Oh Hey, Friday! & The Good Life Blog, Carolina Charm, A. Liz Adventures, & Hello! Happiness for 5 on Friday.

31 Days of Halloween: Days 21 - 27

I can't believe Halloween will be here in 3 days!! Which means October will be over in 3 days...where did this year go? I love this time of year, but is it just me or does the holiday season always go by especially fast?

Day 21: Festive fall food - All of you guys have been making and baking creative fall foods, and all I've got  for ya is a frozen pumpkin waffle that I cut into a pumpkin shape - for myself - cause sometimes adults need cute food too! Also, I couldn't pass up that cute little woodland creatures mug from Barnes and Noble. (Again, for myself. Sorry Ez!) We've been eating a lot of sweet potatoes and lentils, which feels very fall-like to me. When I say "we" I mean Joe and me, because Ez won't touch 'em. The reason there hasn't been any baking going on over here is because I gave up sweets for the first 21 days of the month. (Crazy to try during the holidays? Probably...) After 21 days I ate the mini Almond Joys I had set aside from Ezzy's Disney treat bag, and Joe and I treated ourselves to the best apple crisp ever, from Lazy Dog Cafe. Now I'm back on the no-sugar bandwagon for another 21 days. 

Pumpkin spice waffles.

Apple crisp.

Sweet potato, apple, and cranberry salad + mushroom pizza.

Day 22: This is not necessarily Halloween-ish, but it is fall-related, so on the countdown it goes! We took Ez on a little Gymboree shopping spree (while they were having a 40% off EVERYTHING sale - including clearance items) and stocked up on fall/winter clothes. Even though it's still in the 80s/90s here, Ez and I are going to Massachusetts in two weeks and will get to experience some real fall weather. I could not be more excited! More on that later though. As you can see from the pictures below, Ez was not too into playing dress up, but once he realized I was taking pictures whether he cried or not he sucked it up and gave me his best mini-Zoolander baby model pose. My little ham. Also, Ez spotted that Eric Carle brown bear shirt himself, and did not want to leave it, so we "had" to get it. While he was wearing it I brought out the actual book, and he kept pointing at his shirt and then at the book, and examining each one closely and getting all giddy. That Eric Carle is magic for toddlers, I tell ya... 

Day 23: (Not pictured) - we've slacked a little on watching Halloweenish movies, unless Walking Dead counts (which of course it does!). This past week has called for a little more relaxation and TV time though, so we watched Spookly the Square Pumpkin and Addams Family Values. I don't think I'd seen Addams Family since high school. Just saying that makes me feel really old. I love Christina Ricci in it though. Hocus Pocus WILL happen sometime in next 3 days. It's a priority...

Day 24: Ez's first ever Halloween party at Gymboree. I forgot Ez's cape, and we realized that Ez's Batman suit is size 12 - 18 months and getting smaller by the day. I did not realize how much he'd grow in a month. Whoops. On Friday, the day of the party, Ez absolutely refused to nap. So of course he fell asleep in the car on the way to the party (which started at 5 pm). For having a ten minute catnap and being woken up, he was a trooper. A lil groggy, but a trooper. The party hostess hid mini pumpkins all over the gym, which of course Ez loved, cause his pumpkin obsession. She set up a bean bag toss, and I think Ez was the only one that actually participated. Anything that involves throwing is right up his alley. There was another activity where the kids were supposed to climb up a ramp, grab a ball, and toss it into a stack of inflatable rings. I don't wanna brag (ok, maybe just a little), but Ez has really good aim. Other parents were commenting too, because he was the only one that actually made the shots. Repeatedly. I think we've got a little athlete on our hands. Then the kids made a little foam picture frame with pumpkin stickers. Ez liked it, and understood the concept, but he put all the stickers where the picture was supposed to go, so I rearranged just a tiny bit. Then it was time for bubbles and songs. Ez was covered in bubbles, which really perplexed him. He spent a few minutes trying to grab the bubbles, then got frustrated and ran away. While I snapped tons of pictures, because a baby covered in bubbles is the kind of adorableness that just doesn't happen every day. 

Day 25: Scarium at the Pacific! I already mentioned this in my last blog post, but here's another shot of Ez and I in our matching Halloween shirts. I went back to Michaels to get more decals so Joe and I could have shirts too, but there was only one decal left...Sorry Joe! The decal + shirt was $4 total from Michaels. Steal!

Day 26: Boo at the Zoo! Again, I shared this in my last post too, but here are a few more pictures. If I had to be honest, I think Ez would have been just as happy playing at the park, since that was his favorite part of the zoo, but I thought it was really cute to see all the kids in their costumes running around. 

Day 27: After 3 days of festivities, I think we all deserved a nice relaxing day at home. So instead, I'll just share a throwback/comparison picture (you know how much I love those!):

Look how much his arms and legs have grown! And those tiny feet... The picture on the left was at the pumpkin patch last year, and the one at the right is from Boo at the Zoo. 

Excited to read about all the festive stuff you guys have been up to! Linking up with Courtney, Amanda, Jamie, and Jenny for: