Happy Halloween

Today was a very long day for Tessa, with requests to go trick or treating as soon as she woke up this morning. I think we will wait until Christmas Eve to explain the gift giving and Santa aspects of Christmas. But the night finally did arrive, Daddy was able to leave work on time (that part was Mommy's treat!), and the girls had fun meeting some new neighbors, walking with "old" friends and of course collecting all the goodies in their bags. Phoebe was Snow White and came home from school with a head start in the goody dept. (Yes those are casts on her legs, no they are not broken, I'll explain some other time...)Tessa was a ballerina. This was my ballet recital costume when I was three. (Yes my mom is a pack rat) Phoebe wore it when she was barely two. Tessa will be three in about a month. She liked wearing it, thankfully, as I doubt I will have much say about future costumes. It's fun to have a few traditions to carry on with your kids. And with a high of 88 today we were able to carry on this one. No warm, bulky costume required.Tessa began the night with lots of momentum. She was surprisingly focused on going to the next house every time we were done with our current one. She seemed anxious to see what kind of candy they'd have, who would answer the doors and what the decorations would be like. She was afraid of a few of the houses, especially one with a spooky soundtrack blaring from the doorway. Phoebe didn't appreciate the chainsaw sounds as we left that house, either. Tessa said "I'm scary" (meaning I'm scared) and asked to be held. After about an hour she was requesting being held for more than just the scary houses. At this point we decided on the quickest route towards home.

The last half hour was dragging and we were all ready to call it a night. For the final stretch, Tessa didn't even want to sit on Daddy's shoulders anymore, she wanted to lay down.