Trick Or Treat!

Halloween is an interesting holiday.  All year long you teach you kids about not talking to strangers, never taking food from strangers, always walking on the sidewalk, and not going up to random people’s houses and ringing their doorbells and taking what they give you.  But when Halloween comes, all of that goes out the window and you find yourself doing everything exactly opposite of what you teach your children all year long.  We found ourselves completely confusing our children last night as we were trick or treating, as we were saying…”well, normally you never do this, but just today, when you are dressed as Elmo, you can take candy from strangers.  And walk in the street with Mommy and Daddy and Grandma, and go up to strangers and ask for candy!”  Wow…therapy will be expensive. 

We told Jared we were going to put on our costumes and go for a walk.  To him, every time we go on walks is to get the mail.  So as we were walking, all he could say was “Get the mail!!” I kept telling him that we weren't going to be getting mail this time.   We walked up to each house, taught him to ring the doorbell (only once!) and stand there until someone opened the door.  He did well, until the door opened, and got shy and ran the other way.  Once he figured he got “a chocolate chip” then he started liking it!  He never would say “trick or treat” although we had been practicing for weeks, but always, always said “Thank You.”  To us, that was more important anyway.  By the time we got to the end of the street, he was trying to open everyone’s doors, walk in and kept trying to take candy.  He wasn’t shy anymore and wasn’t running away from the buckets of “chocolate chips” that were coming his way!  He was so sweet and after he got his candy, he would say “And one for Jakey too!!”  Sometimes, he can be so sweet to him.  Just sometimes though.

Jakey was pushed in his trike and never made a peep the entire time.  He had a death grip on a Twix  in one hand and held his bucket in the other.  He did so great and we were really impressed with how the boys responded. 

We did 2 streets and came home and the boys got to hand out candy.  Jared didn’t get the concept this time about handing the candy out to people, and when I told him to do it, he put his hand in someone’s bag and started taking their candy out!  Oops!  So I put it back and gave the kid a little extra for his troubles.  The boys loved answering the door, and Jakey started waiving at the people he knew.  They even got to each have a lollipop and they were excited.

All in all, it was a great night. 

Our pumpkins all lit up!

Jared ready for his walk to the mail box!

Like I said, sometimes he’s sweet.

Getting ready to go with Grandma and Daddy!

Held Grandma’s hand the entire time.      

Grandma had to hold Jared by the door at the first few houses when he tried to bolt.

At our friends, Jen and Lee’s.

Jake never let go of his Twix or his bucket. 

      Afterward, looking at all their loot!

Happy

Halloween!