Richard & Lisa's Adventures: Halloween 2010

This was our second Halloween with Nicholas. Last year he literally had no idea what was going on, except of course for the "treats." He did remember dressing up as a pirate last year and when we asked him what he would like to be this year he replied, "Pirate." Since he has grown, (a lot) since last year, we had to get him a bigger sized costume. Speaking of growing....when we arrived home with our little bundle of boy, he was 39 inches tall and weighed 39 pounds. As I write this entry a mere 19 months later, there is a 46 inch tall and 67 pound baby boy fast asleep upstairs! As Nicholas would say, "Sheesh that's a big boy."

This year, like last year, we attended the "Monster Mile," in our community. It was held from 5pm to 7pm on Saturday, October 30th. Not sure if this event is actually a mile or not, because it seems like a lot more than a mile when we are done! But it is worth it since it is so much fun.

Both sides of our main street is decorated with Halloween and Fall decorations and local high school kids dress up in costumes and stand next to 55 gallon containers full of CANDY. Since the beginning is very close to our house, we began walking over to there about 4:45. We learned last year that the earlier you start, the better. When we first moved in to this community there were 901 people....we now have 7,800....Sheesh that's quite a proliferation of people.

We kicked off our Halloween weekend with the second annual carving 'o' the pumpkin. This was something that totally caught Nicholas off guard last year as well. We can only guess what he must have been thinking......"Why is Daddy plunging a large knife into the special pumpkin I picked out at the pumpkin patch?"

Well guess what? It happened again! We got him a pumpkin and then.....well, you'll see....

Enjoy the carving pictures, followed by the Monster Mile pictures.

We did not feel Nicholas was quite ready for actual trick or treating this year, maybe next year.....if we can find someone to hand out candy at our house while the three of us go trick or treating...please have your applications turned in by August 1, 2011.

The face has been drawn, the cutting instruments have been sterilized
and the newspaper has been spread out on the kitchen table...

"Isn't that the same giant knife wielding man who was in my kitchen last year??

Patiently waiting for his chance to show off his carving skills....

Forget the carving! Cleaning out the inside is a lot more fun....

He wanted to clean out the pumpkin all by himself....

But Daddy couldn't let him have all the fun...

He was a little man on a mission...

"If I use both hands, I can work twice as fast and get twice as dirty."

Lisa, our carving expert, consults with Nicholas on ways to increase his seed output...

We gave him a scoop to use, but he preferred the natural approach....

The fruits of his labor...

He was having a sensory overload playing with those pumpkin innards....

This was also a great way to introduce rich vocabulary like, "Squishy," "Gushie," "Stringy,"

"Icky," "Sticky," "Pumpkin Guts,"

"Messy," "Job well done," and finally,
"Don't touch anything until Daddy hoses you off in the driveway!"

Nicholas did not have a good feeling about game 5 which would be played November 1st
and end the World Series...but hey, the Rangers had an amazing season
and we are looking forward to next year and the Yankees didn't win!