Trick or Treat Part II

I have to say that Halloween is my least favorite holiday of the entire year. But my little "monkey" totally makes it a better experience. I can't stand the scary costumes, not to mention all the unhealthy treats. But Koen just loved the whole experience of being dressed up, passing out candy, having friends around and generally being the center of attention. Koen was definitely really sensitive about the costumes this year and he did not like the scary ones. He was watching out for the scary costumes and then would have me cover his eyes. I was proud of him for not completely freaking out. We did walk down our street a little bit, but he would stop in his tracks every few steps when we would run into a scary costume, so we didn't get very far and he ran to return to our safe front porch where he was in his element doling out candy and wishing people, "Happy Halloween," "watch your step," "have a fun night" and "trick or treat." He was my little echo and did such a great job co-hosting the front porch.

Tavin spent much of his evening indoors with Gramma, but he did make an appearance on the front porch for a half hour or so. He enjoyed sitting with me as Koen and I passed out candy.

I need to take a moment to mention how insane the trick-or-treat traffic gets on our street. I invited friends over (in addition to the fact my mom is still here with us) to help me with the kids, the candy-giving and family/household safety since Doug had to work all night. I was so thankful for all of their help. Thanks, Brian, Lisa, Megan and Sky! We probably gave candy to 150+ kids. We went through two huge, mega bags of Tootsie Rolls (yeah, lame-o, but seriously the budget can't take buying chocolate for that many people!) and then we also went through 5 bags of chocolate candy. And we still ran out 30 minutes before trick-or-treating was over. I was kind of glad for the excuse to get Koen back inside and on the getting-ready-for-bed track.

The boys both seemed over-stimulated tonight. They both struggled to bed a little, but they are now sleeping quietly and soundly. I hope we all have a nice, relaxing sleep. I'm exhausted!