Halloween

Halloween was a big day for our family this year.  It was Patrick's first Halloween and although we aren't really what I would consider "Halloween People" I was really excited to dress our sweet boy up in a cute costume.  We normally go over to my mom's house every year and eat chili with her family and I help pass out candy to all the kids.  It's actually a lot of fun watching all the little kids run from house to house and since my mom lives in what I consider a "young family neighborhood" there were LOTS of cute little babies and kids under 10 that were just too cute all decked out in their costumes.

We didn't take Patrick door to door, he can't eat candy afterall but I sat outside on the porch with him for awhile and I think he really enjoyed seeing all the kids too!  My grandparents were over and one of my mom's sisters so it was fun for them to see Patrick in his shark costume.

Back in the summer I started looking online for baby costumes and was really disappointed when I couldn't find anything I really liked.  Since I wasn't going to be making a costume I knew it wouldn't be super original but I didn't want to do the regular: baby pumpkin, mickey mouse, teddy bear or dog.  All those costumes are very cute but I just wanted something different.  I found a shark costume (again not really original but not the most popular either) on Pottery Barn but it was going to cost almost $60.00 after shipping.  That seemed a little extreme for a baby costume, especially since I had a feeling Patrick would freak out when we put him in it and it wouldn't be on longer than a few minutes for some "crying" pictures.

I got a tip from a friend about a local consignment store and decided to check it out.  They had a pretty good selection and I ended up buying 2 costumes.  Patrick had stayed with my mom that day so I wasn't sure what size he would need.  I picked up a dinosaur costume and the shark costume and both together ...... $8.25!!!!!!!!  I'm a little bit of a germ freak on certain things but these items were both super clean and had NO smell.  I brought them home and washed them and they looked like new! Actually, they looked new before I washed them but let's get real...I wasn't about to put my baby in an unwashed, used, costume :)

I was pleasantly surprised that Patrick didn't mind the costume and stayed in it for quite awhile.  After a bit he got really hot so we took it off and just let him play inside at Mom's.  After we ate and all hung out, the moment of truth was upon us......We were leaving and Patrick was staying over night with my mom for the first time!!!  It took us (Steve had to come help too) awhile to get Patrick to sleep (at home we just put him in his crib and he goes right to sleep) but after that he was good and we weren't too upset about leaving him.  It probably helps that my mom only lives 5 minutes from us so I knew I could get there quick if needed.

Another pleasant surprise: Patrick did really well and only woke up once at 5:00 AM while staying with Mom and my step dad.  I figured he wouldn't sleep well since it wasn't in his crib and what he's been used to.  He had pooped in his diaper and my mom is convinced if it hadn't been for that, he would have slept all night.  I'm really glad his first time away from home and away from me went well and I didn't stress too much.  Some of my happiest memories are from staying the weekends with my aunts and grandparents so I want that for Patrick too :) My sweet boy is growing up....HE WILL BE ONE NEXT WEEK...YIKES!!

More Halloween Pictures: