Halloween with kids is so. much. fun.
I get to dress them up in ridiculous outfits like little dolls and get my craft on while I’m at it.
I had decided early on that Jill would be Tinkerbell, Lucy would be Belle, and Henry wanted to be Buzz Lightyear.
Annoyed that even the licensed Disney costumes weren’t accurate to the movies (I mean, really? Belle’s dress looks nothing like this. Why would you do that???!!! Sure, it’s a yellow dress, but that’s about where it ends.)
Why does this matter?
It doesn’t. Not one bit.
I’m ridiculous. I know these things.
While I thought I could tackle making Jilly’s Tink costume, I knew that a full floor length satin ballgown was way out of my league. (anyone else ever notice that satin is only one letter away from being satan? coincidence? i think not.)
Lucky for me, my mother in law is a genius behind the sewing machine. And she’s a good sport for saying yes to an email begging her to make a Belle dress for me. From a five hour drive away no less. No trying it on. Just a few measurements and mad skillz.
I shall now refer to her as the Sewing Machine Whisperer.
I was disappointed in last year’s rushed, ten minutes before we leave for trick or treating and Henry’s begging to go and the lighting is all weird pictures, I thought I’d do a dress rehearsal and take the kids to a local park for some pretty pictures.
I even thought, “Hey! I’ll take them at sunset and see if I can get some pretty sun flares!”
I swear to you I took 156 pictures. Most of them totally blown out and overexposed, or black as night. Next time maybe I should practice on a tree. Or a stick.
And next time maybe I shouldn’t be so stubborn and insist on going when all three of my kids woke up from naps in FOUL moods and I knew the whole thing was going to be a disaster.
Oh Miss Tink! What an ugly face that is!
She could not have been more annoyed with me.
Angry!
Oh she was angry!
Even tried pulling her hair tie out in a show of angst.
But it made me laugh because if you’ve seen the movies, Tink is a moody naughty little fairy, so Jill was just doing that whole method acting thing.
Mr. Lightyear wasn’t in the mood either.
Wait, it’s coming…
There it is! I knew there was a smile in there!
How can you possibly wear inflatable wings and NOT be excited to be alive??!!
That’s some good stuff kid.
Lucy was kinda blah.
She wasn’t angry, nor was she smiley.
I have lots and lots and lots of pictures of this furrowed brow.
I asked her to run.
Thinking maybe she’d smile and not even know it.
No dice.
Because THIS is the face she made everytime I asked her to smile.
This face.
This Pirate Elvis face.
Not smiling, honey.
It makes ME smile, but I was hoping YOU’D be the one smiling.
Sometimes I forget how young he really is.
Until I see him still sucking his two fingers.
I felt bad that his sisters were getting handmade costumes (because I’m sure he’d notice and care, right?), but a Buzz Lightyear costume would be ultra hard to make from scratch. So I added some arm cuffs, a belt and a couple of other little embellishments to the $9.88 Walmart costume to make it a little more authentic.
And for the record, gave myself a few gnarly blisters from the hot glue.
Each of my kids has a special trick where I can kinda get a good picture outta them.
Silly faces always seem to work for the boy.
For LuLu, asking her to do “Big Lips” is the key.
For Jilly, I can get a proud little grin if I ask her to sign “more”.
Tonight, we’ll be heading to a bitty town to trick or treat from the shops, dinner with friends, and hopefully some fun pictures.
Have a great night and be safe!
Have I mentioned how much I love having kids?
My heart could explode.
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oh how cute! I love the “big lips” pose! your kids are adorable!
I LOVE that last picture. I imagine that is actually how Buzz Lightyear actually courts his ladies. :)
Your kids are so adorable! I love all the pictures- even the ones with grumpy faces :-).
It’s amazing isn’t it (the kids). Mine is Mickey Mouse this year. I think we might do dress-up every day now.
The foul moods must of been going around yesterday. My little one was so foul we finally put her to bed at 6:30 and didn’t hear another peep.
Oh I love the pirate Elvis face!
I love that Buzz is sucking his fingers! Happy Halloween!
Absolutely adorable. All of it. Your kids, their costumes…your words. ♥ you.
They’re adorable!