Halloween Rewind (And Other Fun Stuff)

I took a break from posting over the last month, but it definitely wasn't for lack of material. Certainly not during the Halloween season, which is Lauren's all time favorite holiday. No, the hiatus was a result of demands due to work, my training schedule for the half marathon, and wanting to spend any spare moments I had playing with Lauren or chilling with the whole family, as opposed to spending more time in front of a computer keyboard. So the below recaps should bring everyone up to speed.

Faith's Birthday Party:

The celebration of the season started with her friend Faith's 4th birthday party. Faith lives down the street and held a costume party at her house. Her parents splurged, with a gourmet Vietnamese and Persian food spread for the adults (pizza for the kids), visits from Dora and Sponge Bob, a balloon artist, manicurists for the kids, and a professional stage show. Yes, wow.

Faith was a bumblebee, and Lauren tested out her new Ariel costume:


Funny faces for the camera:


That's supposed to be Ariel on her face. I thought it looked more like the Little Mermaid on crack but told her it was beautiful.


Being treated to a rare manicure (absent the right thumb, which she still sucks, sigh):



Pumpkin Patch Mania:

Irvine Regional Park has a terrific pumpkin patch. It's not the pumpkins that make it great. It's the haunted house (free!), hay bale maze (free!), bounce houses, games and face painting (definitely NOT free). Of course the pony and train rides are also there year round.

Last year, Lauren went to their pumpkin patch at least half a dozen times over the course of the month or so it was open. This year, she only made it probably 3 or four times, one of which was with Norm and me on a weekend. I'm trying to get an annual photo of her posing with the pumpkins, which is a heck of a lot more difficult than it sounds given that Lauren's eyes very rarely will be looking in the vicinity of the camera lens. It takes all kinds of herculean efforts and offers of treats to get her to look at the camera. Hopefully this phase will pass by next year. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy more candid, artful shots.

Here she is with the pumpkins this year:


The photo from last year:


This little piggy this year:


Same shot last year:


Lil Blue Eyes:


You Belong in the Zoo:

Lauren got to spend an afternoon with one of her favorite friends a couple of weekends ago - Paige. Paige is the daughter of one of Kristen's very good friends and Lauren and Paige have known each other since Lauren was a baby. Kristen took both of them to the Santa Ana Zoo and the three of them had a blast.

On the train:


Sitting on Mr. Turtle:


Back home at the end of the afternoon, clearly having had a ball:


Tali's Birthday Party:

We recently went as a family to the Bowers Kidseum for Lauren's friend Tali's third birthday party. Lauren knows Tali from school and the two of them are so cute together. The location was great for the kids, with plenty of areas for them to explore and work on craft projects (Lauren made a great mask).

The puppet theater was a huge hit:


As was the face painter brought in for the occasion:


Why there was a table in the museum with non-functioning phones I have no idea, but Lauren certainly got into doing her best imitation of her mama at work:


Neighborhood Halloween Block Party:

Our annual community Halloween party was held this year the night before Halloween. Lauren's Ariel costume was all set, when a few days in advance she told me matter of factly that she could not dress in the same costume two nights in a row (I know, a diva in training, but the girl's got opinions!). Courtesy of seeing her friend Faith as a bumblebee at her birthday a few weeks prior, Lauren announced to me and everyone within earshot that she was going to be a bumblebee for the block party. So certainly I told her that I wasn't going to buy her a second costume, right? Well, um, not exactly. I did at first, but then a few days before Halloween, the costume shop at the mall where my office is located started clearing out their merchandise. I stopped in on a whim, and lo and behold, found a bumblebee costume in Lauren's size for only $6. How could I say no? The money spent to order the wings and wand online added to the cost, but the ear to ear smile on her face when she opened the package was priceless.

Buzzing into the party while it was still light out:


Jackie joined us for the first hour, which Lauren loved:



With next door neighbor (and crush) Sammy:


With neighbor Megan and moi:


As the daylight faded, the party kicked it up a notch, with DJs keeping the kids (and adults) entertained. Lauren participated in it all and loved every second.

From the limbo contest:



To the hip hop dance contest, where she put kids 3 times her age to shame and was awarded top prize:


She is already talking about next year, when the party will move to another culdesac in the neighborhood. We had better start saving up for more costumes now . . . .

Halloween Day:

Since Halloween this year was on a Saturday, of course Lauren wanted to wear a costume to her Saturday morning dance class. Luckily, we had her cat dance costume from her summer recital at her former dance studio, cat ears and all. Lauren's Nana and Pop Pop Mark came to watch her class, and Lauren basked in the attention, proudly showing off her skills:




Halloween Night:

Kristen came to go trick or treating with us, as she has for the past few years. It's certainly become a tradition we hope will continue!



The red wig did not last past our front door, which was fine given Lauren's natural auburn tresses.


We first went to Lauren's friend Karina's house in the community, where Karina, her siblings, and a couple of other friends gathered to trick or treat together.

The kids right before heading out:


Lauren going to her first door:


Seeing her babysitter "Big Girl" Natalie was a highlight of the night:


After about 90 minutes going door to door in the neighborhood, we headed home by 7 p.m., and Lauren was even more thrilled to answer our door and hand out candy to all the neighborhood kids. The Halloween decorations at our home have just come down a week later, much to Lauren's disappointment. She's already told us that next year we need to add a scary bat and mummy to the cache. That's our girl, planning ahead.