Halloween!

It makes me feel old to start a sentence with the phrase "When I was your age....," but as I told the boys today, when I was their age, we went trick-or-treating Halloween night, and that was that. These kids, on the other hand, enjoyed a 4-day Halloween extravaganza!  It was crazy, but they had a ton of fun, and I enjoyed seeing them have so much fun - and we totally got our money's worth on the costumes we bought, too!

Thursday was Dante's Halloween party at school, which concluded with a 20-minute show for the parents. It was, of course, insanely cute : )   Thursday night we went to the library for a costume party and magic show, which was great. And since Scott stayed home with Carmine, I was again able to really devote my attention to the boys, which was so nice. And I have to say, I think I enjoyed the magic show almost as much as they did.

Friday night was the Pumpkin Walk at Gabe's school, and we had a fabulous time there, as well. Then Saturday was Halloween at the Y. Since we're at the gym all the time, the boys had been seeing the signs for this event forever, and were so excited. And since the event included a 1-mile family fun run, I was pretty excited, too - for the first time, the three of us would get to run a race together!

We arrived, got registered, and I got quite a kick out of pinning a race number to their costumes. After a bit of waiting, we walked down to the start, and waited a few minutes more, and I reminded them that we had a long way to run, so they should make sure not to run too fast.

Surprisingly, they actually listened to me, and when we got the signal, we started running nice and slow. But even at that slow pace, after just about 1/4 of a mile, Gabe was already complaining that he was tired and had no energy left.

I knew that was going to happen, and Dante's complaints started soon after. So we did some walking, and ran only when they felt ready to, and I kept encouraging them and telling them that they were doing great, and reminding them that we were just running for fun.

Then as we headed off the bike path and through the woods, and back out into a large field (where the race course was lined with pumpkins!), I picked a spot that was a couple hundred yards from the finish line, and I told them that we'd walk to that point, and then run as fast as we could to the finish - because you don't walk across the finish line, you run!

Gabe took off ahead of me and Dante and flew down to the finish, and Dante and I held hands and ran in together. Since we're members of the Y, and we're there all the time, the staff members know the boys really well, and were cheering for both of them as they ran in, which was so nice.

After they crossed the finish line, they both collapsed on the grass. A mile is a long way to run for a 6- and 4-year-old. They did it, though, and I was so proud of them. Even with the whining and complaining, it was an awesome experience, and I hope it was the first race of many (or at least several) that we'll run together. The rest of the afternoon was great, too - bouncy house, dancing, snacks, hayrides, and a trick-or-treating costume parade.

And then of course last night was the main event. We hit the pavement as soon as it got dark, and we brought Carmine with us for the first 15 minutes or so, but then he was getting tired, so I dropped him off at the house so Scott could put him to bed, and Gabe and Dante and I headed back out for another 20 minutes or so. They had so much fun. Gabe was literally sprinting from house to house, and in between houses, yelling "I love Halloween! I love trick or treating!"

They both were really great about remembering to say "Thank you," and Dante even took it a step further, yelling out at two houses "I like your sidewalk!"

Gabe could have easily kept going for another half hour, but Dante was running out of energy. He even tripped and fell at one point, and sat on the ground crying and telling me he couldn't walk. He mustered the energy to go to a few more houses, though, and then we headed back home, and they each got to have two pieces of candy, and then got a huge kick out of helping us hand out candy. They were very generous, grabbing fistfuls of candy and putting it in the kids' bags.

It was a fun night, and a fun few days, but I'm glad it's over. I'm just as tired from all the festivities - maybe even more tired - than the boys are.

Yesterday was also a big day for another reason - Carmine was waving to us!  He waved over and over again while we were at the boys' cousin's birthday party in the afternoon, and then a few more times after we got home, but hasn't done it since then. But it really was very intentional - I told him to wave, and if someone waved at him, he waved back. So cute!

I'm working on teaching him some signs - milk, more, eat, mommy, daddy - and hoping that I can be consistent enough with it for him to at least learn a few words that way. I never quite stuck with it with Gabe and Dante, and I wish I had. Hopefully I can with Carmine, because I think it would be really nice for him to have some way to communicate before he can really talk.

He's cruising around the house like crazy, though! He's even learning how to steer his little push walker already - something neither Gabe or Dante learned to do until they were almost 11 months old. And if that's not available, he'll just grab onto one of the kitchen chairs and push it around the tile floor, and get around that way.

He's just such a little cutie. I can't believe how much fun we're all having with him. Gabe and Dante have so much fun playing with him, and he's constantly laughing and babbling. So, so, so much fun : ) 

It occurred to me today that I'm now at a point where I've been nursing him longer than I went with either of the other boys. Gabe weaned himself just before 9 months, and with Dante, we barely eked out 6 months. So I'm really pleased that we're still going strong at just over 9 months, and I'm hoping we have at least a few more months, if not longer.

I'll admit, there are times that I feel like it would be nice to not be so tied to his feedings, but then when I'm sitting and nursing him, and he's holding my hand, or twirling his fingers through my hair, or looking up and smiling at me, I realize how lucky I am that we've made it this far, and I think about how he's my last baby and I'll never do this again, and then I feel like I don't want it to ever end.

Comments

[Mom and Dad]

you have such a way with words Michelle...when I read your blogs I feel what you feel and it melts my heart ! You have made it possible for me to experience your lives and it is so special to me..thanks for being one of my daughters..love,Mom

[Wes]

I loved the kids costumes on Facebook, and the fact you guys ran a race together. Very cool!