Halloween Weekend Brings Reality

Wow....Halloween is great fun when there is a little person in the family! Last year, we really didn't do much for Halloween because I figured my lil guy was too young to really get it. But this year, he dressed up as a blue monster, attended a Halloween party at his sitter's and went trick or treating. What fun!

Nana joined us for the first part of the day for the Halloween party. We got to see my son interact with his friends. I think he was a little confused as to why Nana and Mommy were there but he eventually came out of his shell and enjoyed himself. At one point during the party, we were encouraged to dance to the music...well...you could tell by the look on my son's face that he was like..."um, really, could ya'll NOT dance, you are embarrassing me!" Nana and I danced anyway :) The party consisted of brownie cupcakes, Halloween stories, a treasure hunt, and a hike through the trails to find scary creatures hiding in the woods...what fun!

The entire time I found myself thinking "oh my, my baby is growing up." All of sudden reality hit that he isn't that little infant that enjoyed being swaddled up tight, rocked or allowed to lounge on his boppy. My little boy is growing up. And as the weekend progressed, this thought became more of a reality.

Next on the weekend agenda was trick or treating. My sister joined us for the festivities and we had a blast. My lil guy had lots of company during his first experience with "tricking" as we called it on this evening. He had mommy, daddy and his aunt, along with several of his friends from the sitter's. C-man, as I'll call him here, caught on to trick or treating quickly. He wasn't keen on actually saying "trick or treat" so I did that part for him but he definitely knew to go for the good stuff....CHOCOLATE. He's definitely my child. C-man was a trooper. He hung in there til almost the end and then decided that he could ride in the stroller between houses and then get out of his stroller just to get the candy from the person at the door. Pretty clever I thought! Oh....I almost forgot to mention that the neighborhood where we trick or treated seems to have it figured out.....candy for the kiddos and a keg for the adults...what a brilliant idea :) As long as you have a driver of course!

Also on the weekend agenda was my son's first official attendance of a friend's birthday party. This was way fun. We went to a place called Leaping Lizards which consisted of giant, soft slides of all sizes and shapes. Boy, C-man had a ball. He played with his friends but always checked to make sure that mommy wasn't too far away.. This made me feel good....a secure child will explore his surroundings and check to see if mommy or daddy are nearby and this is exactly what my kiddo did. We've done something right :) After playing, C-man sat down and had cake with the birthday boy and looked through his goodie bag which couldn't have been better....a matchbox car and a soccer ball. I could just see him thinking YIPPEE. Though the party was fun, so fun I had to drag C-man out screaming because he didn't want to go...it was also another reminder that my baby is growing up.

My little buddy is growing up so fast and he never ceases to amaze me, whether it be some sentence that he says or some word that he pronounces accurately or his ability to socially interact with his peers appropriately, my baby is getting big. This weekend reminded me of how important it is to treasure each moment with him during these first years because they are flying by....guess it's time to consider a sibling....YIKES!