Thanks to Hurricane Sandy, we spent real Halloween helping our friends move house. (Movers weren’t able to come at the last minute, so we and a few others helped Owen and his parents move from a second- to a fourth-floor walk-up apartment.) Our governor also tried to reschedule Halloween for the following Monday, since most of northern New Jersey wasn’t in any shape to go trick-or-treating last week. We say “tried” because most of our neighborhood went right ahead and went door-to-door on Halloween anyway, which meant that we dodged cute kids in costumes as we carried boxes and furniture to moving trucks and cars. The best costume by far was a Dad who dressed as Psy and hit the nail on the head, spot-on. Why we didn’t ask him to pleasepleaseplease dance for us, I will always regret.
I digress.
We opted to celebrate on the re-do Halloween rather than can it and wait for next year. See, a year ago or more, I discovered a whole industry based on adorable and hysterical baby animal costumes. Baby owls, baby octopi, baby rhinos… you name it. I was thrilled; Daddy, not so much. Something about “undignified” and “humiliating for the kid.” We met in the middle. Costumes are acceptable on Halloween, animal outfits ok year round.
Our dear friend Alberto knew all about it and before Ada was born sent us the baby lobster costume. Like, hours before Ada was born. Here’s a photo of Mama in labor, having dressed a bear in the just-arrived costume.
Yes it’s an unflattering photo but I was in LABOR, thanksmuch.
So all this is to say that we weren’t going to miss this Halloween with Ada. And we found out that the mall was hosting a few hours of trick-or-treating. This was particularly fortuitous because it helped us avoid awkwardness if we went ringing doors of people who weren’t expecting trick or treaters AND it was a warm place to be on an otherwise cold evening. So off we went!
A lobster-child is this season’s must have fashion accessory.
Mama carried a soup pot for candy collection and oven mitts. You could watch people put it all together in their mind and smile a moment later. =)
Daddy wishes he had a lobster costume of his own.
Cute lobster teeth! Can you see the tiny tooth on the bottom right?
Checking out her lobster booty back at home! And no, she’s not going to get to eat it all. We won’t tell her that this year trick-or-treating was essentially a racket designed to fatten up Mama and Daddy.
A ring pop is almost like a binky, right?