Halloween 2011- our little octopus

I kept bribing him with raisins to keep him from taking off his hat and pulling off his legs- worked like a charm!

At first, he was totally freaked out by the legs and wouldn't walk, but then he got used to them and really liked them!

I just bought some cheap kitchen sink strainers and sewed them onto a hat I bought at a thrift store.  The legs are just knee high nylons that I dyed in grape Kool-Aid by simmering them on the stove in really dense drink powder for an hour or so.  I stuffed them with poly-fill, hot glued some white rip-rap on them, cut them down to size and tied them to a piece of elastic I used as a belt (it is really hard to find belts for babies!)  The shirt was a last minute thing, I was digging through the drawer to find something blue and realized he had this shirt (it's actually a PJ top)

Grandma and Grandpa McAuley came over.  Matt closed so I was by myself- I needed someone to come and see his cuteness!  Charlie loved trick or treating with Grandma.  Matt ended up getting off in time to see him- thank goodness!

Checking out Heather - our neighbor across the street.  She came along for a bit

Our first treat!

'oh, I can dig in the dirt with these!'

Charlie and Grandpa McAuley

He didn't eat any candy- he'd much rather have raisins, but we got 4-5 pieces, mostly for dad.  It was FUN

FRANKENDOOR!! ooooo...spoooky



This was Ethan and my project for the day- we just used cheap craft foam board (had to use compter paper for teeth, didn't have enough white)



Ethan also made a 'vampire bat' for the picture window

You can see the green jeep in the street- we finally sold it today!

much easier to see at night

Playing with a train and learning something new

Charlie putting his Holloween gift from Aunt Joyce safely away in his piggy bank

It wasn't that long ago that he couldn't play with toys like this, he is learning so much, you can tell just by the way he plays.  Instead of captain destructo he's starting to put things back together too

Let's put it in my crib

Oops. lost one under the changing table

Charlie getting bolder with the slides

He can now get himself situated and down the slide all by himself!



And he is now obsessed with the tube slide which used to scare him to death, he likes to try to crawl back up it



Sorry for the sea-sickness, had to get him on the slide

Trip to Oklahoma





Matt and the kids went to Oklahoma for a Wild West Show Matt's friend Susan was trick riding in.  Unfortunately, Charlie and I couldn't go, I had to be in Des Moines.  Hearing the stories, I'm pretty sad I didn't get to go.  I'm going to try to have Matt add his stories to this post, but I think that may be a long shot....

  






Both the kids passed out - they had to get up at the crack of dawn to get down there

 

Ethan sticking his head out the back trying to get a water out of the cooler



Matt riding Billy, Susan's horse





Billy




Our Cowgirl





Ethan was a bit more timid than Bridgette (everyone is a bit more timid than Bridgette, except, maybe her dad) but he got on and walked around with him




They had shows and food and all sorts of entertainment.  And according to Matt, some of the best BBQ ever





This guy had two trained oxen and trick rode these huge beasts





Cowboy Chariot Races- Yeehaw!








Craft House




Leather House

This is Matt's friend Susan- nuts, huh?