Happy Halloween!

It wasn't too hard to come up with Beau's costume this year. He was still quite enamored with his new pet cockatiel Cheeky, and so when I suggested that he BE cheeky he was readily on board. I made him a feathered cape and a mohawk-beanie and then we attached some long feathers to a belt for his tail. Here he is with the real Cheeky. Oh and I painted his cheeks bright orange just like Cheeky's. It was quite possible my most favorite costume I have ever made. Maybe it's just cause I enjoy that bird. But more likely, it's because Beau is just SO DANG CUTE.

 Marianne had an extremely difficult time deciding on a costume. I really wanted her to be Doc McStuffins and use her new doctor kit from her birthday. She sort of liked that idea, but also wanted to be an alligator and a pumpkin and every other costume she laid eyes on. Then we found out her preschool was having a harvest festival, and that she could come dressed up like a farm animal. She still wanted to be an alligator, and I admitted that there were alligator farms out there, but ultimately we decided on the more reserved but still quite adorable cow. I made her this costume from a girl's XL white sweatshirt while she serenaded me with an assortment of "moos." There are an assortment of shapes hiding in the black spots...a heart, bat, pumpkin, butterfly...And she wore an old cow bell that originated with my own family at some point. (I tried to dim the ding of the bell so it wouldn't drive her teachers crazy, but I don't know that I was very successful.) We called her MariBelle MooAnne Payne.

 Here she is with her class at the harvest festival. I'm not sure why more kids didn't dress up...

 Jacob wanted to be a hunter. Not just any hunter, though. He wanted to wear a ghilly suit (didn't know that's what it was called before now!), which is camouflaged suit that hunters wear to heavily disguise themselves in different kinds of foliage. We had a blast trick or treating with this kid because he would walk up to the door and then crouch down so he looked like a bush. The other kids would ring the doorbell and Jacob would just sit there until the perfect moment and then he'd yell "boo!" or "trick or treat!" It was very entertaining!

I don't know how I missed getting a picture of Bekah! She was a very adorable pirate. I love that she is always my most simple costume-person. The boys are always very imaginative and Bekah just uses whatever we have on hand. It helps simplify my work at Halloween time!
Happy Halloween!