I consider this to be Emma's first real Halloween because her previous years were spent "celebrating" randomly throughout September and October with early photo shoots and going to pumpkin patches. And each year I was scheduled to work on Halloween, so we couldn't go to any events and it was dark by the time I got home and Michael didn't care about trick or treating since Emma couldn't eat the candy anyway. She still can't, but by golly, when I found out this year that my shift was off on Halloween, I knew we needed to do something BIG!! Of course the lingering Corona Virus turned that into me just saying we needed to do something. I am very glad we were able to take her to Boo at the Zoo a couple week ago, and that on Saturday we were also able to go to a mini "Halloween fest" thing in Winter Garden and then do a smidge of trick or treating in our neighborhood. Or neighborhood never does much with that since all of the "kids" just graduated from high school in May. I'm off again next Halloween too, so hopefully we can take her to the bigger neighborhoods around us and more will be going on then.
Since my shift was off for the weekend, the day we were allowed to dress up was last Thursday. Of the 40 people on our shift, only about five of us dressed up. I dressed as Dorothy. It has been my #1 go-to costume since I was three years old, but my first time wearing it at work. When I got home that night I asked Michael to recreate the picture from when I visited Emma in the NICU on Halloween in the same costume back in 2017. Look how teensy and uncomfortable she looks, haha!
Originally for Halloween Day around Noon we were just going to take pictures at a pumpkin patch next to a church near our house, but thank goodness my friend Alana told me about the Winter Garden thing. I hadn't found anything when I had checked a few weeks before that, but I know it's hard to plan ahead and create events with all the virus uncertainty we have been dealing with this year. Here are our Winter Garden pictures. We were there for about an hour:
I felt like this "event" was nice for what is was able to be and had good photo-op areas. I didn't get a picture of the hay bale maze that they had set up behind the Farmers Market for kids, but that looked pretty cool too. Especially with the electro-mechanical dragon! Michael said he would have liked the outing better if it hadn't been so hot (especially since wearing our Corona masks and breathing in our own breath makes it even hotter, buuut it's better than getting terribly sick!!) and if more people had been dressed up, but he knows the city of Winter Garden doesn't have control over any of that. There were several small dogs in costumes, including a hotdog dog and two unicorn dogs. We did see someone dressed in one of those popular orange 7 foot tall T-Rex costumes, but we were on the other side of the street. And it was one of those moments were I can't look away because I'm watching so intently and don't even think about taking a picture until he's gone.
A nice family offered to take this cute family photo for us, and then I did the same for them. And they also did the "keep your mask on until it's time for pictures" thing, which I think is fine since the person taking the picture is standing at least six feet away.
Gotta represent all of the police departments I work with!! Another Halloween event that was happening is that there was Trunk or Treat at the Orange County Sheriff's Office downtown on Thursday night last week, but even if we tried to make it.. by the time I got off work, drove home, and we got Emma in the car, drove to their office, it would be almost over and completely dark. Plus I realized the event said you have to stay in your car, which takes the fun out of it and Emma wouldn't be able to see much at all. It said the police cars were going to be decorated. I'll just have to see if they have posted pictures from it on their Facebook page. Good thing Halloween happens every year!! I just want Emma to be able to experience every fun thing possible and be there to witness her reactions. Although sometimes her reaction looks like confusion, like "what is going on?" Which is maybe why she looks cranky in some of these pictures. Haha. But as I have said before, as long as she isn't crying or signing "all done" then we're good!
We passed one vendor that was selling flowers and a young man asked if Emma wanted one and Michael said no thank you and we continued walking since we didn't want to pay for it- ha! But within 30 seconds, we heard a girl calling, "Miss! Miss!" I turned around, and the young man's wife handed me a sunflower saying, "He meant for free." I thanked her and accepted it.
Several hours later we started getting ready for trick or treating, after I frizzed out my hair, Michael hemmed my cloak, and we were outside taking pictures at 6:15pm. Hermione has been my second favorite go-to costume since tenth grade. Michael didn't dress up because it was too hot and the only costume he has weighs at least 50 pounds and he would be dying. But he definitely made plans for us to all dress up together as Star Wars characters in a few years (when Emma can walk) and go trick or treating in his parent's neighborhood in Birmingham!! I'm already pumped for that.
I didn't realize I edited this photo twice- a few days apart. That's how you know it's my favorite!
^^ This is the photo Michael took when I asked if he could "step back a little to get my whole cloak"...
Emma scratching her head over who is going to win this presidential debate! (Note: in the above photo, the two neighbors have opposing signs in their yards.) Looks like we might get our answer tonight or tomorrow though? And in this photo below, she's just scratching her chin, but oh my gosh, it is such a stinking cute little detail in the photo.
The reason Michael is just standing there is because a friendly neighbor we had not met before came out to the end of her driveway to say hello as we walked by and she asked if it was okay to give Emma a few pieces of candy. We said yes, which was exciting since we didn't think we would get any from anyone except our next door neighbors. Then she asked if she could get her daughter and grandkids to come out and see Emma because she's co cute. I thought her grandkids were so cute too- a little girl and boy dressed as Elsa and Olaf from Frozen. I wanted to get a picture of them with Emma (at least of them in the background) but Michael gave me a look like "don't be creepy" -haha!- so the best I got was the next photo where Emma is looking back and you can barely see little Elsa waaaay in the background next to the black car.
Mommy showing Emma the ropes on trick-or-treating! Emma taking mental notes.
Our friends, Ashley and Ryan- who we have sadly barely seen at all this year! But I was so happy when they said they would be home on Halloween so we could loop around the neighborhood and trick or treat at their house a few times. Michael kept asking me where all the candy was that I had bought for Emma's photo shoots, but I told him I had to hide it or we would eat it all and I needed to have a bunch left to give to Ashley and Ryan so they would have candy to put in Emma's basket when we came around.
She was playing with that Laffy Taffy wrapper between her teeth for a whole ten minute loop! :)
It was great to see our next door neighbor kid's dressed up and having fun since they are 18 and 16, I believe. It looked like their family was having a party and they had a few young kids dressed up and playing in their yard too, although I can't remember their costumes now. Spiderman was a very popular costume this year though- Alana's son and all three of Lindsey's boys were Spiderman!
Michael would also call this trick or treating post "The Blood of the Children" because of how many mosquitoes were swarming all of us as the sun went down. We weren't planning to be out when it was dark, but we got behind on time as everyone always does- it's not just parents running late! I figured our three loops around the neighborhood would only take us 30 minutes, but according to photo time stamps, and the fact that we were walking pretty leisurely, looks like we were outside for about an hour.
Emma with her stash. :) My mom always had to get a picture of us with all of our candy right when we got home, so I had to do it too. Confession: I almost forgot and had to throw her costume back on real quick! She did super well about keeping her headband on all of the times (three or four?) she wore her bee costume in September and October. I wonder how much candy she will get next year if I don't have to hoard it specifically for our neighbor friends to give back to us? Haha. And lastly, here is Emma's free sunflower from the sweet vendor couple, still sitting nicely in the Thanksgiving cup today.
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