We Scare Because We Care (Halloween 2022)

I never realized (or maybe respected) how much as a parent you stress about Halloween costumes each year- or maybe it's just me ha! You start thinking about them early, and then their interests change, new interests blossom, you second guess your ideas, your kids second guess their ideas. It's a storm of uncertainty until Halloween actually arrives and the kids are stuck with what costumes you've bought/made.

Brayden and Ashley were OBSESSED with Monster's Inc (and coincidentally Monster's University after Eric and I needed a break from the original movie) this summer. They constantly requested the "monster movie". Brayden has about every move from the first 10 minutes of Monster's Inc. memorized and would do the motions with the movie. He and Ashley love to be monsters and roar at each other, Eric and I, and Katie- who is usually less enthused by their roaring and often cries because they've scared her. 

By the end of August, I'd decided that we would be Monster's Inc for Halloween. Brayden and Ashley would be Mike and Sully, and Katie would make the perfect Boo. 

Not long after that, the monster movie wasn't our most requested one. We moved on to robots (the new Buzz Lightyear movie) and dragons (Raya and the Last Dragon/How to Train your Dragon) and most recently Up (because of the puppy dogs). Every so often I tried to entice them with the monster movie, but they weren't biting.

But it was too late. I'd already ordered their costumes and had already talked to my mom about making Katie's. (Yes, my mom is a rock star and handmade Katie's costume. Let's just take a minute to give her a huge round of applause for all that she does for us!)

Luckily two year olds are persuadable, and five month olds do whatever you tell them to. Eric and I's excitement about them getting to be monsters for Halloween was contagious, and soon they were again excited about the prospect of dressing up as a monster. 

I'd imagined that Brayden would be Sully and Ashley would be Mike, mostly because Brayden loves all things blue at the moment and Ashley is pretty nice and would let Brady pick the one he wanted. But when the costumes arrived, Brayden actually chose the Mike costume and Ashley went straight for Sully, which was probably for the best anyway. It's up in the air as to whether Brayden would have worn the hat or the tail on Sully's costume.

And then have you ever seen a more adorable little girl dressed up as Boo?

I don't know about you, but I think they make pretty cute monsters. 

We enjoyed trick or treating at Scare on the Square last weekend. It was way warmer than expected and they were all pooped and past ready for a nap by the time I decided to attempt a group photo, so this is the best we got. 

This past week we finally carved the pumpkins we picked out at the pumpkin patch. Brayden chose the face I carved on my pumpkin, and Ashley chose the one that Eric carved. Eric is most definitely a better pumpkin carver than I am- and it was all totally free-hand! Brady and Ashley really enjoyed taking the "guts" out of the pumpkins, and I think they were both pretty proud of the final products. 

We also spent some time trick or treating their grandparents and great grandparents. While it can be daunting to travel all around multiple counties to see everyone, seeing everyone's faces as they welcomed us in for some candy and hugs definitely made it all worth it.

Last night, we did a little more trick or treating, a little roaring, and a lot of eating our Halloween candy. Happy Halloween from our little monsters! And remember, we scare because we care. Roar!