Halloween 2015

For a few days our Halloween plans were in limbo. Aubrey and I thought for a little while that we were actually going to be back in the states for the holiday, and had cooked up some grand plans for trick or treating in Charlotte in my aunt’s neighborhood. As always with the best laid plans, things changed, and we ended up hanging out in Turkey. I was disappointed at first just because I was so excited for getting to dress up and have fun with my family, but in the end it ended up being my most favorite Halloween to date.

We started the day finally carving our pumpkins. 

Aubrey missed the point of carving and thought we were just cutting up some really cool snacks. Girlfriend munched on raw pumpkin the entire time!I had seen a recipe somewhere a week or so prior for this champagne cocktail using pureed frozen strawberries and ginger ale. I think it was meant to be for Christmas and called something like Santa Ho Ho but since we had the supplies on hand I figured it would work just as well for Halloween. It was delicious! And a nice break from our typical mimosas.  Taking a break from snacking on pumpkin to torture Jimmy some.  And finally they were finished. Pretty fitting faces for hers and his if I do say so myself. Then our very pumpkin juice and dirt covered baby had to be whisked off to the shower with Dad so we could get her dressed for the main event. After a little playtime of course. Aubrey was going as a ladybug, thanks to Carter’s, just like 95% of the other babies we know haha!  I didn’t care though. She was the most adorable ladybug I’ve ever seen in my life.    We met up with Aubrey’s friend Tzipora (and T’s parents) and set off to walk around the neighborhood. I was so excited to get to participate in Halloween at the base this year. Last year Aubrey was only a little over a month old so Will and I watched the kids and families having all the fun from the nursery window.  Growing up in a rural area, we didn’t live in a neighborhood and spent Halloween driving from house to house to visit our nearest and dearest. Those were great memories, but I had always been a little jealous of kids that got to have a real Halloween experience of walking the streets with their friends, going from house to house, surrounded by the buzz of kids on the hunt for chocolate. Too bad Aubrey won’t remember this.  We were surprised that Aubrey wasn’t a bit scared of anything. She just seemed to love it all.Seeing her with the candy was hilarious. She first got a hold of a mini Hershey bar and ended up chewing on the wrapper long enough that it opened and she got half the bar polished off before we realized it. Next it was a box of dots. Then a Tootsie Roll that she chewed the wrapper off of, and finally she found a sucker. For anyone that knows me well, suckers and children are one of my biggest fears. I knew the day would come with Aubrey would have one, but I did not expect it to be so soon. She loved it of course, and we let her enjoy it for a while, but when she tired of actually sucking on it and moved to start sticking it to anything and everything we decided that was enough with the sucker for the night.   And finally we took our little sugar buzzed ladybug home to bed. It was a magical night for me. Every time I looked at Aubrey in that costume my heart swelled so big it nearly burst out of my chest. I’m loving this age with her, and I love getting to experience all the things in life for the first time again with her. Getting to be a parent is such a blessing!