"I'm Going to Halloween!!!"

Ah, October. The magical month for children of all ages. It's time for Halloween and my Little Man is VERY excited about the holiday. Only one issue: he thinks Halloween is something we are going to. He keeps saying "I'm going to Halloween!"

He definitely understands that you dress up in costume. And he gets the concept of saying "trick or treat" to get candy. In fact, he tried to do that earlier today. It didn't work.  But the fact that Halloween is October 31st and is a day and not a place is not something he understands.

We went pumpkin picking this past weekend and he cannot wait to "decorate" them. I was planning a traditional carving for two of the three we picked up, and the smaller one can be painted by Little Man (if I am feeling brave). Maybe sparkles? Do boys do sparkles?  And we decorated the outside of our house. I'm pretty excited about that, since this is the first time I've had lights out. It was really fun decorating. I think my husband would have liked to have gone all out, but it was a good first try.

Here are some pics from this weekend's activities.

The chair by our front door

Blurry iPhone Pic of the front porch

Little Man

In other October news, my father turned 70 on the 2nd. Due to my mom's health, it was very low key. My husband cooked filet mignon and asparagus. I made twice baked potatoes. And we got an ice cream cake for dessert. Sadly the disconnect in my family makes this milestone birthday quite bittersweet. A few years ago, things would have been different. A party perhaps? At least something more, that my mom could have been a part of. But my parents and sibling are not in touch with extended family due to a variety of reasons. It's quite sad. I try my best to keep in touch, but it isn't always easy when I live with my nuclear family and have to always go to them, as they cannot come to me. But it is what it is and hopefully things will change for the better soon.

I'm going to do my best to enjoy October. It's always a favorite month of mine. If weather cooperates, we'll see a friend of mine and her husband at the Bronx Zoo next weekend. Always a favorite for Little Man—he LOVES the animals.