Fun Chaos

Two words you don't usually hear me say in the same sentence. Halloween 2011 was really, really fun chaos, though.

Wren was exactly 2 weeks old on Monday, October 31st. It was my 1st day to pick up both the boys with Wren in tow (I'm finding it daunting each time I have to tackle a "first" involving all three kids).

So my Halloween afternoon consisted of trying to figure out when Wren would need to eat, feed her, and then dart off to school to pick-up Max and Otto...getting back in time to feed Wren again. That task went very smoothly, but the next 45 minutes of trying to get everyone ready, out the door and to our neighbors for the pre-trick-or-treating party was a little chaotic.

Our incredibly kind, fun and patient neighbors had a slew of friends and family over for food & fun. Thankfully the weather was absolutely beautiful and the dozen kids all rough-housed (oh wait, was that just my boys) in the backyard before heading out to trick-or-treat.

So, as dusk fell over Southwest Minneapolis, the kids took off like bats out of hell to collect their candy. It was so much fun to see Max totally into it this year. He would sprint from house to house excited to say Happy Halloween and Trick or Treat (and also had a pretty good track record of saying Thank You). At first Otto didn't seem as excited about going door to door to get candy (he probably wasn't entirely aware of what that candy was or tasted like...). But as soon as he saw his big brother and the other kids having so much fun he was all-in. Couldn't quite keep up with the bigger kids, but had a blast and got pretty darn good at saying Trick or Treat.

Much like I'm guessing all of these "1st Holidays" will be with what we believe is our "complete" family, I really tried to take it all in. The kids being very rowdy at the neighbors. Silly, "uncoordinated" costumes that Max (Thomas the Train) & Otto (Cookie Monster) loved (yet I wished I had put more thought into). Max wanting to be "the fastest" getting to each house. Otto going from mildly interested to very interested in trick or treating and being the little costumed character trying to keep up with the big kids. Max saying he has enough candy and wants to go home. Getting home and having the boys (unprompted - it must just be what kids do) dump their pumpkin full of candy onto the floor in the living room. And Otto instantly learning what candy is - especially CHOCOLATE (it's so cute to see his eyes light up when he sees chocolate now).

I've also realized that I will never have photos of us again. Juggling two toddlers running in opposite directions while wearing a Bjorn or pushing a stroller makes wielding a camera very challenging. However, our neighbors were able to snap a few of us. Going to get those posted someday soon...