Trick or Treat

Growing up, I never went trick-or-treating, so last night I lived vicariously through my daughter. This was her first official time trick-or-treating (last year we went to a Trunk or Treat thing at a nearby church), actually going door-to-door and getting candy from the neighbors.

At breakfast I explained how we would knock on people's doors and then say, "Trick or Treat." We practiced, and she was super cute trying to knock on the door hard enough to make a noise. She got "Trick or Treat" down pretty fast though!

For storytime at the library the kids could dress up in their costumes, so Carson came as Bob the Builder (we got his toolbelt all decked out with a hammer, saw, screwdriver, and more) and Coralyn dressed up in her Mizzou cheerleading costume (which we borrowed from Carson's foster sister). Both of them were absolutely adorable!

After reading the story and doing all the usual stuff at the library, the ladies passed out candy to the kiddos. This got Coralyn very excited about trick-or-treating and the idea that people would just give you candy, lots of it!

She was quite thrilled to get dressed up again after supper and visit the neighbors to get even more candy! I must say her little, "Trick or Treat" melted my heart, every time. I was also happy to hear her say, "Thank you," each time someone dropped candy in her bag or she got to pick a piece of candy out of a bowl.

The hard part was getting Coralyn to understand that she didn't need to eat all of her candy at that very moment! Thankfully, she can't quite count yet and won't notice that Daddy took over half of her candy to school to use as sweet treats for his students when they earn 50 stars :)

We started out in our neighborhood and visited all the people we know. Then we headed over to see some friends who mentioned they had 102 full size candy bars waiting for Trick-or-Treaters. Next, we drove to Kellybrook area, where Lawrence teaches, to see some more friends. They weren't actually home (out trick-or-treating themselves) so we just walked up and down a street, collecting enough candy to last a lifetime. We did end up running into our friends and finished the block out with their Ninja boys. Thankfully, Coralyn didn't get scared by any of the people we saw, even the ones who had masks as part of their costumes. This is a good step...

Before going home, we stopped by one last friend's house, more to say hi than add to our stockpile of candy. I think Coralyn was having so much fun playing with their 3 girls that she forgot all about her candy...at least until we got to the car, when she asked for the 100th time if she could eat her candy NOW.

All in all we had a wonderful time trick-or-treating, and I am glad I got the chance to experience the joy of watching my daughter have so much fun (even if she got the idea that being cute means people will give her candy).

Surprisingly, Coralyn hasn't asked for any of her candy yet today (knock on wood). And I won't be giving her any until she does, because once she remembers there is candy in the house, she will be all over that. Then we will deal with the not-so-cute little girl who cries when I tell her she can't have more than 1 piece at a time. :)