Halloween Grab Bag

When Charlotte and Luke woke up this morning, Karen immediately asked them, “Guess what today is?”

Charlotte’s excited response: “A school day!?”  (Bless her heart.)

“No, Charlotte – it’s Saturday,” noted Karen.  “Here’s a hint, we dress up and go to the neighbors’ houses for candy.”

When they caught on that it was Halloween, Luke decided to clue me in just case I had missed it (granted, I was lying in bed, with my eyes closed, seeing as it was probably about 6:00am), loudly stating, “Dad, we’re going to go get CANDY!”

Tonight is indeed the culmination of Halloween festivities.

Earlier this week, we did some pumpkin carving – a challenge with a four year old and a two and a half year old, especially one who’s currently very fascinated by knives.

They were both very interested at first as they pulled out the guts.  When Charlotte suggested that I film them, it prompted a bit of a temper tantrum on Luke’s part: 

Luke soon decided not to participate, for the most part, but occasionally wandered over to make an unsolicited suggestion or two, prompting Charlotte to remark quite matter-of-factly, “Luke’s not helping, he’s just telling us what to do.

When it came time to actually carve the face, interest from both children intensified.  Karen asked the kids to stand back a safe distance as she carved.  As requested, they took a few steps back but then slowly inched forward until they were back on top of her, crowding her carving efforts.

Karen had to repeatedly ask them to step back only to have them assume their prior positions of practically climbing on top of her as she tried to carve.  Charlotte eventually got the hint and, if she wanted to get closer, would essentially call a time out by dramatically announcing. “Mom, Mom!  Stop for a second!”  When Karen stopped, Charlotte would get in close to point to something and make a comment, such as, “The lips look like they have lipstick!”

No such luck with Luke.  He would get excited and repeatedly lurch forward to touch one of the eye holes or the nose hole, which drove knife-wielding Karen crazy (rightfully so).

We’re going to attempt some more pumpkin carving this afternoon prior to trick or treating.

On a somewhat related note, we all went to the dentist this week.  It was Luke’s first visit, and he was quite excited.  For whatever reason, Charlotte and Luke LOVE to brush their teeth, probably a little too much.  If we let him, Luke would brush his teeth ten times a day.  We suspect that part of the appeal is that he likes to watch himself in the bathroom mirror.  They’ve started fighting over the stool.  The other day, Luke actually tried to pull it out from underneath Charlotte while she was standing on it, forcing her to cling to the sink for dear life. 

Anyway, Luke could barely contain himself in the dentist’s waiting room, continuously asking, “Is it my turn?”  When his name was finally (in his opinion) called by the hygienist, he marched right by her and toward the exam rooms, despite the fact that he didn’t know which room he was going to.  Apparently, he didn’t want to waste any time.  The hygienist had to direct him from behind when he took a right down the hallway when he was supposed to take a left.

Ever since he saw Charlotte get her teeth cleaned, Luke’s been doing a lot of practicing, keeping his mouth open for extended periods of time.  He even mimes teeth flossing.  He was ready to go.  The hygienist told him a couple of times that he could close his mouth if he wanted to at certain points, even closing it for him at one point.

At the end of the exam, Luke’s mouth was declared cavity-free.

Let’s hope it stays that way after eating his loot from tonight.

I hope you enjoyed today’s serving of ‘mac & cheese’ (with a side of pumpkin pie).

Happy Halloween!