True, Bri did do Halloween last year. I didn't help select the costume. I didn't dress her up. I didn't take her trick-or-treating. I figured she wouldn't remember anyway. She doesn't.
This year Halloween was a bigger deal. I have a two year-old that can say, trick-or-treat, thank you and happy Halloween. Darn fun.
The costume - I couldn't get buy in for any of my original ideas, so I focused on costumes that Bri would be excited to wear. Elmo, Yo Gabba Gabba ... You know. I flipped through images online asking Bri if she recognized the characters in costume form. She recognized them. She wasn't excited at all.
10/22/11 It was urgent. If I couldn't find Bri a costume the weekend before the weekend before Halloween, I was probably going to have to make one. Since no cold days in hell were scheduled, it was urgent. PARTY CITY was amazing. I found myself staring at a big wall of pictures of costumes. Small bins of props were at Bri-level. Tiaras were cool, over-sized glasses were alright, weapons were tough to explain. "Which one do you want to wear?" I asked not knowing where to begin. "Pirate!" Of course, I was wondering how a little girl comes to recognize pirates so easily... Bri was chanting "Pirate" and I saw a startled - and maybe slightly annoyed - employee making his way toward me to lend a hand. "Do you want to try on more than one? A princess?" Bri says, "No. A pirate. I say 'argh.'" So, you know, I couldn't think fast enough to find a second option in her size and all my memory can see next is the dressing room and the most perfect little dress. I say 'argh' and Bri answers back with another hearty, fist-raising 'argh." Settled.
She insisted on trying it on twice. I only let her wear the dress because I was cautious about opening accessories too soon.
When she finally wore the whole thing, she totally owned it. A dry run at the pumpkin patch 10/28. A party where her dad and I also wore pirate costumes 10/29. And Halloween 10/31. My darling silly pants started as a moody pirate, worked her way into a quiet, shy pirate and ended snatching handfuls of candy from amazing parishioners at the church next door to my mom's house. She's such a real person.
