Halloween Costumes, through the years

I think it is so fun to look back at what the girls were for Halloween each year.  There are times they request to be the same thing as a previous year, and that's okay, but I do encourage a little creativity.

Kaybug's first year, she was baby Carrie from Little House on the Prairie, and her sisters were Mary and Laura.  It may be my favorite year so far!

Gah!  How adorable was she?  She was about 4 months old in this picture.

Kay's second Halloween, she was an owl.  Cute, right?

Coco was Lalaloopsy and Juju was her first scary costume - Dracula.

On her third Halloween, Kay was a chicken, by her own choosing.   I couldn't help but allow it.  Sorry for the blurry picture.

I added a white boa to her costume to add fluffiness.  

J & C were Native Americans, because they were studying them in Social Studies and wanted to dress like them.  I can't find my pic of C, oops!  

Last year Coco was a cowgirl sheriff, Jujubee was Harry Potter (don't comment on my horrible costume making skills.  It was last minute!) and Kay was a princess.  This may have been their first time ever having cotton candy.  

And this year, they all wanted to be from a book.  C was Mary Poppins, J was Hermione, and K was Carrie from Little House again.  

A Halloween Tradition

For the past five years, we have gone trick or treating at camp where my mom has a site.  We didn't think we would be able to go this year, but we made it!   Here are my trick or treaters this year:

Cocobear was Mary Poppins, Jujubee was Hermione Granger from Harry Potter, and Kaybug was Carrie from Little House on the Prairie.  When Kaybug was 4 months old, she was Carrie also.  We love Little House.  

We had a good time, got way too much candy for the Sugar Plum Fairy, and got to visit with my mom and nephew which was the best thing of all.  The weather was perfect, unlike past years where it was either cold, rainy, or both!  I am so glad we were able to go, and the girls were, too.  

An eleventh birthday

Do you remember what it is like to be eleven?  It seems like such a long time ago, yet not long ago, at all.  My oldest, Jujubee, had her 11th birthday yesterday.  Memories of her birth flooded me, as all moms experience, I’m sure.  And then memories from my own eleventh year came, and I realized how different our lives are, at this age.  

She is a lot like me, my shy, quiet, friendly, brown hair, dark eyed girl who loves to read.  Yet, she is so much different from me at the same time - especially in height!  Her daddy can definitely take credit for that!  Our lives are just so different, me being a public schooled child, and her being homeschooled, and her having 2 sisters.  I’m grateful for this. 

With her birthday being on a Wednesday, and Daddy not being able to be with us, we had a quiet, relaxing, but fun day.  She chose all her favorite foods ahead of time, and I prepared them happily, as they are favorites for most of us.  She spent a lot of time reading Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban, even though she said she would wait.  I knew she couldn’t!  She has been waiting for 6 months to read book 3, so she snuck time in whenever she could.  The beach also called to us, so we went to a local lake and had some fun in the sand and water.  Presents and cake, and a phone call to a favorite cousin wrapped up the day.  Overall, it was a lovely day for a lovely girl.  

I’m so lucky to be her momma.  Whenever I need help, she is there without complaint.  In homeschooling, she is so dedicated and smart that she barely needs me.  Something to be proud of, yet sad for at the same time.  Time is slipping by so quickly, and it is hitting me that there are only 7 years between now and her 18th birthday.  The thought scares me a bit.  Will she be ready?  Did I do a good job?  What will her life be like?  What will the world be like?  

But those are thoughts for the future, and right now, I’m just going to enjoy every moment I have with my newly 11 year old daughter, and her little sisters.