The Sheriff's 1st Halloween

Sure, W is two, so technically this spooky holiday is his third Halloween; however, this year was clearly the first.

We had a trial run with our Super Why costume a few weekends ago in which bribery may or may not have taken place to get the little guy in. I knew Halloween night would be no different, and when (I quote) "when Daddy gets home" meets a promise of playing a new (FREE!) iPhone game, the stars align just right to prepare a two-year-old with aversions to costumes and accessories for trick-or-treating.

In fact, after just a few minutes of playing, Super Why was ready to take on the neighborhood in his quest for lollipops. Little did he know about all of the chocolate he'd receive as well! I should have filmed him eating a Kit-Kat as it was clearly some sort of record.

Toddler Halloween starts much earlier than dark; in fact, way before dusk. W added blue lips to his look with a blue raspberry dum-dum long before we were even close to leaving home. We ventured out and met up with the rest of our street's toddlers and preschoolers for our trip around the block.

J and I had the world's most observant trick-or-treater on our hands, and we trailed the pack as The Sheriff narrated, "Everyone has costumes." Maybe next year he'll be ready for dressing up without prompting. I was nervous about the walk as he hadn't eaten supper (by choice), and I dreaded the meltdown that was sure to come when I hurried him along instead of giving him the green light to tear into his candy. He was so grown up though! One lollipop to start the trip and a handful of candy just waiting to be devoured was enough to hold him over. We plopped right down outside by Daddy with a bowl of spaghetti when we returned and people-watched the night away with Kit-Kats, M&Ms, and special Halloween pretzels.

He was such a joy to watch, and a few of my favorite moments include:

*the way he actually said "Trick or Treat" as he approached, albeit slowly, houses for candy
*his asking "Where's his stem?" after taking tiny bites of pumpkin pretzels

*his "what on this green earth are you wearing?" look he gave to our favorite neighbor

*ditching the wagon idea and actually walking with him which might have taken forever but made us savor the night through his eyes
*playing Pandora's Halloween station and watching W's dance moves with a glow stick

*Daddy having the camera, making sure to capture a moment like this: