Braedyn's Halloween

For the last time... it's a Giraffe costume, not a damn horse!!! Sheeeez, I'm pretty sure we'll be retiring this costume instead of saving it for Chase. It was WAY too nervewracking hearing "look at the cute, little horse". Morons...

{{ now back to my happy place }}

We took Braedyn to the mall for trick-or-treating. He did well despite the fact that he didn't fully understand what was going on. He seemed a bit overwhelmed at first and wasn't too interested in the candy that was going into his pumpkin. Well, that is until he caught a glimpse of a lollipop that was put in there... at that point, his sole mission was to find. that. lollipop.

And once he found the lollipop, nothing else really mattered. It was just him and his lollipop - in their own little world.

Here's a nice family picture of me, Ben, Braedyn, and the lollipop. And just for the record, NO, Ben doesn't normally dress that way. His pajamas were part of his costume for work. I guess the Mardi Gras beads are for a little added effect?!?

So our plan was to trick-or-treat on the left side of the mall, then stop for dinner at Chick-fil-a in the food court (I planned that one nicely, huh?), then trick-or-treat back down the right side of the mall. The first half of the trip was great, Braedyn was enjoying himself. Dinner was great, I was enjoying myself. Then we got to the second half of the trip. This is where Braedyn lost all interest in the task at hand. Apparently there were much more interesting things that captured his attention other than Halloween candy. Such as, window shopping for winter boots...


... and trying to figure out how to get all those "colorful balls" out of the container ...

... and getting a sneak peek at the train track being set up as part of the Christmas decorations ...


... and getting a glimpse of, ummm, well, errrr, I have no words for this one ...

So we were pretty pleased with our first trick-or-treating experience at the mall. And to the handful of stores that weren't giving out Halloween treats: Shame On You!! And to the stores that were giving out stickers (instead of candy) that promoted their own product: You're Joking, Right?!?

And in case you're wondering, Chase was home asleep with grandma. I thought about getting him a costume, but I just knew he'd spit up on it before I could snap the first picture. I know, weak excuse, but that's the best excuse this sleep deprived mom can come up with.