The Daily Hailey

This was the year of the firecat and the strawberry for our family, and it was a very good year for Halloween!

In all honesty, Dekker has rarely been given the opportunity to anticipate anything. He’s always either gotten really excited about it, and then been devastated that its not happening immediately, or he gets scared and dreads it. But for this holiday, we gave him lots of notice, taught him to say “trick or treat,” told him the general routine he’d go through at each house, and that people would give him treats. And my gosh, he has been positively itching for Halloween to come!

We also had a belated birthday supper for Brady this evening with my parents, since they’ve been gone so much since the day, and even sitting at the table eating birthday cake, Dekker was asking if he could “go Halloween now?” He was ready.

So the second the cake was eaten, we got the kids into their costumes and did a dry run with grandma and grandpa. We helped Dekker remember the order of things – knocking on the door, saying “trick or treat,” getting the candy, family picture (not that we had that happen at too many places, but definitely at grandmas, and a few others 😉 ), then a “thank you” and a “happy Halloween” and he could go. So we did the routine and headed out!

And our kids ROCKED! Dekker LOVED trick or treating! He knocked on every door that we went to, and without much hesitation at all, he just walked right into people’s entrances and picked candy from their bowl. It was super adorable, and luckily, we only went to houses of people that we knew so they were patient with him and the rest of us. Not to say that he was rude at all!! He would take one candy unless offered more, and said lots of thank yous. We also made a point of making him talk to everyone, so we asked him to share at each house what he and Laela were dressed as. As his ice cream pail slowly filled with treats, he really got into it! He would go through his little routine quicker and ask to find the next house. He was thrilled! For the cautious boy that we know and love, he floor us and most of the people we saw tonight! I can’t count how many houses we visited, and how many quiet but excited comments I got about how great he was doing and how he seemed so comfortable! Its almost like his costume made him into his own kind of superhero. It was pretty unbelievable, and I couldn’t have been prouder.

Laela was a trooper too. Obviously, it was easier for her, but she smiled and was very patient. When she was obviously and justifiably wiped out, she was just perched in my arms and cuddled. No fussing or squirming. Just calm. The kids were out TWO HOURS past their bedtime!!! They have both been in bed for about fifteen minutes now and are both out cold. What a fantastic evening we had!

Many thanks to those of you who we saw this evening. I know you gave candy to many kids, but we felt so cared for by everyone we saw, and visited, and who took time for us! We were given candy, home baking, and even coffee in to-go cups WITH handmade cup covers!!! We felt encouraged and welcomed and loved all over town! I try not to name the town on here too much, just in case of creepers, haha, but you guys know who you are and where you live. You have such a soft spot in my heart. Please know how hard we are working as a family to find our way there to live. You all live in a very, very special place.

Happy Halloween from our house to yours! Can’t wait to have our arms even fuller next time around!!!