Bryce's First Halloween

Mommies always have such grand ideas about how Halloween night is going to "go". You'd think that by this year, my 6th with the best title in the world, I would have come to the realization that my vision of this holiday and what ends up being reality are far from the same. Maybe when the kids are 10, 8, and 5 it'll be different (though I'm not holding my breath)...

As I do each year, I entered this Halloween anticipating putting the kids in their costumes, getting adorable photos of each of them individually, and then together, eating pizza, and then hopping in the car on a clear and crisp (but not too crisp) fall evening to drive with the Devers to a neighborhood down the street for an evening of trick-or-treating. The girls would run from door to door squealing with excitement at their newfound candy stashes, while Bryce rode patiently in the stroller, looking all cute in his puppy costume.

That was my vision. In reality, we started off just as I had planned. I put the kids in their costumes.

Maybe someday we'll make it past Step 1 of my ideal.

Bryce hated his costume. Mostly, he hated the hat. And it was raining and cold (well beyond the "crisp" I had ordered) outside. And Bryce was still fighting an ear infection/cold and hadn't taken long enough naps at school, so he was tired from the onset of the evening.

So the pictures I got, while still cute in many ways, cannot be described as perfect. And the girls were so excited that their ears stopped working when it came to following instructions, so we had a few arguments before even getting them in the car. Finally, as I was struggling to get Bryce into his car seat with the extra bulk from the costume, he looked at me with his "puppy dog" (this time, literally) eyes, as if to say, "Mommy, is this really worth it to you?!? Cuz it's not to me...".

In that split second, I made the conscious decision to be flexible with my definition of perfection. For the Herman family, this night, perfection was going to be Daddy out trick-or-treating with his girls, running around in the rain (that ultimately stopped, thank goodness!), and Mommy staying home with her baby boy, in the dry, warm house, with Bryce free from the confines of his costume (not a moment too soon).

Since I wasn't out with the girls, pictures of their adventure will come later, just as soon as I can beg them off of Brooke. For now, pictures of BRYCE'S first Halloween (and a sneak peak of the girls' costumes, too!). B was an adorable puppy, for the 20 or so minutes that he could stand it...