As I think back about her first Halloween, I remember how excited we were. After much debate back and forth between my husband and I about her costume (this began before she was even born!), we finally agreed on a kitty cat. Mostly that's what I wanted her to wear because it was a warm fleece outfit (not so much a costume, but could certainly pass as one), and she could wear it other times too. I was being practical. She was only a month old, she was tiny, she needed to be warm. And it was so cute. Jamie, desperately wanted her to be "bat girl". The costume was itchy, uncomfortable, did not provide much warmth, and was down right unpractical.
So after all that debate, 2 weeks before Halloween we bought the outfit. Nya wore it all the time. It was easy to slip on and kept her little body warm on those chilly days.
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| What it was supposed to look like... One week prior! |
Fast forward two weeks and it's Halloween! I was so excited to get her dressed. Even if she didn't remember, we would take pictures and it would be something for her to cherish. It was, afterall, her very first holiday.
At about 4 that afternoon, the weather was cooling off (perfect, I thought to myself, it was so smart of me to get this for her to wear), and it was time to get dressed. I got her kitty cat outfit out and put it on. Somehow, overnight, she grew at least 4 inches. This no longer fit. And I mean, not even close. A moment of panic crept in. "It'll be fine. It'll still work." I silently told myself. I proceeded to feed her as I looked down at her once tiny body in my arms. Bulging out of the costume were her legs and arms. I couldn't even button it. What am I doing? I cannot let her spend Halloween like this. How did I screw this up so badly!?!
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| Trying to convince myself I could still pull this off |
Outwardly, I kept my calm. Inwardly, I was in problem solving panic mode. To all of you who don't have kids, you probably cannot relate. But to a mother, this is your worst nightmare. It's your child's first Halloween. "Who cares if her costume doesn't fit. She won't remember." These were the things my husband, in his ever so helpful way, kept repeating to me. Well it was NOT OK. It was her FIRST Halloween, remember? When she looks back at pictures of this day, what do we show her? What do we tell her about her very FIRST Halloween?
I had less than an hour before the trick or treators were out, and my husband insisted we take her trick-or-treating to a few houses.
I ran into her closet. What was always my go to Halloween costume when I couldn't come up with something decent? An 80s punk rocker. Well, that would do for Nya now. She had the clothes. I could pull it off. It's not warm, it's not a real costume. It's not practical. But that's what she'd be.
Done.
So this year, remembering the fiasco I went through the year before, I thought I'd plan ahead. Months before I was searching Pinterest for costumes. I had the highest hopes and plans to make her the best and most creative costume this year. She would look back on this day with fond memories and be so proud.
I ended up buying her a costume during one of our shopping trips 2 months prior. We were walking down the aisle by all the costumes, she grabbed for it, so I got it as a back up. I could always return it when I made that perfect costume, right? I made sure to get it BIG... I learned my lesson.
Well Halloween is tomorrow and she's going to be an owl. A store bought owl. An owl probably everyone has. But hey, it fits.
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That was a really good story. I bet she looked like a very cute owl this year.
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