Happy Halloween!

Great news! Alex has just signed on for an endorsement deal with the makers of the Rainforest Jumperoo because, well, look at these results! A couple weeks of training on that thing and he is a major beefcake. Okay, so maybe his physique isn't 100% natural. He might have had a little help from some rolled up socks. Lighten up people, he's an athlete, not a role model...

Or maybe he's just a strongman for Halloween. Yeah, that's it. I really wanted to make him a costume for his first Halloween, but I was afraid he'd be all dressed up with nowhere to go. Luckily, the Church has a Halloween party for the kiddos, so our Community Group decided to make a night of it and meet to show off our cute babies in their outfits. With a piggy, a monkey, and two tigers in the group, Alex was the only one that belonged in the traveling circus (ok, the sideshow) rather than the the traveling zoo.

But he got tons of compliments and laughs (with you son, not at you), and we heard several of the church ladies say that his was their favorite costume so far. Thank goodness it was a success cuz it was kind of a pain to make. Who knew that felt spankies and faux leather baby boots would be so difficult to sew? Really, the sewing itself wasn't as troublesome as the fit process. Alex isn't exactly a perfectly proportioned size two like my dress form is...

But it all worked out fine. Alex even got his very first hayride and bonfire experience, where the moms roasted marshmallows while the dad's held the babies.

It got pretty chilly and I was a little worried about Alex's poor little naked legs, so eventually we gave up on the costume and bundled him up. He was a great sport and seemed to have a good time.

A strongman in a carseat makes for a pretty funny sight. Especially a mustached strongman with a pacifier...

So that was Halloween. I didn't get chance to post any "pre-Halloween" pics, so I wanted to share some of the fun leading up to the big day, including Alex's first pumpkin carving experience. Grammy had sent a pumpkin carving kit, so we thought we'd give it a try. Alex wasn't really sure what to make of it, but he rolled his sleeves up and got a couple handfuls of the good stuff.

So I bet you're wondering what the finished product looked like...I regret to inform you that I completely botched the pumpkin carving experiment and am too embarrassed to post a picture of the lame, half-finished disaster of a skeleton face that I attempted to carve. Sorry. I guess I'll have to redeem myself next year...