Binns Boo Bash '09

I thought September was a hectic month until October hit me like a ton of bricks. Between plane trips and Halloween parties and church functions and houseguests, we have been going non-stop since the first of the month, and things don't seem to be letting up anytime soon.

I have umpteen posts to catch up on, but I'm gonna try to keep things in order and start with our first Halloween party of the season, the Binns' Annual Boo Bash. We almost missed it because A had some bizarre mystery virus earlier that week, but luckily, he had been fever-free for days and seemed healthy and in good spirits by the time the party rolled around. Having been out-of-town the previous weekend, combined with the fact that the party was pretty early in the month (the 10th), I hadn't gotten around to designing a fabulous costume for A, so we just went with an old standby that only required some rummaging through closets and the dress-up box.

Disappointing, I know. But with 4 more Halloween events to follow, it is still possible to redeem myself...

He does make a cute cowboy, though, and he really enjoyed dressing up like one. I assume they have talked about cowboys at school because when I told him that's what he was going to be, he said "Yeehawww" and told me he needed a rope because, duh Mom, no cowboy outfit is complete without a rope.

In case you're wondering, yes, that is the same hat Alex wore on his first birthday, size XS, hence the reason head looks so huge. He doesn't have a giant head, he just has a little hat.

Off to the party we went, and as usual, Alex made a beeline straight for the train stuff. When does this train-obsession phase end, exactly?

Of course, he wasn't the only boy there going through the obsessed-with-trains phase. I was a little afraid Alex would try to hip-check anyone who tried to get in his way of the horn or the steering wheel (not that he is a bully, per se, but the boy is serious about his trains), but he played really well with the other kids.

Ain't my boy just the purdiest thing y'all ever done seen?

The trains weren't the only attraction at this bash. They had a "haunted house" with a fog machine and a "ghost" rigged up on the inside, basically a robotic arm with a head and red eyes that was draped in a white sheet, and it was motion-sensored so that it would move around when the kids came near it. The first thing Alex said when he saw it was, "robot!" I guess that white sheet wasn't foolin' him.

They also had two moon bounces and pinatas and a swingset and a clown who painted faces and made balloon animals.

A was really into the tire swing, particularly spinning around in circles on the tire swing, and being the good mother that I am, I obliged him and spun him around as he yelled, "Faster! Faster!" And when I got him going at a good 600RPMS, I heard Tim gasp and looked down to see that Alex's eyes were rolling around in his head like he was having some sort of a seizure. I stopped the swing and his eyes just kept on a-rollin'. Tim and I totally panicked and thought Alex was about to pass out, but within seconds, his eyes slowed down and he smiled and said something like, "I'm dizzy!" He wanted to spin again, but I put the kibosh on the spinning, at least for that day.

Towards the end of the party, we attempted to gather the kids for a group picture. Candid kid pictures are about the funniest thing ever. Here are a few examples of how that experience went down.

What isn't pictured is how Alex kept grabbing the witch hat of the little girl in front of him and smushing it down on her head so that his face was free from obstructions when his picture was being taken. It was one of those situations where I felt bad for the little girl but couldn't stop laughing because, well, it was funny.

It was another great year at the Binns Boo Bash! Can't wait 'til next Halloween!