It’s been a while since I’ve been able to check in around here, and with a whole year of firsts for our little guy, I just couldn’t let Skyler’s first time dressing up for Halloween go undocumented!
So, with a belly full of Thanksgiving leftovers, I’m popping in to cover Sky’s first time celebrating the holiday before he wakes up from his nap. Here we go!
Admittedly, Halloween felt overwhelming for me in our neighborhood last year. Park Slope is known to be very family friendly, and I just remember walking home from work — a few months pregnant and exhausted — seeing so many kids running around and yelling in costumes. They were cute, but it was a lot to take in at the same time. I walked home quickly, got cozy, and vegged out for the night feeling thankful that I didn’t have to get involved in all of the hoopla.
This year, however, everything was different. Our holiday was all about sharing the experience with our baby pumpkin.
I couldn’t wait to get home from work and see how he would react to everything happening around him. From trick-or-treaters to the local parade, there was a lot to do before sunset!
Scott has always had a love for Alice in Wonderland, so as soon as we found an infant Mad Hatter costume, that was it. We kept things casual during the day with a cute little “my first Halloween” number my mom sent him, and I picked up a few Alice accessories from Party City to wear at work during the day. I had no idea Scott was bringing Skyler up to see me at the end of my shift, so it was the best surprise!
I packed up as soon as I could after taking that photo and we walked home together to get Skyler fed, rested, and bathed before it was time to get dressed and out the door to celebrate.
(Isn’t this spirited stoop adorable? I absolutely love when people decorate their “front lawns” here!)
I kept the same outfit on from earlier and Scott threw together a “One of the Tweedles” costume from Alice in Wonderland. We definitely didn’t go all out on our costumes this year, but our accessories were just enough for people to put together what Skyler was supposed to be.
We walked around a few streets and were pleasantly surprised by the efforts our neighbors around the area put into the holiday! A few stoops had haunted houses and others had scary scenes in front that candy-goers had to get through in order to collect. It was so cute.
Skyler obviously didn’t understand everything that was going on, but he seemed to enjoy the sights and sounds! I thought that he might get scared by some of the costumes, but he was a trooper the entire time. He loved being out and about and we had a blast showing him around.
One thing he didn’t like, however, was his hat.
That’s pretty standard though … rookie parents’ mistake, right?
We made it out to 7th Avenue just before the parade started, and it was such a surreal moment when I realized why we were there — Skyler. Getting to experience everything for the first time through his eyes is probably my favorite thing about parenting so far. I’m definitely soaking up the stage that he’s in as much as possible, but I’m also looking forward to when he’s old enough to start understanding what’s going on, too.
We hopped on the back of the parade after watching it for a few minutes and joined it ourselves! (Shout out to the parents and families that went all out head to toe.) Being in the parade as a family was my very favorite memory from the entire night.
We didn’t stay with the parade for the entire route, but we were a part of the festivities for a while. Since it was getting really dark out and closer to Sky’s bedtime, we made a stop by our weekly dinner party with friends from church and then called it a night.
Surprisingly, we only came home with less than a handful of candy! I’m sure that will change as the years go by …
Thanks for checking in to read about our first Halloween as a family of three today.
I’ll be back again soon with highlights from our first Thanksgiving!