~~ The Halsted Herald~~: Minnie and Mini-Me

6 weeks ago, Dan came home with this adorable pilot costume for Grayson.

We giggled for hours about it; how it’s made from the exact same material as Daddy’s suit, how the Velcro patches are miniature, how the zipper slides both ways just like Daddy’s…seriously, how stinking cute is this thing?!?

At the time, Grayson kept saying he wanted to be Buzz Lightyear for Halloween (again), so we figured this would just be added to his dress-up toy bin. Let me tell you, that didn’t last long. Grayson quickly became obsessed with the flight suit and his already incredible imagination took on an even larger (if possible) persona. Pretending to be Daddy became a daily fascination. So naturally, he decided to be his favorite hero for Halloween instead of Buzz. No shocker there, Grayson loves his Daddy more than anything!

To top off the outfit, Dan took things a step further by purchasing kiddo aviator sunglasses and he even ordered a custom name tag AND his C-130 squadron patch, both in mini size for a perfect fit. That man is amazing!

For Laney, her costume this year was a no brainer. This little girl is enamored with…strike that, OBSESSED with all things Minnie Mouse. She loves her and every time we pass anything with Minnie on it in the stores, we are exposed to non-stop giggles, happy faces, and 15 minutes of “Momma, that’s Minnie!!!”

I also decided to take things a step further by hand making her costume. The skirt was pretty easy (except I have been and will be cleaning up glitter for WEEKS!), just cutting tulle, attaching it and securing white dots, but the ears were a tad bit trickier. Honestly though, it was fun and in my humble opinion, I think it turned out pretty darn cute.

Both outfits set the tone for a great night of trick or treating. To continue our tradition, we headed over to the big neighborhood with our group of friends, knocked on a good 100 doors, collected heaps of loot, made sure to demonstrate our manners with plenty of “Thank you very much, have a happy Halloween!” and finally, we let the kids stay up a couple hours past bedtime (and the parents more than a few past bedtime—Ouch!!).

It was so much fun and I have a good feeling it will only get better as the years go by.

All our pictures are below. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween Y’all!

Happy Halsted Halloweeners!

Grayson and his BFF, Julia. Turns out she was Minnie too!

Best preschool class EVER!

Laney anxiously awaiting the trick or treaters:

Laney: "Get your shoes on, Mom! Let's get this party started!"

I love this photo. It's a true representation of how much Grayson looks up to and admirers his Daddy:

Aunt Dina spoils the munchkins.

Jump! Jump! Someone is sooo excited!

"Ok, I got a Hershey bar and a lollipop. Score!"

Send in the troops!

Follow the leader!

Taking a break to examine a leaf:

Speaking of zippers that slide both ways, it took me about 15 houses to realize I had improperly zipped Grayson after our last potty break before departure. Oops!