A Super Halloween

Lately I've been trying to give myself a break, especially regarding parenthood. I tend to hold myself to an unhealthily high standard, expecting myself to do everything myself in the most difficult way possible. And the reality is that I don't have time to do that always. So I'm trying to prioritize and put the most effort into the things that matter most. That's why, two months beforehand, I gave myself permission to buy Molly's Halloween costume rather than make it myself.

So I ordered her a butterfly costume from Peanut and Friends on Etsy. When it arrived I nearly swooned, such sweet little wings and a huge, fluffy tutu. I couldn't wait for Molly to try it on. Except, she wasn't having it. The tutu she wore for all of 5 seconds before she demanded it be removed, something she's never done before. She loved the wings to play with but wouldn't consider wearing them. Dave and I would put them on ourselves and she loved it, pointing and shouting "Daddy's a butterfly!" So we'd ask, "Does Molly want to be a butterfly?" and she'd shout with equal enthusiasm, "No!"

Though I still hoped that I'd be able to convince her to be the adorable butterfly, I needed a back-up plan. And I tried to buy a costume from the store, I really did. But I hated them all. Hated! Well, not really. The soft fluffy costumes from Old Navy and Gap (and like places) were adorable, but I doubted that Molly would wear such an obvious costume (and certainly not the hood/head!) if she wouldn't wear some wings, so I didn't want to spend the money on it. So, despite my attempts to take it easy on myself, I was back to making something.

I still didn't want to take on too much, though, and I also wanted to make something that didn't really seem like a costume, hoping I might trick Molly into thinking it was a regular outfit. That's when I remembered the super hero cape I had already planned to make for Molly's birthday party. It was simple, really easy to make, and she might not realize she was wearing a costume. Plus I was already planning to do it later. Two birds and all.

I whipped it up quickly, but she wasn't tricked at all. Again, she loved when Dave and I would wear it, but she wouldn't wear it herself.

Finally, I came up with option 3. (Can you sense I was getting desperate?) She had a cute little jean dress, some cowboy boots she already loved, and a cowboy hat. Even if she wouldn't wear the hat, she might still be able to pass as a cowgirl.

So I sent two packages to daycare for her party (they would put the costumes on after naptime), one labeled "Super Molly!" and the other "Cowgirl Molly." I told her teacher to just give it a shot, starting with the Super Molly cape, but that I would understand if she wouldn't wear either of them.

When I arrived for her party, I first ran into one of Molly's past teachers. "She is so adorable!" she said to me. She looked at me like I was a weird-o when my response was, "You mean she wore it?!" Apparently she had never protested for a minute. Of course!

When I walked onto the playground, Molly was running around with her hands in front of her shouting "Supa Mowwy!" I melted.

cape tutorial from the pleated poppy

i got a little hot glue happy, but it works

lightening fast shoe idea from here

Despite not taking a nap that day, Molly loved her costume and was in a great mood. She was flying around all afternoon and, when we got home, she didn't want to go inside. The lack of nap did produce one little meltdown right before trick-or-treating, but as soon as she saw that the other kids were being given things at the strange houses we were visiting, she was in.

And she was a pro at trick-or-treating after that. We had been practicing saying trick-or-treat, which for Molly is more like "twick-tweat" (love!), so she was ready for that part. What surprised me most was how patient she was. The other kids we were with would barrel to the front door, but even if Molly had gotten there first, she would hang back and let them get their treats before walking up and quietly saying "twick-tweat," while she carefully chose her one piece of candy. She was precious.

And I love that for Molly's first trick-or-treating experience, we got to spend it with a big group or friends, including our new and wonderful neighbors and Molly's BFF Serena (that's her in the adorable hula outfit above) and her awesome mom and dad. As well as some new friends. Molly loved pointing out everyone's costumes. "Minnie Mouse!" "Batman!"

And I loved being able to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood, rather than driving from our apartment to someone else's neighborhood. It made this house feel even more like a home.

I also love that the dress that Molly wore (though it was more like a long t-shirt at this point) is the same dress that she wore for her first birthday party. (Sometimes having a very small little girl comes in handy.) It felt very circle of life-ish and reminded me how much she's grown.

All-in-all, this Halloween far surpassed my expectations. It was definitely worth putting the effort into her costume. And besides, the butterfly outfit will still fit next year.