Trunk-or-Treating

Tonight was a trunk-or-treat with my mom's group. I had been planning on dressing Joseph in the giraffe costume I bought a few weeks ago, but this morning Joe brought up that we didn't have costumes for the both of us. He had been talking about taking Joseph trick or treating as a lobster in a pot forever, but I didn't think we were actually going to do it. This morning, though, it sounded like a fun idea, especially since I could decorate the back of the car (there was apparently going to be a contest).

Instead of getting lots done around the house, the wheels in my head started spinning. I had approximately 8 hours to pull together a whole new costume for Joseph, Joe and me, and car decorations. Hmmm. We ran to a thrift store as soon as Joseph was done with breakfast, and found a red long sleeved and pants sweats outfit, and some fake vegetables. Then we headed home for morning nap, where I scoured the internet for pictures of babies in lobster costumes. I made my shopping list, so when Joseph woke up from his nap and ate lunch, we were off again. This time we headed to Walmart and Jo-Anns and luckily found everything we needed. At this point it was a little after 2pm, and I had 4 hours before we had to be at the park. I frantically started sewing Joseph's lobster costume, decorating items for the car and trying to pull everything together. I ran out of time to execute all of the ideas I had, but ultimately I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

 
Joe and I wore red aprons. I had started to make chef's hats, but ran out of time. Ashley came with us to see all the kids in their costumes, and wore her matching apron too. We ate pizza and cookies with the group, where Joseph was a hit! I'm new to the group, and have only met a handful of moms and their kids so far, but everyone kept coming up to us complimenting us on the idea, costumes and even asking to take our picture!
 

 Joseph nibbled on pieces of cheese and crust from the pizza. Apparently we'll need to teach him how to cover his mouth when he "chews!" I guess it's hard when your claws get in the way. :)

 Joseph was awesome - he spent quite a while content to hang out in the pot/bucket. I think there were enough kids running around to keep him preoccupied.

We even brought Molly along, and she had fun getting loved by all the little kids. I think our car was a hit too - we brought the obligatory bowl of candy, but I also decided to get the party sized tubs of play dough, figuring there would be enough 2 and 3 year olds who really don't need/want candy. It went over really well!

 This is the only picture I have of our "display." We had a little table with the red checked table cloth, play food, a stove with the pot on it, and a sign announcing "Today's Special: fresh lobster, 17 lbs!" Of course, he's only 17 lbs dripping wet and with 3 layers of clothes on, but who cares!

Maybe we'll pull out the giraffee this weekend, and maybe not. I'm awfully proud of the little lobster, and think my first venture into sewing halloween costumes, especially given my lack of time, was great! Joe and I are already scheming about what we'll do next year for the group's trunk or treating.... :)