happy hallooooweeeeeeennnn.

("mama, i runnin'!")

husband and i decided that this was probably our best halloween ever, 

including the halloweens when we were kids. 

we did the trunk-or-treat on wednesday night and it only took bean one or two cars to get the hang of it. she loved the idea and soon had a bucket full of candy. it was pretty late when we started, though - about an hour past her bedtime - and she made her rounds with her paci in her mouth. when we got home, she took all of her candy out and looked at it, piece by piece, and then put it back in the bucket again. she cried when it couldn't come to bed with her.

 (the face in the second picture totally explains how much she loved this holiday.)

we had another chance to go for real trick-or-treating with some friends in a wonderful neighborhood. we had dinner and the kids ran wild in their costumes and everyone had a great time.

(this is the only picture i got of her holding still and looking at the camera at the same time.)

  (she tried to invite herself inside every house we visited.)

 ellie was a little slower than the big kids and a little faster than the little kids while making her way through the neighborhood. she even fell down a couple of times (the pumpkin bucket broke her fall), but she was determined to walk the whole way. when she realized we were at one of the last houses, she started to get sad. daddy carried her during a section of the street where there weren't any houses, but she refused to relinquish the bucket. that thing was heavy, too!

 (the whole trick-or-treat gang.)

it was just so much fun to see our sweet little ladybug run from house to house trick-or-treating. we never could get her to say "trick-or-treat," though. instead, she told everyone "i gettin' tandy!" 

(hey, she's honest.)

 (baby and daddy halloween mug shot, brought to you by my phone.)

after we got home she was exhausted, but she still wanted to hang on to that bucket and take it in her bed. she even woke up at 4 in the morning and asked for her "pumpkin bucket." she cried herself to sleep when i wouldn't let her go crazy with candy in the wee hours of the morning.

...and i almost forgot a picture of my "costume" (really, it's just a glorified t-shirt, but still) (also, i may be in love with freezer paper stenciling). bun in the oven. get it?



being a mom is the best. being my girl's mom is even better.
we seriously had the time of our lives. 
it just makes me all the more excited for the holiday season with ellie bean...
and little boo, too.


(special thanks to all my friends who took most of these pictures.)