Halloween Fun

 Halloween seems to last the entire month of October around here with pumpkin picking, making decorations, carving pumpkins, parties, candy, and finally trick or treating.

Friday and Saturday were jam packed with fun.  I was able o be with Hans' class in the morning and then Freddie's class in the afternoon.

Hans' prek sang song, played pin the tail on the cat, and made lots of crafts.

It was my first time getting to spend time with Hans in the classroom.  He's really comfortable there, which made me feel better.  I know he is fine, but to see him be so confident was a pleasant surprise.

Freddie was happy to see me with some other moms arrive in the afternoon to help with some crafts in his class.  I wonder how much longer before he asks me to stop coming!

 
Friday afternoon was a "penny party" in the school yard to raise money for the PTA.

The kids love running around with their friends eating junk food and playing games.

Saturday morning we headed out to our neighborhood Halloween Parade.

It was a beautiful, crisp fall day.

Filled with more junk food and running around with friends.

We were able to have a little downtime in the afternoon before gearing up for trick or treating.

We attracted on the to floor around 6pm and made our way down to the lobby.

 Charlie stayed home to hand out candy.

Thankfully the boys were ok with taking the stairs this year.  Getting an elevator on Halloween takes forever with so many kids making their way throughout the building.

Although we managed to get through the building fairly quickly I do miss trick or treating from house to house.  

 The boys were appalled by a group of older boys who took more than one candy from the bowls of folk who had left for the evening but left treats by their doors.  Not sure how much longer that would last.

The Halloween fun ended with candy sorting and sugar overdosing, as it should.

Boo at the Zoo

 The boys look forward to going to Boo at the Zoo at the Bronx Zoo each October.

The zoo is decorated for Halloween and has some extra stations and exhibits throughout the zoo.

The fall colors are showing too which is nice to see.

We enjoy any day at the zoo, but adding smores only makes it better!

Blurry because my lens was smudged with marshmallow!

Great fall day!

Halloween

Freddie's school wrapped up "spirit week" on Friday and it was conveniently "costume day."  He opted to wear his pirate costume so as to not reveal his official Halloween costume.  He wasn't too thrilled about my taking his picture (what's new) especially since he was trying to get into school with his buddies.

Later that day I got to join his class for a craft and treat.  It was rather tame Halloween celebration but the kids seemed thrilled to have a few moms in the room helping out with a craft.

After school we headed to Hans' preschool for their Halloween parade.  The school does a lap around the small cluster of buildings we live in before heading back to the classrooms for a party.

I tried to get some pictures before we headed down, but again neither boy was into taking pictures.  Sigh.

We headed down with Thor and the Dark Knight to preschool.  Freddie was thrilled to be in his old classroom and Hans was thrilled to have him along.

I liked getting to see Hansie with his class, raising his hand to answer questions and share as the teacher read a story.

His confidence in school has grown tremendously.

It was a quick lap outside, thankfully, because it was cold and grey.

The boys were warm and snug in their costumes.  This southern girl now understand why children's Halloween costumes are thick and furry.  Too bad we really don't need them since the boys just walk the halls in our building to trick or treat.

Back in the classroom it was fun to see both the boys mingle.

Freddie's friend was there since his brother is also in preschool.

I most loved Hans having a conversation that lasted forever.  I don't even know what they were talking about but it was so cute to watch.

When we finally left school it was up to the 16th floor to begin trick or treating.  Charlie stayed home to hand out candy.

We worked our way down, mostly taking the stairs since it was hard to get an elevator.  Around the 9th floor Hans started complaining about his bag being too heavy and asking to go home.

After a few more floors Freddie was ready to call it quits as well.  It was the same situation last year and I am still surprised by this.  I suppose the call of the candy is strong, but I also think they were genuinely worn out and ready to wind down.

After examining their loot and stripping down to their undies the boys handed out some candy and called it a night.  Whew.