Happy Halloween!

Here are pictures from our Halloween evening, including the pizza-shaped pumpkins we had for dinner. Our little blue bunny had a lot of fun and brought home more candy than we know what to do with. Happy Halloween!

Jack-O'-Lanterns

We carved pumpkins on Tuesday night. I didn't know how Landon would react to the insides, but he liked them ("Ooey-gooies," he calls them). Landon picked the face shapes, and we drew and carved them. Well, mostly. He wanted sad faces, but we overruled him. I roasted the pumpkin seeds afterward, but Landon refused to try those. Have a safe and happy Halloween, everyone!

Pumpkin Patch

We discovered a fun pumpkin patch yesterday. There was enough to do that we weren't bored, but not so much that we were overwhelmed. It was really cold, but we still had fun. Landon's favorite parts were the bin full of corn to play in and the cat that wandered around the property.

Trunk or Treat

We went to my parents' church's Trunk or Treat on Sunday. Landon got to wear his blue bunny costume for the first time; he was very excited about that. The event ended up being indoors because of the weather, but it worked just fine. It took Landon a bit to get the hang of "trick or treating," but he picked it up well toward the end, so hopefully he'll do well with the actual Trick or Treating on Friday.

Halloween Projects

Here are two projects Landon I did a few days ago.

We worked together to make this construction paper spider.


This one is an activity. He can remove the face pieces and put them back on the pumpkin.


Instructions for both these projects are on the Halloween page of ToddlerCelebrations.com.

Jack-O'-Lantern Creator

Landon and I played with Family Education's Jack-O'-Lantern Creator tonight. Kids pick out a pumpkin by clicking on it, then add eyes, nose, and mouth. This kept Landon entertained for several rounds. He was in charge of selecting features, and I was in charge of operating the mouse. There's an option to print your creations, but we didn't try that.

Getting Ready for Halloween

The other day, Landon had pumpkin-shaped toast for a snack. I bought this pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter on clearance after Halloween last year, so I used it to cut the toast, then sprinkled it with cinnamon. Easy, tasty, and festive!

A few days ago, we put out our Halloween decorations, and I found a coloring book that I bought on sale last year, called My Pumpkin's Gospel Story. It's both a storybook and a coloring book, which is handy, because Landon cares a lot more about reading it than coloring it. If it were just a coloring book, we wouldn't be getting much use out of it.

Landon had a buddy over today, so I made them some orange playdough. We shaped pumpkins out of it. (My recipe is from The Toddler's Busy Book. Combine 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1/2 cup salt, 1 tablespoon cream of tartar, and food coloring in a saucepan. Heat until warm. Remove from heat and mix/knead in 1 cup flour. Stores in an airtight container for six months or more; I have some from February that's still going strong. I prefer to make it in half batches, because I feel that a full batch makes a lot.)

Fire Station Open House

We had a pretty good time at the fire station event on Saturday. I expected Landon to enjoy looking at the fire trucks more than he did, but there were so many other things to see that he didn't focus on the trucks for very long. He got to sit in one, but it was too high up for him to feel comfortable, and he wanted right down.

He really, really loved Sparky the fire dog, though. Sparky drives around in his own little fire truck and talks to the kids. (He's operated by a nearby person with a joystick controller and a microphone, so he can see the kids who are talking to Sparky and make personalized comments to them.) Landon followed Sparky all over the place and was heartbroken when Sparky had to go inside, probably to recharge his batteries.

Landon and I looked at the fire trucks on Sparky's website tonight, and he's been coloring one of his Sparky coloring sheets.

Halloween Cookies

Tony and I made these cookies last week with Halloween-colored peanut butter M&Ms. The recipe can be found here on the blog Prudence Pennywise. I stumbled upon the recipe while looking for an M&M cookie recipe that only required one egg. I was a little wary of the fact that they use whole wheat flour, but we tried them anyway, and they're really good. And since they're whole grain, you can feel a little less guilty about giving your toddler cookies--but you might find you're not too willing to share! Enjoy the cookies!

(Please note that it's up to you to decide whether your toddler is old enough to eat M&Ms, as they do present a choking hazard.)

Fire Prevention Week

Next week is Fire Prevention Week (October 5-11). A nearby fire station is sponsoring a Fire Days open house this Saturday, so we'll be checking that out. They're going to have the fire trucks out for the kids to see, as well as additional activities. Other fire stations might be doing similar events, so you could see if there's something in your area.

Here is the link to Sparky the Fire Dog's Fire Prevention Week website for kids and families. Landon and I will definitely be checking out the Fire Truck Gallery and the Fire Truck Exploration activities in the Fun with Fire Trucks area. He'll love that. Coloring sheets are can be found by following the Family Stuff link.