First Halloween & Other Milestones to Celebrate!

We celebrated Natalie's first Halloween on Wednesday. When pondering what an adorable 3-month old would be for Halloween, of course the first thing you think of is a skunk, right? Yeah, don't ask me how I came up with that one, but she did turn out to be the cutest skunk you've ever seen (or smelled!).

Growing up, my Grandma Jean and mom spent hours every year making one-of-a-kind Halloween costumes for my brother and I. No detail was ever overlooked and my classmates' cheap, off-the-rack costumes paled next to ours. So, now that I have a child of my own, I knew I couldn't let Grandma Jean down by buying just any old $15.99 poly-blend costume. But my dilemma: I have zero sewing skills (Grandma was a perfectionist and after she made me rip out one too many imperfect seams, I gave up my sewing lessons at the ripe old age of 8. Why didn't I have the patience and the foresight to let her teach me???).

So my solution was a hybrid that involved a hot glue gun, some wire and velcro. A black hooded sweat suit, some faux fur and way too many hours (not to mention a few burns from the glue gun!) later, and the lil' stinker had her first costume! I know it isn't anything near what Grandma Jean would have thrown together with less effort, but I know she would have been proud and would have loved to see Natalie's smiling face poking out of the hood.

So, on her first Halloween, she visited mommy's office and then was off to get her picture taken at Focus Pocus portrait studio (Because Grandpa Walters wasn't around with his camera!). She smiled at the camera like a pro and we got a priceless pic. (I intend to upload more photos that show you the entire costume.) Then we took her to her friend Gracie's first birthday party. At one point during the party, Natalie fell asleep, so I laid her on a blanket, face down on the floor. We started calling her "Road Kill" because she was sprawled out with a furry tail sticking up in the air. Where was my camera you ask? At home! We visited more friends after that. So, overall it was an eventful and fun night.

Last night was eventful too. The three of us were relaxing on the couch and I was tickling Natalie's tummy. Out of nowhere she let out a loud peal of real, honest-to-goodness laughter that caught us so off guard that we just stared in disbelief. She laughed several times after that while we played and it was so fun. Of course, today we tried and tried to get it out of her again but she must have forgotten how to do it. Grandma Walters gave her a teddy bear that giggles when you squeeze him. I thought that might trigger her memory, but no luck. But I did get a cute picture of her hugging him.

She grows and develops a little more every day and we're just along for the ride! And what a fun ride it is...