Wordless Wednesday: Halloween Now & Then

Halloween 2010 - My tough guys

I know I promised more scan-madness, and hate to disappoint, but could not for the life of me find those Halloween pictures from my childhood that I KNOW exist somewhere.  Damn, I know you were dying to see me as a 6 year-old fairy with saran wrap over bent coat-hanger wings. (Did I mention that my childhood costumes were always lovingly handmade by my parents?) Next year for sure.

So for now the "then" is going to have to be a more recent then... my kids' Halloweens through time:

For their first Halloween, the boys were three months old and I was a wee bit tired.

Jake the Carrot & Ethan the Pea-pod, Halloween 2002

Poor Ethan is horrified that he was once a GREEN VEGETABLE for Halloween.  Very scary.

When they were one, we did our first (and only) whole family matching costume thing. May I present THE WIGGLES:

A very Wiggly family, Halloween, 2003

Boy, was that cheap and easy, and once I peeled the stickers off the shirts, we could all just keep wearing them as regular shirts. SCORE.

Then at two we discovered Teletubbies. And really cheap Teletubby costumes on deep sale on October 30th. They were size 4-7, but I figured, we'll have them for years.

Ethan as Po and Jake as Dipsy, Halloween 2004

Ethan is now mortified that he was Po, a GIRL Teletubby.  But at the time red was his favorite color.  In fact from age 2 to 3, it was the ONLY color he would wear.  But that's another long story for another time.

When the boys were three, Jacob decided he didn't want a costume, was unhappy with the idea, so we just put him in his orange and black striped PJs, drew on his face a little bit and called him a tiger. Worked for him.

Jake tolerating a hug from his brother, Halloween 2005

And Ethan went with a different Teletubby - Lala. Yes, I had bought all four Teletubbies the year before. They were on sale. And we wore them as dress-up for years. And now our friends kids wear them.

Ethan as Lala, Halloween 2005

Shhh don't tell Ethan that Lala is a girl, too.

At four Ethan discovered superheros in general and Spider-Man in particular.  Naturally.  No more Teletubbies for him.  Jacob was happy to stay in Teletubby-land.  This time it was HIS turn to be Lala.

That's Ethan in there, Halloween 2006

Jake rocks Lala, Halloween 2006

At five: Ethan, much to my relief, was happy to be Spider-Man again. (YES!) and for Jacob... James the Red Engine.  But you'll have to take my word for it, because I cannot find any photos from Halloween 2007.  Major mom fail. I'm sure they will turn up someday. Besides, the kids will need something to talk about in therapy.

At six it was all Power Rangers all the time in our house, so naturally, may I present:

Jacob the Red Tiger Jungle Fury Ranger & Ethan the White Rhino Jungle Fury Ranger, 2008

That was the easiest year by far, two store-bought costumes, easily obtained. Sigh.

Last year, at seven, Jacob was easy again... his store-bought Batman costume made him deliriously happy. (I know he doesn't look it in this picture, but trust me, he was, it was just not my most stellar year for photos)

Jacob as Batman, Halloween, 2009

Ethan, on the other hand, had entered the world of Pokemon-madness and could not be talked out of wanting to be Lucario, an obscure Pokemon that there was no ready-made costume available for on this earth. (Believe me, I looked.) So I made it myself:

Ethan is the Pokemon Lucario, Halloween 2009

I didn't know if I could pull it off, but I gamely tried. 

The "real" Lucario

Ethan Showing off his tail

Ethan showing off his 'tude

Not too shabby, if I may say so myself.

This year, the price of my success in creating Lucario so well last year was not Ethan getting a second year's wear out of it as promised last October, but my being talked into making yet another Pokemon from scratch.  So meet Electabuzz, an electric Pokemon from the Kanto region (if you care to know):

Ethan as Electabuzz, Halloween 2010

The secret to these things is finding the right colored hoodie sweatshirt & sweatpants for the "base", by the way.  And then, of course it helps to be a crazy person, and be willing to cut, sew and glue for hours on end.  A black sharpie comes in handy, too.

Ethan and his tail

Jacob, once again was sublimely content with a cheap, shoddy, nylon, store-bought, already disintegrating costume, thank GOD. This year's superhero: Iron Man!

That's my sweet Jake in there, somewhere

And this year for the first time since 2003, I dressed up, too. A witch you see, to match my mood these days:

Me and Jake, Halloween 2010

And at the end of the day, we were tired.

Big hugs for the big Daddy

One very tired Iron Man

That's all folks!  Hope your Halloween was happy.  Now, where's that last Almond Joy stashed?


I’m linking up to Wordless Wednesday at Angry Julie Monday.
I'm also linked to Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs.

Linkety link link, whoohoooo. (Sorry, got a little carried away with myself there. It's OK, I've got it under control now. Really. You can go home, you don't have to worry about me. I'm going to step away from the computer now. Promise.)