Days Twenty-eight and Twenty-nine

                On day 28, we made vampire lollipops to hand out to trick-or-treaters. We do plan to take Brendan trick-or-treating for the first time, but it’s going to be awfully cold so we don’t plan to be out for long. I got the recipe from http://crafts.slides.kaboose.com/316-halloween-crafts. To make these, I cut capes from black felt. Then I cut a piece of red cellophane into a square to wrap around the lollipop. I then secured the cape and cellophane onto the lollipops using a twist-tie. I then used white address labels to make and attach fangs to the lollipops, and used stick-on googly eyes. There wasn’t a lot Brendan could do to help, but he sure loved watching. He even stuck some of the homemade fangs onto his mouth. I know he’ll really be proud to pass these out to the kids that stop by, toddler or not. This may be a new tradition in our household.

                On day 29, we took Brendan trick-or-treating for the first time! Holidays always bring out the best of childhood magic. He was so proud to show off his Winnie the Pooh costume to his best friend Gage, who dressed as a spider. First, we took the boys trunk-or -treating together. Trunk-or-treat is where people park their cars on Main Street in Ogden; they have fully decorated trunks in a Halloween theme and pass out candy. The boys had so much fun, Brendan was only mad that he wasn’t allowed to grab anything from inside the trunks. After trunk-or-treat, we stopped at a few houses of close friends and family members, and then went home to hand out our lollipops. Brendan had the biggest grin on his face as he handed out his lollipops. This is what childhood magic is all about.

                Since I’ve started spending thirty minutes of quality time each day with Brendan, he naps thirty minutes longer during naptime and an hour longer at bed time. That leaves me with an hour and a half of extra time to get stuff done, to catch up on sleep, or spend mommy time. I’ve seen tremendous change in myself and Brendan. We’re both happier; there is less discipline, less tantrums, and more smiles and hugs.