It is something to the effect of “it’s the greatest holiday of the year” or that’s the vibe I got after watching the Halloween episode of Stranger Things (which I highly recommend) and some might argue that Halloween isn’t the “greatest” holiday of the year, I feel it's the holiday that starts off the holiday season. Regardless of your personal feelings on Halloween, it is a holiday that as our children get older I grow to appreciate more and more. For our family, it begins as soon at the Halloween costumes are on display at Target, because Kristie and I talk about the different costumes and what Gabe, Lottie, and Maggie should be for Halloween. As you can see from the adorable picture we went a Wizard of Oz theme, and yes Gabe is wearing a lion costume that Kristie’s mom made in 1984.
This year was probably the most fun for our family because Gabe and Lottie are 
old enough to enjoy the holiday by going up to the houses themselves (well with minimal coaching from Kristie and I on the sidewalk) and we had a stupendous trick-or-treat success this year. Granted, it did start a little rough, with Gabe walking right into the first house and getting upset that we were not going inside to visit. This nice gentleman laughed as Gabe walked right past the candy and into the entry way! I was right behind Gabe and then chasing him down, but Gabe was just far enough past me to make it into the home. After we got Gabe back outside he was upset and didn’t quit understand at first that we weren’t actually going into the houses. We tried another house with a group of other children and Gabe watched them say trick-or-treat, get their candy say “thank you” and then walk away. Gabe has been learning so well lately by watching other children with activities, I think his pre-school has helped him develop so much in this area. Once Gabe understood the basic premise of the process, and a little coaching from Kristie and I, Gabe was set to trick-or-treat. Lottie was right behind him saying “Good job, Gabey!”
As they moved house to house. It was so adorable to watch them go up to the houses on their own as Kristie, Maggie and I watched. I am so proud of the wonderful and polite little people Gabe, Lottie, and Maggie are growing into. Whether or not you agree Halloween is the greatest holiday of the year, it does seem to kick off the holiday season. The weather (usually) begins to cool down, the leaves change color, and people seem to get the holiday spirit. With our busy schedules, starting with Halloween then Maggie’s birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and then the birth of baby number four things will probably be a little hectic. Before we get all caught up in the holiday season, let’s make a plan to thank those we love and focus our complete attention on those loved ones when we get the opportunity to see them. We have started selling shirts t-shirts and they can be found here!