Halloween in Review

 I kind of find it ironic that Grace needed two costumes for Halloween this year.  There was the purple bat costume that Joanna got for 90% off last year--

The skirt lights up, and her hair was supposed to be purple, but I guess that wasn't quite right!  And yeah, that's a bat painted on her cheek!  The original commercial costume is sleeveless, but it was actually cold here (which isn't usual for Halloween in Georgia)  so Mommy insisted she wear a black turtleneck underneath.  And the boots are an Aunt Laura and Grandma contribution to her regular wardrobe.  Boots are favorite footwear and even though I always used to say that they were a waste for a little kid, I've found myself looking for flat (no heels here for a four-year-old) boots to add to her shoe collection!

But then her preschool insisted on non-scary storybook costumes.  So here comes Rapunzel.  I purposely left up the hair post until today just in case somebody needed it.  :) At 7 am yesterday, they showed up on my doorstep so that I could fix Bit's hair.  I've had waist-length hair since high school, so I know how to deal with it.  

We put Nicole in the high chair with breakfast so things like shiny bobby pins wouldn't suddenly disappear, wet down Grace's hair, and did it in double twists.  You can find a general tutorial here.  I had to locate said tutorial because I hadn't done that since high school!  I did it to the middle of her head, ended in a ponytail, and then twisted that into a bun so it would look like it was almost into the Rapunzel braid.  Then after a generous application of hair spray (which she hated!) I started pinning in Rapunzel hair.

This is probably one of the few places you'll see pictures, even sort of , of me.  My disease led to inactivity because of having to have limbs elevated for a minimum of 8 hours a day, which meant a massive weight gain.  It also means that very few of my projects are for me because if you're even as big as a RTW size 20, patterns don't come in your size... but that's a rant for another day.

After I pinned it in, we had Gracie shake her head a bit... which led to more pinning because I hadn't pinned it tightly enough.

To which she said it was too tight, but when asked it she could wear it anyway, she said yes.  We've been talking to her for over a week on how she couldn't take it off herself because with how I carefully put hairpins in the twists as well as pinning it in, we'd have a partially scalped child.

Her hairpiece is pinned front, back and sides, and when her hair dried, it almost looked like the braid was actually her hair since she's such a light blonde.  Because it was even more cold yesterday morning, that's a My Little Pony PJ shirt underneath.  After all, poly satin and poly organza are not cold weather fabrics!


Since crinolines have been pronounced "itchy"  (would hate to see how she did with the original starched cotton ones) she did without, which I think didn't hurt the look at all.

One in, the braid went almost a bit past her knee, which just shows how long that bugger is.  (Grace currently needs a 26 inch dress to get to the bottom of her knee... which I prefer because that gives a little bit of growth space before it's too short)

We were just lucky that the dress still mostly fits!  If it weren't for the fact that the sleeves could use another inch...  :)

The ribbons and flowers in her hairpiece were a source of happiness because she's a girly girl!

And she proudly showed them off for the camera.

She was the prettiest Rapunzel at preschool!

But not to leave the Impling out, we also had the cutest little pink owl running around.  She's learned to say "who" for the sound an owl makes and loved informing people that she was an owl.  "Tick or teat" was her request at Trunk or Treat last night along with pleading looks and "Candy peas!"

The weather made me glad I'd gone for felt because she was nice and warm in the cooler weather without being overheated.... which was the mistake I'd made with Grace at this age!  (And ironically, I used felt for Gracie's Foofa costume) 

We set up a clothespin drop with varying containers, step stools, and distances according to age.  :) Candy for all, prizes for those who tried.  3 and under had their own setup to ensure that they could win, too, because I swear it's the most frustrating game ever invented!  Even some grownups tried it... and failed.

So how was everybody else's Halloween?  Ours was fun, and the neon purple even washed out of Bit's hair!