Happy Halloween!

Jackson experienced his first Trick or Treating. Because Tom was in Edmond for a band contest, we joined our friends Katie, Brandon, Ben and Elizabeth in their neighborhood. Here is Jackson before we left:

All the way to their house, Jackson kept saying "Ben's house! Go to Ben's house!" All three kids were so cute together. Ben was "The Man in the Yellow Hat" (with Curious George in his hands) and Elizabeth was a black cat. So cute!

We had been practicing saying "Trick or Treat" all month long. He got shy at the doors, so he had to be prompted. Halloween is a pretty hard holiday to explain to kids - we all tell them don't go up to strangers and definitely don't accept any candy. So what do we do on Halloween? Go up to strangers and ask for candy! Ben kept asking this all night. It was fun listening to Katie's explanations.

A couple of the houses really got into the Halloween spirit. Jackson really liked this house. He was so into the music that he forgot why he went up there!

Here are some more pics and videos from our Halloween experience. I think Jackson got tired of walking, so in between houses, he'd say "Mama, I carry you?" and I'd pick him up. As soon as we got to a house with lights on, he'd want down and would practically run up to the house. Every once in a while, while walking up to a house, he'd say "Mama, look at me! I'm doing it! Look at me!"

After we got back home, we went to a few houses in our neighborhood. I kept telling Jackson we'd just go to a few more and then go home to hand out candy ourselves, but he just kept saying "No....More!" I think he really enjoyed it. Our last house of the night was Ryan and Alecia's house. Here is Ryan (a blue Power Ranger) and Jackson on their front porch:

Jackson helped me hand out candy. He was so good at it! We sat in our driveway, and Jackson would get the candy ready to put in everyone's bags as soon as he saw them come up the drive. As he placed a piece of candy in everyone's bag, he'd say "You're welcome!" He even tried to hand out some candy from his own pumpkin stash. What a sweetie! We experienced another first tonight - we actually had a teenage girl come up TALKING ON HER CELL PHONE while holding her bag out. I think if you're too busy talking on your phone to say "Trick or Treat", you're probably too old to be out with the kids. Unbelievable! I really wish I had some saltwater taffy for her.

After we turned out the lights, we went inside. I became my parents and made Jackson take everything out to sort what he could and couldn't have. Jackson liked organizing it all. He had to break into the suckers immediately - they were definitely his favorite! Here he is wish all of his goodies - notice the drool from his sucker running down his face (and costume). Woody's outfit will never be the same!

After we put all of his candy back into his pumpkin, he grabbed, walked to the front door, and said "Come on Mommy!" He was disappointed when I said it was all done. I think he really enjoyed Halloween. Next year will be even better!

On a side note, Jackson also has become obsessed with being clean lately. Every night, Jackson asks for a diaper wipe, and proceeds to wash everything - his face, his hands, his arms, tummy and belly button, legs, and feet. And then, he takes it bed with him (just in case he gets the urge to clean in the middle of the night). I only wished he liked baths just as much!

Jackson has been singing a lot lately. He loves Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, the Itsy Bitsy Spider, and the Jackson song that my mom made up for him. The other day, he gave me his microphone to sing for him, and I sang the Jackson song. I then gave him the mic to sing a song, and he changed it to the "I love Mommy" song. It was so sweet - I had tears in my eyes! The other day, he then sang it to be Daddy and me while we were getting ready for his nap. You are so precious, Jackson. Hopefully we'll get his singing and his new song(s) on video soon.