Friday Photo Fiesta: Trick or treat!

Here's our puppy dog!

There was never a doubt in my mind what Noah was going to be for Halloween...

Alright, I'm not being completely honest. At first I thought Elmo would be the perfect costume, because wouldn't it be cool if Noah's little Elmo-head candy jug matched his getup? Alas, there must have been a rush on Elmo-wear at Halloween USA, because there was nothing in the 18–24-month aisle in neon orange/red... no Elmo.

But... they did have a doggie! And THAT was the perfect costume. After all, next to "Daddy," I think "doggie" is Noah's numero uno word. With a bark in my step, I bought the canine wardrobe in a size I thought would be perfect—up to 24 months—and out the door I went.

Now we arrive at today—five weeks post-purchase—and I break out the puppy costume at the sitter's house this afternoon. I effortfully begin to coax the shoulders of the gear up past Noah's sternum. Darn! Things are riding up in all sorts of places that make me squirm with discomfort.

My poor little man's dog head/hood only came up halfway on his cranium, and the crotch of his costume was squishing his little man parts for all they were worth.

Thankfully, Noah did not notice. He was in love with the doggy paws and tail and was delighted that he was a dog for an day. Sometimes, I guess it's just fun to be a kid—tight clothes and all.

With the ill-fitting costume on as best as it could be, we set off for David's colleague's house and cul-de-sac for a test run in Halloweening. We've been practicing all week saying that famous begging phrase: "Trick or treat!" Noah's best effort was "T-treat!" Good enough. What he lacked in accuracy he made up for in cuteness.

David, Noah & Tif

It took only one house for Noah to get the hang of things... walk up, approach nice person with overflowing bowl of sugary goodness, say, "T-treat!" and hold out paws, accept candy (that he probably can't eat), say "thank you," smile brightly and run off the porch. I was impressed!

Here's one of those suckers (the candy, that is) that Noah won't be able to eat...but it was fun to get!

We only went to perhaps six houses, and that was enough. But it was so darn sweet to watch our little man in action, working the system—and the candy distributors. I can already portend the brilliant future he'll have in filling pillow sacks to the seams with Milky Ways in about seven years or so. Some kids are just good like that.

Noah meets another Noah, aka "Handy Manny" at one house.

Lucky for me (but not my backside), a quick survey of the 15 or so pieces of candy Noah collected this year indicated that Mom & Dad will get to eat about 12 of them. Ah shucks...

Noah & mommy

And just for a little nostalgia's sake, here's a picture from last year's Halloween, when our son was a...goat. But what an adorable little billy goat he was. See?

Noah, almost five months old, 2007

Happy Halloween, everyone! I know you've got some spooky/kooky pictures in your arsenal to share with Candid Carrie's readers. So hop in your hearse and ride the cyber highway on over to her place for your instructions. She'll be happy to welcome all you ghouls and ghosts out there...