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Christmas in October?

October, 2006 marked my favorite costume making holiday ever. Jacob was 3 and Ben had just turned 1. Jake was finally old enough to banter ideas back and forth with me regarding his costume, and for some (truly) unknown reason, he decided it might be fun to dress as a snowman for Halloween. (?What? My thoughts, too....) 

So... I started searching online for some kind of snowman costume, and pretty much found nothing, as I had expected. I sat down with Jacob and we drew pictures of what the important elements of a snowman really were. By the time we were finished drawing, Jacob had a clear description of what type of snowman he would like to be. Snowmen were to be composed of three 'snow' balls each one smaller than the last and stacked vertically. Snowmen needed to have a vest, a scarf and three black buttons on the front. (Not four or two. This was important to him.) That was it. No corn cob pipe required, no magic top hot, no real preference on color.... just those things. How on Earth was I going to do that? It was time to get creative.

And, creative, we got! I decided that I wanted to keep the project simple, so I reverted back to some old techniques of crafting, known as paper mache, which I picked up somewhere along the way in grade school as most children do. Ryan and I spent time looking at different playground balls, and we finally found 3 that were appropriate sizes in proportion to each other, and in proportion to his body so he could actually fit in them. Once we found them (all but one in our collection already), I set Jake to work using his new safety scissors to shred old newspapers. I suspect he was more excited about the newspaper shredding than he was about the costume itself. After he enough shredded newspaper (and a lot of excess, actually, as it turns out that he was really good at that) Ryan made us a flour and water glue concoction and we began to paper mache the playground balls. I expected that Jake would like this, but, in fact, he hates getting his hands dirty so he mostly jumped around excitedly while I applied the pasted papers to the balls.

After the paper had dried to the balls, we deflated the balls and carefully cut them out of their paper shells. Then, we cut specific holes in them to allow Jake to get into them, and painted them white. While they had been drying, we searched GoodWill and other thrift stores and located a coordinating vest, scarf, hat (my idea, not Jake's) and gloves. We made three felt buttons for the front, and bought the smallest pair of suspenders we could find. At the same time, I had found a small Santa Claus themed sleeper, and I thought that would be a fitting costume for Ben, who was too young to protest. I figured a Santa Claus would compliment a snowman perfectly. We returned home and tried out the suspender system I had worked out in my head. It was a perfect fit. And the added bonus I hadn't expected was that the bottom of the snowman swayed adorably with each step Jake took.

We completed the look of the snowman by applying a spray adhesive all over each ball, and then by dumping a bunch of small foam balls (intended for filling bean bag animals and the like) which looked like snow. The balls got all over everything, but they kept the appearance of snow and ended up working out very well. They also kept our Dyson busy long into November, but they were well worth it.

When the big day came, we carefully got Jake into his costume and adorned him with the accessories we had found. (And we prayed and prayed it wouldn't rain. Rain would've destroyed the entire costume.) He looked pretty adorable, and he was just as pleased as I was to say that we had made this costume ourselves.

Then we slid Benjamin into his Santa Sleeper. In those days, he had just learned to walk and he was pretty content with everything around him, so as trick-or-treating involved walking, this was no exception.

It was a blustery trick-or-treating time, so I was quite happy that Jacob had picked costumes that I could bundle them in multiple layers under. We got more compliments than I could count as we walked up and down the block. My only regret that year was that I hadn't thought to enter them into a costume contest, because I think they'd have had a very good chance at winning. What a clever idea Jacob the Snowman had!

Mr. Bone Jangles and Ninja Turtle

Now, where were we? Ah yes.... the story of Jake's third Halloween, which coincidentally happened to be Ben's very first Halloween. Ben was a mere 6 weeks old. I was at the very end of my maternity leave with him and somewhat broke as I had missed 6 whole weeks of working overtime. I was sleep deprived as all mothers of newborns are, and more so, I had a 2 and a half year old who was having frequent meltdowns trying to get used to his new little brother. I was stressed and I was certainly not feeling creative enough to come up with a great costume. Even MORE SO, I was constantly annoyed by Jake's favorite toy, a Halloween decoration called Mr. Bone Jangles. This decoration was a plastic skeleton which hung over the top of a door, and when you made noise or pushed the red button cleverly hidden in his nasal cavities, he wiggled back and forth and sang a terrible Halloween song. It seemed the only thing that would comfort Jake when he was upset that his brother still lived in our house was pushing that   @#%**% button 3,000 times consecutively. This was the time in Jake's life when he was the most profoundly autistic, and it was evident by the fact that he was the only 2 year old that could concentrate on one toy for more than a few moments, let alone for hours on end. We'd try to hide the toy from Jake, but he would stand at the stairway where the toy belonged and cry (for hours) until we put it back. There was no redirecting this child. And when we'd finally put Mr. Bone Jangles back in place, Jake would push the nose button until the batteries died. (Literally. Every other day we went through a pack of batteries on this silly toy.) I begged Jake to consider a different toy, but the only way I could get him to change up his routine was to get him to allow me to switch the door frame that Mr. Bone Jangles would hang from for the day. 

And, given his fascination towards strange skeletons, it came as no surprise that Jacob squealed with delight when he saw the skeleton costume at Target. It wasn't anything I would've picked out... but Jacob clearly knew what he had wanted. This particular skeleton costume had green "glow in the dark" bones, though Jake had no intention of showing it off during the night. It was a full body jumpsuit, including boot covers, a mask and gloves. In this costume, Jake could become Mr. Bone Jangles, head to toe. I had very little energy left in me to discuss the other costume options, and having so few ideas myself, I decided that it would be acceptable this one time to buy a pre-made costume. I asked Jake to pick out a costume for Ben. At first, Jake ignored me. (Ben who?) After urging him to look through costumes, he decided that Ben also needed to be Mr. Bone Jangles. 

We searched the costume racks, but there was not single skeleton costume for a 6 week old to be found. I had decided to just put Benjamin in Jacob's pumpkin costume and call it a day, when Jake spotted the "Ninja Turtles" costume. In reality, the costume had nothing to do with the TMNT heroes in a half shell (aka, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) but I was relieved that Jacob had finally found something about Ben to be useful, so I bought the costume and headed home. 

When I inspected the costume at home, I realized the turtle costume was really rather sweet. It was essentially a green sleeper with a brown hood and a cute little shell pillow on back. it sipped up, and though it was a little big on Benjamin, it did look rather sweet on him. So, I bundled the costumes up and put them away until the big day came. (Which, if I remember correctly, was less than a week away.)

On Halloween day, Jacob got ready for his trick or treating early in the afternoon. He had fought to get out of his naptime, but in return he had to watch a Noggin (children's programming channel) instead of playing with Mr. Bone Jangles. As the program ended, I started dressing Jacob up as Mr. Bone Jangles. Initially, he was very excited. Once he immediately ripped his mask off, (which he never did put back on) he was contented watching his own body move inside of the skeleton costume. Then, I dressed Ben in his "Ninja Turtle" costume and brought him into the living room. Ben did not protest at all, and he seemed really excited also. (And by this statement, I mean that he continued sleeping soundly the entire time. Those were the days....) Jake seemed equally as excited about his brother's costume.

I urged Jake to follow me outdoors and to go trick-or-treating. He refused. I dragged Jacob outside with the promise of candy, and he hit up two houses and was very upset that people talked to him when he stood in front of their doors. (How dare they! Didn't they know that he had no interest in socializing yet? Geez, people!) Finally, his will won over my desire for him to enjoy the holiday I had come to love so much, and we headed back to the house. Jake was clearly exhausted from missing his nap, and so he laid right down on the couch, even before he could look into eating his candy. I placed Ben next to him, and for a nice change of pace, in stead of objecting, Jacob cuddled him closely and they took a mutual nap. (Under my watchful eye... I'm not that negligent. I promise.) Watching the two of them cuddled together, quietly, was the highlight of my day. It certainly was not what I had in mind for a Hauntingly Happy Halloween, but it was happy nonetheless. I could not have asked for a better memory.

The Mighty Lion- Joey Harrington Bobblehead (a quickie story today).

As I sit here and watch Jake agonize over whether he is routing for the Detroit Lions or the Green Bay Packers, I am reminded that there was a time I had decided this for him. Given today's big game at Lambeau Field, and Jake's interesting decision to be Aaron Rodgers (GB Packers QB) for Halloween, this makes the story of Jacob's 2nd Halloween all the more interesting. 

Jacob's 2nd Halloween was the year 2004, if I'm doing my math correctly. He still wasn't old enough to make his own decision as to what he wanted to be for Halloween, and anticipating it might be my last chance to dress him in Michigan teams as opposed to green and gold that everyone in our area wears, I decided he would be a Detroit Lion. And at that time, the Lion's QB was a promising young Joey Harrington. (No idea what happened to him in real life... I assure you he did not work out as I had been promised...I think this was my flaw in the Lion's planning. I should've had him be Jason Hanson. Hanson ROCKS!)

Jake's uniform consisted of a Harrington Jersey, a pair of cute gray jogging pants, and was completed with a Lion's helmet which was far too big, giving him the appearance of being a bobble head for the 3.7 seconds he'd leave it on his head. (He took it off so fast I could never get a picture of him with it on!) I dressed Jake in multiple layers underneath his costume, further giving him a buff and muscular appearance like a real football player. Jake toddled from house to house around the block, collecting candy from the reluctant cheeseheads, who all had something or another to say about him being out of place in the neighborhood. (All in good fun, believe me.) Jacob visited only a few houses before the thrill of treat or treating had wore off, and so we spent the rest of the night at home quietly enjoying regular family life.

Jake being a Lion was one of the cutest costumes I remember him wearing, (which... I might say about all of them, sorry....) but otherwise at that time was not particularly notable. Now this year, Jake is considering the same costume, but he's playing for the other team. Who would've thought that a day that was seemingly so insignificant would become so controversial and exciting out of no where? How exciting to watch my little bobblehead growing up! 

The Cutest Little Pumpkin in the Patch, and the Scariest Halloween EVER!

It's Saturday in the Robertson household, and so... I know what you're thinking. You're expecting a run down on the days soccer games and events, but... alas, Benjamin did not want to play today (because it was "too cold for his breathe") and so... I agreed to cover Ryan's shift at the disc golf shop and hang out with Ben, while Ryan and Jake hopefully lead the Wizards to a great game. Though I will be relentlessly bothering Ryan for details of the game, I am currently sitting in the shop, working on my blog between customers. And so,  as promised, I have some free time to recap some of my favorite Halloween experiences with the boys  throughout this month. I think starting at the beginning is just as good a place to start as any so.... Join me in thinking all the way back to Halloween, 2003. It was a simpler time then, as I had only one child to chase after, and really, he could only crawl so fast. The economy hadn't taken such a sharp downturn as of yet, and at that time in my life, I was working tons of overtime, so I had a little extra money to put towards a costume, even if little Jacob was too young to be trick or treating. I had my mind set on a bumble bee costume of some sort for him, because even though Jacob was not able to speak enough to sing along, he found himself at his happiest when listening to Laurie Berkner's "Bumble (Buzz Buzz)" song. Knowing that it was one of the earliest preferences he had ever shown towards any entertainment, I thought this would be a fun thing to dress him as.

I searched local stores and the internet trying to find a great costume at a reasonable price. Luckily, my search didn't last too long or take too much time. In fact, my search abruptly ended when my mother brought over a pumpkin sleeper/costume she had found while she was out and about. She kept reassuring me that I didn't have to use it, she just thought she'd grab it for me, and it was a great deal, and this and that.... but the truth is, there's no way I couldn't have used it. The moment I saw the cute little hat attached, I knew Jacob's first Halloween should be a classic one, and there was no cuter costume than the one I had right before me.

This costume was a cute little orange sleeper, essentially, painted to resemble the traditional Jack O' Lantern, classic but not scary, and very appropriate for a newly mobile infant. The neck line of the sleeper was accented with a cute green leafy appearing cotton, giving the effect of pumpkin leaves, and the whole ensemble was complete with an orange and cap, adorned with a small stem. It was darling, and it was made bearing in mind the age of the child who would be wearing it, so the costume was cute and comfortable for Jacob to move around in.

We live in a really friendly neighborhood, and so I had considered taking Jacob to a few houses just to say hello on this particular Halloween, (in other words, show off how darn cute he was in his new pumpkin get up), but the weather was chilly, and Jake was starting to spark a fever. Instead of visiting the surrounding neighbors, Jacob and I sat at our front door, on his special soft crawling mats (to absorb the hard wood floors that he refused to crawl on) and awaited the children to come and visit. I had a big plastic container full of various treats nearby, and Jake and I would hand them out to the eager ghosts, ghouls, princesses and cowboys that would show up at our door. Jake also found it amusing to empty the entire treat bucket all over the floor and refill it frequently, but eventually, he just gave into the fever that he was getting and became very lethargic. By the time the trick or treating hours came to a close, Jacob had a full on high grade fever. After a few doses of ibuprofen and acetaminophen (Tylenol) to no avail, our night came to a close in the emergency room. At least I got to show Jacob off to my friends, as these were the most common people for me to hang out with while I was working all those aforementioned call hours... (And I'm quite sure that they were taken with him because he looked so darned adorable, not because they were the people I hung out with regularly when I was working all that overtime...I'm also not at all biased. What mother would be?)

It was a good thing that I had made such good friends with the nurses, doctors and support staff in our ER, because I was a complete mess with Jacob's fever being so high. For the first time in my life, I knew the terror of having something so precious that it would ruin you to lose it, and that fear was almost paralyzing for me. The emergency room staff was so fantastic that they calmed me down, reduced his fever somewhat and sent me home with a list of symptoms to watch for and a number to call if anything new arose.

After four days of high fevers and lethargy, Jacob's fever broke, and I felt a sigh of relief, until I changed his diaper. Almost as instantly as the fever receded, his skin gave way to a spotty red rash all over his body. Again, terrified, I called his pediatrician, thinking for certain there we were bound to be heading back to visit my friends working at the ER any moment.  As it turned out, my pediatrician was relieved that the spots had shown up, as at that point the most likely diagnosis was that of Roseola, which was common mostly benign childhood illness. Just as he reassured, Jacob got back his energy back and his spots faded, and life returned to normal.

I learned from this experience that there is no ghost, no goblin and no gore so terrifying as the innocence and vulnerability of your favorite person at your fingertips.It was also a subtle reminder to cherish the little things like pumpkin costumes and spilled candy while you can, because no thing aspect of life is guaranteed and beyond resilience.  But, now having a healthy 2nd grader to play with, it's easy to look back fondly and remember my cute little boy, sweetening up Halloween for the the city around us. He was most certainly the cutest little pumpkin in the patch!