Getting ready for Halloween

Amelia was all fired up to help her daddy put out the Halloween yard decorations last weekend. However, the chilly weather was too much for her so she retreated to the warmth of the house where she pilfered through our assortment of Halloween stuff.

Her hunt through the boxes resulted in her discovering these masks. Her find inspired her to request I take photos of her wearing the masks so she could "see me looking scary."

I obliged her request and put on a little show for her while snapping the photos. She thought it hilarious that I pretended to be frightened by her werewolf mask and cracked up when I acted as though I did not to know who she was while she was wearing her blue harlequin mask.

Amelia is really looking forward to Halloween this year because for her it's going to be a two-day affair. Her school will be having a Fall Festival on Oct. 30 complete with a talent show, costume contest and games in every classroom.

Our local fire department always sponsors a community festival on Halloween so we'll be there again this year after which I plan on taking the girls to an event at a friend's church. Amelia and Lola will likely get enough candy this year to last them until summer.

Lola will be dressing as a cow for Halloween not because she has a great affection for the bovine species but because she'll be wearing the costume Amelia wore for her first trick-or-treat. I spent a wad of cash for that costume so I plan to get as much use as possible out of it.

I suggested to Amelia that since Lola was going to be a cow that she dress as a cowgirl. I was tremendously surprised when she agreed. I snagged a precious cowgirl dress off of eBay as well as a pair of pink boots and a pink bolo tie. I made a new hat band for my childhood cowboy hat using strips of leather and pink beads, an update Amelia loves. I plan to make her a lariat and attach it to her belt.

She's going to look just precious, and I love the fact that the dress and boots can be worn over and over again because they're not costumes but real, well-sewn clothes.

By the way, the purple shirt and orange skirt she's wearing in these photos are two of the best purchases I've ever made. Amelia fell madly and deeply in love with them when I brought them home last year. Not only did she wear them to the Halloween party at her preschool, but she also wore them many times afterward including to the school Valentine party.

She was beyond excited when she put the outfit on Saturday morning and discovered both pieces still fit. The skirt is a little shorter on her than it was last year so she won't be able to wear it much longer. I told Jeff I'll have to pack it and the shirt up to save for Lola or otherwise risk Amelia trying to convince us in a couple of years it still fits even though her hind end is hanging out of it.