Fire"Mann" and the Little Porker

We woke up on Halloween to discover overcast, gloomy skies with dark clouds that threatened rain.  While that's perfect weather for a spooky Halloween party, it is not what a 3-year-old boy hopes for.  Ryan spent the day with his nose pressed up against the window wishing the bad weather away.  Thankfully the rain held off until after all the little goblins had gone to bed!

We had a great time trick-or-treating in the neighborhood.  There are so many families with young children in our neighborhood, that it seemed like a block party; the sidewalks were jammed with parents escorting little princesses and superheros (and piglets and firemen, too!).  Plus, many of our neighbors go to great lengths to decorate their yards for Halloween, which really adds to the festive atmosphere.

The boys were dressed in their costumes long before sundown.  While they waited for Daddy to arrive home from work and take them trick-or-treating, they agreed to pose for a few pictures.  It's amazing what little boys will do in exchange for the promise of Halloween candy as a bedtime snack!

Gavin was quite the little "ham" for his photo shoot.  He was all smiles for the camera as Mommy, Daddy, and Ryan giggled and cooed over how cute he was in his pig costume.  I really debated whether to dress him as a pig for his first Halloween.  I worried that people would mistake him for a girl or that when he becomes a teenage, he'll look back at the pictures and be horrified that we dressed him in all pink.  But, as Mike likes to say, real men wear pink.  Plus, how could we not dress our 17 lb, 4-month-old baby as a little porker?!  After being jostled around for all of the pictures and carried through the neighborhood, Gavin spit up all over himself and me.  So, we told everyone that we dressed him as the swine flu.   

Ryan is completely enamored with his Daddy and was thrilled at the idea of them dressing up as firefighers together.  Although Mike was one of the only parents in costume, he proudly walked hand-in-hand through the neighborhood with his little boy.  It brought tears to my eyes to watch the two of them together and to see Ryan look up to his Daddy - both literally and figuratively.  He couldn't ask for a better role model or father.  Even at the tender age of 3, he can recognize what a good man his father is.

It's hard to believe that last year Ryan could not even say "trick-or-treat."  This year, he gleefully announced "trick-or-treat" whenever someone opened the door, immediately said "thank you" as they placed candy in his bucket, and shyly said "have a nice halloween" as he walked away.  It's amazing the difference a year makes. 

Speaking of what a difference a year makes...Gavin has officially been in our lives for one year. We discovered last year on Halloween night that we were expecting Baby Mann #2. After putting Ryan to bed last year, Mike decided to run out to rent the horror movie Saw IV and buy some adult beverages. Something told me that I should take a pregnancy test before having a drink. And, much to our surprise and delight, it came back positive!