Megan Woolsey, Writer

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Halloween 2010

The last couple of Halloween’s have been synonymous to misery for me, and I believe for Chris also.  The first one, at 6 months, was painful for everyone involved, except Ava.  We dressed the triplets up in their cheesy little baby costumes and they screamed and cried all the way to the park.  The second year, we dressed Ava in a Go-Go Dancer costume, which she chose on her own, and the triplets were various wild animals.  They were slightly more tolerable of them at 1 1/2 than they were at 6 months.  Mom and dad were still fairly miserable though.  We strolled them to a few houses with the help of some neighbors and then we called it quits.  Phew, another obligatory Halloween over.  Check. 

The triplets first Halloween. Don't be fooled by the smiling faces.

Our annual neighborhood group photo

Our second annual Halloween photo with the triplets. Aren't they having a blast? And look how much fun we are having.

 

Our third Halloween. . . now we are having some fun people!

This year was a different story. I knew as Halloween approached that this year Ava wouldn’t be the only one out of a family of six having a good time.  We started out with our annual trip to our neighborhood park with all the neighbor friends, and then we headed out to trick or treating.  Ava was gone in a flash.  She was running from house to house with her friends and we never saw her again for the rest of the time we were trick or treating.  We were definitely too slow for her, but we missed her.  The triplets kept saying, “where Ava go?”  I wish that she was with us.  The triplets got the hang of trick or treating by the first house.  They would knock on the door and say “trick or treat!” or sometimes “can I please have candy?” and then they would invite themselves in.  They don’t know the trick or treating boundaries yet, so they would walk in and Elsa would comment on their decor and they would help themselves to some candy.  We were invited to stay for dinner at several houses; the triplets were quite the trick or treating sensation in Eastwood Park.  At a few houses the person who was handing out candy would call for their spouse, “Hank, you have to some see this. . .  quick!” 

Violet, who is very passionate about everything she does or loves in life, insisted on wearing Chris’s ghetto winter cap with her adorable pumpkin fairy costume.  She also insisted on wearing her striped slippers with her costume.  She loved the ensemble so much that she wouldn’t take it off to go to sleep. She slept the whole night in her pumpkin fairy costume with ghetto hat and striped slippers; and then she wore the outfit the entire next day, even at the gym.  I would never dream of getting in the way of Violet and her life passions. 

The Queen Mother and her princesses and handy construction worker Preston

Neighborhood group shot. Look at the clueless construction worker.

Angela the Mad Hatter had to step in and help the clueless construction worker fit into the crowd.

Going door to door. So cute.

They wanted to trick or treat until 8 . . . they thought it was just about the best thing that has ever happened to them. Violet going to sleep in her costume

 

Don’t even think about taking this costume off, says Violet with her eyes.

Wednesday we got all the kids their flu shots.  Chris took them one at a time back into the room to get them done.  Elsa hardly cried but she did discuss afterward the traumatic events that had taken place.  Preston cried a little bit like he was so hurt that someone would want to stick a needle in him.  As we were waiting for Violet to get her shot done in the waiting room I could hear her screaming.  Chris said she knew the second she was in the room that she was going to get a shot and she wasn’t going to like it which was the time that she began screaming.  She was pretty pissed when she got back to the waiting room but a few lollipops helped make everything better.

I brought Ava after school but I didn’t tell her where we were going or what we were doing.  We showed up at the office and she was suspicious. “What are we doing at the doctor’s office mommy?”  “Oh, just getting a little checkup,” I said.  “Am I going to have to get a shot?” “I don’t know, you have to ask the nurse,” was the small white lie I told.  The nurse called, “Ava” to come into the back and Ava stood up and said, “am I going to have to get a shot?”  The nurse said yes.  Ava planted her feet into the ground and refused to go into the back.  She just stood there shaking her head no.  I bribed her with a treat and she eventually made it back to get it done.  She didn’t cry while the needle was in her arm, but she sure screamed after the whole ordeal was done.  As we were walking back out to the waiting room there was a PA carrying a delicious looking popsicle. Ava was staring at it, sure that it was for her.  The PA sensed that she was going to need to give Ava the popsicle, so she stopped and handed it over to her.  Ava’s traumatic flu shot event miraculously disappeared upon first lick.
 
Proud mommy moment: Ava gave her first presentation yesterday on a chapter book called “Night of the Ninjas”.  Chris and Ava worked pretty hard at putting something great together.  Chris, of course, asked if he could come watch Ava give her presentation and he was denied by the teacher.  Ava’s teacher emailed Chris after her presentation and told Chris that Ava just did a wonderful job.  Ava volunteered to go first.   She never read from her paper, she spoke clearly and kept constant eye contact.  In the end she asked if anyone had questions and she answered three questions about the book.  Ava’s teacher gave her an “Advanced 4” on the rubric.  
Until next time, the mothership is signing off.