Happy Halloween!

This year I really wanted the girls to have traditional costumes. As such, we had a clown:

There's a picture of my brother-in-law Matthew around this age as a clown. I hunted everywhere for a clown costume. Not only are they rare for this age, the only ones out there are cheaply made. As it turns out, the local craft store was going out of business so armed with a pattern, I picked up these happy fabrics. The package said it was a 2 hour project but somehow it took me the better part of 3 days to complete because I was so picky about how I wanted the finishing touches like the collar and ric-rac. I absolutely adore how it turned out! Brigitta loved wearing it too. It was just roomy enough I imagine it was very comfortable. It has a hat but she didn't love wearing that quite so much...

 a witch:

Recognize this one? Liesel was a witch at this age. I especially love the purple and orange glasses. So did Ireland.

and an angel:

I wanted to make a super fluffy tulle skirt that could also be used for dance class. There are tons of "no sew" tulle skirts out there that can be done in an hour or so. However, over time tulle has a tendency to curl up and get nasty. I wanted this skirt to last through all four girls so I painstakingly edged each piece of tulle in ribbon. This one had no pattern, just an idea in my head. In the end it was 16 layers and even though tulle is light, I managed to break the needle on the sewing machine putting on the finishing touches.

Sorry, but that skirt deserves a shot from another angle:

Liesel looked truly ethereal among all the obnoxiously bright Disney princesses:

All three:

 I usually don't dress up for Halloween but I thought of the perfect pregnancy costume and just had to run with it:

It was immediately apparent who knew their classic American literature and who did not. If you don't get it, here's a hint: I'm holding a copy of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.

The girls made good use of their costumes! They were able to wear them to dance, then the ward trunk or treat, then school where they both had parades. I was one tired mama by the end of it all. Secretly I considered skipping their parades so I could stay home with Brigitta and nap. However, once I saw them light up when they spotted me among the parents I knew I made the better choice.

Even trekking out in the rain while severely off her nap schedule, Brigitta caught the spirit of the parades and waved to everyone she could.

Another thing she readily caught onto? Gorging on candy!