Maddie and Lucy: Twick or tweet!

Here it is! The long-awaited Halloween post. I have a multitude of excuses as to why this post is so late, but I think most of the blame goes to that most frustrating institution I curse every fall...Daylight Savings Time. WHO is in charge of such things and WHEN will the madness stop? There has to be someone I can contact about this. Lucy wakes up at 5:30am on a good day. We can count on her waking up at 4:30am at least once or twice a week. Maddie is sometimes good to "sleep in" until about 6:30, but she's a 5:30 girl herself sometimes, usually on the days Lucy sleeps in until 6. That's right, it's a pretty sweet set up we have at the Poppish house. I don't want to make you jealous or anything, but one day a week we each get to sleep in until 7am.

Anyways, this year Luke and I waited for the time change like we were waiting for a bomb to drop. We switched the girls' bedrooms Halloween weekend (more on this fascinating little tidbit later, wait for it!), so Lucy was already having a tough time adjusting to the room switch. Maddie breezed right through the whole transition...until the time change. That's when it all fell apart. Sunday morning Lucy woke up at 4:30am, which was really 3:30am...and Maddie, who had been sleeping late since moving into her big girl bed, was right behind her an hour later. Neither one of them slept until a reasonable hour until Friday morning, when Lucy made it until 6am. Anyways, I felt like I spent the whole tortured, napless weekend exchanging knowing looks with other parents who were out and about with their own whiny, overtired kids. Ok, I guess that is the end of my rant. I just wanted to make sure that the girls are able to look back and see how we suffered. When is the age where we can sleep in and they can get up by themselves, pour a bowl of Honey Comb cereal, and watch the Smurfs? Is that coming soon?

OKAY. So. Halloween. It was so great! It was the first holiday we've had where Maddie really "got it". She was a riot. Sue came to visit and help out that weekend, so we were able to take Maddie shopping and let her pick out her costume, and she was so not interested in this. She didn't really get the whole concept until we were out trick or treating. Since she is always talking about being a "bootiful pwincess," this is what we opted for. So, here are the photos of Maddie's big night.

Luke is, for some unknown reason, is firmly opposed to the dressing up of unsuspecting, defenseless babies. It goes something like, "When she can tell me what she wants to be, she can dress up." Now, if I really wanted to dress Lucy up, I'm sure I could get past him. But the thing is, I'm pretty lazy about this stuff, so I just go along with it, roll my eyes at him like it frustrates me, and walk away with my image as "detail-oriented and never lazy mother" fully intact. Anyways, this will be Moosie's last appearance in this post. She did pull a super-scary move of her own and projectile vomit all over Grammy while we were out trick or treating with Maddie. Grammy had to go and answer the door for some kids right after the big event, and we have to tell you, we think the vomit-effect was pretty scary for them. Way to go Lucy!

Here is a picture of Maddie in the pretty dress Grammy brought her to have her picture taken in. It's not very Halloween-y, but she looks so pretty I just couldn't leave it out!

Aunt Karyn had to dress up for work at Table 6 that day, and she went super-original and dressed up as a black cat. Let me put it to you this way. I'm pretty sure Aunt Karyn made some good tips that day at brunch. She did what any good Auntie would, and came to go trick-or-treating with us, determined to score Maddie some extra candy, and confident that her cat costume would do the trick.

Meeeeooooow, Aunt Karyn!

Sue altered Maddie's little costume so it fit her perfectly! She looked so, so, SO sweet.

"Daddy, I da pwincess."

She was so excited about her Yo Gabba Gabba candy bag. We watched the Yo Gabba Halloween episode, oh, 287 THOUSAND times in the weeks before the big night.

Grammy and Maddie, before Grammy got spooked by Lucy's puking moves.

Pretty Maddie on the front porch, right before our neighbor Mary came out to give her her first candy. I have no idea whose scantily-clad legs are there behind my sweet, innocent child.

In the car on the way to go trick or treating. She was SO excited. It was starting to get dark, and she could not figure out why we were going somewhere instead of going to bed.

As usual, Karyn threw a temper tantrum about being in the back seat. Get over it, Karyn. I'm older. Forever.

I wish I could explain how amazingly cute she was on the whole trick-or-treating trip. She was SO happy and blown away by the whole thing.

Maddie, Luke, and Aunt Karyn hit the streets.

Maddie always looks so big to me, first because she just is really tall for her age, but also because she looks big compared to Lucy. On Halloween night she looked tiny to me. She was just prancing around in her dress, with candy bag that was as big as she was, with that little midget voice of hers. It was so great.

Heading up for some candy.

She kept trying to go inside everyone's house. Like, they would open the door, "Oh, hello little princess" etc. etc., and she's waving the candy bowl out of the way, pushing past them to get in the living room.