Practice Run

Next year I'll learn to practice the costume before Halloween Eve. I don't know what ignorant part of me thought that just because I had made parts of and pieced together this costume for him that he would be as excited about it as I was. Must have been the part that has never met The Terrible Two Year Old. Luckily, we were attempting to make a run at Fish or Treat the day before Halloween. He woke up from his nap happy. He let me undress him with pleasure and smiles all around. Then I tried to dress him in his costume and all hell broke loose. What!?! It's a cowboy costume for Pete's sake. He's been dancing around for two weeks saying, "Yee Haw!" He's been picking up anything that resembles a gun and pointing it with sounds of "Ptshaw, ptshaw!" Why won't he put on the costume, which, by the way is made up mostly of normal clothes. Finally, I got the jeans and the shirt on. Next came the boots which he insisted on donning himself. Fine. As long as they get on. Then I tried to put on the chaps, the chaps which I so lovingly handmade in anticipation of the costume contest that never was. You would have thought I was asking him to wrap himself in toxic chemicals. NOT THE CHAPS!! I'M MELTING!! So I gave up on them. (If having a two year old teaches you nothing else, it at least ensures that you know when to pick your battles.) Finally came the guns. Oh, how exciting! What little boy wouldn't want to strap a couple of guns on his waist, you wonder? Mine. That's the one who wouldn't. This shocked me beyond belief because as a young tomboy myself, I loved wearing my six shooters. Somehow, I was able to put on a pretty impressive sad face, and he gave in. Whoo-hoo! So we loaded up to head to the aquarium. Someone pulled into the perfect spot right in front of me, and I was ticked. But then, I realized it must have been divine intervention because at that moment, I looked up and saw that the line reached all the way to the street and there were droves of costume clad children still coming. We just kept right on going. I'll try lots of things, but two children by myself in that melee? I don't think so. Luckily, since I'd promised him candy and we'd been practicing "Trick or Treat" the whole way down, we were able to charm some Dum Dums out of Pops as a consolation prize. Good thing Gams and Pops thought the costume was cute even without the chaps!