Halloween was a total bust last year thanks to Sandy. I loved last year’s costumes but didn’t really get to show them off, so I was pretty determined to make up for it this year.

Sometime last month I was in TJ Maxx buying some new workout clothes. I looked over and saw baby Adidas track suits for $20. I snatched one up for H, really just thinking it would be hilarious for her to have her own outfit for our walks around the neighborhood and the park.

But then the Halloween costume brainstorming began, and I remembered the track suit. Adam and I tossed around a bunch of ideas and finally settled on an MC. The costume kind of took off from there. Adam found a Honda keychain (since I drive a Honda) that would make a great oversize necklace. H had outgrown her noise-canceling headphones, but they still fit around her neck. I decided to spray paint the headphones and the keychain gold.

At the craft store, when I told the spray paint guy about the costume, he suggested a gold curtain tie-back from JoAnn as a baby skin-friendly alternative to a chunky gold chain (or spray-painted chain from the hardware store, which was Adam’s thought). She already had white sneakers from Target. I even bought a giant diamond-like button from JoAnn that I wrapped around her finger with wire, but that got lost in the lawn somewhere when we tried on the costume last week.

Then there was the hat.

I ordered a pinkbucket hat from Kangol early last week with priority shipping. I’d hoped it would get here in time for Friday’s Trunk or Treat party at my niece Grace’s school, but it didn’t get here till Tuesday. And when it did, it was way too big. So, I love the alternative. Friday afternoon I frantically made my way to a Lids store looking for anything that would fit the costume. They had baby Yankees hats, and the guy working there was so excited about the costume he suggested embroidering something on the back of the hat. I didn’t even know you could do that (admittedly, I don’t find myself in Lids very often). The words were his idea, but they just made the costume. Everyone in the store was falling out over this hat when he finished it.

I. Love. This. Costume. She loves playing with the accessories, and it’s warm and comfortable enough that she doesn’t get sick of being stuck in an unruly getup.

We went to Trunk or Treat, and we did Boo at the Boardwalk in Point Pleasant so Adam could get some photos and show her off, too. She’s been a hit everywhere we’ve gone, and I kind of can’t get over how well this came together. She’s a rock star.

She really wouldn’t stop licking the headphones. Here’s hoping I let the paint dry long enough to keep her from killing any brain cells.

Here’s her first album cover (although I’m disturbed by how much she looks like Carl from The Walking Dead here):

She had a blast at Trunk or Treat, and she’s been playing with her bucket of candy all week. She won’t eat any of it, but she loves the crinkly wrappers and different shapes.

STOP!…HFR time:

Point Pleasant was also a lot of fun, but this time she wouldn’t trick or treat at all. Anytime someone handed her candy she gave it right back to them and walked away. She loved the boardwalk, though.

So that’s Halloween this year. I’m not even sure what we’ll do today, probably a quick trip around the neighborhood or a local nursing home before coming back to give out candy for the night. But it’s been pretty epic so far.