A week has passed since Halloween was upon us and I must say, I am already missing it! I have always loved dressing up in costume but now that we have a little offspring, it just makes it that much more fun, even if he is too young to understand what is going on. Last year was Lennon's 1st Halloween and I insisted on a unique group costume for my little family. This year was no exception. I narrowed my ideas down to two but I couldn't pick one so I decided to do both (it was Lennon's second Halloween after all, so why not)! We had four Halloween events to attend between Saturday and Monday so we mixed it up. Here is what I narrowed it down to: How fun these costumes were! The Mary Poppins was easier to put together mainly because I had a heck of a time trying to find denim overalls and a striped turtleneck for Gertie, but I really wanted to pull the E.T costume off, and I eventually found what I needed to make it happen. This is how the costumes came about: I got the idea for the E.T costume last year when Lennon was not even a month old...we wrapped him up in a towel after one of his baths and of course he reminded us of ET. We went on a trip to LA in April and while browsing in one of the many gift shops at Universal Studios, we spotted a stuffed E.T doll which my mom ended up buying for Lennon (those grandmas sure love to spoil their grandkids). I immediately thought that this could be used as a prop for a costume. I then thought of my niece's red Radio Flyer bike and how appropriate this bike could be for an E.T/Elliot costume! So it was pretty much set in my mind that this would be our family costume for 2016 and with some persistence, it came together. I couldn't get over what a cute Elliot he made! E.T will forever have a special place in my heart now! About a month before Halloween, I saw a penguin costume come up for sale on a local shop and swap group. I couldn't resist buying it as penguins are my favorite animal (I am obsessed) and I just had to see Lennon dressed as a penguin. To be honest, I am surprised I didn't dress him up as a penguin the day he was born! He makes a pretty darn cute penguin, though, don't you think? I thought of ways we could incorporate a penguin into a family costume and Mary Poppins was one of the first things that came to mind. Our good friends went as Mary Poppins and Bert last Halloween and it seemed easy enough to put together. We already had a lot of the things we needed. I just bought a black skirt, black hat and white top from Value Village. I also bought a broom from the dollar store which I spray painted black. I placed heavy books on top of the bristles to make them spread out and look like one of those chimney sweeper brooms. The dollar store also had white flower bouquets which I removed from the stems and glued onto the black hat. Everything else we had at home. And this is how it turned out: I don't know how I am going to top these. Next year Lennon will probably make up his own mind for what he wants to dress up as but I will put that thinking cap back on and find a way to turn his idea into another group costume (as long as he is okay with that).
Which is your favorite of this year's costume choices? I loved both but watching him waddle in that penguin costume was pretty priceless! Let's just say I am not packing that costume away just yet! Thank goodness for dress up bins! Roll on Halloween 2017!
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I never got around to sharing these photos last year and since Halloween is approaching, I felt it was an appropriate time to share them! I'm a big fan of Halloween, and dressing up in general. As mentioned in previous posts, I am also a fan of group/coordinated costumes so it was a no brainer that I was going to coordinate a family costume for Lennon's first Halloween last year. He was only 2.5 months old at the time (and being born 5 weeks early, he was more like a 2 month old). At this age, he basically slept all day, therefore, it made sense to use the carrier as part of the costume. The first babywearing costume that came to mind was Alan from the Hangover (played by Zach Galifianakis): I wasn't crazy about dressing like Alan and I was hoping for something more unique, so I resulted to Google and Pinterest for some ideas while also requesting suggestions from my friends on Facebook. A former colleague of mine shared a suggestion she found on Pinterest: I really liked the idea (found on mommyblogger Kate's blog This Place is Now A Home) and definitely thought it was unique but didn't know if I would have the energy to make it happen. I went to our local fabric store to see if they had the supplies and when I found everything I needed, I decided I was going to make it happen....and appropriately enough, I made it happen while babywearing! I was basically going for the same look as seen on Kate's blog but wanted a little something extra for Perry's costume. I am all about the details when it comes to costumes....and this is how it all turned out: To say I loved everything about this costume is an understatement. I was extremely happy with how it came together and it was a bit hit in our neighborhood as well. I can't even recall how many times we were stopped so that people could snap our photo. The best part was that Lennon was a part of it. Even though he slept the whole time, it was a lot of fun and very special making him our little popcorn! And it wouldn't have been possible without him!
The How To: The costume was extremely easy to make and didn't require many supplies. The most time consuming and tedious part was gluing all the popcorn on the toque and paper bags but that could be done while watching Netflix (as long as you are careful to not burn your fingers). Unfortunately, I didn't take step by step photos so hopefully this tutorial makes sense. The above photos should help! All I used was: - red felt material - white felt material - a white toque/beanie for Lennon's head - popcorn - Poly-Fil stuffing - a cardboard flat - popcorn paper bags - gluegun and gluesticks - black duct tape I basically cut out the base that would attach to the carrier out of the white felt. It was a rectangle that I cut to fit the carrier and then I cut little triangles out of the top edge to make the zig-zag pattern. I then cut strips out of the red felt and glued on top of the white base to make the stripe pattern. The base as attached to the carrier using large safety pins in the corners and pinning them to the straps of the carrier. If you have an older or more active baby, I would advise against using the safety pins. There are plenty other ways that you can attach it (ie. thread or glue string in the corners of the base and then tie around the straps of the carrier etc) I then cut out the P-O-P-C-O-R-N letters out of the red felt and then glued them onto a piece of the white felt. Once that was complete, I cut the white felt around the letters, leaving a border to give it the effect I was going for. I didn't have a red apron but had so much of the red felt material that I decided to make one. I took an apron that I had and placed it on the red felt material and traced the outline to make the red apron that Perry is wearing. This can be done freehand as well as it is a pretty easy shape to make. I cut two strips out for the straps and used buttons to sew them on, but they can also be glued on with the glue gun. The bow ties were bought from a costume store but they can also be made very easily (lots of no sew bow tie tutorials available online)! The extra accessory I added to Perry's costume was the snack tray. I made it out of a beer/pop can flat and just covered it with black duct tape. I also made the straps using just the duct tape. I bought the popcorn bags from the dollar store and filled them with some Poly-Fil stuffing I had leftover from a previous project just to fill them out and give them some weight (you could also use newspaper or lots of other things to fill them out) and then I glued the popcorn onto the stuffing. I glued the popcorn paper bags to the snack tray so that they would stay put. I also used the Poly-Fil for Lennon's toque. The Poly-Fil worked well because it is white and fluffy so easily camouflaged when gluing the popcorn on (and then you don't need to use so much popcorn...gluing all that popcorn on took some time and was a bit tedious). My favorite addition on Perry's costume was placing trick-or-treat size candy and chocolate into the snack tray and when we saw little trick-or-treaters while out in the town, we would offer them some (and also sneak some ourselves now and again). What do I have up my sleeves for this year's costume(s)?!? You will have to check back and see! For now, I leave you with two more photos from Lennon's First Halloween...funny enough, we found someone dressed as John Lennon! Enjoy! I've always been a sucker for anything matching or coordinated. My wardrobe is full of kitschy and cheesy attire. One gander at my closet or high school photos and you will understand my style (or lack thereof). Since Perry came along, I love matching my outfits to his when there is an appropriate occasion to do so. Having a couples costume at Halloween is a must and I definitely enjoy coordinating our outfits when we go to a wedding or special event. See for yourselves: Last Christmas, onesies seemed to be all the rage. There was one that I saw around town that I really wanted to see Perry in. It was the plaid Bear Cheeks onesie by Lazy One which is part of their FlapJacks collection. FlapJacks are what the company refers to as a "modern take on the classic long john" and that is a very accurate description. I ended up gifting him a pair kind of as a joke gift (and also cause I secretly think longjohns are sexy) but he has ended up loving them and wearing them all the time (hooray for me). I find the butt flap to be hilarious and a total selling point, don't you agree? Part of the reason I was so excited about these pyjamas (besides the butt flap) is because they are made in various sizes, from infants to adults, and I knew that when we eventually had kids, the coordinating outfits would include the little ones as well, wherever possible. This year just so happened to be the year that our Lennon entered the world (he just so happened to be created at Christmastime....hmmm, I wonder if the Bear Cheeks had anything to do with it?) and I wasted no time in dressing us all up. Here was Lennon at 2.5 months old, dressed up as, none other than, popcorn! Ridiculous, I know! But I loved every moment of this! From the time Lennon was in the womb, I knew that I would want to make a cheesy Christmas card when it was time and I thought that it doesn't get much cheesier (and awesomer) than matching family pyjamas! In preparation, I bought myself a pair of Bear Cheeks while I was pregnant to match Perry's and, before the Christmas craziness, I acquired a pair for Lennon. The smallest size that these onesies come in is 6 months old, which is the one negative thing about them BUT we made them work on our 4 month old (who, being 5 weeks premature, was about the size of a 3 month old at the time). They fit his torso well but were a little longer at the feet. It just seems like a sleeper without the enclosed feet. Lazy One does advise to wear the onesies snug fitting as they are not flame resistant but we felt confident that Lennon would be okay wearing his pair momentarily, and he was. And this was the result: As you can see, the Bear Cheeks did fit Lennon pretty well except for they were a little long at the feet so if you have an at term 4 month old, there is a chance they would fit the 6 month size snuggly (Lennon was about 11 lbs at the time, if that helps).
Now, there are plenty of matching parent and child options out there, but they seem to be more for mothers and daughters and fathers and sons, not so many for mothers and their sons or fathers and their daughters. Lazy One has done me proud with making the FlapJacks onesies a unisex option. Heck, they even have a pair for your dogs! How fun is that? They definitely feel durable and well made and are extremely cozy. They have kept us nice and warm in our basement suite, which can be chilly at times. For you breastfeeding mamas, they work well for breastfeeding as they button down! Bonus! And they are simply fun! What started out as a novelty gift for Perry has definitely turned into a functional and fun piece of attire, perfect for this time of year! Check out the rest of the FlapJacks collection (and take a look at all the funny, and dare I say punny, butt flaps) and other fun sleepwear and clothing by Lazy One, and find your pair at a Lazy One retail store near you. Lots of great ideas for gifts and Christmas jammies! They can also be found at many gift shops and, of course, online. For those in Vancouver, I found a pair at the Vancouver Aquarium gift shop and have seen them at gift shops in Gastown and also at Exposure Home on Commercial Drive. I leave you with my little family sporting our Bear Cheeks around our home this holiday season. Sending you all warmest wishes this holiday season! Okay, let's face it, babies are messy. They poop and pee - sometimes while they are sans diaper and sometimes so much that it doesn't even stay in the diaper (Poopocalypse, anyone?) They drool like there is no tomorrow, they throw up without warning (case in point below), and when they start solid food, so begins a whole new level of mess (and smell). The little ones can't help it so all you really can do is embrace these messy moments and maybe even laugh about the cute innocence that babies have, and, if you're like me, take a hundred photos of the messy moments....you never know, they may want to make a wedding slideshow one day!
When a time comes to voluntarily make a mess in baby's early months, I imagine not many parents or caregivers would want to partake in such an occasion. The time came for us this past week. We were gifted a keepsake Christmas ornament that you imprint baby's handprint and footprint on. We thought it would be fun to try but also knew it would get messy so we decided to try it out right before bath time. Making the handprint ornament was difficult as babies often like to have their fists clenched. The footprint was definitely easier. Lennon seemed interested in what was happening so we decided to take it further. What resulted was not only the imprinting of the Christmas ornament but also an impromptu painting session with Lennon. Out came the washable finger paint and dollar store canvases that I had stored for DIY projects and we let him go at the canvas with his feet. There was paint everywhere. His feet, his hands, my hands, his cardigan, the towel we had him on, and, since brave us were simultaneously giving him diaper free time, the paint ended up on his genitalia as well. It was a mess but it was nothing a little bath and laundry couldn't clean. Seeing the excitement in Lennon's face (and legs as well) made this activity definitely worth all the mess. There are lots of great ideas on Pinterest to introduce your little ones to art and spark their creativity and also many great recipes for edible paint. I highly recommend trying an activity like this with your little ones. Just be prepared and have the bath ready! Here are some photos of the mess that ensued and little Lennon's art work (or should we call him little Leonardo?) Looking forward to being creative and allowing him to explore more of the wonderful world of the arts soon! |
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