Halloween Eve

Matthew had Banana Who since he was born. She dragged along with him when he learned to crawl, took his first steps, and made transitions easier to daycare, a bed, sleepovers in hotels during vacations, and his first day of school.

“Have you seen my ‘nana Who?” Matthew appears at our bedside holding a framed picture of his blankie, Banana Who.

“Let’s get you back to bed,” I tell him as I had last night and the night before that.

We think that we lost her at a department store. I called the store twice to ask them to check their lost and found, but each time the store assistant returned to the phone empty handed.





 It helped that Halloween was approaching and we had a lot of activities planned. Halloween gingerbread houses, decoration crafts, pumpkin painting and carving, ghostly cupcakes and cookies, pumpkin muffins, boo bags, candy corn pancakes, caramel apples, a school parade and party.

I was a parent volunteer at the school party and got to witness the fun first hand. When we arrived to school a little girl dressed as Jessie from Toy Story hugged my leg. Another boy dressed as Woody asked me to help him put on his shoes. Matt dressed as Buzz Lightyear left me to find his friends. I didn’t see him again until the kids lined up for a parade.

Dressed in costumes the kids marched around the outside of the school twice. Then they were split into groups, to attend different activity stations the teachers set up.

When it was time for the parents to leave, he respectfully thanked me for coming to his party and told me he would see me soon.



Then today we were outside raking leaves when Bob called Matthew over to see something. In his hands was none other than the long lost Banana Who!

Adventures In Pumpkin Bowling

Look Matt, the cops! We better hide!” Sarah points to a cruiser on the side of the road.

“Actually, we taught him that the police are his friends,” I interrupt.

“Really,” Sarah tone conveys disappointment.

This past weekend we went to Vermont.

“This moose is so cute,” Matt told me before bed, holding a stuffed moose that belonged to Sarah but by the end of the weekend would belong to him.

“You’re cute too,” I told him.

“But I’m not furry!” he giggled in response.

In the morning he wanted to visit Santa because a couple trips ago we took him to a place called Santa’s Village. I told him that we had something else planned and maybe next time we could go there. “I need to ask Santa to get a basketball game for Woody!” He argued, as though he didn’t have his own list of reasons to sit on Santa’s lap.

He quickly got over this when he realized we were going to a train museum.

At the train museum we rode the train and spent the morning observing and playing with train exhibits and toys. Matt was very excited to spend the morning doing what he loves most.

The next day we visited a farm. Matthew won a ribbon for pumpkin bowling. He also peeled an apple, make pumpkin ice cream, and learned about chickens. We went on a wagon ride pulled by horses and he tried to eat an apple from a string. It was a great note to end our weekend getaway on.

“Can we go back tomorrow?” Matthew asked me after the two and a half hour drive home.