To bee or not to bee

At long last, Halloween photos! And here's the story behind them. I made Natalie a bumblebee costume for Halloween. I decided on a bumblebee because she likes bees--she has a couple of books about bees and they are definite favorites. Also, this seemed like an easy costume to put on--she wouldn't likely freak out, because it's basically a dress with an optional hat, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, despite my best overanalysis, I didn't have a willing bumblebee on my hands.
Dave and I learned this the hard way on the night of our church Halloween party, one week before Halloween. Natalie flatly refused to wear the costume, even when she saw the other kiddos all dressed up. So then I tried a shameless bribe: "There's candy for all the bumblebees over there." She answered with a hysterical "Noooooo!"
So for the next week I tried to resign myself to the fact that Natalie might not dress up, and life would go on. She could just help us pass out candy, and that would be fine. But on Halloween afternoon, I wanted to go visit our old neighbors and I decided to give the bee costume one last attempt. And though she protested (a lot) as I put the costume on, once it was on she acted like it wasn't that big of a deal. I decided to consider this a success, and she stayed in the costume for car rides, nap time, and dinner time. She didn't protest, and I wasn't taking any more chances with that on and off business. Here she is, all ready to say "Trick or Treat!" Or simply, "Treat," which is how she preferred to say it.

And here she is after the fact, laden down with goodies. Her little pumpkin is so heavy it's dragging on the ground.

At our new apartment, we get so many trick-or-treaters (about 150-175) that we just sat on the porch with the candy bowl. No sense in closing the door and going back inside. And since most of them are quite young, we were done by 7:30! It was great fun. Natalie is loving her candy--she calls the Raisinets beans, and she enjoys rubbing the Dum-Dums up and down her arms. And Dave & I are trying unsuccessfully to avoid filching too much of her candy.