I Am The Organ Grinder's Monkey

What can a 19 month old kid get out of Halloween? A phobia of safety pins, maybe, and a nosebleed from throwing a tantrum.

We did manage to salvage the evening but man, it was tough! I think the worst thing was the timing. Mike had to work until 5:30 and by the time we got home it was after6--and the Fine City of Pittsburgh had mandated trick or treating would be between 5 and 8. Hmmph. So we get home, change the kid into his costume, give him a bottle to stop the shrieking, try unsuccessfully to get a photo of him, get him halfway down the sidewalk and realize this is not going to work. Mike took him in and fed him a cereal bar and I gave out candy to the few kids brave enough to come into our poorly lit yard. Mike and I each thought the other wanted to take the boy and I decided that, since it was more or less my bright idea, I'd better do it. And once we started walking, a miracle! A happy baby! A happy baby running thru the twilight in his Organ Grinder's Monkey costume.
Allow me, please, to comment on said costume: I put it all together last night. The brown fuzzy suit was part of a package of German baby clothes sent to us by our dear friend Caroline. The monkey head hat was a minor miracle: when we went to visit my folks, my Mom had gotten Donny a hat and mitten set that just happened to be a monkey head, which saved me the trouble of making one. The fez and vest I sewed up last night using felt and embroidery thread. While I'm pretty proud of myself, the fez is way too tall and it looks like a stovepipe fez; like Abraham Lincoln as an organ grinder's monkey. The tail was cut from a cheapo fleece blanket I bought at Goodwill with that and the monkey hat in mind. Its a good thing I put a tail on him because I had to use his tail as a belt to keep his pants on. Its been a long time since I've had to really pull something fun and not work related out of thin air. I've always prided myself on being able to rise to such occasions and it really gave me a boost to make it all work.

That all being said, trick or treating was a little revelation to me. Obviously, Donny won't be eating the funsize Snickers bars but what was really great was walking him around a little corner of our neighborhood, letting everyone enjoy him and letting him pull me from house to house to house. Seriously, at times he had me running as he dragged me by the hand. By the end of the night, he knew how to take the candy out of the bowl and put it in his bag. He can't say "Thank You" yet but he did clap, which brought down the house everytime. And I'd forgotten the fun of emptying out the bag to see what you end up with. So, yeah, it was alot of work and the kid was really getting on our nerves for a bit, but it turned out to be a nice, all American good time.

And maybe we'll get better costume pictures when he goes to see his Pittsburgh grandparents on Sunday...