You didn't think I'd let our Celie have just ONE costume, did you? Indeed, Celie made the most of her holiday--starting celebrations on the 27th with a trip to the coffeeshop wearing giant bunny ears. John Boutte, who happens to be a huge Celie fan, sang her the same song he always sings when he sees her: "those toes! those toes! those lil' baby toes!" The costume also confirmed that pink truly is one of her best colors, making her Mom and Dad finally repeal the "no pink" rule they repeatedly stated before she was born.The following day she gave an encore appearance, this time feeling fresh as an adorable peapod. Needing her freedom, however, Celie insisted that we alter the enclosed bunting sack to make two leg holes that would allow her feet to fly unencumbered. The cutest part of this outing was the breeze, or rather the absolutely adorable squint it inspired as Celie kept the wind from her eyes.
By late afternoon, it was time for another quick change--this time, into her official alter-ego for Halloween. The original goal was to be a little black cat. This makes sense after all, because I've always enjoyed the way Mike so proudly clarifies, "did you know that in
However, unforseen difficulties presented obstacles to my success. Early on, I gave up my search for a black onesie, finding that very few parents request black clothes for their babies. One vendor even added, “you know, that’s just not something most people do,” in a tone that made me feel somewhat embarrassed, as if what I was asking for was morbid and cruel. It was then I was reminded of my favorite architecture professor at
After finding that black tights are just as hard to come by, I decided to dye the whole thing starting out with white tights, an old onesie and socks we already had, and a hat I’d fashioned out of thick green felt and some fabulous black and silver fringe. Everything was going fine until I completed the last step of the dying process and discovered that everything white had come out a different shade of grey and my hat had turned brown. Not having the time or desire to redye the entire outfit, this is when we renamed her little stray cat.
Ultimately, the scraggly nature of the costume added some flair which Celie showed off with some moxy at her first parade Saturday night. The 6-to-9 Social Aid and Pleasure Club was not more than she could handle as she shimmied her arms to the Soul Rebels’ beat. Mike will gladly imitate my over-protective yelps as I worried, “Be careful on the neutral ground! Watch out for the roots!” and asked him to “Cover her ears!” as the band went by. I knew while I was saying it that I might be over-reacting, but I couldn’t help myself. She just looked so small and the crowd so big. Still, she loved it—right up until she’d finally had enough and pooped out on
Saving her energy for the big day, Celie kept her celebrations to a low-key yesterday afternoon, opting instead to and do some light Halloween reading sent by Grandma and Grandpa—until, of course, she decided to eat the card. Perhaps she was just giving the little black cat on the cover a kiss?
Which brings us to today, the culmination of our festivities: Halloween. We had originally planned to join the St. Dominic krewe at Trunk-n-Treat--an event that remains in my opinion one of the greatest innovations since the storm: parents recreate the neighborhood by tailgating with candy in the school parking lot because so many houses are still empty--but I'd forgotten that we'd previously made plans to grill and hand out candy with our neighbors, Kevin and Amy. It was fun, but no surprise, Bywater isn't exactly a hotspot for cute kids in costumes. Our only trick-or-treaters included a van drive-by with 5 kids who popped out for candy and then drove away; a homeless man who asked for a light and some food; and a drunk dude who cornered Mike into a conversation about fatherhood. Hmmmm....maybe St. Dominic's got something figured out. Either way, it was a joy to spend our first Halloween with the girl. She certainly knows how to cast a spell!
