I learned a lot about my child this Halloween. Namely that we have a sensitive and opinionated little lady who does NOT enjoy the process of changing her own looks or the looks of those she knows and loves.
Let's start at the beginning.
I'd gotten Iyla a fairy costume awhile back- tutu, wings, & a flower garland headband. She happily played with it the day it arrived- for about 5 minutes.
The night before Halloween I pulled it out again for a trial run, and she was absolutely NOT going to wear the wings or anything on her head. Hmmm. I thought maybe we'd just rock a tutu and say she was a ballerina?
I had also purchased a Sofia the First costume (it's no secret that Iyla is mildly OBSESSED with her Sofia dolls), intending it as a birthday present. After the fairy costume debacle, I pulled out the Sofia dress- thinking this might be it!
Nope.
Iyla was definitely enchanted by the dress, but did NOT want to wear it. Rather, she preferred to look at it and carry it around.
I started thinking that maybe I had this costume thing completely wrong. What we needed was a sneaky, comfortable costume for my sensitive, opinionated toddler. Something that she didn't realize really was a costume.
After Iyla went to bed I started scheming, and somehow stumbled upon "clip on" kitty ear barrettes that were available at a local party store.
YES! An idea was hatched.
I made a mad dash to the party store at 8:30pm on Halloween Eve- along with what appeared to be half of the city. I was not to be deterred, and $25 later, I came home with an array of kitty costume accessories and hoped for the best.
Halloween morning BC put on his work costume first- a Hazmat suit with the tag "Data Recovery" (he is an IT Manager, after all). Iyla took one look at him and broke down in choking sobs, pausing only long enough to ask "Papa OK? Papa OK?" He quickly removed the helmet and much comforting ensued.
Then it was time to get Iyla dressed.
Black dress, check. Tinkerbell underwear (always!) and black leggings, check. Pony tails and clip on cat ears, check. Then for the final touch, I carefully drew a little black nose and whiskers on Iyla's face. And as soon as she saw her reflection in the mirror, she started sobbing and trying to wipe it all away.
So I did what any good mother would do. I scooted her away from the mirror, started a phone video, and covertly re-drew everything. What she can't see can't hurt her, right?
Behold the cuteness:
Here are a few more photos of our evening together:
In closing, I found this photo circa Halloween 1978 of myself as Sylvester the Cat. I seemed a little happier about it than our sweet Iyla Grace…
Let's start at the beginning.
I'd gotten Iyla a fairy costume awhile back- tutu, wings, & a flower garland headband. She happily played with it the day it arrived- for about 5 minutes.
Scenes from last month's dress up session
The night before Halloween I pulled it out again for a trial run, and she was absolutely NOT going to wear the wings or anything on her head. Hmmm. I thought maybe we'd just rock a tutu and say she was a ballerina?
Halloween attempt #1: FAIL
I had also purchased a Sofia the First costume (it's no secret that Iyla is mildly OBSESSED with her Sofia dolls), intending it as a birthday present. After the fairy costume debacle, I pulled out the Sofia dress- thinking this might be it!
Nope.
Iyla was definitely enchanted by the dress, but did NOT want to wear it. Rather, she preferred to look at it and carry it around.
Halloween attempt #2: FAIL
I started thinking that maybe I had this costume thing completely wrong. What we needed was a sneaky, comfortable costume for my sensitive, opinionated toddler. Something that she didn't realize really was a costume.
After Iyla went to bed I started scheming, and somehow stumbled upon "clip on" kitty ear barrettes that were available at a local party store.
YES! An idea was hatched.
I made a mad dash to the party store at 8:30pm on Halloween Eve- along with what appeared to be half of the city. I was not to be deterred, and $25 later, I came home with an array of kitty costume accessories and hoped for the best.
Halloween morning BC put on his work costume first- a Hazmat suit with the tag "Data Recovery" (he is an IT Manager, after all). Iyla took one look at him and broke down in choking sobs, pausing only long enough to ask "Papa OK? Papa OK?" He quickly removed the helmet and much comforting ensued.
Scary Papa. It was admittedly a little disturbing.
Then it was time to get Iyla dressed.
Black dress, check. Tinkerbell underwear (always!) and black leggings, check. Pony tails and clip on cat ears, check. Then for the final touch, I carefully drew a little black nose and whiskers on Iyla's face. And as soon as she saw her reflection in the mirror, she started sobbing and trying to wipe it all away.
So I did what any good mother would do. I scooted her away from the mirror, started a phone video, and covertly re-drew everything. What she can't see can't hurt her, right?
Behold the cuteness:
Iyla and I then headed out to our weekly Little Yoga House story time, where they were having a special Halloween celebration. I have to say a room full of toddlers in costumes has got to be the most precious thing ever!
Pulling her infamous "Sofia in the face" move on the teacher
Peek a…..
BOO!
I was dying over the pilot costume on little Shiloh. This was our best attempt at getting a picture of these 3 girls together! Like herding cats (badum-bum).
Watch out for the lamb!
Later that day, BC and I planned to don our own costumes and take Iyla out to her beloved Driskill Hotel to run around & people watch. I came downstairs like this….
And Iyla absolutely FLIPPED OUT. Complete choking sobs for a solid 10-15 minutes. BC had to hold and soothe her, continually telling her "Mama's OK! Mama's being silly!" Thank goodness I didn't go for a Zombie look. Geez.
'What is wrong with my Mother?!'
Once Iyla was finally soothed we sat her down for a snack. She had warmed up to the idea of my kitty face, now cautiously touching my whiskers, nose, and ears, all the while studying me intently.
Mama's OK!
Thinking we had weathered the storm, we asked Iyla "should we draw whiskers on Papa?" (we had intended to be a kitty family). And that poor little lady broke into 10 more minutes of choking hysterics at just the THOUGHT of it. Poor buddy. Needless to say, BC went as himself this year for the family portion of our Halloween celebration.
'No whiskers for you, Papa!'
In closing, I found this photo circa Halloween 1978 of myself as Sylvester the Cat. I seemed a little happier about it than our sweet Iyla Grace…
Happy Halloween Dear Readers!
Oh sweet sensitive girl! Jay and I are getting a good giggle out of this!
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