No Tricks, Just Treats

Last night, my brother, Matt, Ava and I carved our pumpkins for Halloween.

This was the first time Ava had truly taken part in pumpkin carving. To summarize what happened: She was not a fan. I believe the words, "Eeeew" and "No" came out of her mouth more than any others while we were scooping out the pumpkin guts.

Eventually, Ava's curiosity got the best of her, and she stuck the very tip of her index finger into the pumpkin mush. Only to come running over to me saying, "Yucky, yucky!" Hello OCD.

And here are the final products: My brother's pumpkin.

Matt's pumpkin.

And in honor of Ava's Halloween costume, my pumpkin.

After a night of sleep, our family woke up to the smell of pumpkin yumminess permeating the house. Ava enjoyed a very special pancake breakfast. Pumpkin pancakes, that is.

Following breakfast, Ava received her trick-or-treat bucket, pre-filled with treats.

Atta girl. Way to go for the good stuff.

Once her focus moved beyond the candy in her bucket, Ava fell in love with the puppy dog (who she later named, "Punkin").

Ava loves Punkin so much, she even tried sharing a Reese's with her new found friend.

After a nap and dinner, we headed to our church for the Annual Fall Spectacular. Is it just me, or is Ava the cutest little owl you've ever seen?

Ava bounced... Or rather sank into part of the bounce house while bigger kids bounced around her.

Ava also enjoyed the bean bag toss. Who wouldn't enjoy throwing a toy turtle through a whale's mouth, only to be rewarded with a piece of candy?

After the Fall Spectacular, we headed back to our house to do some good, old fashioned, trick or treating. Between houses, Ava snuggled up with a blanket and enjoyed the ride. (In case you are wondering, that is NOT Ava's candy loot in front of her. Since no one was at our house to pass out candy, Matt and I brought it with us to hand out on the go!)

Do you remember coming home from trick-or-treating, spreading all of your candy out on the floor, and taking inventory of everything you just collected? Somehow, that trait is embedded in our DNA because that is exactly what Ava did after we got home tonight.

Happy Halloween, everyone!