Halloween 2011

This was a big Halloween for us... not only was it Joergen's first, but it was also our first as a peanut-free household.  We were admittedly a little nervous going into it and read anything we could get our hands on about how to handle the holiday safely.  So with a plan in mind and Epi-pens in hand, we ventured out for trick-or-treating! 

Before we left, we took advantage of the photo op and got some pics of the boys.  Liam had picked out both his and Joergen's costumes this year, and neither was a big surprise: Joergen was a dragon, and Liam was a monster-- both characters that Liam loves to pretend to be!  I love, love, love that they are at the age where their Halloween costumes turn them into big stuffed animals, cuddly and sweet... and I know the time will no doubt come someday where they are much more interested in costumes with blood and guts and other not-cute things!

Joergen was so ready for bed before we even left the house, but he was kind enough to tolerate the Halloween shenanigans for at least a little while.  We went to Miss Anita's house next door first-- where Liam was way more interested in her dog and cats than he was in treats-- and then it was off to Miss Doreen and Uncle Sam's.  Uncle Sam was excited to see The Count and Kronk (as he refers to Liam and Joergen), and Joergen just can't get enough of Uncle Sam's facial hair :)

Uncle Sam, Miss Doreen, and the boys:

After a trip to cousin Mollie's house, I took Joergen home to let the poor kid go to sleep, while Daddy took Liam around the neighborhood for more trick-or-treating.  Fortunately everywhere we had gone up until this point had put aside some peanut-safe treats for Liam, but we knew this wouldn't be the case anywhere else.  It was a little unnerving!

Anthony decided to let him pick whatever candy or treat he wanted to while trick-or-treating, and when they got home, they sat down together at the kitchen table, dumped out the treat bag, and went through it item by item.  Anthony taught Liam how to check labels for the word "peanut", and any time they found that word on a treat, they put it in the "Daddy's Work" pile.  If they didn't find that word, it landed in the "Liam" pile (and whenever they weren't sure, Google helped settle the score).  Liam really got into it, and surprised us both by being a total champ about giving up so much candy.  We think he's actually starting to understand his allergy a little-- he generally doesn't want anything to do with anything that could set off  his "boo-boo eyes," and this was no different.  In the end, Liam walked away with a nice little bag of safe treats-- and we got a little hope that maybe this holiday wouldn't be so tricky after all.