Halloween 2013:The year of eLLmo

Oh, Halloween and making memories!  As a child it was one of my favorite times of the year- the big kickoff to the holiday season!  I was so excited to make this a great day for Lottie, trying my best to spend the day filling it with great and fun surprises.  Little did I know she would surprise me and make my day so very special.  We were not sure how Lottie would react to Halloween- dressing up, scary costumes, and all the candy.  We figured she wouldn't pay much attention to it wither way.  Boy were we wrong.  Lottie had the time of her life!  It was as if she had done this before- she is such an old soul.

Our dear friend in the adoption community reached out and asked if Lottie would want to borrow her daughter's Elmo costume- we thought sure! it is her absolute favorite thing right now.  Our sweet friend Paige packed up the tutu costume and sent it from FL with love.  Words cannot even express how excited Lottie was when we showed her the costume.  Her little body erupted with a constant Elmo, Elmo, Elmo.  I found an Elmo candy bucket at a second hand store, and Target supplied red tights, hair bow and the glitter shoes which finished off this amazing costume.

On the day of Halloween, Lottie had 2 very sad doctor appointments one with a flu shot and the second a dreaded 4 vile blood drawl.  We had a rough start to our day and even after our nap (yes Mama napped too) I wasn't too sure how Halloween would play out.  Determined to make this day special for Lottie we rushed from Halloween party to home to get ready for our night out trick-or-treating.  Scott was out of town and would be rushing home by 6pm to see Lottie, but the beginning of the evening it was just the two of us (well three if you count baby #2) Lottie beamed when I showed her the dress, I was worried it would be uncomfortable and she would not like it once on- wrong again.  She glowed, she couldn't stand it and ran round the house screaming Elmo at the top of her lungs.  Honestly one of the cutest moments ever.  Before even leaving the house I wiped tears away, watching Lottie was pure joy.  She just radiated in her pretty tutu costume.  It made me realize how far this sweet little girl has come, reminded me how strong she is, what love can do, and well how special this child of mine truly is.

Once outside, Lottie continued to run around and smile ear to ear.  Our neighbors couldn't help but stare at her- I mean yes the costume was beyond adorable but her glow, spirit and smile just took others by surprise.  Again here is 7 month pregnant Mama sporting a cookie monster tee, sweating (it was a hot day in TX), wiping tears streaming down my face.  She was such a joy to watch.  Lottie enjoyed going from house to house and adding candy to her bucket.  At times, she even tried to give candy back to others she was just too sweet to watch.  Daddy made it home right before dusk, and was able to take her to a few more houses.

As we tucked her into bed, kissing her through the slats of her crib (a tradition she started months ago) We just stared in awe of this child who simply amazes us every single day.  Today, will forever be engrained in my memory- all day long I thought I would be making this day, Lottie's first Halloween, so special for her; yet she made the day so very special to me.  Tears, streaming down my face I kissed my sweet girl through the slats of her crib.  My life, will forever be changed by this child.  Boy, am I forever grateful.  Happy Halloween!