Steidlmayer Blog: November 2015

This year was Clay's third Halloween. The first year, he was an adorable piranha, and then last year, he was a little Dalmatian puppy. I made both costumes, and I was very proud to be so resourceful! This year, I thought I would include Clay for the first time and let him decide what he wanted to be for Halloween. I don't think he really understood what I was asking, but regardless, he responded with confidence, "Fire Engine!" I looked on pinterest to see how to create a fire engine costume for my two year old, and of course I found the most adorable idea: paint a box red, attach cardboard cut outs of a white ladder, some wheels, a window, headlights, and voila! It's a fire engine costume!

It's a little embarrassing how long it took me to create this costume. I started with scissors and Clay's left over Costco diaper box.  Then, I painted the exterior red with tempera paint. I applied two coats of paint, but for some reason the paint was really transparent and you could clearly see the diaper advertising.  So, I went to the store, blah blah blah, purchased more red paint, but this time oil based paint, and then two more coats later, and then two weeks later, I finally finished Clay's costume.

I wore the costume around the house and made sure he was really excited about it.  I pretended I was having so much fun, and Clay couldn't wait to wear the costume! We were set for Halloween! Clay had red pajamas that had little fire engines all over them, a plastic fireman hat, and fireman rainboots, which were too big for him, but would do just fine for the picture.

Unfortunately, on day of Halloween, of course, Clay changed his mind completely. So, I ended up wearing the costume trick o treating and Clay wore his red pajamas. Oh, and I forgot to bring his fireman plastic hat, and then his rainboots were WAY to big and so we intentionally left those at home, since what was the point. While it's a bit weird that Clay just wore his PJ's on Halloween, I guess the best part about this process is that Clay watched me paint and create the fire engine the whole time.  He talked about his costume for the full two weeks leading up to Halloween and told everyone who asked exactly what he was going to be for Halloween ... So, I think he actually was excited about it at some point.... so I guess that counts for something!!

Lastly, I posted some pictures of my Grandma Erin and Grandpa Jerry who came to Colusa for a Sunday visit. It was really special to have them in town. They had spent the weekend in Susanville visiting the property where my grandpa's grandma grew up. They ended up finding the stone house that was a part of her childhood, and my grandpa felt a connection with the rural setting. I was happy to be apart of the weekend and finally get to show them our Colusa life! Clay loved seeing them too!