Dresses to Messes: Baby's First Halloween!

Halloween season is one of the best seasons (in my book anyways), and because this was Mason's first time experiencing it all; we wanted to make it one of the best. We did a few fun little things with him for his (and our own) entertainment. The first thing we did was make a fun Halloween craft for all of his family and friends back home and of course one for his scrapbook. We used his handprint as a spider on its web and his footprint as a ghost and it was a total hit! He's such a little artist!

Now that his masterpiece is on the fridge and done with we decided to do something that he could really craft up on his own, without "too much" of parental guidance. So we came up with the idea of letting him finger paint his very first pumpkin. We were originally going to carve his, but then thought "that would be OUR pumpkin, and not Mason's" and since he is obviously way too young to come within 10 feet of a knife, we decided finger painting was the best option! Here are some fun pictures of the messy, exciting pumpkin day.

Before and After shots

Before the carving/painting extravaganza and after

Top left: Mine, Bottom Left: Mason's and Right: Garrett's Pumpkin

His finished pumpkin masterpiece

Of course after carving pumpkins you have to slow roast the pumpkin seeds! And as tradition, they are always amazing and are always gone almost as soon as I put them on the table. Here's my recipe!:

FRESH OVEN-ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
Line a baking sheet with foil
Pat well-rinsed pumpkin seeds with a clean, dry towel
In a medium sized bowl, mix the dry seeds with 2-3 tbsp. butter (depending on amount of seeds) and season to taste. I love to use Garlic Salt as my main ingredient.
Spread the seeds on the foil lined baking sheet and place in oven to roast for 15-20 minutes (longer depending on how roasted/ dark you want them).
Keep an eye on them, though, so they don't burn! Golden brown is the goal!

The last thing to do after a craft and a pumpkin is..... TRICK OR TREATING! (Duh!) Mason was the cutest little lion for his first Halloween. It took Garrett and I a little while to finally decide what he should be, and as soon as we saw the lion costume, we just knew. For his very first trick or treating experience we took him down to Main Street where all of the businesses and vendors were handing out candy. There was music, tons of kids, and just an all around good time. Not to mention this mama felt a lot safer doing trick or treating this way rather than going from house to house. His Grandpa Moody and Grandma Dianne joined us down on Main Street and enjoyed his cuteness along with everyone else. He got so many compliments (obviously) and all together it was a great first trick or treating experience for our little lion man. Here are some more fun pictures and as always, thanks for reading and following our life journey with my little family. :) Also, Happy November, readers!