Liam and Gibson: Liam's First Halloween

I like Halloween. I haven't celebrated with a costume in many, many years, and I never put out decorations. But, I do actually like Halloween. I loved dressing up and trick-or-treating when I was a kid! Back then it was safer to go knock on a stranger's door and ask for candy. These days, not so much. I know people still do it, but I would be apprehensive about letting Liam get candy from someone we don't know. Thankfully, churches these days have Trunk or Treats where kids have a safe place to get candy. Our church has one every year, and I've been to several since I worked there.

I knew I wanted to dress Liam up for his first Halloween. What's cuter than a baby in a costume? Kittens, actually, but babies in costumes are the second cutest! Since he has his DOC Band, I knew the costume would have to "go" with it. It also meant costumes with headgear were out. One-because it would make his head extremely hot and sweaty and the band already does that on its own, and Two-it's possible most head pieces wouldn't fit over the band anyway.

So, being inspired by a Facebook comment when Liam got his band, I decided he would be a super hero named Super Liam! (The exclamation point is part of the name.) One of my faults (and there are a lot, but this is just one) is that I can't sew. I would have no idea what to do if you put me in front of a sewing machine. Back when I was young, I had zero interest in domestic-y things, and sewing (along with cooking) was included. Therefore, I never learned even though my mom could've taught me. I would like to learn how to sew because it's a useful skill to have, but I didn't have time to learn before Halloween. Ok, so we've firmly established that I wouldn't be able to sew Liam a costume. I also didn't want to buy a premade one. So I thought of ways I could make a costume that was personalized but didn't require sewing. I came up with felt. I knew Liam would need a cape and a logo. Pinterest convinced me I could cut a cape for him out of felt, and it was right. I could...and it was easy. I put some adhesive Velcro on it to close it at the neck. Next came the logo. I wanted it to be an "L" but not the type of "L" that makes you think of "Loser." So I drew a template of an L on cardstock that was all slanty and super hero-y looking and then cut it out of felt. It just so happens I own felt glue, so I glued it on his cape. Then I set about making the logo for his shirt (onesie, if we're being technical).

Before I even got the felt (the color was determined by what Hobby Lobby had in yards of felt, and pickins were slim), I had bought a cheap onesie and pants at Buy Buy Baby. I didn't really know what color scheme I would be going with, so I got a blue onesie and green pants. Looking back on it, I wish the pants had been a different color, but oh well. My plan was to fasten the onesie over the pants...instant super hero outfit! Anyway, back to the logo. I cut a red circle from the felt and cut out a smaller L. I glued it up and let it dry for a couple of days. The day before the church event, I thought his outfit needed a little something more. So I went to Michael's, not really knowing what I was going to get. I found a package of felt stars with adhesive already on the back. I decided to add stars to his super hero logo. Then I decided he needed a belt of some sort. Seems like most super heroes have a belt. So I measured his waist and cut a belt out of the felt. Then I put a star in the middle. Snazzy. Fastened it in the back with some more Velcro.

Finally, I had to jazz up his DOC Band to go with his super hero costume. I got some puffy scrapbooking letters on sale and spelled out Super Liam! across the front. Then I added a felt star for outfit cohesiveness and general awesomeness. And then the costume was done. Easy Peasy. After we got him dressed in his costume, I decided at the last minute to put stars on his socks too. I waited until we got to the church because his feet always end up in his mouth these days, and I didn't want him to choke on stars.

We only went to the second hour of the Trunk or Treat because I figured Liam would not be able to handle two hours of it. I was right! We walked around and looked at the trunks and talked to people we knew. I love seeing kids in costumes! Some of them are very creative. We had fun, and I thought Liam looked absolutely adorable in his costume! Fun times!

We also took Liam to a pumpkin patch to take pictures of him in his Halloween outfit (he may still be wearing that occasionally around the house sometimes...). He was mesmerized by the cars going down Coit and would not look at the camera. We brought Sophie along to squeak so he would look at the camera, but that didn't work. I think maybe I'm just a lousy photographer. Regardless, he looked pretty cute even if he didn't look at the camera.

We didn't do anything on the actual day of Halloween (Trunk or Treat was the day before), but he did sleep in his Halloween cozy pj's. I actually still put those on him some nights. Hey, they fit! All in all, I think Liam had a good first Halloween! Will and I didn't dress up, but I'm all for family costume themes one day!