Monday, October 1, 2012

It's Not About Me!

We are in the thick of our annual Halloween costume hunt.

Halloween is Paprika's favorite holiday (well, that and Christmas)...and so, you know, we do it up a bit. Paprika always has very firm ideas about what SHE wants to be for Halloween. I would say since about age 2, she has always had a strong opinion on the topic. On the other hand, I also have MY opinions about what I want her to be! And, you guessed it, I always lose!

Ginger is Anti-Halloween. She never wants to dress up. I always buy her a costume (to be fair) and she always refuses to wear it. Well, except that first Halloween when she was 4 months old. Memories!

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Last year Paprika was a mermaid, so I also got Ginger a mermaid costume. I got this one on Ebay because...c'mon...so adorable. Here is the photo from the Pottery Barn catalog. I never got a photo of Ginger in it because, well, she NEVER wore it!
 
mermaid2

Ginger flat-out refused to wear it, and in fact, slept through all of Halloween. She seriously went to bed (and if you know how late my kids stay up, that is a little shocking!)

This year I asked Ginger what she wanted to be and of course, she said: Nothing. But then I got out the Halloween Costume Box from the garage, and she picked out The Purple Butterfly costume that Paprika wore at age 4.
 
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She declared that was now HER costume and was delighted to wear it. Who knows if she will wear it on Halloween...that is the question. But it's a good idea - and now I am off the hook for buying/making her a costume she has a 99% chance of NOT wearing.

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For Paprika, I have wanted her to be a Peacock for at least two years now. Blue is Paprika's favorite color, and the Peacock cosutmes are so adorable.

Mr. M hates Peacocks (one attacked his car back when we were dating and he's held a grudge). But I think they're beautiful, and that's what matters, right?!

Anyhoo- this is the costume I was hunting last year on Ebay (it's originally from Chasing Fireflies, but I wanted it for a deep discount):

cf-peacock

How amazing is that costume?!!!

Well, Paprika refused. She wanted nothing to do with it. So, she was a mermaid and I swallowed my pride on that one. I was nine months pregnant last Halloween and so I guess you could say I had other things on my mind!

Fast-forward to this year. I tried to convince her once again to be a peacock. Pottery Barn Kids had a Peacock a few years back that matches the Purple Butterfly -what could be more perfect than that? More catalog images:


peacock4
 
 
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Adorable, right?!  So, I searched Ebay and found one! Yay! And I even won it in an auction for a steal. And then, I even scored the matching treat bag! Over the top:

peacock bag


I was so excited about the costume, I was sure it would translate to HER being excited about the costume.  But, nope.  She was lukewarm (at best).  Now, I know for a fact she will go along with it and be a peacock for ME. I know she would do that because she is a sweetheart.

But, what she REALLY wants to be is Merida (the main character from the Disney movie Brave). 

Sigh.

I saw how her fact lit up when she met Merida at Disneyland, and in that moment, I knew that the Peacock costume was toast. 

So...long story short, I took Paprika to Target and I said that if they had a Brave costume left in her size, it would be a sign. And what do you know...they had ONE costume left in her size and ONE Merida wig. Just one. Like it was there just for her. And when she saw it her face lit up like she was the luckiest girl in the whole wide world.

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So, like I said, it's not about me.  Sometimes you just have to know when to let go.  ;-) 
 
 
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At least Violet will still let me dress her.  I have to think of something good for her costume this year, since by next year , I am sure she'll have her own opinions!  ;-)
 
 
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1 comment:

Mimi said...

Aw, she is a most adorable Merida, and I'm sure she will have great fun...as will Ginger, whether she wears the costume or not. She reminds me of my middle girl, all about her own ideas, not following crowds or convention!