Halloween '05
Our jumping bean:
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and his cousins
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with his classmates
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The Jumping Bean Story:(This is a journal for me, but I might as well share it with you.)
One day at the end of August, when Evan was standing in an empty diaper box, I noticed it would be the perfect size to draw as a car or a train and make into a Halloween costume. So in the middle of September, I ask him in an excited voice "so do you want to be a train for Halloween?". He replies "no, jumping bean." I figure this is a phase and I'll ask him again later.
Funny sub-story, Evan is totally into Peter and the Wolf. He especially likes the wolf. At this time I decide that I should search the web for big bad wolf costumes in case I can't talk him into being a train. It turns out most of the big bad wolf costumes for sale on the web are for adults and come with a skimpy little red riding hood costume. Not what I was thinking of for my 2 year old.
Anyway, over the next few weeks, I keep asking Evan what he wants to be for Halloween and he consistently replies "jumping bean". I also discover he had told his teachers he's going to be a jumping bean. That weekend at church, with three weeks to go until Halloween, he starts telling random people he's going to be a jumping bean for Halloween.
So Chris and I start thinking how to make jumping bean costume. (By the way, by this time it's pretty clear he wants to be a yellow jumping bean. And why not?) For our first draft, I make a little yellow sack that I'm hoping we can stuff with packing pillows to make him look beany. I show this to Chris and Evan and ask Evan if he wants to try it on. He reacts as if I'm asking him to walk over hot coals. But because we're bigger and stronger he eventually tries it on an still hates it. "Too bad" we say, "it's your costume now. It's this or nothing"
The next weekend (two Saturdays before Halloween), the town had a Halloween party. Evan and I go. I bring the costume even though he is refusing to wear it. When we get to the party and he sees everyone in a costume, he asks to put on the yellow sack but he doesn't want the packing pillow stuffing. When people ask him what he is, he becomes painfully shy and won't say. Occasionally he will jump, but not often.
Happily, the next costume showing was a total success. We had dinner with my brother's family. They liked his yellow sack enough that Even let us add the stuffing, which helped a lot. Once he started liking his costume, then Chris and I had the energy to finish it by getting the sombrero and adding the jumping bean sign. When Evan put it on for his classmates, he was pretty happy and by the time we got it on him for trick or treating that evening, he thought it was great.
Summer '05
Evan's Second Birthday
Christmas '04
Winter Soltice '04
Halloween '04
Early Fall '04
End of Summer '04
Summer Solstice '04
Easter '04
Evan's first birthday
10 1/2 Months
Evan with Santa
First Snow, Early December
Halloween '03
7 Months old
Evan at 5 1/2 months
Evan with the Weavers
Evan at 4 months
Evan at 2 months
Evan: the early days
when Evan was Vlad