I couldn’t bring myself to dress Mylo up for his first Halloween. He wasn’t even three months old so the thought of putting him in a silly, albeit cute costume, seemed solely geared at pleasing no one but myself. It didn’t feel right.
But last year I did dress him up. Mylo was a lion and because of his full head of wavy hair it didn’t matter that he wouldn’t don the lion headpiece. We went to Cobble Hill Park up the road from where we live and watched a calypso band lead a gaggle of children through the park. I kept company with my mommy friends. We stood around gabbing, while admiring all the kids in their costumes.
Halloween 2011
This year, at just over two years old, Halloween with Mylo was a total game changer.
This Halloween was one of the first times I regretted not being more crafty. After earnestly scouring the Internet for creative ways to make a Little Prince costume, I gave up. Try searching for a pair of vintage, pistachio green bell bottoms for little boys and see how much luck you have. I assure you, not much.
So it was off to the pop-up Halloween shop on Livingston Street in Downtown Brooklyn. I considered Elmo, and Superman but cringed at all the warrior-esque type costumes. Also frustrating were the $30 costumes that had the headpiece and a prop but left the actual outfit, up to you. If I was going to be crafty, I certainly wasn’t going to be half-ass about it!
The cutest costumes there, were the ones for babies. A little lobster. A baby bee. A pea in the pod! I was beginning to think I had really missed out on putting my baby in costume on his first Halloween.
But then I saw it. Batman. It was $22 and came complete with a black bodysuit and cape and mask. The latter of which I was scared he would want nothing to do with. I even bought myself ears and a tail so I could be Catwoman.
I knew I’d have to ease him into wearing Batman’s headpiece, but how? I removed it from its packaging and put it on myself. He looked at me inquisitively. But when I asked if he wanted to try it on, he took off running.
I Googled “Batman” from our iPad and showed him image after image of superhero in his cape and batpod motorbike. I had captured the boy’s interest for sure. A few minutes later, he was running around our apartment in his diaper and cape-mask. I don’t always know what I am doing, but I swear that moments like those reassure me that I’m not half-bad at this mom thing.
When Batman became cool for my kid.
Halloween arrived two days after Hurricane Sandy made landfall. Brooklynite’s who had been cooped-up for two days straight were eager to get out of the house and commiserate with others. The streets were teaming with children and parents in costume, me and my son included.
Halloween 2012
Mylo had the best time trick-or-treating and I had even more fun watching him. I was surprised by how quickly he got into the rhythm of it all. Any time there was a crowd of kids going up one set of brownstone stairs he was right behind them. “Twick-O-Tweat” he’d say exuberantly, followed by a sometimes too-quiet “tank-you.”
There were funny moments, like the time he took a break and sat on someone’s stoop. Kids came up to him saying “trick-or-treat” and then began to help themselves to the candy in his pumpkin. Luckily Catwoman was right by his side and put an end to the invasion, quickly.