~ the dancer ~

This little Fairy Princess Ballerina was the darkness barometer from the moment she bounced out of her nap.

“It’s getting darker.”

Approximately two seconds later.

“Look, Mama, it’s getting darker. It’s almost time to go to Halloween.”

This invigorating conversational loop continued until 6:00 when her daddy arrived and it really was getting darker.

~ the warm-up ~

About four Halloween’s ago, HungryMan’s nose caught the scent of free burritos wafting his way from the local Chipotle. If you know my husband you know that free food and HungryMan go together like Halloween and candy. So needless to say we have been dressing up like burritos on October 31st ever since.

As you can see, HungryMan takes the minimalist approach to representing a burrito.

~ the gig ~

Previous years, we have driven around to the houses of friends and relatives who invited us in for a bit after dolling out a candy to our Sweet Pea, Butterfly, or Little Bo Peep.

This year we took our candy collector to the culdesac by her Grandma’s house. After surveying house and house lit up with intricately carved jack-o-lanterns that promised untold sugar-filled riches, Ava barely had time to squeak out a “trick or treat” or “thank you” before declaring, “Off to the next one!” and flying across the lawn.

Don’t even ask if our Fairy Princess Ballerina wanted to hold my hand, or walk with us, or even turn to see if we were still behind her?

She bolted to each door with full-force, first-born bravado. Notice how her hand is flexed and ready to receive the anticipated goods. She was clearly on a mission.

And when I said that she flew across the grass, I was not exaggerating. She darted through trees and bushes at top speed leaving wings and ribbons waving behind her.

We worked every calorie of that foil wrapped goodness chasing after our sprite.

It was a whirlwind of non-stop hilarity!

Please notice how these chivalrous musketeers are using the sidewalk, while the fairy princess ballerina is utilizing a short cut through the shrubbery. Even at three, Ava understands equations of time and distance, and how to manipulate the variables to increase candy acquisition.

You may also notice that those tricker treaters are slightly older than little Ava. Yes, thanks to daddy’s Halloween treat, the Fairy Princess Ballerina started putting out her candy purse at the time when all the other preschoolers were putting on their pjs.

Being at least two feet shorter than all the other costumed children didn’t seem to phase the Fairy Princess Ballerina. She continued to the charm the candy out of every house and was told “You get extra candy for having the best costume of the night” more than a few times.

~ the loot ~

Several times as we were darting from house to house, I called out to Ava to see if her bag was getting too heavy.

“No!” was her fly-bye response. By the time we returned to grandma’s house, her bag had gained three pounds.

After spreading her candy out on her grandma’s floor I asked her if she wanted to count her candy.

“There’s way to many to count!” She was nearly right.

Can you guess how many pieces of candy are in this picture?

Or how many pieces of candy she ate last night?

Editor’s Note: An Almond Joy, a Nestle Crunch, and a Mini Reese’s Butter Cup were consumed in the making of this post.