My camera is finally, finally back in my hands. And it’s a good thing too! I think that the children were really getting sick of all of my admonishments of “don’t do anything cute until I have my camera back!” (I’m kidding, I’m kidding)

Time for a little costume catch-up.

Thankfully, Elijah’s obsession with my Sister’s old puppy costume, came just at the right time of year. His original plans were starting to concern me a bit….

“Mama, I’m going to be a moose for Halloween!”
“Alright sweetie.”

“I want my antlers to be made out of wood, so they will feel hard like a real moose’s. And I want them to be thhhhhatttttt big.”
“That sounds like it will be awfully heavy, how are you going to hold up your head with it on??”
“mooses are really strong.“
“hmm. um. Ooookay.”

“And I have to have something wooden on my hands and feet for hooves. That way I’ll make a clip-cloppy sound when I walk”
“uh-huh”
(I wonder if I could find wooden clogs somewhere?? Coconut halves for the hands?!?)

“And I want you to put a little hole under the tail so that I can make some paper popas (popa is Spanish for poop. It’s one of the few words that the kids seem to have really picked up on from our Spanish tutoring last year. We are so proud.), that I can make fall out!” *giggle, giggle*
“Uhm, I’m not so sure that’s gonna happen”
“But you have to! I wouldn’t be a real moose if I can’t popa like a real moose!”
“uhhh….”

“Hey, how are you going to make the snouty part stand out??”
(shesh)
“Hon, I’m not sure that I can come up with a way to make a whole moose face that still lets you breath….”
“Of course you can! Oooo, and I think the mouth should open and close too!”
(right)

“Do you think there is a way to make me real tall too??”

So, you can imagine my delight when he decided he wanted to be a puppy instead (he’s saving the moose for next year. oh dear.). What sold him was my offer to paint his face. This boy is all about the realism. The theory went that if all of his skin was covered and he walked on hands and knees and only talked in barks, well then everyone would be completely convinced that he was a “really for real dog”. We were all put under strict orders not to tell anyone that it was actually him.

“We left Elijah at home tonight, but look at this little puppy we
picked up!” It sounded pretty believable in rehearsals anyway…

In order to attend a party, a new collar was deemed in order. Thankfully, that was well within the realm of my abilities!

He picked the fabric on our shopping trip a couple of weeks back and I surprised him with his very own tag.

Sit! Stay!

Good Dog!

Panting…

Lost in puppy dreamland…

Oh, and quite true to his word, he kept up the act through most of the night. Although, Mama Dog did put her foot down with eating like a dog. We decided that he was a very bright puppy who knew how to do all sorts of tricks, like, you know, eating with a fork…

By the way, the dark blur at the bottom of the picture? An honest to goodness, actual dog.

E pup was one of two members of the human-canine family that night. Late in the evening they put on a “dog show” that included the herding of a “sheep”.