They say that kids grow by the inch in their sleep. Apparently, I heard this saying a little too late. Just a short month ago, I bought Bella a fuzzy yellow chick costume for Halloween. I thought it was fitting that she wear this because she is a Rooster according to the Chinese Zodiac (2005). I even accounted for her growth by purchasing 1 size bigger (24 months). So you can imagine my horror on the weekend before Halloween when we tried the costume on only to find that Bella had outgrown it!
Here, Bella lies noticeably uncomfortable with her leg sticking out. She struggles to wiggle out.
It was already Sunday before the big day, and Bella had no costume. We scoured different stores for something her size, but halloween stores looked like ramsacked department stores after a Blue Light Special and were sold out of nearly everything. Strangely enough, there were plenty of fishnet stockings to go with the many "Naughty-themed" costumes (ie, Naughty-Nurse, Naughty Fairy, even Naughty Army Drill Sargeant). Do people really wear this stuff?
Anyway, we were about to give up and were contemplating on making Bella wear her outgrown Chick-Fil-A outfit when under a pile of neglected costumes, I spotted some red fur that looked curiously like a potential outfit. I pulled the costume-in-a-bag out and lo 'n behold...Goldmine!
It was an Elmo outfit. What luck! Elmo happens to be Bella's favorite Sesame Street character. It was a red furry outfit that looked nice and toasty for a kid to wear out in the cold. I whispered a silent prayer up above in hopes that it would be her size. I ripped the bag open not realizing the store attendant was watching me, and read the size tag, "Size 1-2".
BINGO! I felt like I won the lottery! It was her size! How could this be? All the most popular costumes were long gone but this Elmo outfit, the most popular and recognizable kid's character remained? Something had to be wrong with it. I flipped the costume inside and out, looking for something. A hole, a strange smell like it had been worn, perhaps a missing eye-ball...
Nothing. Things were perfectly intact. The store attendant was watching the whole scene I realized (even me sniffing the inside crotch area). She walked over and non-chalantly asked if I needed help. Then she confirmed my thoughts, "You know, you're lucky you found that costume. I can't even believe it's still here. It must be from the other store because that would have been snatched up a long time ago." Now I really wanted the outfit and was ready to fight someone to keep it. The price-tag said it was $45 but since it was nearly Halloween, I remembered the sign in the front saying 50% off on costumes. I just had to get to the cash registers to pay.
When I got there, I received the same congratulatory statement from the cashier for finding such a sought-after costume so late in the game. I beamed with pride knowing that fate was on my side today. Plus, it would only cost me $22.5!
Perhaps I gloated a bit much because when they rang me up, the costume was still $45. The cashier insisted that the 50% off didn't apply to "premium" costumes as this one. What a load of crap! Rules were rules, so I reluctantly pulled out my plastic to pay for the $45 outfit that Bella would wear for no more than 2 hours. My rare find was starting to look more like a lottery scam.
All things aside, I was excited to rush home and have Bella try on her new costume. And here it is in all it's glory:
By the look on her face, we can assume Bella was less than pleased with mommy's new find. Here are some other pics of our Halloween adventure:
Bella stares at the other kids' on the street. She visits her first neighbor for treats.
Here's Daddy, I mean, Mr. Spock with Elmo:
Some random kids that really thought Bella was the real Elmo:
Bella stops to chat with the Easter Bunny and Pocahontas. Bella thinks to herself, "Why does she keep calling me Elmo? and why does that lady have a Naughty Witch outfit on?"
Happy Howl-loween!
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