Halloween: myth v. reality

Ah, Halloween. Five years ago, if I had gazed into a crystal ball and seen two little girls in my future, I would have believed the following myths about their Halloween costumes:

(1) They will certainly match. Perhaps Little Bo Peep and her lost sheep? Mary and her little lamb? The little girls will be sooooo happy to be presenting a cohesive theme!

(2) I will make the costumes by hand. I will by no means ever purchase them at Target! The horror.

(3) They will never be a Disney Princess, a Sesame Street character or anything remotely resembling same. They won't even know what those things are!!

And now, of course, the reality:

(1) You try telling Lucy that Phoebe is going to have a costume remotely like hers. I dare you.

(2) Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Throw it in the cart...let's move...I haven't got all day!

(3) It's a little-known fact, but Walt Disney bought the rights to ultrasound waves back in 1950. So while we are hearing the pleasing "thump thump thump" of the baby's heartbeat, baby girl is hearing "When You Wish Upon a Star." And from there on out, you just can't fight the power. As for Elmo, he is quite literally thrown onto their backsides within 10 minutes of birth. I went from cloth diapering Phoebe to having a child who now refers to her diapers as "Elmos." How the mighty have fallen.

So, what are they going to be for Halloween this year? For Lucy, Ariel (the Little Mermaid, a la Disney). But just the dress and the shoes. For some reason, she has no interest in the red clip-on ponytail offered to her (by me)...at Target.

And Phoebe, well, I bought her a little black tutu that I just couldn't resist. I had thoughts of making her a witch. But she won't wear a hat, or carry a broom, I know that. So I really had no way to make her look witchy, especially since she looks like an angel. Off we went, for inspiration, to...Target. Where she proceeded to fall in love with an Elmo costume. We purchased red Converse sneakers to match and called it a night. Then I made the mistake the next morning of making her try it on before she had her coffee. And whoo boy, that did not go over well. And now all she says about it is "NOOOOO ELMOOOOOOOO!" Instead, I decided that we'd go back to the black tutu and simply accessorize it into a costume. A $3 t-shirt from Children's Place ($3 because who the heck else would want it) plus some fuzzy silver mock-crocs do the trick nicely. So here she is, my one-year-old "rock star." It ain't a little sheep, or Mary's little lamb, but it sure is something.

And here they are together, umatched and happy, just the way I like them: