A one-stop shop for kids' Halloween costumes! Costume Discounters Review

When I was little, I never really got a chance to go trick-or-treating. However, we did often attend some fun Halloween events or Harvest Parties, and dressing up in costume was always very exciting for me. Most years we just threw together an outfit by picking and choosing things out of our family costume box. I remember dressing as a hobo one year, and another year I came up with something strange that my dad called "Admiral Bird." No matter what you dress up as, there's just something exciting about dressing up in a fun costume and seeing yourself through different eyes!


Halloween has always been a fun time for Mike and I. When we were first dating we hosted some of the greatest Halloween parties ever, and I always handmade our costumes. Over the years I've gotten busier and busier and less and less creative. Last year we didn't do too bad with our Popeye family costumes, but this year I have just had a creative block, and I was struggling with costume ideas. I needed a little inspiration! Not only do I have to come up with ideas for Mike and I, but now I need to come up with a super cute little girl costume. 


Enter Costume Discounters with their amazing selection of infant Halloween costumes. I was blown away by the cuteness! They have so many adorable infant and toddler costumes, and everything is very reasonably priced. I had such a hard time choosing a costume for Sam! Here are some of my favorites:


Flower Garden Gnome

Honey Bee

Dorothy

Now, I'm not going to tell you just yet which costume I chose for Sam, because if you know me, I like to maintain a little bit of mystery. Let me just tell you, she LOVES her new costume and she looks absolutely adorable in it! After seeing Sam in her cute new costume, Mike and I came up with some fun costume ideas of our own. We just needed that extra costume inspiration from Costume Discounters!


I received the costume just about a week after I placed the order, and it was in excellent condition. Halloween costumes never seem to be top quality unless they are 100% handmade, but this costume is in great shape and it definitely is the same quality of costume you find in the Halloween stores. And - bonus! - I didn't have to pick through everything on the shelves, hoping to find one in the right size. I was able to do it all from the comfort of my own home.


We are very excited about taking Sam out for her first trick-or-treating adventure. Her Pappy will be in town from Ohio, just to be able to taker her out trick-or-treating. I can't wait to see the cuteness! Since this is actually my first time trick-or-treating too, I can't help but be a little paranoid about safety. Trick-or-treating is meant to be fun, so I was happy to come across these Halloween safety tips to keep you and your little ones safe this coming Halloween. A few of the tips that stand out most to me are:


1) Avoid trick-or-treating alone. Walk in groups or with a trusted adult.
2) Examine all treats for choking hazards and tampering before eating them. Limit the amount of treats you eat.
3) Eat only factory-wrapped treats. Avoid eating homemade treats unless you know the cook well.
4) Hold a flashlight while trick-or-treating to help you see and others see you.


Above all, have FUN, and make some great memories this Halloween. And take some great photos!!!

Growing Pains

You may (or may not) have noticed that I haven't posted in a while. Life has really gotten in the way of blogging, and I suppose that's the way it should be, rather than vice versa. I am still working on making the changes necessary to start my new blog but it's not my top priority right now. I've realized that I need to focus on finding a job and spending time with my sweet Sam. Once the job is taken care of though, I'll get back on track with starting my new improved blog. (And I'm glad I've had a bit of time to think about it, because I've changed my plan a bit!) In the meantime, I've got a couple of fun reviews to do for you, and I definitely owe Sam a couple of birthday monthday letters. The rest of the giveaways and surprises up my sleeve will have to wait until my new blog gets started. Until then, enjoy these backdated posts I'm about to share with you...

Seventeen Months

Dear Sammy,

You are now 17 months old - just one month away from a year and a half. How time flies! I used to feel like you were so much younger than all my friends' babies, and now I feel like you've caught up. You are learning so fast! You haven't really gotten any bigger, but you blow my mind with the amount of words you're learning. You talk so well now that we can carry on conversations with you. I feel like I know a secret language, being able to understand almost everything you say to me. I love knowing all the little things you do, like saying "h" instead of "s" for words that begin with an "s", and tacking the "s" onto the end instead.

You are becoming so coordinated now. You don't just walk, but you run. You love to go "fast", and you will say it over and over again as you run down the hall, or as we drive on the highway. You like to twirl when you dance, and I'm pretty sure you enjoy getting dizzy. You are SUCH a little monkey. You climb up on the small retaining wall in the back yard and use it as the balance beam. And now you climb up to the higher and higher levels. You almost give Mommy a heart attack when you climb up into the garden 5 feet off the ground! You are always climbing up into the planters and pulling on the plants, trying to help Mommy with her garden. The couch has become your jungle gym, and now you climb on the back of the couch and behind the back cushions. We just rearranged your bedroom, and we had to be very careful to arrange things so that you can't climb onto the top of your new bookshelf!

You have been spending a lot of time with your friends lately, and it's so cute to hear you say their names. You finally learned how to say your own name, and once you figured it out, you say it all the time. You were folding clothes with Mommy, and you picked up a pair of Daddy's jeans and you said "Daddy". Then you picked up a pair of your jeans and you said "Ham." Now you point to yourself or something that belongs to you quite often and say "Ham." It's so very adorable. :)

You are very interested in colors now. We go to the gym several times a week, and ever since the babysitter let you color a picture, that is all you want to do when you play at the Kids Club. As soon as we walk in, you say "Color", and you are completely happy as long as they give you paper and crayons. You are very good at your colors now. You almost always get it right, and you are especially good at yellow, purple, blue, and white.

You finally got your 7th tooth - it broke through on Daddy's birthday! You have really been struggling with sleeping at night so I think you probably have more working their way up, but for now you have 4 on top and 3 on the bottom. It's a very cute look for you.

You are very good with body parts now, too. You know eyes, nose, mouth, ears, face, head, shoulders, knees, feet, and toes (and Mom's boobs) and you like to point them out all the time. You are especially affectionate now and you give the sweetest hugs and kisses, especially before bed time. When you give hugs, you sigh and say "ahhhh". It makes Mommy so very happy. :)

One more month and you'll hit the next big milestone! Every day is a new adventure with you. I still love you more and more every day, and I can't wait to see what you do next. I love you more than anything!

Love,
Mommy