A Pumpkin Carver is Born

This post is a bit late, but I thought it was notable enough to have a belated appearance.

Last week, Tyler carved his first pumpkin ever. And in typical Tyler-style, he went all out.

The design? R2-D2. It was perfect. Tyler and Ethan decided to carve inside because it was rainy and cold, not to mention dark, when they finally got around to carving.

"The first cut is the deepest..." - Cat Stevens

Gooey Hands

Using a spoon to get the guts out.

A new adventure

While the boys worked on the pumpkin, I made German Hot Chocolate with almond milk (for Ethan's sake). It was delicious.

Trinkschokolade

Our friend, Joseph, came over to help. His artistic expertise was greatly valued. When Tyler realized he bit off more than he could chew, Joseph was there to help. It was a really difficult pattern and Ethan couldn't do too much.

Many minds necessary for pumpkin perfection

The finished product. Amazed.

I also scooped out the pumpkin seeds and followed this recipe for Spiced Pumpkin Seeds. Tyler's response: "I should have carved the second pumpkin so you could make more."

Oven-Roasted Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

The Red Ninja Halloween

A few months ago, E came downstairs with his LEGO red ninja and said, "This is what I want to be for Halloween."

My response? "Ok. We will figure out how to make this happen."

So, as I posted before, I decided to buy a pajama pattern. However, I ended up not having time to make the costume because the day I had free for it was dedicated to making this Owl cake for a friend's baby shower. So Tyler and my mom took over. The results were some great pants made by Tyler and the rest of the outfit created by my mom. Thanks Nana. We could not have made it without you. E was definitely an amazing, stealthy ninja.

I've included some images below of our Halloween extravaganza. We went over to our neighbor's house and then to the neighborhood park for a dinner and parade. I also threw a picture of Tyler in for good measure. I caught the image after he posed with E. They are both such handsome fellows.