He was a cowboy. Yee-hah!

Isaac's two previous Halloweens have been really pretty lame and involved trick-or-treating in that classic of American venues, a mall. Last year Isaac was old enough to both walk and carry a candy receptacle, but we eschewed trick-or-treating in the traditional sense because the neighborhood we lived in was made up of childless party people. This year, not only do we live in a bona fide neighborhood (replete with cul de sacs!) populated almost entirely by families with kids or retirees, but Isaac also was developmentally advanced enough to be trained in the routine.

Isaac: Mommy, we go walk in the dark to other people's houses and get candy.
Mommy: Okay buddy. First we go up to the door. Then we knock. Then what do we say?
Isaac: Trick-or-treeeeeeeeeeat!

At a little after 6, we set out, both boys in the wagon. Isaac was a little timid at first, and who can blame him? After months and months of preaching to him that we do NOT approach other people's houses, here we are leading him by the hand to the open doorways of strangers. But he is not made of stone. It only took a few doors for him to get it. You could see it dawn on him -- "you mean I say 'trick-or-treat' and these people throw candy in my pumpkin?!?!" -- and he became a seasoned pro.

His special favorite were the old ladies. One old lady commented on how pretty Jacob was in his cow costume, thinking, as it turns out that most people do, that Jacob was a girl. Isaac piped up in his surliest voice, "I not pretty. I a cowboy!" To another old lady handing out little treats, who inquired as to whom Isaac might be, Isaac put on a real show. "I a cowboy!" he said, and, lifting his hat towards the sky with a flourish, yelled "YEEEE-HAH!" She gave him a whole bag of fruit snacks.