This was definitely a different kind of Halloween for us this year. We made the decision to not let Jackson go trick-or-treating and I was questioning it all week until Saturday, when we only had one trick-or-treater come to the door. I didn't want him to miss out and be upset since I suspected he would be seeing other children come knocking all day, but it all turned out for the best in the end and he didn't seem to mind at all.
Throughout last week, we did some Halloween activities to make-up for missing out on the regular festivities. His class also did some amazing crafts the week before the half-term break, but since Jackson was self-isolating, he didn't get to take part. I will never show him the photos of all the fun that his class had (his teacher posted them on Instagram) because it might break his heart. I felt really sorry that he missed out on making the memories with his friends. So, with the guilt weighing pretty heavily, I made sure to fit-in things to make this Halloween at home memorable for Jackson.
We made decorations for our entryway, baked brownies and decorated them with a frosting spiderweb, read Halloween books (five new ones for our home library), bobbed for apples, carved pumpkins, and watched Halloween movies and shows. Jackson got to dress-up for his gymnastics lesson and he chose to go as a ninja. Then, for his drama school, there was a "crazy hair and make-up contest" for which Jackson wanted to be a werewolf. He was really sad that he didn't win (and so was I!). The poor little thing was crying with tears running through his werewolf whiskers. Jackson even stalled leaving the school in the hopes that his teachers would change their minds, I think. It's really hard to say that 'winning isn't everything' and 'all that matters is that you tried your best' with a sympathetic smile to your little one when you heard him talk all week about the contest and that he hoped to come home with the big prize. Jackson felt a little better when he went into the village to get a consolation cupcake and he received lots of compliments from passersby. He even scared a real dog! The dog was aggressively barking at him and made Jackson jump about a foot off the ground.
From the sounds of it, that may have been the last 'stage school' meeting for a while since England is entering a month-long lockdown again where we can only go outside of our houses for school, work, and food. At least Jackson will have a bit of normalcy when he gets to see his friends at school and play ninjas again on the playground.
Our little Freddie now weighs approximately 13 pounds and he is still as lovely as ever. He sleeps soundly and sometimes only wakes up once during the night. Freddie has such a calm personality and I am predicting that he will be a very kind child. He was observing his surroundings in his bassinet the other day and feeling the ribbing of the woven basket through its white eyelet cover. He ran his hand down and up again and seemed to be taking in the new texture, trying to figure out if he liked it or not. Freddie loves to hear Jackson singing to him and responds well to the songs Hush, Little Baby and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Freddie is now wearing some 3-6 month-sized baby clothes. He fits in some longer 0-3 month outfits, but most of them are too short for him already!
In other news, our washing machine broke the other day. Luckily, Lee caught the problem quickly and stopped it from leaking too much water all over the kitchen. (In England, a lot of the big appliances are located in or near the kitchen.) We have a new one arriving on Wednesday which is good timing since the lockdown begins on Thursday. Phew!
Jackson's designs for 2020
Ready to star in the next remake of Footloose
His werewolf make-up
Freddie, sporting a cardigan hand-stitched by my good friend, Sally
