Halloween

Have you ever seen this bit by Jerry Seinfeld? It's his rant about candy and how when you're a kid all you want to do is get candy and then you find out about Halloween and you're amazed that people will just give you candy... for FREE.
Here's a clip....It starts about 25 seconds into the video:

When the routine gets to about 1:10, Seinfeld describes exactly the reaction Alexis had to Halloween this year. It was like she didn't remember doing this the past couple of years. Here in the city, we trick-or-treat in businesses. She was really hesitant to go into any stores, even with me and a whole throng of kids entering and exiting with her. Finally I said, "Okay, maybe Ella wants to do it." And then I took Ella into a store where she picked up the routine right away. Walk in store. Choose candy from candy bowl nice person is holding. Put candy in bag. Walk out. Go into next store. By about the third store Alexis decided that she couldn't be outdone by her little sister, so she went in with Ella. As soon as she walked out of the store she yelled, "Daddy! It's FREE! The candy is FREE!" with all the gusto she could manage. We laughed and said, "Yes! That's what we've been trying to tell you!"

This year we went to the Upper West Side to trick-or-treat. First, we had dinner at the new Shake Shack (just as delicious and indoors). Then we headed to the huge block party on West 69th Street. On our way we hit up the stores for candy (and they gave me coupons & free samples!) By the time we got to W 69th, the place was packed. The police had blocked off the street and it was just one huge party. Many of the houses were festively decorated and almost all of them were giving out candy. We saw Batman and Spiderman climbing down the front of one of the Brownstones. We met Dora the Explorer and Diego. Ella danced to Thriller & Beat It (by Micheal Jackson). And we got candy got candy got candy! So much that Ella's bag was too heavy for her and she ended up dragging it along the street.

Coming home to check out the loot:

Interestingly enough, Alexis is not a big candy consumer. She's hesitant to try anything new and really only likes M&Ms and Hershey's chocolate stuff. She got an AirHead from somewhere and was almost scared of it, it seemed. When I told her that they were good and that I used to love them when I was a kid she asked me if I wanted it. I told her I'd eat it later and for the rest of the night she'd hold onto it and ask me over and over if I wanted it yet. I think more than anything her curiosity was overwhelming her- what does this AirHead thing look like?! Mom used to love them?! Why won't she eat it already?! I finally indulged her and forced myself to eat it just so she would stop asking me. She watched me very intently as I ate and that was the end of that. Anyway, I only got pictures of Ella sorting her loot because Alexis wasn't really interested in checking out her spoils at all. She just put her bag on a hook by the door and went off to do her own thing. Ella, on the other hand, sat down on the couch and promptly pulled each piece out of her bag, examined it, and tried to open a few.