Halloween Costumes

"What do you want to be for Halloween?" I knew he wouldn't understand this question. He has no concept of Halloween whatsoever, and we are still working on the idea of playing dress up. Last week we went to the Toledo Zoo, where they have different stations for kids to dress up like the animals. Jonah dressed up like a bee, and it was the first time that I could see an inkling of "pretend" in his play outside of his toy kitchen. In the bee costume, he climbed the giant honeycomb, peering at the behives behind the plexiglass cutouts in the wall, saying "sssssssss" (his version of a buzz.)

Yet even though I didn't expect him to understand what the question meant, he seemed to be giving it quite a bit of consideration. After few moments of what looked like deep thought, he replied "Ball!"

Ball is Jonah's answer to almost every question. Sports are one of his favorite topics. I suppose he could be a football player or basketball player. But it seems to me that a trick or treat costume should consist of more than putting a jersey on. Afterall, he wears his basketball and football jerseys all the time if given a choice. A friend suggested crafting a paper mache basketball costume for him. Yes, she suggested making him the actual ball. Cute idea, but I am not quite ready to put *that* much effort into a halloween costume. Maybe in a year or two when he really understands, and when he himself is able to put as much thought and effort into his costume, but for a two year old, I am not going to spend hours trying to turn him into a basketball!

A catalog for a costume company came in our mail. I showed it to Jonah and asked "which one does Jonah like?" He flipped through the pages and stopped on one. "DA!!!" He shouted. He was really excited "DA! DA!" He pointed to a picture of a little girl dressed as Dora the Explorer. "You want to dress as Dora?" I laughed. "Bap Bap." He went across the room and picked up his back pack. "Bap bap!" He repeated. He made me put it on him. "Da. Bap bap." He said, quite pleased with himself.

I'm wondering what the neighbors will think if I let him dress as Dora for trick or treat. Perhaps Eve can be Boots the Monkey!

I'm trying to talk him into being a lion. Then I could dress Eve as Dorothy Gail, myself as Glinda, and our puppy as Toto. But I'm not going to force him; I want him to be something he'll enjoy dressing as.