Jamie PattersonMy son James could be the perfect werewolf. He is extremely moody. He has been known to have temper tantrums. And since he has become scared of getting his haircut, he has the shabby look down.
Or he could be the perfect Dracula. His baby blues catch the eyes of the ladies. He already has a somewhat dashing quality to him. And he has gotten very good at flashing his teeth.
Maybe he’s not a monster deep down inside. Perhaps a cowboy would fit his style better. He loves gazing at cows for hours at end. He has been a master shooter with his toy gun. And he is more at home in a pasture than a playground.
With Halloween quickly approaching, I am not real sure what costume would best suit James. But I am gonna let him make the choice this year. At almost three years old, this could very well be a big step into his “manhood” – making his first Halloween costume selection.
On his first Halloween, he was a cute spider. On first Halloweens Mommas tend to go for the plump, fluffy look with the costumes. Most of them take the shape of a giant bowl for the babies.
First Halloweens usually equally a round pumpkin, a pastel cupcake or chubby clown, depending on the gender of the child.
James was a very round spider. The outfit slipped over his chubby body, and it had four legs attached on each side that dangled off like a spider. It also had a widow’s peak-like head gear that went over his face.
Fluffed up in his spider outfit, the poor thing had to sit outside, leaned against a hay bale for pictures. As a Momma, I can never have too many pictures of James. And his first Halloween was a big deal.
Snapping away, I took possibly hundreds of photographs. At one point, James lost his balance and fell over. The costume was so round and huge that he literally rolled around because he couldn’t catch his balance.
By the time I straightened him up, the photo session was over.
“Come on baby,” Jason would say to me. That’s what Jason always says when he starts feeling sorry for James. And it’s usually during photo sessions.
For James’ second Halloween, he was a pirate. With red and black striped shorts, a tattered black shirt and a red bandanna, he was the perfect Captain Blackbeard.
But I lost him when it came time for the facial decorations. What does every pirate need? A stitched up scar on his cheek of course. Using my eyeliner, I proceeded to draw a scar on James’ face.
He immediately began crying because he didn’t know what was going on. His tears rolling down his cheek smeared my artwork, and we had to start all over again.
Jason was probably concerned when he came into the living room only to find his baby boy cornered in the recliner while Momma poked an eyeliner pencil in his face.
The end result was perfect though, and I had the sweetest little pirate, complete with cheek scar.
I sometimes wonder who enjoys the costume part better, me or James. It seems like Mommas get so wrapped into making them pull off perfect. As long as we get that perfect photo, that is all that matters.
I bring out those two photo sessions from time to time. James looks like an angel with his little white face and fluffy spider costume. And my little pirate could teach Captain Hook a few lessons.
What the photos don’t show is the spider tights that ripped from crawling around in the driveway that first year. And you miss the pirate who threw his bandanna down and exposed his belly to passing trick or treaters.
I am so ready to see what James decides to be this year. And I can bet you that I will be there with a prop in my hand, camera in my bag and an idea of how to make the costume even more better.
And I can assure you Jason will be behind me, giving James the signal to just do what Momma says. It’s probably the best thing to do during  all birthday parties, school pictures and holiday celebrations.
A Momma with a camera is a difficult person to try to reason with.