Carving Pumpkins

Thursday Z went to the nursing home near his school to trick or treat and the kind people loaded him up!  Totally didn't see that coming.  So we started our candy collection then (and have been eating it non stop since). 
Nate and Z carved the first pumpkin on Thursday night, then we let the little boys in on the fun on Friday (Nate didn't have school). 
Z is still very squeamish.  He does NOT like strange textures on his hands.  He has never been a kid to play in the mud.  He didn't like glurch much when I made it (cornstarch and water).  They did a pudding painting at school wehn he was just barely 3, and he hated it.  So pulling the guts out of pumpkins....not his cup of tea.  Nate tried to convince him to try it, but he would have nothing of it on Thursday.  He insisted on a spoon (which really doens't help much), and barely stuck his hand into it. 
He chose a pumpkin pattern and Nate let him do some of the actual carving this year, which he loved.  He actually did a pretty good job. 

Friday we did another pumpkin with the little boys.  C of course was totally into it.  L was kind of into it, and N started out ok, but then did NOT like it. 

We had one more pumpin, and since Z couldn't do too much carving on the second pumpkin (it was more difficult), we gave him one to do all on his own. 

We told him to everything, and he did a pretty good job.  I had to do some serious scraping and scooping to help him (it is actually kind of hard to scoop all that pulp out), but then he did get a lot of it out.  Maybe next year I'll give him gloves...note to self....  At any rate, he did much better the second time.  He drew his own picture and carved it all himself (with some coaching from Nate). 

The litle boys got to the third pumpkin and destroyed it before we got a picture of it. Oh well.