Scarred For Life?

This may be one of those times when you mess up your kid for the rest of his life.

A couple of weeks ago we went to our neighborhood Halloween festival, complete with a haunted trail. We figured that Cannon was too young to "get" all of the spookiness and we took him along. At first he was fine, just chillin' in his stroller. I could tell that he thought it was weird, but not scary. I took him out of his stroller to hold him so I could see his face and talk to him. That's when this guy jumps out and scares Cannon half to death! The rest of the time he was definitely freaked out! Afterward, we talked about the haunted trail and tried to add some humor. During family prayer at bedtime, we asked that he would have good dreams and good feelings. He slept peacefully and we thought nothing of it anymore. That is until now.

On Saturday he was creeped out by his jack-o-lantern! He wouldn't help me carve it, he didn't want to touch it, he even begged to go inside (if you know Cannon, then you know that all he wants to do is be outside). When it was all lit, he backed away from it.

I got an even worse reaction when I put on disguise glasses (you know, those glasses with the nose and mustache). When he turned around I was wearing them and I said, "Hello." He gave me a creeped out look and started to back away. I proceeded to explain that it was just mommy and then he FREAKED! He screamed and cried like I have never heard him! I took them off and he came to give me a hug. I wanted to show him that they are fake and when I reached out for them he freaked again. Ryan had to hold him and I put them back on and took them off several times so he knew it was just me. Then I got a mirror and let him look at himself when he put them on.

Then we went to play group on Wednesday and all the kids were in their Halloween costumes (Cannon included). The girls he didn't mind since most of them were princesses or fairies or something like that, but he was so afraid of the boys wearing masks!

I feel so bad that I traumatized him! Now I have so much work to undo what I did. Sorry Can Man.

Here he is trying to get away from the pumpkin.