Happy Halloween!

Well, here's my little Los Angeles Angel.

As you can see, she's very excited about Halloween. Well, actually, in this particular photo, she's excited because she discovered how to speed-dial Daddy on Mommy's cell phone. Nonetheless, that was on Halloween, so it still counts.

But talk about excitement. Tonight I made my own Halloween discovery, a mystery that's been unsolved now for a couple of months ... but more on that later.

I had to work a little later than usual today, so I was afraid I would miss out on my little trick-or-treater. Luckily, C's nanny, the wonderful Stephanie (see photo on the right), took her around the neighborhood and eventually landed at her friends' house (home to twins H and D) a few blocks away.

When I drove over to meet them, it was a sea of children on the streets of Hancock Park. There were hundreds of them, literally, squeezed onto the sidewalks and front yards of the festively decorated homes. The homeowners really got into the spirit and were dressed up as witches and ghosts, relishing their closeups as they handed out candy to the constant stream of tots.

One home even had a video screen in its front window showing black-and-white Halloween-themed cartoons. Who needs Knott's Scary Farm, when you have your own family-friendly yet spooky neighborhood celebration?

It was a real rush.

The twins and their parents, Kathy and Matt, really got into the spirit, too. They dressed up as twins themselves, as their own little two-fers were decked out as soccer and baseball stars.

We stayed awhile at their house, as the stream of trick-or-treaters continued. In fact, Astrid, the twins' nanny, ran out of candy entirely. "What?!" asked Kathy incredulously. "We bought 1,000 pieces! Mille!" I wasn't surprised.

As it got later, Stephanie, C and I decided to head back. (Ian was at work and unfortunately missed out on all the fun.) But not before besos. Which, incidentally, should be a bumper sticker.

Ever since C arrived, I've been trying my best to get her to be comfortable with kisses. She's been anti-smooch for most her life, but lately, she's really gotten into it, the Hollywood air kiss being part of her repertoire. But tonight she gave the twins goodbye smooches, and I'm sad only in that my camera isn't as fast as I wish it were. Those were sweet moments, and here are their approximations.

As for the mystery, C's been saying "Dub-a-dee" for the past few months, and her parents have been completely perplexed as to its meaning. Well, tonight, as we were leaving, one of the twins, D (pictured left), said "Bye, Dub-a-dee." I asked Stephanie, "What did he say? C says that all the time."

"It's my name," she said.

Of course. Dub-a-dee = Stephanie.