I got creative this afternoon and pulled out some kids paints and paper for Addie to play with. I stripped her down to her diaper and let her have at it. I discovered lots of supervision is still needed at 17 months. She tasted the paint twice and had no interest in painting the paper after I made the mistake of drawing a little purple circle on her belly. I'm not sure what I was thinking. She created a few masterpieces and then we both jumped in a bubble bath. Not bad for an afternoon. 
I'm very proud to say that I was a part of Virginia being blue yesterday. Even more proud to be an American even if we are so far away right now. I almost regret not being in DC to feel the buzz from the election. We are starting on a new generation of Dems in this family. Addie clapped during Obama's speach and made her little kitty clap too.
After all the Halloween parties Addie came down with the sniffles on Saturday. Justin had to work all day late into the night so Addie and I had a lazy day inside. She rested on the couch and watched videos. I tried to rest too. I watched Barney Celebrating Around the World one too many times. She loves that purple dinosaur!
We hosted a Halloween party this afternoon for our friends and neighbors. Our party was a hit thanks to Megan sending the decorations and cookie making kit along with the cake mix and frosting. All the kids decorated cookies with colored frosting and ate cupcakes covered in sprinkles and candy of their liking. The Moms chatted and oversaw the decorating and then the kids played and thoroughly messed up the house. There was lots of laughing, squealing, and other kid noises. It was wonderful to have the house full of friends. Grandma and Grandpa sent Addie a black cat costume so she wore this one today. She kept saying "meow" over and over. Addie had been eyeing the chocolate cupcakes all morning and it was quite a chore steering her away from them at snack time. When it was time for the kids to sit down and decorate she eagerly waited for me to place the cupcake in front of her. She cupped it in her two hands and ate it frosting first. She kept lifting her hands full of cupcake to her face for bite after bite. I didn't intervene but instead took lots of pictures of her enjoying the chocolate. She was smeared in cupcake and frosting by the time she was done but the experience made her giddy. It took three of four kitchen towels to clean off all the kids. What fun!
The Embassy's Community Liaison Office threw a Halloween party last night for the children. We had such a blast watching Addie. She got all dressed up in her Minnie Mouse costume and couldn't stop staring at all the other kids in their costumes. The pizza party was thrown in a room decorated with spooky Halloween decor, scary music and a strobe light! She was terrified so we decided to eat our pizza outside. Addie really enjoyed the costume parade where she got to hold her pumpkin bag and walk with the other kids. She lost her footing numerous times because she couldn't take her eyes off the other kids. The big hit of the night was trick-or-treating. When the first piece of candy hit her bag it all clicked and she was so excited. Every house we went to she said "please" and "thank you". We tried to teach her trick-or-treat but it didn't fly. Addie held on to her ever growing stash of candy with a death grip and could say "candy" by the end of the night. Justin and I got so much joy watching how happy she was. The whole night was so fun. Addie had her first chocolate bar on the ride home and then proceeded to fall asleep in her car seat. It was a big evening for our little girl. 
