9 and O!!!!!!!!!!!

9 and 0! 9 and 0!!

Nope, I can say it all day and it doesn't get old :)

Keep it up boys! I'm preparing my vocal chords for some serious playoff and Superbowl screaming!!!

OBAMA!!!

I've been very good and haven't mentioned any political affiliations or leaning's on this blog. Mostly since the vast majority of my extended family are Republicans who get Christmas cards from the Bush's. But suffice it to say I am ecstatic.

We got to watch history being made last night. Got to see our country stand up and make a decision that could change everything about us. Watch someone with morals and integrity, a man who actually told the truth, answered questions and kept his promises become our next President. The sight of a million people in Chicago, standing unified for one man and one cause brought me to tears. It was an amazing night for our country and it's my fervent hope that we can keep this attitude of cooperation and change alive.

I've never been patriotic and spent most of my life wishing I was a Togolese citizen. But last night, for the first time, I felt those patriotic feelings for this country. I was proud to have an American passport, proud that I had cast my vote (for the first time) and proud that my daughter will be alive to see these changes.

Halloween 2008

Getting ready to head out.

Thankfully it was an unseasonably warm so she didn't look like an Arctic Fairy Princess

So excited!! No clue why but we're very excited!

Speaking of Fairy Princesses it was clearly the costume du jour. We went trick or treating with our immediate neighbors, about 6 kids in all and 3 of them were Fairy Princesses.

Addy was just excited to hang out with the big kids. She's hoping this gets her in with the gang so she can start playing with the neighbor's motorized jeep.


She tried so valiantly to keep up with the other kids but those short legs were just no match for 6 year olds hopped up on sugar and screaming and running from house to house. She was a real trooper though.

She made it to about 5 houses and carried her own pail the whole way.

She was so excited that at times I was running to keep up. Well not running exactly, but limping with purpose at top speed.

We have GOT to get some streetlights in our neighborhood. I never realized before how pitch black it is out there. Very spooky :)

We have a REALLY hilly neighborhood and while going down the hill was no problem hoofing it back up proved to be more than she could handle. Thankfully Daddy is always around to give a hand.

Whew, that's a big hill

"Seriously, I'm getting winded here!"

"My back! My neck and my back!"

Finally home!!

Okay, everyone knows of course that Nate was just goofing off and those pictures are all staged. We're weird like that. Addy didn't though. She was very concerned about Nate and kept poking him with her wand to get him up.


"Okay, I put a bunch of stuff in this bucket. What exactly was it?"

She got a decent haul but still doesn't like sugar. I gave her a small bite of chocolate and she of course gagged and spit it out.

However the grape sucker was a HUGE hit!

This is literally the first piece of candy she's ever eaten and even that she didn't finish. Nate found it later hanging off the back of her head :)

She did get a nice little sugar buzz off the 9 licks though. I'm really hoping this anti-sugar stand lasts.

She spent most of the night (and the rest of the weekend) taking all the candy out of the pail, lining it up on the table and then putting it all back in. Who knew that mini snickers would be such an engaging toy! And surprisingly low cal when you don't eat any of them!

Days later she is still dragging her candy around. She won't eat it but does gnaw on it through the wrapper. And she's all about sharing. I can't count the number of pieces of soggy wrapped candy I've been handed over the last few days.

All in all Halloween gets a big thumbs up from Addy. It was so fun to watch her experience everything for the first time. She was so grown up too. She ran up to each house, grabbed her own candy out of the bowl and said "thank you" almost every time. We just get prouder and prouder and she gets cuter and cuter!!

Countdown to Tootatootoo

Addy was ALL about Halloween this year. From the costume to carving pumpkins to trick or treating she had a blast. We tried to teach her to say "Trick or Treat" but the closest she ever got was Tootatootoo!

The first time we put Addy's costume on, several weeks before Halloween, she totally freaked out. She kept yanking on the skirt, twisting around to pull on the wings and eventually threw herself to the floor in a dramatic fashion crying "No Mama NO!" Imagine my surprise when a few days later she came trotting into the living room clutching the costume asking to put it on. I put it on over her PJ's and it was an instant hit.

Wearing her costume over her clothes was a theme repeated many many times over the ensuing weeks.

I am VERY happy to say that since this picture we installed a new screen door. Needless to say it was needed.

Helping Daddy clean out the pumpkins. She wouldn't put her hand into the pumpkin but loved playing with the seeds and goop after Nate pulled it out.

The finished pumpkins. We had a "Nightmare before Christmas" theme this year and they turned out awesome. There was an attempt at a Joker pumpkin to but it didn't really work. I guess some things just don't translate into fine pumpkin art.

Jack Skellington, Addy's favorite. Every time she walks past she gives Jack a pat on the head.

This is her little sleep mat from school. They send them home every Friday to be washed. This particular Saturday she unrolled her mat all by herself, spread it out on the floor, covered herself up and pretended to sleep. Being cute and entertaining all the time is exhausting! She also laid several stuffed animals on the mat and covered them up. I missed that picture though since she had stolen the camera and run away with it. She REALLY has a thing for cameras