Halloween Shenanigans

It’s been non-stop Halloween around here the last few days.  Although not my favorite holiday, I have to admit that it’s a ton more fun with a kid.  Cuteness just becomes magnified in silly outfits!

We took full advantage of the costume that Grandma and Grandpa Miller sent us, getting use out of it on 3 different occasions.

Our warm-up event took place last Sunday morning at CityToys, our favorite play gym in Lima.  There were 50+ kids and their parents there for a Babies 2 and under Halloween bash.  As you might imagine, it was a rollicking good time.  The only challenge was trying to determine if you child was the one that had the smelly diaper under all those layers of costume…

Monday morning was the second time she got to dress up.  This time it was for our weekly music class that we go to.  As you can see, she was totally into the whole costume thing by this point.  For a girl that hates hats and any restrictive clothes in general, she sure adjusted to this quite quickly!

Dance Nia, dance!

After music class the group ventured outside to the playground.  Nia recently started climbing the jungle gym and going down the slide.  Let’s just say she was a wee bit surprised at how fast the extra fabric on her costume made her zip down the slide…

Here’s our household helper Lupe with Nia (and the wagon of course, which is a beloved possession right now).

The BIG event of the week was the Embassy Trick or Treating.  Each year, Embassy Lima welcomes in all the children of both Americans and the locally-employed staff.  Between the two groups, it probably amounted to somewhere around 250 kids.  Each section of the Embassy decorates their area and gives out candy to the kids.

What was mind-blowing was the insane amount of effort that had obviously been put in by each department.  Each one had a theme (bat cave, legoland, super mario, etc) and all the staff were decked out in corresponding costumes.  The walls were covered in decoration, so much so you couldn’t even really tell you were in an office.  I was AWED.  I’d love more than anything to show you pictures, but we’re not allowed to photograph inside the Embassy for security reasons.

The event was also tailored to various ages.  Some of the departments were clearly geared towards younger children (Super Mario, Lego) while there were distinctly scary areas for the older kids.

Little Nia was a hoot.  She was completely overstimulated and stared open-mouthed for much of the event.  She figured out that it was a special day and seemed to construe that she was somehow an honored guest because she spent the entire time insisting upon walking around while waving, smiling and making a symphony of squawks and coos.  Her efforts were awarded with much adoration!

After all the trick or treating was done everyone gathered outside for a costume contest, food and outdoor games.  Hats off to everyone who made this such an amazing event.  I’m already looking forward to next year!

I leave you with a picture of our worn-out ladybug dragging her poorly-treated bunny.  For the full photo gallery experience, GO HERE.