The cutest little chicken you ever did see.

We love our little chicken, which is either pronounced 'kiken' or 'kitchen,' it just depends.

Ron took her out trick-or-treating, which is pretty hard core, considering it is currently twenty-eight degrees outside. Ron was embarassed because they finally started just asking what he wanted, since clearly Alla wasn't that interested in the candy.

She was real interested when she came home, however, probably moreso in the shiny packages than anything, considering she didn't even know that they were packages that could therefore open. Like pens or toys or kitchen utensils, she double-fisted the candy, holding three smarties in one hand and her Twix and sucker in the other, all through dinner even. She would not let go.

After dinner we let her choose a piece to eat (luckily no one else in the neighborhood is handing out full-sized candy bars, or we'd have been in trouble since she'd more than likely have chosen the biggest one to eat). She chose the Twix. Her first piece of candy. Milestones.

Happy Halloween, friends!

Maple Monday.

Here she is. Our ever-changing, quickly growing bare maple. Totally yellowed after our 10 days away. At least the leaves aren't completely gone. Check back next Monday, though, cause we are having some blustery winds tonight, and I doubt there'll be much left in a week. There better be a blizzard on the way to make up for it.

What little girl doesn't like stomping through the leaves?

Because it happens so fast: bonus maple friday.

Because Maple Monday will be on hiatus til the 30th and Ron came in saying Did you see the tree? I thought I'd treat you all to an extra glimpse today. Happy weekend!

I forget.

That we have this other camera that I frequently use for snapshots and video because it always tends to be right there when I need to snap something I really want to remember. Some great things I've captured recently.

Leave her alone for five minutes and she's into something. Generally some sort of dress-up deal. Almost always consisting of her 'fwimming' suit or a pair of my shoes. She has some serious style already.

And probably I took this after singing "Rosey" (ring-around) for the 50th time. My love.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. I am addicted to the Ginger Almond Cashew Granola from TJ's. You'd think crystallized ginger in granola would be utterly filthy. Not so. Divine.

2. Watching any good shows this season? We are loving Heroes and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

3. 50 degrees is very warm weather, relatively speaking.

4. 2006 was really the year I became a coffee drinker. Like the must have it every morning kind.

5. Our leaves are not falling yet, since I've been asked that question. Just starting to turn.

6. I fear when we return from our vacation at the end of the month, our tree will be very far along and winter will have set in. (Nope, 50 degrees is not winter.)

7. I love to run. I'm so appreciating it now that it's cold and wet sometimes and there's no guarantee we'll get out. So when we can, we go.

8. With the bushels of apples we've gotten lately, I have been a crisp-making fool. I even have apples measured out in the freezer, ready to pop into the oven for a crisp.

9. As I type Alla is counting the groceries in her shopping cart (thanks, Vuoso's!). I'm sure she has more than five, but she's pretty excited about counting to five so I'll let it slide.

10. Haven't showed a video in awhile so enjoy this one. It might be my favorite. More doll baby goodness. The script goes something like this: hug hug hug...careful head...careful head...hand...laugh...sleeping sleeping table...shhhhh...quiet quiet. Love her.

Maple Monday: Losing track of the weeks.

But you don't have to look quite so close this week. There's color back there.

Another farm.

So we hit up another farm. I tell you, these Minnesotans really know how to have a good time. Especially when it comes to kids. This pumpkin experience was like no other. When was the last time you saw a pumpkin cannon? Or had a llama let you (he practically asked me to) take his picture? [yes i do have a photo of a llama that i've been trying to add here all night]

Or had your daughter get so excited to see a real live rooster that she chased him halfway under the fence and then got scared half to death when her daddy grabbed her in the nick of time? (I know it looks like she's just standing there, but she was on the move.)
Really, though, it was all about the goats. Alla could have sat right here the whole day.

Here we are coming down the speedway. Mommy wasn't that fast. The guy and his kid behind us were much more experienced. Probably natives.

You think when you're a parent you will abhor cheesy signs that say "How Tall This Fall" because your own parents made you stand in front of every single gosh darn silly sign on every single vacation ever, but no. I loved it. In spite of all my wishes that Alla would never get bigger, this sign made me a teensy bit excited for next year, just so I can say to my husband, My how she's grown. [been trying to upload this photo all night]

What trip to the patch wouldn't be complete without bringing home one of our very own to carve at a later date? Alla picked out two teensy ones of her own to hug all the way home. [been trying to upload this photo all night, too]

And just in case you didn't know how to soothe a baby doll, this is how you do it: hold her very tight, pat her on the back, and shhhhhhhhhhhhushhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Sat her in my best light.

The best light I could find in the house on a cold blustery day. And gave her some ice to play with, cause she asked for it. And then just snapped away in this low light and hoped to get what I got.

Megan tagged me, so here are my five weirdnesses. I'm sure that more exist.

1. I have to set the alarm for 6:01 versus 6:00. I guess I think it's bad luck to set it for that normal, even numbered time.

2. I sneeze like a banshee.

3. I have the loudest hiccups (Alla calls it 'uh-cup').

4. I can eat a whole pineapple in one sitting. (Catie can attest to this.)

5. I have this one strange hair that grows on the back of my head and when you pull it out it looks like a spider leg. Ron gets real excited to pull it out every few months. As a matter of fact it's been awhile.

And with that I tag Susan and Paula and because it's their turn!

Maple Mondays: Week Five.

Yup, I realize it's Tuesday, but I didn't get to it yesterday.

Guess what, though, there is a teensy bit of yellow up there real high if you look veeeeeeeeeery closely. I think it's coming! That and snow. Stay tuned.

Borrowed leaves.

I don't know that windstorms blowing the neighbors' leaf piles into our once leaf-less yard is meant to be a good thing, but we are treating as such. Yesterday we were playing in the neighbor's leaf pile, and today there were neighbor kids in ours. Realistically, from this point forward, all the leaves are prety much community property. So far this is great news because it means on any given day we will probably have a good-sized leaf pile, in spite of our green maple!

And, brace yourselves, I bought a rake today. Oh my word, we are getting more and more Minnesotan.

Apple Farm.

I think this makes us true Minnesotans, right? Picking our own apples? The quintessential fall outing.

Unfortunately for me, it was a bright, sunny, day, so the pics are only so-so.

Fortunately, it was 80 degrees, which is probably unusual for this time of year, but I'm trying to store vitamin D for winter, so it was nice.

Unfortunately, 80 degree weather does not make you want to drink apple cider. I may be making my own in the coming months to make up for this lost opportunity.

I would say Alla thoroughly enjoyed the apple farm experience, picking the apples (though she wasn't necessarily as discriminate as I wished her to be, and some of her picks didn't make it home...shhhh), riding the pony, watching the goats (not so interested in petting).
Such a fun morning that she didn't even make it the half-mile back to the highway before crashing.

Maple Mondays: Week Four.

Nope. No color yet. Some other maples around town are gorgeous, but I have it from a reliable source that at least one of those needs some work in the spring. Ours must be so healthy strong and wants to have the last leaves standing.

But, lest you think that our neighborhood has no color at all, this is our next-door-neighbors' tree. All around us the street is full of leaves spilling out from neighbors' trees, and many of them spent all weekend raking. Ah, what we have to look forward to. Only thing is, we will be doing it in 30 degree weather, whereas the neighbors were raking in 80 degree weather yesterday. Not quite sure which is better, but I'm glad we're still obviously a few weeks from that.

Happy Monday all!