Big catch-up: #3 edition

While I was up at GDO's and GMO's house in the woods Baby Belle watched my every move while my great-"uncle" Larry helped roll an un-indomitable snowman.

As soon as I returned home we packed up and choo-choo'd our way to "Cago" ...

... where I spent a couple days swimming, eating, playing, and birthday-celebrating with my Michigan relatives.

(Here are a couple Finn fotos from the trip)

Back home Finn and I spent some quality time together ...

... before I headed outside to the sledding hill for a few runs and angels with my friend Jacinda.

Early December meant heading out in search of a Blue Spruce (which featured a run-in with Santa and a popcorn finale with my friend Jonah) ...

... and, of course, my birthday! My big weekend involved prepping a few dozen cookies for my party and candles, cake, and cupcakes!

Focus on Finn

After "helping" Dad clean the backyard up a bit last week, I decided to have a little fun before adding to our compost pile.
This past weekend I packed up all my stuf and headed up to the Northwoods with GDO and GMO so Mom and Dad could work on a few projects around the house without my "help."
While I've been away, Finn has taken advantage of being an only child and has kept busy eating real food ...
... and showing off his ever-enlarging rolls ...

... and playing "Where is Mommy?"

"Peek-a-boo! Here she is!"

Melon dessert

Our Free Friday was my kind of day - catching the #3 bus headed towards downtown ...

... and getting off at the Children's Museum. If I had my way all the time the MCM would be a daily routine but I have to settle for weekly visits instead.

If it's the first Saturday in November ... it's the year's final Market on the Square. We braved the mid 20s to pick up a few veggies, a sibling pic ...

... and a cookie ...
... that was as big as my head! (Yes, I ate the whole thing)

Hooray for the Market! Hooray for cookies! Hooray for big appetites!

Time to TOT!

Happy Halloween! Our week consisted of a back-up candy-corn costume for my daycare party ...

... and some themewear for Finn, too.

We TOT'd around the Square on Friday as most businesses opened their doors to little ghosts and goblins and the like. Finn and I tried to get a decent side-by-side shot ...

... but more often than not we ended up like this.
While my corn costume merely got the job done, Finn's costume was a big hit among the TOTers.

After Mom worked on my real costume all day Saturday, I finally made the reveal on our way to breakfast this morning.

I successfully dodged Cruella and the Bad Guys during our breakfast outing and then sought refuge by the river and in the trees after I spotted Cruella's car on our street.

Although I had a blast and expended a lot of energy evading capture by Cruella, Finn thought the whole charade was pretty funny.

We also stopped for a few photos along the water ...

... before rushing home to scoop out slimy seeds and carve our pumpkin!

After a long afternoon of waiting, the time finally came to walk to the the park for the neighborhood costume parade ...

... and lots of trick-or-treating! I was quite into the treats this year - and managed to fill up my bag with all sorts of goodies. My lack of shyness was apparent as we walked through the night ... on more than one occasion I let myself into strangers' houses when they didn't answer my "Trick or Treat!" plea fast enough!

Hooray for dalmations! Hooray for candy! Hooray for Halloween!