Happy Halloween

Apparently 19 months old is old enough to know the difference between regular clothes and a costume.
Anni found this gnome Halloween costume for Elise, but we had been unsuccessful in convincing her to try it on at home. So, it went to school with her today for the Halloween party and, by golly, Elise was fine wearing it if her teacher helped to put it on her.
We'll try again at home Sunday. If the gnome is a no-go, there is a back-up bumblebee costume in the inventory. And if that doesn't work, maybe she'll go trick-or-treating dressed as a 19-month-old.

She wasn't as unhappy as she looks. I think.

The gnome and the skunk.

 Ever met a skirt-lifting gnome? Yep, she belongs to us.

 Anni manned the face/hand painting station at the school party.

 

My costume includes a glass eyeball.

Slice of life

In this house, if you want apple pie you need to work for it. And, yes, that means learning to cut apples. We're still working on the lesson that you cannot eat one apple slice for every two you cut.

Apples and good times.

The streak continues. 

The annual Wente-Singel fall apple outing took place a few weeks ago. We hit a local orchard with friends Dan and Erin and their daughter, Avery. Good times.

This particular orchard charged for each outdoor activity. Here, the shakedown begins: the ladies approach the hay maze, where the goofball high-school worker did not know how much to charge for an entrance fee. Sir, you have one job and you get to do it sitting down. Let's memorize that long list of two entrance fees.

I'm allergic to hay. They're not. Therefore, I take the picture, they stand in the hay. (By the way, how lame is a hay allergy?)

No windfalls for this lady. We go to the top of the tree.

Elise would be perfectly content if people would hand-feed her at all meals. She also would be perfectly content if all meals were apples.

Walking with a purpose.

Sometimes I forgot how quickly Elise changes -- until I look at old photos. Here is last year's apple-feeding photo:

Digging up old pics

I was sorting through photos and came across some taken on a morning in July, after Elise had spent some digging up veggies in the wet garden. (I know, it seems like we only take pictures of her in the garden.)

Before they get lost or forgotten, I figured that I would post a few of them. 

A modified apple trip

Mother Nature can be real nasty sometimes. Earlier this year, bad weather wiped out Afton Apple's strawberry crop halfway through the season, and pelted acres-upon-acres of apple trees with hail, ruining the apples long before they were ready to be picked.

But, alas, tradition being what it is, we still went to the orchard this fall and got apples -- it's just that they were from other orchards. You can't pick apples at Afton this year, but they still have you-pick-'em raspberries, hay rides, play areas for kids and other things to do. We did some of those -- and ate our share of apple donuts. 

Elise enjoyed the hay ride, was not thrilled with the goats at the petting zoo, liked picking up pumpkins ... and throwing them, and she, too, had her share of apple donuts. Good times.

The fall will not be complete, however, without the annual Wente-Singel orchard trip. There is one in the works, so I see more apple donuts in my future.

It kind of looks like Elise got pushed out of the way in this photo...

Relaxing in the raspberry patch.

A goodwill offering of raspberries from Anni's dad to Elise. Or maybe it was just bribery.

Hay ride hair.

Is she asleep? No, just hypnotized.

Who doesn't enjoy a hay ride in the fall in Minnesota?

I never realized goats have diabolical eyes.

Like the animals, this one likes getting fed, too.

Fall harvest

The beans, peas and lettuce are long gone. The remaining cucumbers are too big and lack flavor. The tomatoes are still growing, but slowly, and dozens of green tomatoes probably will succumb to the first frost.
There are still potatoes in the ground, though, and until the other day a few dozen carrots also were still rooted.
Elise has enjoyed the garden this year. She figured out early on that the garden is where you go to eat countless cherry tomatoes. As the summer progressed, she seemed to learn that some things have to be removed with a shovel and now asks for her shovel whenever she heads for the garden. The other day she and Anni, shovels in hand, dug up the rest of the carrots. Then, we think Elise learned the hard way that carrots taste better if you wash off big clumps of dirt before trying to eat them.

 I try to take one black and white photo and this is the look I get.

 

After work, play.

Earn your keep

If she's old enough to pull vegetables from the garden, she's old enough to cut them.

(OK, here's the disclaimer: Despite its serrated design, I've seen spoons sharper than this knife.)

Something worth remembering

Just when the 18-month-old's potty training seems to be going splendidly, and she is wrapping up a very good day, you suddenly find yourself sitting on the edge of the bathtub trying to corral and calm down the 18-month-old, who descended abruptly from her toilet seat to the floor and into a screaming tantrum and, wearing only a shirt and purple little-lady underpants, is wailing and flailing and thrashing like a trapped alligator -- all because you asked her to help you put on her pants.
Then, after about 5 minutes of screaming and squirming, your wife walks in, calmly says, "This is what I've been dealing with all week," and proceeds to quickly and mysteriously bring the 18-month-old back from the brink of all-out meltdown.
Minutes later, the three of you are sitting at the dinner table, quietly devouring homemade pizza, and the toddler, despite glimmers of tears still in the corners of her eyes, seems perfectly content and apparently has put behind her any lingering emotions from the bathroom bout.
You try to do the same.

Elise, meet Samantha. Now bond.

Elise no longer is the only granddaughter on Anni's side of the family, and she seems just fine with that.
Anni's sister Laura had her baby early this morning. Samantha Marie. Mom and baby are healthy.
What better way to introduce her to the world (OK, to our family) than to put her in the arms of a toddler?
So there they were, the 18-month-old cousin embracing the 18-hour-old cousin. Apparently Elise did a good job holding Samantha and enjoyed playing with her toes and nose. (One has reason to worry, or at least monitor from a close distance, after watching Elise strap "Baby," the infant doll, into a toy stroller in our house and send her careening into a wall from time to time.)
Congratulations to the Myers family.

Something worth remembering

She's 18 months old. This morning, I was counting something out loud. I got to 2 and then stopped when I realized she was counting along. She continued on her own, counting to 7. Then she stopped and looked at me as though she was saying, "Hey, I'm not doing this all morning. You count again."
Maybe that's a routine ability at her age and it probably was the result of repetition learning. Nevertheless, it surprised the heck out of me.

A little love for the successor

Elise is about to get booted from the throne.
There is no end in sight to her reign as the only grandchild on my side of the family, but she soon will become just another in a budding brood on Anni's side of the family. OK, maybe not just another, but in a few short weeks she will give up the title of youngest grandchild and, therefore,  the one most worthy of attention.
Anni's sister Laura is due with Child 3 (and Girl 1) yet this month. We've tried to warn Elise that her reign is coming to a close, but like another queen, she isn't going to fade easily.
Anni did, however, get her to show a little love to her eventual successor. Well, it's either a kiss or the queen tipped over:

Cousins in the crib

I think we're going to need a bigger cage.

And, in fact, we're getting a bigger cage. It's not so much a cage as it is a real bed. Is Elise ready for a twin bed? Who knows? Definitely not me, but with growing families sometimes the hand-me-downs become hand-me-backs, and that's what is happening with the crib. It belongs to Anni's sister Laura (to whom the other two animals in this photo belong), and she is just days from becoming Mom to her third (and first girl). So, the crib is going back -- thanks again for saving us from having to get one -- and in its place will be a like-new twin mattress, another much-appreciated hand-me-down of sorts.

I'm certain that once we move Elise into the new bed we're going to find her wandering the upstairs early in the morning. (Note to self: Lock the gate to downstairs.)

Anni is going to pick up some bumpers or rails or maybe even snow fencing to put around the mattress because Elise is a wild sleeper.

Duluth

Last weekend we went to Duluth for a short vacation with the other half of the Wente-Singel Four -- our friends Dan and Erin, along with their daughter, Avery.

We got a discounted Canal Park hotel hook-up, thanks to Anni's cousin Greta. There are worse places to spend a weekend than at a hotel with Lake Superior out the back door. 

With two toddlers in tow, we mainly bummed around Canal Park, but did manage to get out to Park Point, a local swimming landmark that somehow has eluded me after 14 years of visiting Duluth with Anni. (Yes, it's been 14 years.)

It was an enjoyable weekend, even if I did not take a dip in the very chilly Superior. (Just because Duluthians can treat the lake water temperature like it's bath water doesn't mean a water wimp like myself can tolerate it.)

As for Elise, she did pretty well. The inner-toddler reared its volatile head from time to time, gently reminding me that just when you think to yourself, 'Self, you've got this toddler under control,' she flops down on the pavement and wails, fists pounding and feet kicking.

All in all, though, a great mini-vacay. And I think the trip ended with the Wentes and Singels still buds. Although, we haven't talked since. Huh...

Little girl, big lake.

'Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the car, hold a toddler and walk a straight line across these slippery stepping stones.'

This impromptu mini-tantrum led to ...

... this.

Duluth is so cool it makes bubbling sewer water appealing.

Predictably, Elise was pawing at the bottom shelf, not the one labeled "sugar-free."

Weighing the options outside a vintage candy shop.

Avery was nice enough to share her candy with Elise. I'm not sure Elise returned the gesture.

Not even a smiling, hat-clad toddler could lure Elise into that chilly water.

'This, Elise, is a zebra mussel. Let's tuck it under your hat and transport it to another lake.'

A kayaker was worth 50 points, if you know what I mean. Ore boats 100 points.