Ah, October. Lots of fun stories this month. First, we have been reading "Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys" quite a bit. It's the first story in the "Curious George" collection. For those who don't know, Curious George is one of eight monkeys belonging to Mother Pamplemoose. Stacey has taken to responding to the salutation "Mother Pamplemoose". And, she uses this to her advantage, finding that Cadel (who prefers to be called "Curious George" most of the time) is a much nicer big brother to Senja when we call her "Baby Ginny" (the youngest offspring of Mother Pamplemoose and therefore George's youngest sibling). 
Senja is a bundle of enthusiasm. She gets so excited and is just bursting with energy. Unable to jump, run, or speak English words, she often bends her knees (as if about to jump), then springs up straightening her knees and stretching up her neck (as if she is jumping, but her feet never leave the ground) and making a loud "Urmph" sound. Quite hilarious, really.Summary of our month: Cadel has a grand time as school; Stacey and Senja go to music class (where Senja dances by rocking back and forth and occassionally rocks her head too far to one side so she topples over); Stacey runs the Portland Marathon; Halloween costumes are successfully made by Stacey. And, we had a splendid visit from Oma and Gimpa (and they survived a snowy trip to Crater Lake -- just a little foreshadowing of the storm they would surrender to in New England upon their return home). Oh, and we started packing (that minor detail).
A trip to the Oregon coast and the Aquarium inspired our Halloween costumes. Cadel and Justin at the coast create the starfish pose.
Cadel the Octopus, Senja the Starfish, and Stacey and Justin the Sea Anemones.
We thought it would be fun to carve a pumpkin and put Senja in it. I don't think "fun" would be the word she would have chosen.
