Happy Halloween from Raggedy Ann!

"Trick or treat?"

Separated at birth!

"How do I get this open?"

It takes a lot of work to keep this 'do going.

HOPE

Are You Dancing?

Run time - 0:50.

Chase!

One of Mather's favorite games -- since the day she learned to walk -- is "chase". It's just about as simple as it sounds. However, she's getting faster and faster, and instead of doing it in a cramped apartment, the best place to play it these days is in a big grass field.

Mather chasing me.

Me chasing Mather.

Mather in full flight.

Catching our breath!

More Mountain!

Earlier this week Mather climbed her very first mountain, from bottom to top, on her own two feet. Her first mountain may well have been mine, since it is adjacent to my childhood preschool. Since my own toddlerhood, the Ransoms have always just referred to it as "Rocky Mountain", though according to official SF maps, signage and the all-important Google Earth it is in fact "Corona Heights".

We were out for a walk - well, she was in her stroller - looking for something to do that day. And a burst of nostalgia brought us back to Rocky Mountain. When we got to the bottom, I offered to pull her out of her stroller (which never would have made it up the twisty trail and wood-beam stairs) and asked if she wanted to "climb a mountain". Her response? "Climb mountain!". So off we went.

It didn't surprise me that she'd want to try. She's always been adventurous and outdoorsy. What surprised me was just how well she performed. She didn't settle for getting to the top of the trail - she insisted on clambering to the top of the sharp, jagged rocks that lend the peak it's official name. With her hands in mine, she took outrageously long, upward steps, pulling up her own weight, judging her route, and reaching the very tippy-top before finally plopping down on her bottom to enjoy the view.

Like any seasoned hiker, she knew that we should eat our snack at the top...and I had foolishly left the cheerios in her stroller. So we clambered on back down, with her once again taking every step. When we got to the bottom, I was ready to put her back into her stroller and let her eat her cheerios. She, however, grasped the bag in one hand, turned around, pointed back to the top, and said "MORE MOUNTAIN!".