Do you believe in Halloween?

That’s the question that Nate got from one of his neighbors a few days ago, and the answer is definitely yes. Jenna is very excited for her first real Halloween (it doesn’t count unless you can walk around and get candy) and Alixa is thrilled to unveil her costume at the ward party that she is helping to put on. To better get into the fall/Halloween mood the Winns took a trip to a local pumpkin patch. Jenna loves pumpkins and scarecrows, or at least she loves the ones that she has been seeing several times a week in front of the local YMCA. Apparently the scarecrows at the pumpkin patch were meaner, because Jenna would not come within 10 feet of any of them without freaking out and trying to get away. For horrible parents like Jarom and Alixa, this was very amusing. Fortunately, there were other things to do, like taking a hayride, petting the incredibly docile farm golden retrievers that were laying around, and feeding the oddly shaped pair of goats that lived there. Jenna had a blast doing those things, which made up for the terror she experienced out in the patch.

Does this scarecrow lion really look that scary?

Jenna is especially fond of dogs that don't yip at her

A Jenna-sized pumpkin that's just right

Back at the ranch, Jenna has rekindled her love for scarecrows, and can even say the word scarecrow with a reasonable level of clarity, which is easily the largest word she knows. Lix even found a small scarecrow that now resides in our kitchen, and Jenna excitedly points to it while she eats and tells you “scarecrow.” The other new toy that Jenna has goes by the name Bendy Pete. Pete is a super fluffy pillow that can be folded in half to look like a cow. Lix named him, and he has quickly taken a place in Jennas ever-growing menagerie of stuffed animals.

This was the scene when Jenna decided that instead of taking her afternoon nap she would take all of her blankets and stuffed animals and throw them out of the crib. She was quite pleased with her work.

Jenna continues to be neater than we ever thought a kid could be. She definitely did NOT get this trait from her mother, who will throw trash and clothes anywhere and everywhere. Case in point- Jenna was recently playing in the huge pile of clothes that can always be seen on the floor between Alixa’s side of the bed and her dresser. While rummaging around, she noticed that there was an empty water bottle underneath the bed where Lix had tossed it. She reached under to get it, because she enjoys playing with bottles. After a little while, Jarom finished whatever he was doing and was heading back downstairs, so he told Jenna it was time to go. As usual, she obediently followed him downstairs, but not before putting the water bottle back where she thinks it belonged- shoved one arm’s length under the bed. She is a constant source of amusement for us.

Jenna's new slipperboots

She is also getting smarter, which is beginning to cause trouble. Like all little kids, she loves to play with mom’s and dad’s phones. Until recently, they would simply lock the keypads and give her the phones so she could push the buttons. But this week Jenna learned that if she slides Lix’s phone open it automatically unlocks and she can then send text messages to people. One evening she was typing away on Lix’s open phone with a silly grin on her face when Lix asked her to give the phone back. She immediately began running away from her mom, going through the dining room and kitchen, finally going into the pantry and closing the door behind her, so that there was only a small open crack through which two mischievous little eyes could be seen. After she stopped laughing Lix got the phone back and saw on the screen a message asking her to confirm the purchase of some phone app that was going to cost $3 a month. Oh dear.

Working on her putting at the mall

In preparation for his upcoming switch to working night shifts, Jarom had his “weekend” on Wednesday and Thursday, which allowed him to go with his girls to the gym in the morning. He finally got to meet Miss Evy, who works at the YMCA daycare and is Jenna’s third favorite person in the world (sorry grandmas.) She spends the entire time sitting on Miss Evy’s lap, coloring and reading books. And Evy doesn’t seem to mind in the least. He also got to watch Alixa in one of her old lady aerobics classes, stepping and spinning and kicking with the best of them.

And since Wonder Woman would never be caught dead with shaggy bangs, Lix took Jenna to the salon this week to get a trim so that she would look sharp in her costume. She found a nice place where they put you in a car and let you watch cartoons to keep kids from squirming around while they cut your hair. It isn’t much of a change, but it was certainly needed, because if there is one thing that Jenna has proven to be good at it is growing a lot of hair.

Before

During

And after