Meet Frankie!

Surprise, the Deterdings actually got an interactive pet!

When Mom's not a cat person, and Dad's not a dog person, a cockatiel seemed like a good option.  I had some cockatiels as a kid (one coincidentally shared a name with our nephew Gus) and they were a lot of fun-- easy to take care of, and able to learn whistles and words and tricks.

We picked up Frankie in Lancaster yesterday morning, and today he seemed well enough adjusted that we all held him for the first time.  He warmed up to Steve first (I don't blame him).

 He's super cute.  He's not very vocal yet, and we're hoping we have a talkative birdie-- talkative between the hours of 8am and 8pm, that is!

OCTOBER

October came and went so quickly-- it always does; I think because it's my favorite month and there's too much we try to squeeze in.  We didn't manage to visit a pumpkin patch, carve jack-o-lanterns, have a bonfire every weekend, or make caramel apples, BUT we all went trick or treating for the first time as a family (not sure how we didn't manage it before now, eight years in) which was very exciting for the Deterding girlies.

Jane Elizabeth turned three!  More on that later.  Here is our birthday morning tradition of Carlson's donuts and gifts from our family:

That night we had friends over for a bonfire:

Jane and her little twinsie-friend, Jordan:

Halloween was an exciting day!  I went apartment-shopping with Aunt April, and then Mom Mom and Poppy came down for a birthday dinner (for Mom Mom) and then trick or treating in our friends' town home neighborhood, where you get a completely full McDonald's bucket after doing only one pass of one street.  We're all about getting the most bang for our buck.

I present to you, a pumpkin, a sheriff, a colonial girl, an explorer, and a bat.  All but the bat are courtesy of the dress-up bin in Avery's closet. Awesome.

This is sweet-- Grace bought Mom Mom a box of new, sharp, glorious, Crayola crayons because Grace remembered her mentioning that it was her favorite thing to get as a girl.