Update: Thanks for your votes! Balloting is now closed.

Update: The voting will be open throughout the weekend and will close Sunday night at midnight (New York time). Thank you for your votes, and Happy Thanksgiving!

The polls are now open for the final round in the 2009 Mochimochi Photo Contest! We’ve sifted through your many comments to narrow the field of 20 semifinalists down to the last 10.

As always, you can vote for as many photos as you want: vote for your favorite three, top four, or more if you like! But choose wisely because you only get to cast your ballot one time. (John will be watching the voting activity and keeping an eye out for ballot-box stuffing to make sure the final tally is fair.)

Simply check the box next to each photo you’d like to vote for, Then click the “Submit Your Votes!” button at the bottom of this post. Check back in a few days to see the winners!

Bold and Beautiful by kathrynivy.com

campy and the mallows! and mmmmm… by giolou

Batty Bats by DutchMoeder

Breakfast Surprise by lapelote

Disaster strikes the garden patch by wakegu4

Sweeping the Dust Bunny by Bitter-Sweet-

Snails Want to be Bullets Too by mariannes_stuff

Chicken Gang Leader by teekayknits

Halloween Cats by mrs.cheveley

Grassling in his natural habitat by Chubseus

And here it is, people—the second batch of semifinalists in the 2009 Mochimochi Photo Contest!

In case you’re wondering, we selected the semifinalists based on these factors: originality of idea, originality of toy(s), and quality of photo. (And overall cuteness, of course!)

Please help us narrow down the semifinalists to finalists by declaring your favorites in the comments to this post! In no particular order:

Breakfast Surprise by lapelote

Love this guy’s expression upon discovering that his breakfast is hatching. And the pink bathrobe really makes it!

Grassling in his natural habitat by Chubseus

This itty-bitty Grass puts all the Tiny Things to shame! Incredible.

Bats in the Congressional Record by WyoLibrarian

Aren’t the colors great? These are some studious Boos!

Bold and Beautiful by kathrynivy.com

Awesome embellishment. How’d you like to catch this cute one in your net?

Halloween Cats by mrs.cheveley

The knitter describes them as “Edgar Allen Poe themed cats.” The small one is from The Black Cat, the middle is from The Cask of Amantilado, and the biggest is from The Masque of the Red Death. Spoooky!

Snail Visits Godfrey by 1<3wool

Looks like Godfrey’s hat is popping right off his head with surprise! So cute.

hi! by mariannes_stuff

The little chicken looks speechless at what has just hatched. A great mod and photo!

Predator and Prey Both Wear a Beret! by doublewinky

Is French Snake too civilized to swallow French Mouse? (Now I have the urge to put all my toys in aquariums and cages.)

campy and the mallows! and mmmmm… by giolou

The knitter’s own goes camping with some friends. Then he starts eating them.

Sweeping the Dust Bunny by Bitter-Sweet-

Look out, errant Dust Bunny!

Congratulations to the knitters and photographers!

Now, which of these get your vote for going on to the finals? Let us know in the comments!

Here it is, the first round of semifinalists in the 2009 Mochimochi Photo Contest! John and I selected 20 photos from the more than 500 entries, and today we’re posting the first 10 (in no particular order, of course).

Starting now we need your help! We need to narrow down the 20 semifinalists to 10 finalists, and you can help us by telling us which of these are your favorites in the comments to this post.

For your consideration:

Slug and Snail Mobile by courtiala

Incredible idea and execution!

When there is no Yahtzee to play… by WyoLibrarian

Oh, Boos love Monopoly. They just add the word “cave” or “belfry” after all the real estate property names!

Disaster strikes the garden patch by wakegu4

I’m glad I’m not that carrot getting attacked by Hansigurumi’s crab. Super action shot!

Top Dog by kathrynivy.com

Better the top dog than the bottom dog, right? An unbelievably beautiful photo. (Anybody else want ice cream now?)

Circle of Bobs by Purple_Heather

Hmm, looks like the Bobs are conspiring…to do something cute!

Bear, Cat, Panda by -claudine-

Turns out all sorts of animals can come in stacking form. Nice mods!

On the Fence by Bitter-Sweet-

The baby colors are perfect for the Pundit Babies. These guys also appear to be moderates.

Snails Want to be Bullets Too by mariannes_stuff

Faster than a speeding snail! (And how in the world did she take this photo??)

Chicken Gang Leader by teekayknits

How I wish I could have been there for this photo shoot! Too fun.

Batty Bats by DutchMoeder

Next time you’re leaf peeping, maybe some of the leaves are peeping at you!

Congratulations to the photographers of these wonderful images!

Which of these photos do you LOVE? Don’t be shy—tell us in the comments! You can name as many of the photos in this post as you want. Soon we’ll post the next 10 semifinalists for you to comment on, then we’ll have the big final vote!