Here is another image of the seeds.
http://www.nycaviation.com/hosting/seeds2.jpg

Also, a few weeks ago I noted that roughly 40 feet away, a new plant started to grow in the partial shade of an evergreen bush that we have. its only 8 inches tall or so and sits up against a brick wall. I assume its a new baby of hte same tree type that I am trying to identify. Thoughts?

Now, if it IS indeed the same plant, could you please explain how I can remove the new baby tree and either get it into a pot OR plant in elsewhere as I would really like to grow this tree.

Thanks for the knowledge in advance.
http://www.nycaviation.com/hosting/baby2.jpg

I did a lot of research for you, and I think your tree is the variety, "Beni Maiko" or "Red Haired Dancing Girl" I'm sending a link to the page I found it on. It looks really close! I would love to grow this myself, because I'm a red haired dancing girl..lol.. Maybe you could send some seeds when they mature in spring? That would be lovely.. TY in advance! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Japanese Maples

It is unlikely that the seed is going to produce a plant that exhibits the same characteristics of a specific cultivar of Japanese Maple. I believe that most are odd genetic makeups that are propagated by cuttings, tissue culture, or grafting - simply put, they are clones. A seed is not a clone.

As Laag said, seedlings are usually different than the parent. But they often produce nice trees, regardless.

This is the second year that I've collected Japanese maple seedlings, and this is how I do it: during a cooler time of day (early morning or evening), I dig the seedlings up. I use a mix of pine/fir bark and perlite in a 3/4 gallon nursery container. Once I dig the seedling up, I plop the root-ball into the container (with some moist bark/perlite on the bottom), and fill around the root-ball with the bark/perlite mix. I water well. Then I keep the seedlings in a shady, cool location - protected from winds, but with good circulation - for at least a week. You can gradually move them into filtered / dappled / partial sun afterward, but watch the new growth for drying or scorching.

Josh