But during the two weeks that we suffered through Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease, the kids continued to ask about going to Grandpa’s pool. We told them that they couldn’t go until everyone was healthy again. That day finally came on Friday, and so on Saturday, we finally took the kids to Grandpa’s pool for the first time this summer. And this was when I discovered that Tiny’s swimsuit doesn’t really fit.

I bought it back in March- online from The Children’s Place. It was a little big, but not much and I figured she’d grow a bit in the next few months. I liked it because it had short sleeves (better protection from the sun) and ruffles on the butt (just so cute!)

The suit fits okay as long as it’s dry, but as soon as it gets soaked, the bottom part sags. I had to constantly pull the bottom half up so we wouldn’t get kicked out of Grandpa’s pool for indecent exposure. With the California cousins coming into town on Wednesday, I knew we’d be back at the pool several more times this week, so this afternoon we headed off to the mall in search of a new swimsuit for Tiny,

But of course, there are no swimsuits for sale in August. August is for back to school shopping, and the stores have already put out their fall displays- racks of jeans and cords and long sleeved shirts and sweatshirts. I get that some may want a jump on putting together a killer fall wardrobe for those first weeks back in the classroom, but hey, it’s still summer isn’t it?

T and I dragged Tiny and Buba from store to store (The Children’s Place, Sears, Gymboree, Hanna Andersson, Baby Gap, and Macy’s). Only Gymboree and Sears had swimsuits in Tiny’s size (size 12 months!) and that amounted to three options. We ended up buying a pale pink one-piece  from Sears (which cost $5 more than the one I bought in March!) that I don’t love, but that work for the next month. After purchasing the suit, we also checked Kohl’s, Carter’s, and the Disney Store, but none of those stores had any suits left either. I was thinking of making a trip up to Target tomorrow morning, but then I had this conversation with Tiny:

r: What do you think of your new swimsuit?

T: It’s good.

r: Do you love it?

T: I love it (said very unenthusiastically). I piddy sure I don’t need anodur one (she said with a tired grin).

I got the message. She doesn’t want to shop anymore. She doesn’t want to try on any more swimsuits. This one will do. However, when we talked to Grammy about our shopping adventure on the phone after dinner tonight, she said she’d check two more places, and I didn’t tell her not too.

Tiny: It’s all gone.

Buba: I lika mo (more) cars peese (please)!

Tiny: No, it’s all gone. See? (showing Buba the empty bag)

Buba: It’s empee (empty). No mo.

Buba sings: It’s all gone. No mo. It’s all gone. No mo…

It was such a simple conversation, but so nice to hear them using their words with each other- something I  feel like I often have to remind them to do, as there is often a lot of pushing, grabbing, grunting, and screaming involved in their playing these days. It’s just nice to know that they have it in them to play together nicely. And I’m quite proud of how their language is developing. Just this past fall, they were speaking mostly one word (Buba) and  two word (Tiny) phrases. And a lot of what they were saying was just repeating what T and I were saying. But now they can express complete thoughts and even hold conversations entirely on their own. I know this is the normal way things progress, but it’s still amazing to me.

Me: Guess what! Ona’s mommy has a new baby!

(No reaction whatsoever from Buba.)

Tiny: Ona’s mommy have new baby. (thinking… processing…)

Me: That’s right. A little, tiny baby.

Tiny: It go rock-a-bye baby. (Tiny says, doing the sign for baby.)

Me: Yes. Now Ona has a little sister.

Tiny pauses for a minute and then looks at me with eyebrows low and  a little crinkle in the middle of her forehead.

Tiny: Tiny, no have little sister. (She says shaking her head from side to side.)

Me: (I’m smiling, but my eyes are getting all teary.) That’s right. Tiny doesn’t have a little sister. But you have a brother, and that’s lots of fun. Right?

Tiny: (looking over at Buba) Dats lota fun.

I know that Tiny’s comment about not having a little sister was not so much a request or a longing on her part, but just her way of a making sense of things. (She processes like this all the time, but that’s for another post.) But I couldn’t help feeling a little sad, knowing that my baby days are over for good and Buba and Tiny will not have another sibling.

T started saying “one and done” the moment we found out we were having twins. But I held out hope for a long time that we would have just one more. Every time the topic was up for discussion, it wasn’t fun. We both held firm on our positions, and finally, just last spring, I gave in. Tiny and Buba were just over a year old and I was working on making our travel plans back to my hometown in Iowa. After almost having a heart attack over what the airfare was going to cost us (we bought the kids seats, at the recommendation of another MOT) I began to imagine how much more it would be if we had a third child (or, gasp!, another set of twins). Suddenly T’s argument regarding the costs of having a larger family began to make sense, and I told him that I could be perfectly happy with our family of four.

And I am perfectly happy. But I still think sometimes about what it would be like to have just one more.

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If you haven’t already done so, be sure to check out yesterday’s post to enter my Humpty Who? giveaway.

All Tiny:

“Hello, Nammy? It time clean up.”

“Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Mess, mess, mess!”

“Time clean up.”

“No, no Daddy. No work day. No work.”

“Uh-huh. Uh-huh.”

“No Nammy bacation. Nammy home.”

“Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Clean up.”

“Ok. Yep. Ludoo. Bye-bye!”

I love that her pretend phone calls give me some insights as to what she’s understanding. She clearly knew it was time to clean up the big mess in her room, even though she chose not to help. And she understood that T wasn’t going to work that day and maybe that we’d be going to Grammy’s house now that she’s home from her vacation.

Her “Ludoo” at the end is her pronunciation for Love you.

Although it’s probably just a coincidence, they’ve been pretty well behaved, and we’ve had a nice day just doing what we do. Tiny and Buba are still too young to produce a homemade card, but their laughter, smiles, hugs, and kisses have totally made my day.

Anyway, this morning after changing Tiny’s diaper, I picked her up and gave her a little tickle. She smiled, and I asked, “Who loves you?” I expected her to say Mommy, or Daddy, or even Grammy, Buba, or Pokey (our cat), so her answer really threw me off…

“Santa Claus,” Tiny said very sweetly.

Santa Claus? I thought. Santa Claus? It didn’t make any sense. Why would she answer Santa Claus.

And then I remembered our car ride home from the mall the day we saw Santa. Tiny kept saying, “Santa Claus. Santa Claus. I cry.” At first she sounded almost proud, but the more she said it, the more I thought I detected some sadness in her words. So I told her, “It’s okay that you cried. Lots of kids cry (and we’d seen some that very day). But Santa still loves you. He loves all the boys and girls.”

Perhaps Tiny’s memory is in fact that good, or maybe she just had something else on her mind this morning. I’ll never know. But instead of correcting her or trying to get her to elaborate, I simply said, “Yes, he does. And Mama loves you too.”

T: Mommy! Read book? Read book?

r: Wait, Tiny. You need to put on clothes first (she’s standing before me in just her diaper and a onesie).

T: Put clothes. Put clothes.

r: Take this shirt and these pants. They’re so pretty!

T: Peedy! Peedy!

r: Let Mama help (as I see her attempting to put her shirt on upside down).

T: Help! Help!

r: It’s a little big, so let’s roll up the sleeves.

T: Too big? Too big?

r: Yes, Tiny. Just a little too big.

T: Too big! Too big!

r: (once Tiny is all dressed) There you go!

T: Darwego! All done!

r: Yes, all done.

T: Peedy! Peedy!

r: Yes, you’re very pretty.

T: Mommy! Read book? Read book?

r: Okay, Tiny. Go get your book…