After we’d returned home, Buba and Tiny were eager to help pass out candy to all the kids who came knocking on our door. They hurried to the door at the first sound that we had visitors, and carefully placed miniature chocolate bars into the open bags. At one point, Tiny stood before a trick-or-treater with a Butterfinger in her hands waiting patiently for the girl to request the treat. The girl just stood there waiting for Tiny to hand over the candy, but Tiny held firm as she announced, “You have to say ‘Trick-or-treat!’” While her bossiness can sometimes be a problem, I love that she wasn’t afraid to tell a big kid how it’s supposed to go.

Before starting our bedtime routine, T let the kids choose once piece from their plastic pumpkins. He offered M & Ms, Peanut Butter Cups, Crunch Bars, and straight up chocolate. So what did our two little monkeys choose? Raisins! Because for them, that was the perfect ending to their magical night.

Pumpkin carving was great fun once again. It’s still a lot of work for them to scoop out all the seeds and pulp, but they tried. We followed the same methods as last year. I drew shapes on a piece of paper and let Tiny and Buba choose which shapes they wanted for the eyes and nose of their jack-o’-lantern. They also got to decide how many teeth they wanted, as well as where in the mouth they should go. T and I did all the carving, but they stuck around to watch the magic unfold and were super excited to see their freshly carved pumpkins all aglow.

In the past, I’ve always chosen the outfits or costumes that Buba and Tiny would wear for Halloween, but this year, I asked the kids what they wanted to be. Tiny announced that she wanted to be a clown with no hesitation whatsoever. Buba chose to be a firefighter, but quickly changed his mind when he learned that Tiny would be a clown. At that point, he decided that he needed to be a clown too. Then, just before Halloween, he started telling everyone that he was going to be Frankenstein. But at that point, the costumes were already purchased. Fortunately, he didn’t seem too disappointed when I pulled out his clown costume for our town’s Halloween party on Saturday).

And just because it’s so much fun to see comparison photos (MandyE is the best at these kinds of posts), I pulled up photos from our previous Halloweens with Tiny and Buba.

7 months (2008)

19 months (2009)

2.5 years old (2010)

3.5 years old (2011)

Trick-or-treating was postponed until Saturday in our town due to all the down trees and power lines and numerous families still without power (we’re still on that list), but Buba and Tiny had a great time going door to door in Grammy and Grandpa’s neighborhood. We only visited six or seven houses (it’s more fun to visit our own neighbors), but it seemed to be all they needed, as they made no fuss about going back inside to help Grandpa give candy to those that visited his house. And while they were extremely excited to show Grammy all the treats they had collected, neither Tiny nor Buba made even one request to taste any of them.

I’ll admit that I was quite frustrated and disappointed to learn that we may continue to be without power for two more days. The news made me cranky, and I know I was short with the kids on more than one occasion as a result. But it’s hard to stay cranky when you’re walking around with two little clowns filled with the excitement of trick-or-treating on a crisp October night.

I tried to involve the kids as much as I could, and was pleasantly surprised by how interested and willing to participate they were. I took tips from Quadmama (here) and Sadia (here) and worked with both Tiny and Buba to draw up a plan for their pumpkins. They both had a choice of shapes for the eyes and nose (circle, triangle, square, rhombus, star) and each got to determine the number of teeth in their jack-o’-lantern’s smile.

Scooping out the pumpkin guts was actually pretty challenging. I should have cut the top holes larger, but once they were done, it didn’t seem there was any way I could fix that problem. Fortunately, both Buba and Tiny were happy to turn that job over to me and had a lot of fun playing with the seeds and goop while I labored away. The carving wasn’t too difficult, though I did have some trouble with the star nose on Buba’s pumpkin. Still, I think they turned out very nicely. Tiny and Buba were both quite pleased with their glowing jack-o’-lanterns, and for me, that’s all that really matters.

Buba’s pumpkin (left), Tiny’s pumpkin (right)

The last three months have gone by so quickly. It seems we’ve fallen into a nice groove, and our days flow by rather smoothly. Each day is much the same as the one before, but also very different, because you both are learning and growing so much every day.

At the 18 month well visit, you both measured 31 inches tall. Tiny weighed in at 18 pounds, 11 ounces, and Buba weighed 20 pounds, 14 ounces. The pediatrician’s only concern was about Buba’s head size. It seems Buba’s head circumference had not grown since the 15 month check up, and the doctor wrote up orders for us to have his head x-rayed at Children’s Hospital to be sure the head bones were still capable of growing. Of course, everything came back a-okay, but having your head x-rayed was not at all a positive experience. So, we took you out to lunch at Friendly’s to try to make up for it. You gobbled up the hot dog and orange slices we ordered for you and still had room for black raspberry ice cream at the end.

Several days later, you both came down with your first stomach bugs. Buba was the first, and Tiny followed just one day later. For a week, I tried to shower you with TLC while trying desperately to get you to drink the Pedialyte. These were not fun days, but you both handled yourselves very well, and even managed to appear in very good spirits between bouts of sickness. Although we couldn’t get out and about in our usual fashion, you enjoyed walks around the neighborhood and playing in the front yard.

On the more typical days, we try to get out for at least one field trip. Some days, we go to the library for storytime,  to the local playground, or to a friend’s house for a playdate, but often we just run errands. You know many of the day employees at Stop and Shop, Ace Hardware, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Target, the bank, and the post office. You say hi and bye and smile and play peekaboo, and you love all the attention you get while we shop.

At home, you play and laugh together (although there are plenty of moments when you don’t get along), and I love to watch you spin yourselves dizzy. You like to wear hats and stand up on your riding toys, even though it’s not allowed. And you both love to walk around the house wearing various objects – an empty book box, one of Mommy’s old slippers, your trick-or-treat bag- on one foot. You are very active, as most toddlers are, but you also enjoy sitting down with your ever growing collection of books.

This fall we enjoyed many new activities with you. We had lots of fun apple picking and eating apples as we went along. You loved the juicy honeycrips we picked, as well as the cider donuts we bought before going home. The following weekend, we picked pumpkins, and you both had a great time carrying the little ones around. But the best part seemed to be watching the tractor plow the field. You both yelled, “Tractor! Tractor!” as it went up and down the field.

Then came Halloween- your first one going out in costumes. The costumes I bought at the twin sale were quite big, but we made them work. You wore them to a party at the senior center and for trick-or-treating in the center of a neighboring town and around our neighborhood. You had so much fun collecting candy in your bags, and everyone thought you were so cute.

Tiny, you know all the routines in our day and are quick to let me know if I forget to do something or change how something is done. You watch everything we do, and want to do as much as possible on your own. In the morning, you wait by the dresser as I pick out your clothes, and quickly snatch them from me while running off to try to dress yourself. Sometimes you come very close to getting your shirt on properly. You insist on wiping your own tears and runny nose, crying “titu (tissue)!” until we get one for you. You seem to learn new words and signs every day, and love to repeat words and phrases you hear us use frequently. You are headstrong, independent, and you want to do what you want to do. But you are good at following directions, especially when we are out in public. Buba can get away with nothing under your watchful eyes. I hear your piercing screech or loud “no-no-no” if he even thinks of doing something naughty. But when he is sad, you are so very comforting, bringing him his stuffed koala and giving him kisses to make him feel better. You show great affection for Monkey, Panda, Meow (a gray cat) and Cookie (a mouse wearing red overalls), and love to sit them down so you can read to them.

Buba, you are so loving and playful. When we go out to a storytime or playgroup, you think nothing about plopping yourself down in another mom’s lap or tilting your sweet little face up to give a kiss on the cheek. At home you love to hide behind your crib or under the kitchen table and call “Mommy!” repeatedly until I come and find you. When I ask you to come to me so I can put on your jacket or put you in your high chair, you turn and run in the opposite direction and laugh and laugh as I run after you. At 15 months, you spoke fewer than three words, but now your vocabulary is so extensive that I’ve lost count. When you say something that you find funny, real (bye-bye Poofty (Poofty being our cat Pokey)) or nonsense (ma-ma-ma mu-mo), you say it over and over, giggling in between. For a long time, you were more than willing to give into Tiny’s demands for toys in your possession. But now you are more assertive, standing your ground and holding on tightly. You are even so bold as to try to take toys from Tiny! You are getting better about playing with other kids, but still love to go off into a corner to play with the wire and bead toy or sit with a stack of books. You enjoy kisses and cuddles from Quack Quack (the big yellow duck), Meow (the cat), and Koala. And you especially love playing with “baby bida (baby spider)” who sings the ABC’s while you dance.

It is so much fun to see what loving, smart, funny kids you are becoming. Your laughter and smiles warm my heart, and I am so proud to be your mother.

Love you!

Mommy