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*A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2016*

Matteo: Your latest obsession hobby is doing laundry.  It started after visiting the washer and dryer section at Lowe's, where you really enjoyed opening and closing every model...twice.  Then, you started asking (every day) if we could go back--this time with a suitcase full of stuffed animals.  You were very happy to shift your stuffed animals around from washer to washer, opening and shutting the doors and pretending to watch them "wash" through the large round windows of the shiny new models.  You wanted to go so frequently that we started alternating between Lowe's and Home Depot to avoid raising any suspicion that we were not really in the market for a new washer or dryer.  This week you upped the ante after discovering the laundromat--a magical place beckoning to you from a faraway land (the other side of the highway).  This weekend, we let you wash the dog's bed in one of the industrial-sized washers after you told us you would rather spend the morning doing this than going to a children's festival at a local park (!)  You walked up and down the rows of machines over and over again, opening and closing anything that wasn't already in use.  The fine folks at the Lady Fair Laundromat mostly indulged you, remarking on what a "busy boy" you are and on how "you sure do like washing machines!"  Every day since you have been asking to go back to wash Una's bed again:  "Look, Mama, it's so dirty!  It needs a wash at the laundrymat!"

Lilah: Nine months old!  You still have two teeth and eating is definitely your favorite activity.  You have started to say "Yum" while eating something that you particularly enjoy, like watermelon or pasta.  You have also started to sit up on all fours, rocking back and forth to practice for crawling.  You smile so easily, which makes you a joy to be around.  You love watching your brother play and have started to interact with him a lot, grabbing at whatever toy he happens to be playing with at the time.  He loves to teach you new things: "Look, Lilah, this is how you open my washing mahine!" he'll say, as you watch him with an expression of great interest.  You sleep pretty well at night, as long as Mama is next to you.  You are usually happy when we take you someplace new, so it's fun to go on adventures as a family.  Your Papa started calling you Lulu Bug one day, and it caught on quickly, so this is your new nickname.  We love you so very much, little Lulu Bug.