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

Matteo: The weekend before Halloween, we went to a fall festival with a giant pumpkin weighing contest and a kids costume contest.  You were very interested in the giant forklift contraption they used to move the heavy pumpkins onto the scale.  You wore your washing machine costume and nearly every person we passed commented on how fantastic you looked.  I felt like I was with a celebrity!  You got very quiet and I worried that you didn't like all the attention.  When I asked you about it later, you said you loved it.  I think you were very proud to be a washing machine.  You ended up winning the kids costume contest, too!  The prizes were a toy robot and a chocolate-dipped marshmallow from the local chocolate company.  It was a very exciting day!

Lilah: I made you a laundry basket costume to go with your brother's washing machine, but you really hated wearing it.  Plan B was "Little Miss Sunshine," which you preferred because it didn't restrict your movement.  You wore a sash that said "Little Miss" and I glued a felt sun onto your yellow dress.  We figured you still matched your brother, since the sun is kind of an eco-friendly dryer.  Plus, this costume really matches your sunny little personality.  Your favorite part of the Halloween festivities at the zoo was crawling around in the crunchy leaves on the grass.  You have been standing a lot and taking a few tentative steps at a time this week, but you still prefer to crawl on uneven surfaces.  It's very exciting that you are so close to being able to walk and keep up with brother (or maybe he'll be keeping up with you!)

P.S. Your brother is making funny noises to try to attract your attention in this photo.