Note From Nannie and Pawpaw Hodge

Papaw and Gramma

 Rodney's mother lost her battle with breast cancer about 8 years ago. It is heartbreaking that she was not able to meet Emma and Ethan in person, but I believe she is with us. She sees them. She loves them. There are moments when I am holding the babies that I can honestly feel her presence and I know that she is smiling. This may sound a little far-fetched, but when they were infants, there were even moments that I could swear the babies might even have seen her spirit standing there.

I show them her picture in the hallway and tell them, "That's your grandma, Nancy," and they repeat me. From the rocking chair in their room, they can see the picture down the hall, and on a few occasions when I've been rocking them at night, Emma has looked down the hall and said, "Grandma." It makes me happy.

I know that she's proud of the man her son has become, and I know that she is happy that her parents are able to spend so much time with her twin grandbabies. I also know that she approves of her husband's progress in his life as well, and that she smiles on the partnership he has found in his new wife, Janis. She is in a place where there is no jealousy and no bitterness. She is in a place where there is only love. The kids call Janis "Gramma." Janis loves them very much. We all love her too. She didn't have children herself, so I know it must bring her special joy to be called Gramma and to watch them grow.

They live out of town so we don't get to see them very often, but when we do, we enjoy ourselves so much. We always have so much to catch up on. They live on a beautiful piece of property by the lake about an hour and a half away. The kids enjoy exploring all over the place. This summer they loved walking through the vegetable garden and digging in the dirt for potatoes with their dad and their Papaw.

Emma is very affectionate with her Papaw and it amazes me. She is very selective with her affection and she doesn't get to see him that much. He must have that special Papaw Magic. Maybe it is because he turns his attention towards them for most of the time that they are together. He speaks in a loving tone and tells them that they're Papaw's babies.

On our most recent visit, Gramma let Emma play with some old colorful glasses with the lenses popped out, and she thought it was the greatest thing ever. Mommy never lets her play with her glasses. She even let her play with some pretty, old watches. Emma walked around the living room like a queen with her glasses that fit her face surprisingly well, and her arms bent out in front of her, so as not to drop her bracelets. Papaw said she looked sophisticated and I said she looked like she had freshly painted fingernails and didn't want to mess them up.

Papaw let Ethan play with all of his duck calls. He showed them how they all sound and Ethan said, "Loud sound!" and "Loud sound again!"  Then he hung them all on Ethan's neck. He was so excited! But he just couldn't seem to make a loud sound himself. His wind pipe wasn't strong enough to make the duck calls work. We kept trying to tell him to take a deep breath and really puff! Finally, he was able to and he didn't stop for a long time. "Loud sound again!" Papaw even gave him a very special duck call, one that his dad had given him. Now, when we're at home, Ethan wants his special duck call all the time and makes plenty of loud sounds whenever he wants.

After we played inside and ate a big Thanksgiving dinner, we all went on a walk through the yard by the garden plot and out past the shed.

When Papaw sat down at the picnic table for a rest, Ethan took him by the hand and pulled him, pushed at his body, telling him to "get up." Papaw let himself be led by the tiny child on another walk. For some reason, Ethan kept stopping to scratch his back on the trees, much like a bear does. Emma followed along and started scratching on the trees too. Then, Papaw even scratched his back on the tree! It looked like Emma and Ethan were trying to teach Papaw the ways of the wilderness, The Three Bears. I wonder where they learned that!

After their walk, Ethan wanted Papaw to sit in the swing and let him run back and forth into his arms and back to Momma. Then, he gave his papaw a walnut from the ground, a reward for his good behavior. "Did you get a gift?" yelled Gramma from the picnic table.

Papaw smiled, nodded his head, held up two fingers and said, "Two."

Mimi's Story: "A Weekend with the Garland Twins"

This post is written by MaryGail Nelson:

A Week-end at Mimi’s and Pappy’s House

The twins have come to stay at Mimi’s and Pappy's for the weekend. They are two years old and we are always excited to see them. Their first order of business upon arrival is to take care of the spice cabinet. Ethan and Emma do not feel that I have that cabinet organized correctly. The reason I know this is because they roll that cabinet open first thing each time they visit and "shake, shake, shake" each spice and then proceed to put each container in another spot, usually not in the spice cabinet. I have found spices in the drawers with the pots and pans, in the living room, on the counter tops, in the toy box, etc. On this particular visit Ethan grabbed the pepper shaker when my back was turned and took it to the living room table and proceeded to "shake, shake, shake" it everywhere. I didn't discover the problem until Emma came up to me with pepper in her mouth. She had her hands in her mouth and was trying her best to get the pepper out. She wasn't crying but she was very uncomfortable. I gave her milk in her sippy cup and then a drink from Pappy's iced tea but that wasn't working. What really worked after I wiped as much as I could off of her face and tongue was a piece of ice. That worked. She loved it. Note: Never turn your back on a two year old!

Generally we explore the toy areas in the house. One area is in their bedroom and the other is in Mimi’s and Pappy's bedroom in cabinets under a window seat. That one was just recently discovered. It is the cabinet where some of Kacie's and Karli's toys are. Wow, Kacie and Karli have great stuff. Binoculars (pronounced neck- u-lars by Ethan), a camera (Emma always says "say cheese" when she plays with a camera) and balls, and books, and ELMO! and a big blue bat, and birthday hats! The "birt-day hats" were identified by Ethan and he gave each of us one. Pappy and I both put ours on and wore them even though they are not really birthday hats. They are safety cones that belonged to Lee Ann when she was a safety patrol in grade school. Yes we grandparents revert to a couple of silly-willies quite often when the twins come to visit. I think we have more fun than they do.
I asked the twins if they wanted to go outside. "Okay" . The twins don't answer with a yes or no. Well, yes they do if the answer is no. They like to say no. But if the answer is yes they say "okay". Going outside at Mimi's and Pappy's is lots of fun. There are chickens (bwauk) and cows (moo) and cats (meow) and a dog (woof, woof). When identifying animals one is required to make the sound that the animal makes. It's an Ethan and Emma rule. Anyway, before we went outside Ethan got a net sock from the kitchen. It was netting that tomatoes came in at the grocery store. I put it on his head like a stocking cap but he insisted on pulling it over his face like a bandit. He wore it while we played outside. He was very comfortable in it as it was a perfect fit. He had no qualms about meeting the neighbors and saying hello with his mask on. All activities outside on that occasion were played with his mask on. I wish I had taken a picture of it. He was so cute.

One of the places we like to play is in the cypress trees north of the house. We have a game we play in the trees. They run through them and hide behind them and I say "Ethan, Emma where are you?" and they appear through the trees with big grins on their faces and they squeal with delight. "There you are!" I say. Emma is especially fond of hiding. She moves into a bushy tree with her back to me and says "Where's Emma"? And then she happily squeals again as she turns around to see me. All the while she is quite visible to me. As far as Emma is concerned if she is in the bushes and she can't see me, she's well hidden.

Another place to play is what we refer to as the 'tee box' in the back yard. There are steep little hills on each side of the tee box that Ethan and Emma love to run up and down . They laugh and run and don't seem to mind if they lose their balance and fall. They just hop right up and do it again. Ethan discovered some droppings that Hank the dog had left at the bottom of one of the hills. He carefully inspected it and pointed to it and said "Poo-poo....Poo-poo nasty" . He says this quite often at his own house too when he spies Daisy's poo-poo. Very observant and smart young man. He steers clear of poo-poo.

When we get back into the house the twins get into high chairs for a quick bite. They like to have their chairs facing the TV so they can watch Sesame Street as they eat. Ethan allowed me to remove his bandit mask in order to eat thank goodness. I hid it after that so he wouldn't want to wear it the entire weekend. After cleaning their faces and hands and getting them down they began 'free play' again. Ethan likes to go in circles. He goes through Mimi's and Pappy's bedroom, through the closet, through the laundry room and kitchen over and over. He has his little football in his hands. Emma begins to follow him but somehow takes a shortcut into Pappy's bathroom unbeknownst to Mimi for a minute or two. When I go looking for her I find her in the bathroom with her back to me with some Kleenex in her hand. "What are you doing?" I say when I see her. She jerks around and has a quick little "oh-oh she's caught me" kind of look and drops the Kleenex and runs to me. Of course she gets a big kiss from me. Didn't see until later that she was pulling all of the Kleenex out of the box and stashing it behind the cabinet. Those little looks are so special to me and I left the Kleenex where it was for a few days so it would remind me of her sweet sheepish little mischievous face. How fascinating a Kleenex box is to a little two year old. It continually keeps popping up another Kleenex for you to pull out. The feel of it and the sound of it are just too much for Emma to ignore! What a precious child.

Now it's time to go to sleep. Since they haven't really had a nap it wasn't difficult getting them down. We brushed teeth and watched "The Princess and the Frog" Disney movie. Emma fell asleep on me as we watched. Ethan was concerned with the villain in the show. "That's scary" he said. He did like the music in the show and paid particular attention to it. I picked up Emma and put her in the crib in their bedroom. Ethan followed but turned around and went back into the living room with his Pappy not sure yet that he wanted to go to bed. Then he came back into the room and I lifted him into the crib as well. They may have whimpered just a bit but Emma crawled up toward Ethan and wrapped her arm around him and they went to sleep. They are precious little angels and slept all through the night.


Ethan and Emma, your Pappy and Mimi love you dearly. It is such a joy to take care of you. You will both grow into gentle souls just as your parents have. I hope that you both have a chance to be grandparents because then you will realize what a special thing it is.

Merge of the Meals

I think I'm over my Feeding Disorder. I feel myself stressing less over it. I still prepare Baby Bullet recipes for during the day while we're at work or when we don't eat together, but we have been eating a lot of our meals together now. I've also chilled out about their diet. It is important to me for them to eat healthy food and to eat a variety of things, but I also let them have the good "kid food" now and then too, like corn dogs, chicken nuggets and pizza. I'm happy to loosen up a bit. On Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays, Rodney is home from work so we eat at least one meal as a family if not all three. On Wednesdays, and Thursdays, he gets home in time to eat dinner with us. So I've been making meals for all of us to share. We also got rid of our coffee table and our habit of eating in the living room. It feels really good. I feel a little like Super Woman when I have dinner ready for him when he gets home after I have been at work myself. Sitting down at the kitchen table as a family is something I want to continue. It's amazing how that setting change and a little flexibility has made my heart feel. It's nice to eat the same thing for a change. I feel like we are more in sync as a family. At Thanksgiving, I couldn't stop smiling while watching my kids eat in big people chairs with big people silverware by their little bitty selves.

Along with these minor changes, Rodney and I have been changing in our own separate ways for the betterment of our family. 

First, I went on a mission to silence my brutally self-critical inner voice by speaking to a counselor and my general practitioner. I'm so glad I did because I feel so much better. I feel happier, more able to enjoy my family, and less focused on my mistakes and weaknesses. I think it's been a gift to all of us.

And Rodney decided that it's time to get healthy. He's been toying with the idea for a while now... planting a vegetable garden for the last two years, introducing me to more veggies like eggplant and squash, making me see that veggies aren't just for babies, haha! In the last few months, he has totally changed his lifestyle and I am so proud of him. I can really tell that he is entering a new chapter of his life and becoming more of who he is and who he will be.

I have a limited list of what I can cook and what I like, and none of it is super healthy. I'm not the greatest cook. I'm really good at steaming veggies now though, thanks to the kids, hehe.... I guess I should've been paying more attention when my mother was in the kitchen. I have burned my share of meals, but usually they turn out okay. Most of the time, as I'm eating what I cooked, I'm thinking that it's not as good as it should be. It's not terrible, but it always needs more of something or less of something. I miss the mark, over-correct. Bleh.... I'm learning to let it go and just do my best. 

Rodney has been watching a lot of competitive cooking shows. I've been watching with him some. But the shows seem to have inspired his inner chef. He's decided that he will cook more of our meals which really takes a lot of weight off of my shoulders, and I have decided that I will try my best to eat whatever he makes and not make an alternative meal for any of us no matter what he cooks. That's a big step for me because I have always been a picky eater.

One Sunday afternoon when the kids and I came home from church, he had made us a lovely shrimp lunch. I was hungry, but I knew I couldn't eat it. It was too much for me too soon. Sea food is like level 50 for me. Baby steps. I did take one bite of one shrimp, but I couldn't make myself keep eating it. It tasted fine; I just don't like the texture or the smell of shrimp. I can't get past it. I ate the broccoli and heated up some left over spaghetti. I could tell that he had worked hard and he was disappointed. I hope he doesn't make shrimp again because I told myself that next time I will woman up. I'll just try to think pretty thoughts. Or maybe a few whiskey shots would make it easier. ;) Other than the shrimp, he's been feeding us very well. We're eating a lot more vegetables and fish, less salt, less pork, and less fat. I feel so happy about that. Go, Rodney. He's inspiring me to finally take that step into the right eating direction. He's taking me by the hand and making my eating dream come true. 

             My Fathers Day Painting, "Leader, Provider"

Song Birds

My mom told me once that one of the sweetest things about babies becoming toddlers is when they start singing. It was hard for me to imagine my babies being toddlers.

Before they were talking, songs were the main thing that really got their attention. So, I sang pretty much everything I said to them. I loved the look on their faces and having their full attention.  One song I sang a lot was "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." They loved it, especially Ethan. He learned those first three words fairly quickly and I loved hearing him sing! He really bobbed his head with it, too. He started singing it all the time.  When we were in line at the grocery store, a cashier heard him and knew right what he was singing. "Row, row, row," he sang, and she smiled very big and completed the lyric for him which he loved.
One time, he even tried to sing the high pitched part: "meh, meh, meh, meh!"
"Good job, Brother! Life is but a dream!"

I think the first time I heard Emma sing was during a commercial that featured a part of a song by a very cute child prodigy opera singer named Jackie Evancho. Emma and Ethan were both immediately captivated by her song. They both stopped what they were doing and stared at the little angelic girl on the screen. When the singing stopped, Ethan went back to his playing, but Emma turned to me and did her very best impression of what she had heard: "Ahhhhhhhhh...." It was the absolute sweetest thing ever.

Now that they understand what I'm saying, I talk more and sing less.  But they do love when I sing songs with motions, like "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes."  Emma especially likes "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." I just love her little singing voice. She raises her eyebrows and tilts her head back just a little. She is very good at remembering long speech patterns, but hasn't got all of the words down. She hits enough of the right rhythm and sounds for me to recognize where she is in the song. I hear, "Itsy bitsy spi'er...mamama...spout." And her little spider motion is such a cute little finger jumble.


They both love when I draw pictures on their Magna-doodle. It's like toddler flash cards. They love learning right now. I hope it stays that way. They are great at naming whatever simple shape, letter, or object I draw. The other day when I drew a star, Emma smiled and surprised me with a new song: "Twinkle, twinkle nee nee star, o-wa wona uhh are/ upa buh...high...." That little Emma is such a little sweetie. Mimi must have taught that to her because I have never sung it for her. It was the most beautiful rendition I've ever heard. She almost has the entire song memorized. It made me so proud. My little songbird.


 Emma is more of a singer than Ethan is. He loves music, but he's more of a dancer. He talks more than Emma does. He talks and talks all day. He'd make a better rapper than singer, I bet. There is one Sesame Street song he and Emma sing all the time that sounds like more of a rap: "I  Wanna Rock!" It's about a rock band made out of rocks. Emma loves singing. She sings all day, song after song that she knows from Sesame Street: "Preschool, preschool, preschool..." (Preschool Musical) and then she goes right into her favorite commercial: "Nigh-nigh-nigh-sah-sah-sah-seh-fee!" (National American University). She and Ethan both loved the song from "Signing Time" that says, "Try, try, try...to tell me what you're feelin' inside, side, side," and they would sing it randomly from time to time.  It was so sweet. I haven't heard that one in a while. In the mornings through the monitor, I have often heard, "Ee-I-Ee-I-Oh... and a moo-moo-moo, and a moo-moo-moo." It puts a smile on my face before I even get out of bed.

I have always loved singing too. When I was little, I would make up my own songs when I was by myself about my dog or whatever I was doing at the moment. I don't have much of a talent for singing, but it has always been something I do. I have a song in my heart, and Emma does too.

Baby Graces

Somehow, Emma and Ethan have picked up on some social graces. I have to take credit for a few of them, but some must have been learned from watching others or maybe from their television shows. I always say, "Good morning," when I come in to their room in the mornings. Occasionally, I get one back from Emma: "GUH-mornin'." They don't always respond to greetings, but I know they hear me and they are internalizing everything. I want them to speak right up when people address them or greet them, so I usually speak both parts. I want them to hear the rhythm of conversation, know that it is a responsive thing, sort of like playing catch. But I think I may just be confusing things. They say, "Thank you! A weckum!" together too. Or, if they hand me something, they say, "Thank you!" or "a-weckum" when I hand them something. But at least they are trying. I appreciate the gesture.

A few months ago, we were sitting in the pew at church and when Ethan was greeted with a friendly hello by one of the older men, he said without hesitation, "Good morning!" His voice was so strong and happy and genuine. I got that feeling in my chest like when I'm on a roller coaster because I was so proud. Another time in church, when the preacher greeted the congregation, Emma peered over the back of the pew in front of her and shouted right out, "Hi!" It burned my eyes with happiness to see her so confidently and happily responding. They both usually clap and say, "Yay!" when the choir finishes a hymn, and I think they really appreciate it. The director even patted them on the head as he passed one time.

At home, like many toddlers, they love to say, "Bye! See ya later!" and pretend they are leaving into the closet, and then say, "Hi!" when they return. That goes on and on and I'm always sure to respond very enthusiastically every single time.

A few weeks ago, during one of their baths, Ethan started greeting the turtle toy holder that is mounted on the shower wall. "Hi, turtle. Hi, turtle. Hi, turtle. Uma MEE-choo!" I was amazed. Where did he hear that? I know I've said it, of course, when I meet new people, but never purposefully in front of them, never in play, and definitely not to the bath tub turtle. Emma didn't want to be rude, so she then greeted the frog spout protector: "Hi, frog! Ehh-MU-choo!" What very polite children!

Ethan has always liked to push things in a circle around our living room (See Rocking Horse Whiner), but now, instead of getting angry when something is in his way, he politely says, "Smee-smee, table," or "Smee-smee, Momma." I love it! And if Emma should overhear you rudely burp or pass gas, she smiles and says, "Smee-smee!" She won't let you forget your manners.

Most toddlers learn the word "mine!" very early. I am proud to say that my children do not know that word. I am glad that I don't have to hear the relentless "mine-mine-mine!" every time another person picks up a toy or something they like. Being twins has excluded that word from their vocabulary. Although they definitely don't like to share, they have learned that they have to take turns. So, the word we hear SHOUTED when a toy is rudely snatched is:

"TURN!"

Kissy Face

I know all siblings love each other. I love my sister so much and she loves me. When we were kids, she loved to kiss my chubby cheeks. I thought she was the coolest kid ever to live. There is no love like a sibling's. They are your first true friend. But I still think there's something extra special about the relationship of twins. They live every moment and every milestone of their lives with each other, through each other, for each other, and despite each other. They know no solitude. It's almost like the space between them does not exist. They are bonded by invisible threads of energy and love. They must share everything they have from day one. Every single toy is dually owned from the start. Every birthday is shared; their room is shared; their bed is shared; their food is shared; their drinks are shared, and every cold is shared. Neither has had a single moment as an only child. They know no seniority or rivalry (yet). I hope being boy/girl will spare them some of the rivalry that many same-sex twins feel.

They are sad when the other is sad. Ethan has a tendency of impatience when it comes to food. I put the baby gate up so they won't be in the way or be hurt while I'm preparing meals. Ethan just stands there and cries or repeats over and over the name of the particular item he is craving. One time Emma came up to Ethan as he stood there leaning over the gate, crying like a starving child, and she put her hand on his back and patted him gently, saying, "I so sorry, Athan." She leaned her head toward his head and I could tell that she truly meant it. Ethan looked appreciative of her empathy and slowed down his crying for a full hug. If Emma is crying, Ethan has been known to repeat his mother's often used phrase, "Poor baby!" or "Don't cry, Emma." They even say these things to themselves. Emma sometimes tells herself through mopey tears, "It's okay. It's alright." Sometimes they can tune the crying sibling out, but many times, the look of despair on the other's face inspires despair in the other. "Emma's sad...." They wish they could join each other in "time-out." I shut the door, and say, "Brother is in time-out." She wails out in sympathy.

They are happy when the other is happy. If Daddy is playing with Ethan, and Ethan is laughing happily, Emma laughs happily too. She watches with a big smile on her face. Without rushing over to get in on the fun, she enjoys her brother's joy just as much as her own. Ethan tells Emma that she looks "so pretty" when she puts on her church clothes or when she wears a bow or a headband. When I am playing with Emma, Ethan thinks it is so funny. He wants to help make her laugh and say, "boop!" as he touches her on the nose just like Momma. And if he does it a little too hard, Emma still appreciates his effort. If Ethan is laying on his back and Emma wants to give him a kiss, she just leans down and gives him one, right on the lips. She might lean all of her weight right on his belly with her hands, but Ethan just grunts through the discomfort and puckers up. And they both say, "Ohhh, so sweet," just like Momma.

They kiss each other right on the lips, and some might think this should be corrected. I think it's sweet. They're only 2. It is most likely a learned behavior. Mommy and Daddy kiss on the lips, and Mommy kisses her babies on the lips. In my family, we did not kiss on the lips. We only kissed on the cheek. Rodney's too. I knew some friends who kissed their mothers on the lips, and I found it a little strange. I knew it wasn't inappropriate or sexual, but I thought kissing on the lips was reserved for mommies and daddies. But then my babies were born, and they had the prettiest lips. I just wanted to kiss their little mouths. So I did. And it was the sweetest little kissy in the world. I love kissing them all over their faces: their chins, their noses, their foreheads, their cheeks, their necks and their ears. I could cover them with kisses all day every day. I do try to restrain myself. Having such an affectionate mother could be the reason for their outward display of affection for one another. Or it could just be a very close bond and a natural, instinctive behavior between twins.  I don't like the idea of correcting their love for each other or telling them that they should not kiss on the mouth because it may make other people uncomfortable. I have noticed, however, that when another child comes around, Emma and Ethan think it's perfectly acceptable to kiss the other child on the mouth. The other child protests and pushes them away. So I do think some boundaries should be discussed and enforced. I don't want my kids to be socially awkward, or make other children and parents uncomfortable, or spread germs more than is usually normal.

But...if my children and I are to blame for too many kisses, if that is our most offensive fault, then...well,

kiss off! ;)

"Roses are Red; Violets are Blue..."

I painted my toenails for the first time in a while and the kids noticed it right away. Ethan said, "Awesome, dude," and Emma said, "Pretty! Pink! Red!" Emma kept pointing it out every day, kneeling down and touching my toes. I could see that the time had come for her to have her own nails painted. I wondered what I would do for Ethan. I haven't been around little boys much, so I wasn't sure. It seems like all of the decorative accessories are for girls. Girls have dresses, bows, headbands, ponytails, nail polish, make-up, jewelry, purses, glitter.... What is there for boys to make them feel special? I called out for suggestions on my Facebook page and the answer was made immediately clear: a stick-on tattoo! That's perfect! Other suggestions were made too, like colored hair gel, a hat, a tool belt, and even a bb gun! Ha ha! I guess there are some things for boys. The only one that really struck me as equal and appropriate for this situation was the tattoo. I was so happy because I could finally get excited about painting Emma's nails without feeling guilt over leaving Ethan out of the fun. I was excited for his first pretend tattoo!

Some people suggested that I go ahead and paint Ethan's nails too, but I just couldn't feel good about that plan. It's not that I thought it would affect him at all. I'm not afraid of the choices they will make later or how they will respond to society's gender roles. As long as my children are following their hearts and trying to do what's right, I will always support them.

I have spent some time thinking about the difference it would make if I'd had only a boy or only a girl. Would I have painted his nails? No. Would I have given her a stick-on tattoo? Probably not. I don't want the fact that they are boy/girl twins to change the way I interact with them separately. I've said before that I want to validate and respect their differences. I don't want to perpetuate sexist stereotypes, but I want to be fair to their genders. I don't want to try to strip them of gender in the name of modern political correctness, as if that were even possible. I want to show Emma that it's fun to be girly and feel pretty just like any other girl. I want to show Ethan that it's cool to be a boy and feel tough and handsome just like any other boy. I want to celebrate my girl in all of her girl-ness and celebrate my boy in all of his boy-ness!

Rodney had gone to his friend Jason's house to watch the OU game and I decided to invite my friend Necole over and have some fun showing the kids their first body art. Emma, the little lady, was first. I spread my painter's cloth down on the table and prepared for a messy experience. To my surprise, she held her hand very still and watched very closely as I painted her right hand. When that hand was done, I blew on her tiny nails and said, "Pretty! I love it! Don't touch it, Emma." And she didn't. She let me blow her nails dry and then sat still for the other hand. Ethan took over for me in saying, "Pretty! I love it! Don't touch it, Emma." Necole painted her nails, too, and Ethan said, "Don't touch it, Necole." He is such a sweet little man, trying to be a leader, giving instruction and complimenting the girls. We stuck tiny OU stickers on her ring finger nails to show support for her daddy's favorite football team. Emma loved her pretty nails and couldn't take her eyes off of them. "Pretty! Red!"

Then the time came for Ethan. Necole helped me step up the energy by telling Ethan, "You're gonna be a man tonight!" He kept repeating, "I'm a man!" It was so funny. The kids and I just love her because she knows how to make them feel special, speak to them on their level and be enthusiastic and fun. She helped me decide which of the tattoos he should have and where to put it. I loved her suggestion of the armband! I wet a wash cloth and she cut out the tattoo. Necole also has a little boy and has done this many times before, so I let her place it on his arm, and we wrapped it in the wet wash cloth. He was alarmed by the coldness and tried to pull away. We started counting together and he liked that. He calmed down and smiled as we counted until Necole thought it had been long enough. We pulled the cloth and the paper away and there was the most perfect OU armband tattoo. He was scared to see the bright red on his arm and cried out at first in panic. I kept reassuring him that it was "awesome, dude," and "just a sticker," like the ones he loves to stick on his hand. He quickly came around and agreed that it was in fact "awesome, dude" and "so cool, man!"

Hunkin Halloween!

I didn't decorate the house for Halloween this year. Again. October comes and goes so quickly! I love celebrating traditions and participating in holiday fun. I don't know why I don't do more around the house. I know the kids would love it. You'd think because I have an October birthday that I'd have tons of Halloween decor. Not one piece. Shame! The babies were supposed to have an October birthday, too, if I'd carried them full-term. Their original due date was on my birthday, October 14th. That would've been neat. For my birthday this year, my mom brought me a Halloween decoration to help me get into the spirit, a pumpkin with a stand. It is the cutest pumpkin stand ever. It looks like a spider. As soon as she came in with it, Ethan yelled out in excitement, "Hunkin! Awesome, dude!" And Emma pointed out, "Spi'er!" She's really into the song, "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." She loves when I sing it with the hand motions, and she does her best to follow along. The pumpkin-spider is our only Halloween decoration. I promise to do better next year.

On the day before Halloween, we went to a Fall Festival at Connors, where I work. The twins made their first appearance in their costumes: a blue Crayola and a pink Crayola. My mom thought of the costumes this year. We thought it was a cute idea. We ordered them online from Amazon. They were super cute and the kids loved wearing them! They had little pointed hats that I worried would be a bother to them, but they loved them! If they fell off, it concerned them and they wanted them back on. When they first saw the other in costume, they laughed, and they reached out to touch each other's hat. "Color! Hat!" They recognized them right away from their own crayon boxes that they love making pretty pictures with. They cried when I took the costumes off. After the festival, we went to a church carnival with two of our favorite friends, Necole and her son, Colton. They had a section of games especially for small children and it was perfect for them! They threw a squishy, sea urchin ball through a hole in a cardboard fishy drawing, dropped a penny in a jar of water onto a small platform and even shot some basketball hoops for prizes and candy.

"Candy!!"

The babies get to eat candy and chocolate this year! Last year, I was afraid to let them have too much sugar and "No chocolate until they are two," said The Baby Bullet recipe book. I only let them have a few dum-dums and I was so uptight about them getting messy (See Costume Control). This year, we are going real trick-or-treating, and bring on the candy! Mommy, chill out. They're big and messy 2 year olds now!

On Halloween, the weather was perfect! The babies...excuse me--kids--made the rounds to see family early and then came home for some corn dogs before the big event. When their dad came home, we headed out into the neighborhood to collect desert.

We held their hands as we walked down the street. They loved seeing all of the Halloween decor from the big inflatables to the jack-o-lanterns, and one house even had a bubble machine. Emma danced and danced in the bubbles and Ethan looked on in amazement.

There was one house that had a big, tall mummy on the porch with eyes that lit up and looked around. He had an evil laugh and said something scary that I couldn't make out. The kids just stared at it. I think they thought it was a real man. Ethan was scared and wanted his dad to hold him. Emma said, "Hi!"

They were too shy to say, "Trick-or-treat!" but they would say, "Thank you" once in a while. Mom and Dad had to say their speaking parts for them, but I'm sure they'll catch on for next year. They gladly accepted the candy and dropped it in their plastic buckets. After the mummy house, Ethan went on repeating, "Scary man, scary man," for the rest of the night. Emma happily greeted every one she saw. They were complimented over and over on their Crayola costumes. One group even remembered them from the night before at the carnival.

When we got home, we poured the candy into the floor and let the babies help us examine it. They ate chocolate candy bars, Sour Patch Kids gummies, and suckers galore! I was a little worried that they may have a reaction to that much sugar, but I restrained myself from the uptight worries of last year.

I could definitely tell the sugar was flowing through their veins. They were running around and laughing like crazy, and then the next minute they were having meltdowns.

"Time to brush your teeth!" I said, and they followed me into the bathroom like they do every night. We brushed for an extra minute or two that night. The trick-or-treat-first-timers went to bed with candy on the brain. And when their eyes popped open in the dim morning light, it was the first word on their lips:

"CANDY!"