My mom and Dad found a cute little fairy costume for Eden and got it for her birthday. She has been so excited to don her fairy apparel ever since. Our plan for Alden was to just put him in a sweatsuit he has with ears on the hood, paint on a nose and whiskers and let people call him what they wished.

It all changed at D.I. (a thrift store). Our eyes met across a crowded clothing rack. IMusic filled my ears. A beam of light shone down on a dinosaur costume just Alden’s size and only $6.

Alden was thrilled to put on the costume, complete with little booties and a hat. When he walks the little tail happily wags along with his toddle.

Thus began costume envy. As soon as Alden went to take a nap his costume was snagged by his admiring sister and adorned for the next two days straight. She loves it and has decided she wants to be a dinosaur instead.

Alden likes to trot around telling us all about what he is doing. He is getting a lot better at communicating. There are fewer screams and squeals to direct our actions. He adopted his own sign for want… convenient that it is basically the same as the ASL sign. He is also very good and showing us how exciting something is for him. He goes around and says “Whoa!” or “Woo!” This happens a lot.

Elisa and I bought a playpen yesterday. It cost us $20,000. We thought we were buying a Toyota Sienna minivan. But the kids decided on their own that it was meant to be their playpen. Eden will ask, “Can you trap me in the new white car again?” They spent about a half hour in it yesterday and another half hour today. Alden stands in the driver’s seat so he can reach the wheel. Eden plays with the automatic doors a lot.