Matching Tracksuits

In an old zoo in Greenville that was covered with vines
Weaved hundreds of children in one very long line;

The smartest, cutest, and funniest was Madeline.

She was not afraid of the candy-sharing workers of the zoo,

And to the snake behind the glass, she just said “Poo poo!”

“Poo poo” to the lion, too.

The animals in the cages had all gone to sleep,

And it almost made poor little Madeline weep,

But the thought of more treats made her pick up her feet.

She posed for pictures with pumpkins and hay,

But in the end, she was glad to call it a day.

In the parking lot, “Watch out for the cars” was almost all she could say.

Having a child makes it obvious why there are yearly rituals in all cultures. They measure time and serve as a standard for growth and progress.

A year ago, L was small enough to hide behind a pumpkin.

She was considerably bigger this time around, and more independent. Getting her to go here or there and do this or that was much more difficult. She had her own session photos in mind and was not really thrilled to cooperate with photographer or assistant — even when we switched roles.

And her imagination has developed, not to mention linguistic skills.

“Tata! It’s a dragon!” she cried on finding a bright gourd.

Yet, she still can be surprised when the tables are turned and another gourd counterattacks.

We battled for a little, with each Dragon Gourd showing a propensity to tickling its victim.

The tractor was just as fascinating this year as last year, but this year, she could pedal. Then again, in the intervening months, the chain had broken, so L’s efforts didn’t result in much more than a bit of confusion.

There’s something about a field of pumpkins that inspire people to bring their children for pictures. The contrast? The obviously seasonal motif?

L came up with her own poses this year. The set involved as many small pumpkins as could possibly be gathered.

The session was not to be, though. L saw the scarecrow, and with a little gentle suggestion from K, we managed a shot that more accurately shows L’s personality: playful, silly, always looking for a surprise.

What will next year bring?

Perhaps a third photographer?

We took the Girl trick-or-treating this weekend. We’d been preparing for a couple of weeks, for L was initially not thrilled with the idea of wearing a Pooh Bear suit, although Pooh is one of her favorite characters. Little by little, evening by evening, we convinced her, though (with a lot of modeling from K), and we slipped on the costume early Friday evening and began our short adventure.

First stop: our neighbor.

Despite our best efforts, though, getting L to say “Trick or treat!” proved to be more difficult than we’d anticipated. We suggested “Treat!” alone, and then tried “Candy!”, but none of them appealed to L’s sensibilities.

After unwrapping the lollipop L chose, we headed to Nana and Papa’s — they were waiting, thrilled to see L. As always.

Papa and K took the girl to the neighbors’ condos while I snapped a few pictures. L came back with a modest collection of suckers, mini-candy bars, and assorted fruity snacks.

It’s times like this that L’s growth is so evident.

Last year, L was a non-talking, bottle-drinking, virtually-toothless, not-yet-sleeping-through-the-night pumpkin. What changes await us during the next year? By then, she’ll be fully communicating and ever more independent — a blessing, which occasionally will make us long for the toothless, crying-at-two-in-the-morning version of L.