Those eyes.  That cheeky smile.  Those chubby cheeks. That little 13 lb baby nestled in a pumpkin, lovingly carved by her dad. And as if one costume was not enough, Amaal also emerged as a pineapple. Certified organic, no less.

And then, onto another costume change.   Amaal showed up as the infamous Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos fame, complete with a black turtleneck and signature vial.  Not to be outdone, Amaal’s dad, Afzal, wore the Squid Game grey tracksuit 001.

For Halloween, Mos took a more practical stance as a potential engineer, reverse-engineering the makings of a green toy truck.  He did this while sporting yellow shorts.  So fashionable!

Amaal Noor and Mos Malik’s ’s first Halloween!

Being grandparents is the most fun job ever….

We get to witness Amaal (live and in person) and Mos (virtually) discover their toes, stuff their fists into their mouth and lift their heads.  We delight in everything they do – giggle, cry, burp, pout and sleep.  And each day we marvel at how much more they do, how their faces are changing, and the miracle of development right in front of our eyes.  And now they have started babbling.  Their babbles sound like waez’s (sermons) – long, consistent and flat.

Sometimes I wonder how we brought up our own kids.  Life seemed simpler then.  I remember us relying on just one book, Penelope Leach’s book, Your Baby and Child: From Birth to Age 5, as our source of everything child-related.  Our children, on the other hand, are plugged in – literally.  The internet has become the source of all information.  It is the expert friend, the pseudo doctor and the harbinger of facts.  Our children know more about child development that we ever did, and every day we learn from them about gender-neutral toys, tummy time, white noise, permission-based child rearing, , even organic formula with no cow milk.  It is like being thrust into a labyrinth of learning that is expanding both, our minds and our hearts. We are in total learning mode.

One thing hasn’t changed though: come October 31st and we decorate our home and dole out candies and chocolates to our neighbours’ children. And this year was no different – although the number of children at the door has lessened somewhat. You know, COVID and all.

We took Amaal for her first trick-or-treating dressed in yet another outfit – a strawberry over her Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit. She was totally awestruck as we rang doorbells and people answered and put potato chips, candies and chocolates into her bag. Here’s to many, many more happy Halloweens!