Saturday, February 28, 2009

A Lazy Saturday

Gracie, Lukie and I were up at the crack of dawn (Thanks, Gracie!). We ate breakfast, made a mess, and got bored playing inside pretty quickly. I was still exhausted, so I laid down on the daybed in the living room and let the kiddos have some fun. I put their tennies on them and opened the screen door so that they could go out side and play. Since I wasn't ready for the day, I decided to just leave them in their jammies for the outdoor fun.

First, we struggled with the dangers of the outside. What could be dangerous about a 4 foot by 15 foot patio? Little rocks. I swear Gracie and Luke have radar for rocks of any kind. It would be fine if they just wanted to pick them up and play with them, but they like to put them in their mouths and try to chew on them. I am pretty sure that this explains how Gracie chipped one of her teeth. I pulled these from their mouths after the first 20 minutes outside.

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The rocks are about the size of a nickel and can't taste all that great. Although, maybe the dirt that was on them had a good flavor to it.

They figured out how to open and close the screen door a few weeks ago and now it is just part of the fun. Well, it's all about fun until someone gets hurt!


Don't you love the giggling? I had the biggest kick listening to them.


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Friday, February 27, 2009

The Climber

A few days ago, I was getting us ready to go out the door. Gracie had been up since 5 am and was exploring our incredibly messy apartment. Apparently, I left the chair next to the dining table out too far. When I came into the kitchen, I saw this:

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Notice how Gracie is a) on the table and b) trying to push the power button on the printer. Hmmm. Lovely.

Needless to say, the chair is no longer near the table. She'll probably discover a new way to get up there tomorrow.


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Sock Orphanage

Socks disappear.

It's a reality of life.

But what do you do when there are so many that you can no longer pretend you have a problem?

You open a sock orphanage.

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These are our current residents. We do not know where their brothers and sisters are, only that they are lost in the wilds of our home, or perhaps have found their ways to better homes.

If you find one of their brothers or sisters, please let them know that we love and miss them. If you care to take them in, please love them as we have!


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Thursday, February 26, 2009

Jump! Jump!

Abue Rosi is teaching Gracie and Luke all kinds of fun things. If she did not tell me about them, I'd be at a loss as to why they were acting so strangely! Recently, she started teaching them to jump. She crouches down really low and leaps into the air, saying, "Jump! Jump!" Gracie and Luke crouch down too, but haven't mastered the actual leaping part.

This video was taken this morning when Gracie decided to wake up at 5:30 am.


Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Has it really been 3 days?

Time flies when you are trying to catch up and dealing with sickie poo babies!

We've had lots of fun over the past three days. We discovered that Lukie is allergic to something, it might be soap, it might not be. What we do know is that he is covered in hives and so drugged up on Benedryl that he falls asleep at the drop of a hat. (I think we are going to back off on the Benedryl and see what happens.) We've also learned that feeding tubes are amazing things. Daddy is starting to feel better with his feeding tube in place. We also discovered that Gracie and Luke do not like cheeseburgers. There is no reason to elaborate on that one. Just imagine your worst time at McDonald's and multiply it by 100. That was our visit yesterday!

Today, I am here to talk about Ash Wednesday. I'm behind on my 12 visits to Mass and I had to be reminded by Bill Handel, of all people (he's Jewish), that today is Ash Wednesday. And, since today is Ash Wednesday, it is also the beginning of Lent. I have not been a good practicing Catholic in some time now. Mass was always something we did as a family. When I moved away from my family, I accidentally moved away from Mass and practicing my faith as well. It wasn't on purpose. It just, well, happened.

One of my friends, Caryn, is one of the most spiritual people I know. She is dedicated to her faith and to living her life honoring Jesus' teachings every day. Yesterday, she posted on her blog about how she is going to use the season of Lent to become a better person. I liked it so much, that I have adopted it. She said:

So, the season of Lent is upon us once again. I usually give up sweets or coffee and although those are sacrifices, let's face it, not really life changing. This year, I am going to do some "spring cleaning of my soul" by getting rid of the materialism that seems to be swallowing me whole. I feel like I go from one worry to the next and although I am not worried about getting a new Mercedes I do worry about material possessions. I worry about things getting broken, stolen, lost and used up. I think that I am too focused on what we "need" and not what we have. I am going to spend this season of Lent by purging my home and mind of "stuff." I am going to get rid of one item a day that I do not need and replace it with one prayer for something I have been blessed with. We live in an amazing world and I am going to try to appreciate it more.
Can you imagine? Getting rid of the idea that we "need" this or that. Getting rid of the stuff we don't need and replacing it with a prayer. What a fantastic idea: to become more spiritual by letting go of the superfluous stuff in our lives. This is definitely something I need right now.

Maybe this will also lead to something else: a cleaner house. :)




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Sunday, February 22, 2009

Daddy's Progress

I spoke with Daddy today and for the first time in a while, he sounds much better. We've had some amazing people share the phone numbers of several specialists in the gastroenterology field and we want to thank you all!

Daddy has a feeding tube that seems to be making things a little better. He is getting nutrition, just not in a way that will allow him to come home any time soon. He is groggy from pain medication and has become an expert on anything on television. By the way, if you are looking for a job, apparently, the INS is hiring. He wants me to spread the word!

It is so wonderful to hear him sounding a little better. He spoke with me without gagging for the first time in a long time.

Finally, we have a little hope.

And Hope, as we all know, is a powerful thing.


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Saturday, February 21, 2009

Tell me, what am I supposed to do?

I can count on one hand (still) the number of times Gracie and Luke have spent the night away from me since they came home from the hospital. Every time, it has been with Nana. I trust Nana. She raised me, Aunt Bec, and Auntie Ten Ten. Shoot! She has 6 grand kids, three of whom beg to spend the night with her!

Because Daddy has been so sick and gone for the better part of a month and a half, I've just about reached my breaking point. Don't get me wrong. I will survive. It's what mommies do. Mentally and physically, I am drained. I've noticed that I am not my happy self at home and all I seem to live for is time for that Gracie and Luke will go to sleep. That's not the kind of mommy I want to be.

Several people have asked me how they can help. As a control freak, it is very hard for me to let things go and allow others to do things for me. One friend of mine, Jeanette, decided it was time to just tell me how she was going to help instead of leaving it up to me to ask. Jeanette works with me and if my children grow up to be even a half as wonderful as her daughters, I will be the luckiest mom on the planet!

Jeanette came and picked up Gracie and Luke today. She took them to the park to watch her youngest daughter play soccer. Later, she is taking them to a basketball game and then to the dance concert at school tonight. She is incredibly brave and I don't know what I would do without her. I had a nap today. Yes, a nap. It was a blessed thing.

I have to admit that it took a lot for me to say yes to Jeanette's offer, not because I don't trust her! I was more concerned about Gracie and Luke and how they would be. Would they cry the whole time? Would Lukie break everything he come into contact with? Would Jeanette wish that she had never ever offered to take them? All of these things have been swirling through my mind since she offered. And yet, Jeanette assured me it wouldn't matter if they did all of these things. Gracie and Luke would be fine.

Jeanette told me to call when ever I want to check in on them. And I have to admit, I've called once so far. Gracie and Luke are having the time of their lives running around, eating apples, playing with Jeanette's daughters and husband. I have nothing to worry about.

So here's the thing: Even though I have a million things to do, I can't stop thinking about Gracie and Luke. I feel guilty sitting here without them. I could do our taxes (oh, joy!), or I could scan our hundred million receipts into the computer for our Flexible Spending Account, or I could leave yet another message for the evil adjuster lady at the insurance company who refuses to acknowledge my phone calls. I could go shopping for spring clothes (which I desperately need) or go see a movie (no fun without Daddy). I just can't seem to get started, because all I keep thinking about is Gracie and Luke.

So tell me, what am I supposed to do? I'm not liking this Mommy guilt thing.

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Thursday, February 19, 2009

Sometimes I really wish I had the video camera

So many things happen that make me laugh. I wish I carried a video camera around so I could capture this stuff. I can always blog about it, but there is something special about hearing Gracie or Luke's voice, or seeing them in the act. Here are some things I wish I had had a video camera for:

  • This morning, I gave Gracie the phone as a distraction while I changed her diaper. She began pushing buttons and listening to the sounds. I surreptitiously managed to hit the off button before she called Afghanistan or some other Middle Eastern country. When she thought she had hit enough buttons, she held the phone to her ear, waved and said, "Hi, Papa! Hi, Papa!" She did this several times which leads me to believe she thinks Daddy lives in the phone. Wait! Does "Hi, Papa!" count as a sentence?
  • Last night, I got Gracie and Luke out of the car and into their stroller. As we were getting ready to head into the apartment building a plane took off from Van Nuys Airport. Gracie waved at it and started blowing kisses at the plane. Lukie waved while Gracie said, "Bye!"
  • I've learned that bath tub time can either be fantastic or a nightmare. If I get the Twinsies in the bathtub 10 minutes late instead of joy and fun, we will have hitting, binky stealing, and lots of crying. Last night, Lukie stood over Gracie and hit her multiple times in the head with one of their bath tub bowls. Gracie did not start to cry until I said, "Lukie, no! That hurts Sister!" Luke laughed maniacally and hit her again. Arg.

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Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Dreams of Daddy

This morning, as we were getting ready to head over to Grandma's, we sat in the livingroom so that I could change diapers and we could watch Jack's Big Music Show. I was rebuttoning Lukie's pjs when Gracie pointed and said, "Papa." Since Eddie is still in the hospital, I said, "Papa isn't here, Gracie."

But she insisted, "Papa!" and pointed again.

I finally looked to see where she was pointing, that I saw the picture of Lukie and Daddy taken by Mark Robert Halper in December. (Mark had volunteered his services to the victims of the fires. His beautiful portraits hang in the living room of our tiny apartment.)

When I saw that picture and Gracie continuing to point at it, my heart broke. When children are as little as Gracie and Luke, you think that people just pass through their lives or that they are replaceable. Their memories can be so fleeting at times.

Daddy, you are clearly not replaceable. Gracie and Lukie know you. They know your face and they are waiting for you to come home. Get better as fast as you can. We'll be waiting.


To see the portrait of Lukie and Daddy, you can visit Mark Robert Halper's website. Their portrait is number 49 in the gallery.


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Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Words...Words...Words

They say that twins' language development is behind that of singleton babies. Since I have no other babies, I have no one to compare them to. They have quite a number of words in their vocabulary and I thought I would revisit them since we are getting so close to the magic 18 month mark.

Words they say:

agua

cracker

Mommy

Daddy/Papa/Popi

hi

bye

mas

nana (banana)

Daydee (Gracie)

Kiki (Lukie)

Num num (food)

bee (binky)

wow

cookie (in Spanish)

Abue (grandma or grandpa)

five (as in "Give me five!")

dat ew (thank you)


They understand a lot more than I realized. Someday, I'll get them on camera following directions, dancing to Barney, and "tickling" their Elmo chairs.

If I remember more, I'll come back and add them!


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Blackmail Pictures

I bought Gracie and Luke some cheap plastic shoes for our quick escapes in the morning. Luke has been especially enamored of shoes lately, so it was no surprise when he discovered his new shoes. For the record, he will never wear these shoes outside of the house, except when we travel to Grandma's house in the morning. I'm not that clueless.

I am, however, totally happy to share the best blackmail pictures ever. Can you imagine when he is 13 years old and trying to be, oh, so cool?

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And just because it is gorgeous, I have this picture of Gracie. I rarely get pictures of her smiling, so this one makes me happy.

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Sunday, February 15, 2009

Baby Jail Revisited

Gracie dumped her bowl of Cherrios all over the floor this morning. After trying to communicate to her that it isn't okay to do that, I cleaned her up and let her out of her seat. As she got up, she grabbed Lukie's bowl and dumped his milk and Cheerios all over the floor. As I said, "Oh, No! Gracie, no!", she laughed and took off across the carpet with the dripping bowl.

Clearly, my method of communication was not working. Thus, the Pack N Play was finally used as Baby Jail (aka a time out).

Stick around for the whole thing. It's worth it.


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Saturday, February 14, 2009

My New Favorite Grocery Store

Last year, my mom mentioned the name of a new store that was opening in Upland. It was called Fresh N Easy. Honestly, I thought it was something like Whole Paycheck (oops!) Foods. I never had any intention of going there. It sounded chi-chi-la-la. I don't have time for places like those.

Interestingly enough, when we moved into our apartment, we realized that our grocery options were limited. There's a Ralph's a few streets up, but they are really expensive. There's a Jons, but I just can't shop at a place that was a Vons, but erased the left part of the V. We were driving around one day and, surprise, there was a Fresh N Easy a few blocks east of our temporary home. We decided to check it out. We needed milk and a few other things. Eddie stayed in the car with Gracie and Lukie and I headed inside.

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It was like a grocery wonderland, only with reasonable prices! They had sliced apples for reasonable prices, ready made meals waiting to be heated. The best part was the clearance area. They put food that is a day or so from expiring for sale 50% off or more. I bought the apples, already a great price, for 50% off. I got a chicken burrito, amazing! I got some wonderful garlic red potatoes and a chicken dish for 50% off, too. When I went up to check out, there were no checkers. It was a self-check out. I love those! So, in the end, I bought everything for $13. We had an amazing meal with leftovers for under $6.

Needless to say, I've been back several times. I've learned that Gracie and Luke need to be in their own carts or we have meltdowns. I've also learned to check out the clearance area first because stuff flies out of there. Recently, I saw an ad in the mailbox for Fresh N Easy offering a gallon of milk for $2.09. That seems impossible! I pay $2.14 when I go to Sam's Club and if I am desperate, $3.50 or more at Ralph's. Sure enough, they were seriously selling milk for that price. Even better, they are selling it for $2.09 until March 7th!

This afternoon, Gracie, Lukie and I headed over to buy our milk and look for a chocolate dessert for me for Valentine's Day. We had a great shopping expedition and found a slice of Belgian Chocolate Cake for me in the clearance area. Instead of $4.29, I paid $2.39. (I'm eating it as I write this. It tastes like a million bucks!)

As we were leaving, I saw something I never noticed before. Four of the parking spots right outside the door had this sign in front of them:

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The sign reads: Reserved Parking - Adults with Children

On the pavement was this image:

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I don't know how I never noticed that! My twin mom friends and I have been talking forever about the need for Moms with little kids parking spots. The fact that Fresh N Easy actually has them makes me want to be even more loyal to them.

Eventually, we will get to move back to our house. But I'll still be shopping at the Fresh N Easy. Even if I have to drive 12 miles to get there.


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Valentine's Day without Daddy

Daddy is back in the hospital. He couldn't keep anything down and he decided it was best that he go back. I don't know what to say. I hurt watching him be so sick and I hate that I can't make him better.

Gracie and Luke must know what is going on. They woke up at 1:30 am and kept me up until 4:30 am. I honestly don't know what I finally did to get them back to sleep. They were up at 6:30, though, so it didn't last long. All day, they've been hitting and biting each other. There have been thousands of tears shed, toys thrown, and Mommy on the brink of a breakdown.

To try to keep them occupied, I gave them a bath this morning. They played and threw toys at each other for about 30 minutes. Gracie kept biting Lukie so I decided it was time to end their bath. When I pulled them out of the water, I just had to catch this image. It is going to be awesome for blackmail one day!

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There were some moments of cooperation. Gracie and Lukie "cooperated" their way to tearing up the living room. There are toys in places I won't be able to find until we move out! They "cooperated" their way to pull every single piece of dirty clothing out of the basket and dragged them all over the room. They "cooperated" their way to 6 poopy diapers. (Yes, I just went there.)

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Gracie decided it would be fun to climb on every surface she could wriggle herself up onto. At one point, I turned to discover that she had climbed on top of the computer table and was sitting on top of Daddy's laptop dialing the telephone. I took a picture of it. How could I not?

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Lukie joined in the fun.

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Gracie refused to let me put her ponytails in her hair so that she could wear her Valentine's bows. As a result, she sported a side ponytail for the better part of the day.

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I had Valentine's Day outfits for both of them. Lukie's shirt says "handsome little devil."

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I never did get a good picture of Gracie's "sweet Valentine's Day" shirt.

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Around 2:30, we headed out to deliver our Valentines to Grandma, Grandpa, Abuelita and the tios. The ladies at Grandma's shop enjoyed oohing and aahing over how much Gracie and Lukie have grown.

By far, our highlight was on the way home from Fresh N Easy. This is the typical behavior of Twinsies in the car. Enjoy!



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Friday, February 13, 2009

Exhausted

It's been a month since I started waking the Twinsies up at 6 am to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house in the morning. They've hung in there pretty well. Mondays, they usually fall asleep on the way home, but most other nights, they need me to give them a bath and sing them to sleep. Some nights, I have to drive them around.

Since Daddy's been home, we've been acting like a tag team. Each of us takes one kiddo and gives them their bottle until they fall asleep. It usually works pretty well.

Tonight, when I got back from work, Daddy was very asleep. He's had a rough time since he came home from the hospital and has had very little sleep. Grandpa gave him something to help him sleep and he was so out that Grandma and I decided just to let him stay there. I put Gracie and Luke in the car at 5:30 pm.

By 5:35, Lukie was asleep. By 5:45 pm, Gracie was asleep. This is what you look like when you are exhausted beyond anything:

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I wish I could sleep like that.


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Thursday, February 12, 2009

Like Nails on a Chalkboard

Babies and children cry. It's what they do. They cry when they are hungry, thirsty, angry, uncomfortable, tired...you name it, that's why they cry. Experts will tell you that young babies have very distinct cries. They believe you can actually tell when a baby is hungry versus in need of a diaper change. When Gracie and Luke were newborns, we eventually got to a place where we could tell when they were tired and not hungry.

Once, though, there was a day when Gracie cry did not sound like anything we had ever heard. She was crying so hard that you could hear it rattling in her throat. She arched her back and would not allow anyone to hold her. It took us a bit, but we finally realized that she had awful gas. We were so desperate to help her, that we dissolved a peppermint candy in water and forced it into her mouth with a medicine syringe. Eventually, the peppermint did its job and she quieted down.

It can be hard to tell when Gracie is really hurting or if she is just upset. She can be quite dramatic when she does not get what she wants. She will start to cry and fall to the ground, rolling and kicking. Most times, we will try to ask her how we can help. We use the words she knows to try to figure out if it is something easy that we can help with. If nothing we say or do gets through, we ignore her because giving her attention usually makes it worse. Grandma usually says, "Oh, Gracie's having an attack!" and leaves the room. It is hard to do, but Gracie can really get herself worked up and everyone we have spoken with and everything we have read suggests that removing our immediate attention from Gracie will show her that her behavior will not get her what she wants.

The thing is, no matter why they are crying, the sound has a distinct effect on parents and others around them. When Gracie or Lukie cries, the other Twinsie will become upset and generally start to cry too. In my case, those hysterical cries, the ones I can't stop by comforting my children, are the cries that are like nails on a chalkboard. They hurt my ears, my head. They make my heart beat faster and I feel incredibly anxious. All I want to do is find a way to make it stop. 90% of the time, I can. The other 10% of the time is what has me worried all the time.

Last night, Gracie and Luke ate dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They love eating there. The food is warm and yummy and there is lots of it. For dinner, they had chicken, rice and beans. Lukie was a little uncomfortable on the way home, but I could hear him tooting and he was fine. Gracie was a different story. She started crying as soon as I put her in the car seat. She cried on and off all the way home, eventually falling asleep.

When I went to put her in bed, she woke up and started to wail. Her cry was that one that makes me cringe because I know there is nothing I can do to make it stop. She started flinging herself all over the floor, rolling, kicking and hitting. I tried milk, her binky, holding her, and rubbing her tummy. When none of it worked, I let her have time to try to work it out on her own. But after 5 minutes, she was still crying hysterically. My ears, head, and stomach were hurting from listening to my little girl cry. Honestly, I was exhausted and not thinking completely straight. I ended up picking her up and taking her to the car. I drove for 45 minutes with her still crying, trying to figure out what to do. Eventually, I called Nana who reminded me about the peppermint and I drove us home, all the while talking to Gracie about how I was going to take her home and make her feel all better.

She fell asleep before we got home, but I could hear the little catches in her breath from her extended bout of crying. I carried her inside and held her for over an hour. I patted her back and rubbed the side of her tummy. She stayed asleep until I tried to put her down. Then, the crying started anew. She screamed and threw herself around. I started cursing whoever gave her beans, knowing that it wasn't really their fault, but feeling irrational about it just the same. I tried giving her peppermint icecream, but she wouldn't open her mouth. Her cries woke Lukie, who started crying too.

Believe me, I was close to crying myself.

Eventually, Gracie fell asleep next to me on the livingroom floor, laying on her tummy like a stink bug and wrapped warmly in a fleece blanket. I carried Lukie back to bed and fell asleep next to him, still wearing my work clothes. An hour or so later, Gracie woke up and started to cry. I shot out of bed and snatched her up, patting her tummy. She snuggled next to me in bed and eventually fell back to sleep.

Ten minutes after that, she tooted. Crisis averted.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Gracie Goes to the Doctor

A few weeks ago, I was lamenting my very sad daughter and her awful ear infections. She's had 4 in the last 4 months, resulting in a referral to the ear, nose, and throat doctor. In the meantime, we made a trip to see Dr. A so that she could check Gracie's ears and make sure our last bout of antibiotics did the trick. I made it a "just the girls" trip so that Lukie could hang out with his favorite person (abue) and I could just juggle one toddler instead of 2 at the doctors' office.

Usually, I just carry Gracie and Luke in because I'm worried they are going to take off on me. Since I only had Gracie with me, I let her walk next to me into the office building. You should have seen the smile on her face! She was so proud to be walking instead of being carried. She touched every plant we passed, the wall, the elevator, pretty much anything within her reach. She tried to "touch" the Emergency Call button in the elevator, but I squashed that pretty fast.

Once inside, she made her usual trek back and forth from the Well Side to the Sick Side to see the gold "fishies" and the big "fishies." As she passed the patients and their parents in the waiting area, she waved at them and said, "Hi!" and "Bye!" in the little sing-song voice she uses. Everyone was enchanted by the little girl in the HUG ME! sweatshirt.

We were called in to a room and that is when the fun started. I let Gracie explore and she had a great time opening drawers, playing with paper, and generally, making a mess. Luckily, I got most of it cleaned up by the time Dr. A came into the room.

Here's some of the fun:

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What's in here?

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We don't need any of this paper on the table!

Proof that Gracie is wild!


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Sunday, February 8, 2009

Twinsie Art

For obvious reasons, markers are not one of my favorite things. I've decided to leave the markers for day care. This has left me with a dilemma. How do I encourage Gracie and Luke to write and draw without crayons or markers?

Enter the Fisher Price Doodle-Pro! It says it is for kids aged 3 and older, but after I bought small personal sized ones at Target, Gracie and Luke discovered that they were lots of fun! I've been writing their names on them and we've been drawing happy faces. Gracie and Luke will sit at their table and draw for at least 3 minutes (a record for sitting still). They like to draw dots and drag the pen across the screen.

We've had all kinds of pictures on the Doodle-Pro, but here are some of my favorites.

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I have budding artists. Sometime soon, I'll get brave and let them have access to crayons and markers. So far, though, our experience with crayons resulted in green teeth and their use of markers at school had me scrubbing skin until it turned red. Not my idea of fun!

I'm excited to see how Gracie and Luke develop artistically. I'm not a drawer or a painter. Daddy is an artist with food. Me, I'm all about computers and using things other people create in interesting ways. Who knows. Maybe they'll be amazing artists! I'll have to save this picture for when people are paying thousands of dollars for their professional work. Hee hee hee!

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Papa and Agua

There are two words that have dominated conversation in the past 2 days.

"Papa!" has been heard over and over. Gracie and Luke will run up to Daddy on the couch and yell, "Papa!" at him. They'll run away and come back, over and over again. They'll point at him when we are in the car and say, "Papa," joy in their tones.

"Agua" is the other word being used a lot. Between the rain, the pool, and all of the drinks Gracie has been wanting, we've heard the word "agua" a lot. Of course, every time I try to get them on video saying these words, they run away.

Here are some videos of the Twinsies and all of the ways they have been talking up a storm lately.





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Saturday, February 7, 2009

Lukie's First Big Boy Haircut

It has been raining here, resulting in very little outside time. We've been cooped up inside and I've been trying to plan anything outside our very small apartment. There was an hour of no rain yesterday morning. So I set out on a walk with Gracie and Luke. We walked about a mile to McDonald's and got a Snack Size Fruit and Yogurt Parfait to share.

When it came time to look at our afternoon, though, I was at a loss. Daddy had to go for his first diaylisis treatment and that was to last for several hours. As Lukie ran past me for the 50th time chasing Gracie, I realized that he had way too much hair on his head. Some little boys look okay with a mop of hair, but I've always wanted Lukie to be clean cut. Daddy and I have joked that we want Lukie to look like a Little Ricky (Ricky Ricardo, Jr.).

I started looking up kids' salons on the internet and found one close buy called Gumball Alley. I made Lukie an appointment for an hour after we had to drop off Daddy. I took Gracie with me, even though I was nervous about juggling 2 babies at a hair salon.

Gumball Alley is a fun place. Videos to watch. Jeeps to sit in. Fun colors on the wall. Lukie loved sitting in the Jeep while the stylist cut his hair. Photobucket

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That is, until she started on the hair around his ears. He kept standing up and trying to reach for me, which made things difficult since I had Gracie in my arms. Eventually, after some Teddy Grahams, the Slippery Fish song, and some games with Gracie, Lukie's hair cut was complete.

It was challenging trying to pay and get out of the salon with two toddlers determined to tear the place apart (Grandma lets them do whatever they like in her salon), but the owner came to my rescue with balloons. We made it to the car and the Twinsies had a great time playing with their balloons.

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A new haircut and a balloon.


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Pink balloon!

We are very impressed with Lukie's new hair. My favorite part is that I get to see his ears!


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Happy 10th Birthday!

There's nothing better than bringing cupcakes and having free dress on your 10th birthday! These two were so excited that they kept r...