I love that sound

This week, I taught Lukie one of my favorite games: Break the Pickle. And, no, it isn't what you think!

Somewhere, when we were little, my sisters and I started playing a game that went like this:

"Give me five." Slap.

"Up high." Slap.

"Down low." Attempted slap. "Too Slow!"

"Break the Pickle!" Fingers held together. The other separates them. "Tickle, tickle, tickle!"

The outcome was always the same: the one giving the high fives was tickled like crazy. Yet we kept doing it over an over again.

Lukie and Gracie are very proficient at "giving five." One of their tios helped them perfect it quite some time ago. So I thought I would play around with them and see if I could get them to play it my way.

Oh, good gracious! Why did I wait so long? Lukie took to it right away. He did a great job of following my hand and giving me five. He loved the break the pickle part so much that now, when you say "Break the Pickle!" he puts the tips of his fingers together to make the pickle.

He giggles the entire time. It is a fantastic sound! He has an amazing giggle that makes everything seem lighter and better.

Gracie has become the master of animal sounds.

"Gracie, what does a cow say?" "Moo."
"What does a kitty say?" "Mow." (She hasn't gotten the "me-" part yet.)
"What does a doggy say?" "Wow-wow." (Grandma and Grandpa taught them this. They call doggies "wow-wow" too.)
"What does a snake say?" "Ssssss."
"What does a tiger say?" Lukie breaks in. "Roarrrrrrrrrrrr!"

I'm working on a video clip. Right now, they get distracted and take off.

The good news is that all of these sounds, Lukie's giggle, Gracie's animals, they just make my heart feel good. And that is an AMAZING thing.