Little Helpers?

Gracie and Lukie love to help. When they are at their craziest, all you need to do is say, "Gracie and Lukie! I need your help!" and they'll come running.

After some crazy behavior during a brief shopping expedition, Daddy decided Gracie and Lukie could "help" him wash his scooter and his car. He made a good effort getting everything set up and had a good chance of keeping them occupied. He had lots of things on his side:
1) water (always a happy thing for Gracie and Luke)
2) bubbles (seriously one of their favorite things)
3) something they could clean at their level

They had a blast! Look at our little helpers go!

Maybe they are learning too much from Dora and Diego

Barney used to be Gracie and Luke's favorite show. Easy enough. Songs, elephants, fun-loving dinosaurs. Nothing to worry about. Nothing to scare them, just happy songs.

Sometime in the last 6 months, they stopped asking for Barney and everything became about Dora and Diego. We sing Dora songs and Gracie and Luke tell me stories about the animals Diego has saved. All of a sudden, they are using Spanish words again. They repeat after Dora and Diego during the shows and, occasionally, throw out a Vámanos!

Recently, they learned the word "abre." Dora and Boots told a gate to open and got everyone to say "ABRE!"

"Say, 'abre!'"

As with all things Dora, this phrase has become a part of our lives. You will never guess where. Just try.

Go ahead. I'll wait.

I was changing Gracie's diaper a few days ago and needed to use a wipe to clean her thoroughly. Unfortunately, Gracie does not like to be cleaned and will close her legs very tightly to prevent the diaper changer from getting all the nooks and crannies cleaned. Usually, she and I play a cat and mouse game:
Me: Gracie, open your legs.
Gracie: No.
Me: Gracie, Mommy needs to clean you very carefully. I will be very, very gentle. Please open your legs.
Gracie: No, Mommy.
Me: Gracie, I will be very gentle. Do you want me to show you gentle?
She'll open up a little and as soon as I start cleaning her legs, she will close them right back up.

So, the other day, we are starting our usual Diaper Dance and, instead of busting out with "No, Mommy", Gracie said, "Say, 'abre', Mommy."

Me: What?
Gracie: Say, 'abre!'

Daddy was sitting there laughing his head off. He thought it was hysterical that Gracie was making me use Spanish to tell her to open her legs. Awesome.

So, I said it and...tada! I got to clean her up. The bad news is that she won't let me change her diaper anymore with out saying 'abre' about 15 times.

Thanks a ton, Dora.

Lukie Said WHAT? #1

Okay, let's see how you do!

Lukie Said WHAT? #1

He's singing something, but can you guess what it is??


And, just for fun!

Every mom is special, but these...

Gracie and Lukie are healthy. The illnesses we have endured with them are nothing compared to the battles some moms face every day.

Seven years ago, I was fortunate enough to help start a St. Jude Math-A-Thon at my school. In the years, we have participated, we've raised a lot of money for the children there to receive treatment. We think about those kids every moment we are raising the money. The people we forget are their moms. Luckily, the children don't.



Happy early Mother's Day to the moms of all children struggling with disease and illness. May your day be filled with laughter and joy.

He said What?

I've decided I'm going to start a new game. The game is called: "Lukie said WHAT?"

I swear, I sit in the front seat of the car listening to my son talk and I have NO clue what the heck is coming out of his mouth. Sometimes, Daddy can translate and other times we look at each other in complete confusion.

Part of the challenge is Lukie's habit of making one syllable words become two syllable words. The most common victim/word is the word "there" which Lukie pronounces as "dey-er." He also uses the "ya" sound in place of the "L" sound. So I hear:
"Yook, Mommy! Yook!"
"Yet me, Gracie. Yet me."

He also has a habit of saying words in a particular order. "Mommy, I want the odder one car." instead of "Mommy, I want the other car."

It's a lot to keep up with and, sadly, I'm not fluent in "Lukie Language" enough to translate. So, instead, we'll play, "Lukie said WHAT?"

Watch for our first installment tomorrow!

The closest to perfect

Of the 232 pictures on our DVD from Valli, Gracie and Lukie are only looking at the camera in about 7. Of those, they are looking at the camera at the same time in only 2. This one is my absolute favorite. I think it captures them perfectly!

You can tell Lukie is just about ready to jump out of Daddy's arms. Gracie is determined NOT to smile.

Sigh. It will be a battle forever, I know.

Nana's Christmas-Birthday-Mother's Day Present

Every Christmas, I struggle to figure out what to buy Nana. She is already a great shopper and has pretty much everything she will ever need. Nothing ever seems quite right when I see it in the store and I'm always at a loss for what to pick.

This Christmas, I decided to do something I knew she really wanted. I contacted Valli at Visions Photography and asked her if I could set up a photo shoot with Nana and the entire family, all fourteen of us. Valli was totally excited because she photographed Aunt Bec's wedding and took Gracie and Lukie's 2 month pictures. She couldn't wait to see everyone again.

On Aunt Bec's birthday, we all met Valli at a park for our pictures. It was a beautiful day; the colors of the trees, grass and sky were especially brilliant that day. Despite a serious lack of cooperation from the smallest members of our family, we do have a few pictures to share. I won't share all of them, because what is the fun in that?

Here are a few of my favorites:

All fourteen of the Cook-Uribe-Arteaga-Uribe Family

Nana and all of her grandchildren

There are something like 232 pictures on the DVD Valli gave me so I'll be back to share a few of Gracie and Luke soon. What I think is so amazing is how different all of the kids look. You can't even tell they are related! (especially the twins!)

Attack of Gracie's Hair

She used to look like this:

And then like this:

But now, her hair is just out of control!

You have to ENLARGE this photo to get the full affect of her hair.

Where did it all come from?? She use to have 6 hairs blowing in the wind and now I have to put her hair up at night so that it doesn't get tangled as she sleeps.

I think I need to get it cut.

That is, if she'll sit still for the stylist.

Boys have a penis. Girls have a vagina.

Oh, yeah. I went there.

I read a lot of things about describing body parts when Gracie and Luke were super little. Pretty much every expert agreed that giving "cutsy" names to body parts would only serve to confuse the Twinsies and lead to confusion in their communication with adults. So, when Lukie pointed down and said, "What's that, Mommy?" I was honest.

"It's your penis, Lukie."
"My penis?"
"Yep."
He asked me about 50 more times, but I won't bore you with the back and forth.

Once Lukie knew what his special body part was called Gracie got in on the action. "What's this, Mommy?"
"It's your vagina, Gracie." (I know they are labia, but I opted for vagina. Sue me. She's my daughter.)
"Bagina?"
"V. Vvvvagina."
"My bagina?" And so forth.

Our discussion of the penis and vagina led to a discussion of boys versus girls. I am happy to report that both Gracie and Luke are able to correctly identify everyone in their lives by their gender.
Mommy = girl
Daddy = boy
Lukie = boy
Gracie = girl
Tio Freddy = boy
Baby Emmy = girl
and so on...

The fun part is that they love to say "penis" and "vagina." So much so, that Daddy has been incredibly embarrassed in front of nurses at Kaiser.


Please excuse my cellphone video.

How do kids grow if they only eat fruit and chips?

I don't know how other moms do it. Feed their children, I mean. Lukie usually eats okay, but Gracie...I'm stunned the girl is even growing. They don't seem to like 90% of what we make for them to eat and it gets more and more frustrating each day.

So what will they eat?

Pears, bananas, yogurt, chips (Flaming Hot only), grapes, occasionally strawberries, meat (most kinds). Anything on Mommy and Daddy's plates (even if it is also on their plates)

Oh, and chocolate milk. Sometimes regular. Usually not.

What won't they eat?

Anything with sauce on it. Anything with bread surrounding it. Anything Mommy and Daddy proclaim as amazing.

I guess I should be thankful they are eating something other than fruit snacks and Goldfish crackers like last year. One thing that is a definite "They Will Eat It, yay!" item is String Bean Chicken and Chow Mein from Panda Express. We went there tonight. Mainly because 2 of our 2 children haven't eaten well in the last 3 days (I think we have a stomach bug).

See? They love food from "The Panda."

They usually eat everything on their plates. Yes, everything. I bet if they thought they could get away with it, they'd ask to go every night.

I know eating out is not good for them. Homemade meals are always better. However, when you have Twinsies who don't eat 90% of what you put in front of them, desperate times call for desperate measures.

And I'm feeling particularly desperate lately.

Where the Heck are Gracie and Lukie?

Oh, stop! Have you really been asking that question? Really?

Some of you actually have. To be honest, we've been right here. I've thought almost every day about coming to update, but honestly, I've been enjoying Gracie and Luke too much to take the time. I apologize for that. Prepare to be bombarded with news!

Item 1: Learning, Learning, Learning
Daycare, also known as preschool, has been a ton of fun lately. I can tell because the laundry I've been doing is full of dirt, finger paints, glue and feathers. We've received weekly reports on the Twinsies. Apparently, they sometimes remember their numbers, sometimes remember their shapes, and sometimes remember their colors. Which is weird, because they always remember them with me. Hmmmm. Performance anxiety? I don't know. We've also tried our hand at potty training. But let's face it. Gracie and Luke are just not ready. They think the potty is exciting, but unless someone runs them there, they will happily pee in their pants. Not fun. They like underwear, though, so we'll keep trying them on.


Item 2: Talking, Talking, Talking
I can remember when I wished Gracie and Luke could express themselves. I no longer need to wish for that. Both of them are very good at communicating (when they want to) and their vocabulary is changing like crazy. I've been a bit sad, actually. Other people's kids mispronounce things in cutsy ways. Not Gracie and Luke. The most exciting thing they mispronounce is "strawbaberries." Well, there is Lukie's pronunciation of anything with an "r" sound in it. For example: "dey-er" (there). They've gotten so good at talking, I thought I would interview them.


Item 3: Playing, Playing, Playing
During Spring Break, I took Gracie and Lukie to the park almost every day. It was great to get out and we tried to go to a different park each time. Some trips were more successful than others. I counted any trip where we got back into the car in one piece as a success. Of course, I noticed somethings while visiting the park: 1) Lukie only likes to play with Gracie, but at the park, he's a total loner. 2) Gracie could make friends with the meanest person on the planet and they'd smile and play with her for an hour.


Item 4: Singing, Singing, Singing
Just as their vocabulary has exploded, their singing has too. They have many songs memorized and love to sing. We do have to hear "Round and round" about 50 times when Gracie gets stuck on "The Wheels on the Bus". By far, the best is "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." Gracie says, "Bup, a-bup the world so high..." Lukie likes to make up his own songs. Daddy and I sit there trying to translate. I'm afraid we just don't speak "Lukese." Although, yesterday, his song sounded like "A Fed-co," but then, how would he know about Fedco? They closed before Ed and I even got married. Here's their latest favorite. A song I sing just for them.


I have lots more to share, but I don't want to overwhelm you!