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 reminding me to make certain to wake them up by banging the pots and pans. I did it and it was awesome!

Pre-birthday celebrations included lunch at the Spaghetti Factory with Nana!  Lucas got his garlic shrimp fettuccine and Gracie got spaghetti with mizithra cheese and brown butter.

Gracie and Lucas also graduated to washing all of the dishes, not just putting them away. ;)

Gracie is officially taller than Lucas!  Remember when she was two inches shorter? 

All.Day.Long!

Gracie: "Mommy, I'm just so excited!"

Me: "Why, Gracie-Lu?"
 

Gracie (bouncing up and down): "Because tomorrow, I turn 6!"
 

Me: "That's right! Tonight is your last night being 5!"
 

Gracie: "And tomorrow, I get to wear a crown because I'm turning 6 and you are going to bring a cake to school for my friends, and Mrs. Averion is going to make you kiss my cheek and freeze so that she can take our picture."
 

*Punctuated by a bounce and a back leg kick.*
 

Gracie: "But the best thing, Mommy..."
 

Me: "What is it, Gracie?"
 

Gracie (bouncing like crazy): "It is going to be my birthday ALL DAY LONG!"

Big Bikes for Big Kids

Last night, Gracie and Lukie informed me of the following:

"Mommy," said Lukie.  " I want a big kid two wheeler bike that goes really fast!"

Gracie followed up with: "And I want a big kid two wheeler Barbie bike with a little bike for my Barbie."

This was a tad overwhelming for me.  Somehow, I thought I would wait until Saturday to give them their presents.  Instead, I left work early today, picked up Daddy and made my way to the store.  There, we found the perfect bikes: A pink Barbie bike for Gracie, complete with sparkly streamers and glitter gems that she can attach whenever she wants and a green Hot Wheels bike for Lukie, featuring a revving handle and working RPM gauge.  They were completely perfect.

I bought them and brought them home to hide them.  We had to take Gracie to the dentist about her extra baby tooth and after the dentist we finally came home.  They were a mess the entire ride.  They kept asking and asking me what I got them.  What presents did I buy?  How many?  Oh, good gravy!

We pulled into the drive way and I readied my camera.  They jumped out of the car and ran to the hiding place.  Squeals of happiness and excitement sounded in the air.  They completely loved their big kid bikes!

Lukie and his Hot Wheels bike

Moments after they discovered their bikes.

Gracie and her pink Barbie bike.

They hopped on and after only a few minutes, they started to get the hang of it.  Occasionally, they hit a point where they forgot how to move their feet or a section where the asphalt was uneven.  They could have kept going for hours if the sun hadn't gone down.

I'm so very happy we bought them these bikes!

Golden Birthday = 5!

You want to make a kid's day?  Wake them up singing "Happy Birthday" to them.  Smiles all around this morning for my two big Fives.  (We shall ignore Gracie's epic nose bleed upon waking.)

There shall be Hello Kitty and Angry Birds cupcakes for school and Picture Day for Gracie and Lukie's Golden 5 Birthday.

My how they have grown.

Gracie - Less than 5 minutes old

Lukie - 24 hours old

3 weeks old

5 Years Old!

Happy Third Birthday, Gracie and Luke!

Sunday morning, September 5, I heard some stirring in Gracie and Luke's room. So, I got up, snuck over to their door, and opened it.

"Happy Birthday, Gracie and Lukie!" I said, turning on the light.

"Yay," shouted Gracie, jumping up and down on her bed. "I'm three! I can ride the roller coaster!"

"Yay! Yay! Yay!" came from Lukie's side.

Thus began our day long birthday party.

The day was totally fun and full of excitement. We took Gracie, Lukie and all of their cousins to Adventure City (not by ourselves, we aren't that insane!).

Despite the crazy number of people there, we rode all of the rides (some more than once).

Lukie driving a fire truck.

Gracie and Bianca driving a rescue wagon. Love that smile, Gracie!

Emmie taking Uncle Mike for a spin. She was such a crazy driver.

My three year old cutie!

Emmie and Nathan on the planes.

Hailey and Auntie Ten Ten volunteered to take Gracie and Lukie on the roller coaster. They were so excited! It was all they could talk about.

Lukie and Auntie Ten Ten waiting for the ride to start.

Gracie and Hailey rode the last car. I think the reality of the roller coaster was starting to set in for Gracie.

Gracie holding onto Hailey for dear life as the roller coaster took its first turning descent.

The verdict: "Mommy, I don't like that roller coaster. It was scary."

We tried to get them to go back on, but I think roller coasters are out for the foreseeable future. At least we got pictures!

We finished our trip to Adventure City with the mini cupcakes that Gracie, Lukie and I made the day before. As requested, they were cupcakes with sprinkles inside and out. Everybody loved them and there weren't any left! We also opened presents and Gracie and Lukie were totally excited to see Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Dora and Diego Beanie Babies, cool new drawing boards, a dinosaur, a unicorn, and money!! Gracie informed me that she would like to use her money to buy a jeep. "One I can ride on, Mommy!"

We all headed over to Portillo's in Buena Park for Italian Beef Sandwiches (Daddy was very happy) and finally headed home. Gracie and Lukie had an amazing day and they were so thankful for their cousins, aunts, uncle and Nana who came to celebrate with them.

Now, they want a party so that everyone can come play Candy Land!

And tomorrow, the world changes

This night, 3 years ago, I lay in my bed at Huntington Hospital knowing that it was my last night alone. The next day, Dr. Hartford planned to deliver Hermie and Iggy and I remember laying there overwhelmed with it all. Twelve weeks I had been in that bed, twelve weeks of tears, worry, anger, joy, loneliness. I was so ready for them to be born, anxious to be out of the hospital and to meet the two creatures who had been doing somersaults in my belly for so long.

I've been thinking back to that night a lot lately. I was so wired, I could not sleep so they gave me Benedryl and Ambien. I kept the TV on for a while in hopes it would lull me to sleep. A few days later, I would not be able to sleep for other reasons, but as I think back on that night, I realize I was an entirely different person.

Someone, no one I know, once said that you don't truly become a woman until you become a mother. I scoff at this every time I hear it said again. What a ridiculous statement! But I now realize, that for me, it was absolutely true. I was still an immature person. I may have been 35, but I was not an adult. I did not truly become one until I sat there next to my too too tiny babies and watched them fight for breaths in the NICU. The night before they were born, I just wanted them born for selfish reasons. I was tired. I was done. I wanted out. I wanted to meet them. When I eventually got to be there with them in the NICU, I felt like the worst person on the planet and kept saying over and over again that I should have fought to keep them in my belly a bit longer.

I've been looking at pictures and videos of them often over the past few days. They are not babies and it makes me so sad. I hate to even call them toddlers. They don't "toddle." They run. They jump. They wrestle. They fight. They sing. They love.

I am so scared to see them grow up. I am worried that they won't want to cuddle with me or want to share hugs and kisses. I am worried because I know this can't be this wonderful forever (despite all of the crazy 3-year old drama they are inflicting on us).

I guess I'm just going to have to record every moment in my memory and remember that this won't last forever. So today, as they spent their last day as 2 year olds, we baked birthday cupcakes and I let them frost every one, no matter how many times they put their butter knife into their mouths and then into the frosting. We went to Target and had ICEEs and I rigged the hose so that it dribbled water onto their slide so that they could have their very own water slide. We rolled around on the floor and giggled because Lukie had a seriously stinky booty and he wouldn't let me change his Pull-Up. We shared kisses and hugs and made up songs.

What a such a wonderful way to celebrate the last day of being 2! I shall never forget it.

Nana's Birthday at Fortune Inn

Nana's birthday is March 10, but it falls in the middle of the week this year. Normally, we would meet her for her birthday and go where ever she wanted to go for dinner. She's been wanting to go to Fortune Inn in Glendale for more than 2 years. She keeps mentioning it and we never seem to go. That is, until tonight!

We met Nana and Gracie and Lukie's cousins Hailey, Bianca and Brandon for a dinner at Fortune Inn. All the same waiters are there! It's amazing, considering they have been there for the past 10 years I have eaten there.

We ordered Hong Kong Chow Mein, Smoke Flavored Beef (OMG!), Mongolian Chicken, Broccoli Chicken, and something else that Daddy wanted, but I forgot the name of. All 8 of us had a ton of food and we were very happy.


Gracie and Lukie especially enjoyed the Hong Kong Chow Mein.

Nana had chocolate raspberry gelato for her birthday cake and we ordered a mango coconut to share.  We passed them around, each taking a bite until they were all gone.

Gracie and Luke were starting to get antsy (we'd been there for over 2 hours at that point), so the head waiter bribed them with lollipops.  You'd think someone gave them a huge slice of chocolate cake!

My favorite picture!

In the end, we had a great time, but Lukie was ready to go.  It's a good thing I have fast reflexes!

We had enough food leftover for lunch the next day!

Happy Birthday, Nana!  We hope you had fun!

Happy Birthday, Cousin Natey!

Gracie and Lukie's cousin, Nathan, celebrated his 3rd birthday on Friday.  I can't believe he is already 3!  I remember when his age was still counted in months and he visited me in the hospital with his mommy and daddy!

Nana drove all the way out to our house to pick up Gracie and Luke so that they could go to Nate's birthday part.  The party was at Chuck E. Cheese and all I kept hearing about was the chocolate birthday cake from Gracie and Luke.  Nana couldn't stop telling me how much fun all of the cousins had together at Nate's party. She especially emphasized how much exercise she got chasing them around and lifting them onto the different toys.

Cousin Nate, we can't believe you are already 3!  Thank you for sharing your birthday with us!

Brandon, Nathan, Gracie and Luke.

See those ponytails?  They lasted all day!  It was picture day at preschool.

Happy Birthday, Nathan!

A Birthday Party with Friends

Today was James and Jonathan's birthday party at The Little Gym. What a totally fun place to go! We had a great time climbing, balancing, throwing balls at the back of other children's heads, kicking them in the back...Oh, wait, that part wasn't so fun.

Anyway, Gracie and Luke had a great time. We got to see James and Jonathan, whose mommy was in the High Risk Pregnancy Unit with me for a very long time, and we got to see Lucas and Riley twins of one of our Twin Momma group. I took a ton of pictures and have a video, but it needs to be edited.

Here are some pictures to tide you over until I get my act together.

After this birthday party, we are feeling even better about the presents we got James and Jonathan. We bought them a fabric play tunnel and a tent to hide in! We hope they really like them!

Birthday cake at Grandma and Grandpa's House

After the Zoo on their birthday, we tried to drive around so that Gracie and Luke would fall asleep. When that didn't work, we went home and played a bit. Then, we decided to go buy an actual cake for Gracie and Luke to blow out candles. Daddy and I were unanimous in our thinking that it had to be an ice cream cake. We found the perfect one at Baskin Robbins: Gold Medal Ribbon ice cream with fudge ganache, whipped cream, and almonds!

This is the happiness that ensued:

Birthday Surprises!

Saturday was Gracie and Luke's birthday. It was a day filled with happiness and fun.

And no naps.

For the record, no naps = cranky kids and no naps = cranky parents. Just in case you hadn't done the math.

We started the morning waking up later than normal and headed out to the livingroom to watch Barney and have a banana. At some point, Daddy brought out the birthday presents: new tricycles!

She was in the middle of saying "cheese."

"Oh, look!"

After admiring the bikes, we headed off to our birthday party at the Los Angeles Zoo. I recently purchased a Family Pass, so we invited all of Gracie and Luke's cousins, Auntie Ten Ten, Uncle Jerry, Aunt Becca, and Nana. It was HOT, HOT, HOT! We were already sweating before we walked through the gates.

We did not realize that this was all of the Cousins' first trip to the Zoo. It was evident within the first 30 seconds after we walked off the ramp. They made a beeline for the seal tank and could have stayed there all day!

We had a great time exploring the Zoo and everyone agreed that we need to go back again soon. If only Lukie's hat survived the day. Instead, the apes now have a new article of clothing.

I think it was Aunt Bec who said, "This is the best birthday party ever!" Auntie Ten Ten totally agreed. "There's no clean up!"

Exactly, young grasshoppers. Exactly!

Turning 2

Happy Birthday, Gracie and Lukie!

Today, you are 2 years old. That is an amazing feat! You have finally reached the magical age where how long you have lived is no longer counted in months, but years. I will note, that you have lived an amazing 730 days. Can you believe that? That's a huge number. So huge, that you don't have a clue about it yet!

I can't give you stats on how tall you are or how much you weigh, because we still have 2 weeks before your 24 month check up. I also can't promise there won't be any shots. I will promise, that if there are, I'll be right there to hold your hand and sing a song to help the hurt go away.

Here are some amazing things you do now that you are 2:

Gracie

---

For a while now, you have been very interested in the potty. So much so, that you have used the potty at Grandma's house several times. I keep forgetting that you like the potty and have yet to put you on ours. Grandma says you are ready to be potty trained. I'm not so sure. I know you'll let me know when you are ready.

You like to practice counting. You can say "one, two, REEEE!" Sometimes, you remember "four," but you're still working on it.

You LOVE Barney. I don't think I have ever seen a child love Barney as much as you do. If I let you, all you would do all day is listen to Barney songs, read Barney books, or watch Barney on tv. You are quite obsessed with him. I'm not worried though. Everyone starts with something they love very much. When we sing the "I love you" song, you kiss everyone around you and give them a hug. It makes me very happy.

You like to try to dress yourself. You don't quite know yet that your legs aren't where all of your clothes go on your body, but we're working on that.

You like to imitate Mommy: "No, no, no, Ukie!" you say, while shaking your finger. You also like to pat your baby on the back and give it kisses, just like I do for you.

You love your Daddy. Usually, you call him Papa. But recently, you've been calling him Poppi. I'm not sure where you got that, but occasionally you call him that.

You also love Nana, Ten Ten, Nathan, Baby Emerson, Aunt Bec, Bianca and Brandon. I know this because you go through the entire list of their names every time you want to go see them.

You LOVE chocolate milk.

You really don't eat much and it worries me. I want you to grow and be strong, but you don't seem very interested. Well, except for the milk. I'll just keep that coming.

You love to read and will sit quietly and "read" books to yourself. I love that. It makes me so happy!

You aren't a very good listener yet. You still try to run in the street, turn on light switches by climbing on the top of the couch, and you climb out of the bathtub before I am ready for you. We need to work on that.

My favorite thing about you is how much you care for your brother, Daddy, and me. You love us and it shows in everything you do and how hard you work to take care of us.

I love you, my Little Who!


Lucas

---

My Lukie-Lou is a very loving boy. He has lots of kisses for everyone and loves to cuddle. He likes it when I hold him close and say, "My Baby!" When he wants me to do it, he climbs into my lap and says, "baby?" It melts my heart every time.

While Gracie's words come fast and furiously, Lukie, you are not far behind. Usually, it takes only a day or two until you are saying the same words Gracie is. Your favorite words right now are: elephant, exercise, outside, up, Barney, Momma, Papa, Abwee (Abue), ice cream, ball, and "ucken." Occasionally, "meat" is also a favorite word. Oh, wait! Your absolute favorite words are: "MY TURN!"

You are super active and you don't have time for naps. The only time you really take them is if you are in a car, and then, you sleep the best sleep. You hate bedtime and you cry every night after we finish our last book. I'm not sure if you think you are going to miss something or what, but we are always here when you wake up!

You love your Abue and would rather mow the lawn with him that play with anyone else. You could spend an entire day with him and be totally content. You won't take a nap, but you will be content.

You love to brush your teeth. In fact, Gracie does too! I can convince you to let me brush them some more by pretending you have crackers and ice cream stuck in them. But really, you love holding your own brush and scrubbing your teeth (well, actually, you love sucking your tooth gel off).

You are Captain Destructo. Just ask Daddy. We try to stay very close to you or chaos will ensue. Your favorite activity in our backyard is throwing rocks (the ones used to create our path. FYI, those are not meant for throwing). When you run, you have this cute thing you do that is more like a skip/run than anything else.

You do everything with an excitement that makes me so very happy. And when you smile, your dimples flash! You had me right there.

Even though you are getting bigger, you are still my Lukie-Lou! (And I'll keep cuddling my little "baby" until you are done playing along.)

---

I thought about writing down all the words Gracie and Lukie know, but I honestly can't remember them all. Here's a sampling:

milk, pan (bread), apple, banana (banya), juice, ice cream, chicken, meat, cracker, Mum-Mum, candy (Who taught you that?), water (Lukie says "wa-wa" Gracie says "agua"), truck, carro (car), home, park, inside, outside, spoon, ball, "My turn," "Es mio," mine, where go?, bunny, kitty, puppy, horsie, cow, elephant, lion, monkey, duck, Oreo (their puppy at Abue's house), Nana, Ten Ten, Mommy, Momma, Papa, Poppi, Abue, Tio, baby, book, hop, up, down, "I Oo" (I love you), Choo-Choo, train, Oh No!, What happened?, no, yes, bee, swim, binky

While some moments of the past two years seemed to last an eternity, they have also gone by so quickly! Gracie and Lukie are no longer babies. They are definitely toddlers. They are very independent and want to do things for themselves. It makes me sad for the days when they needed me more, but it makes me so excited for them that they are learning to be their own selves.

Over the last few weeks, I've had flashbacks to times when I remember crying on the phone to Aunt Bec; when I thought I would never be a mommy. And here I am! With two beautiful 2 year olds.

You can't get any luckier than this!

Happy Birthday, Papa!

You made it to 39! Here's to many more years to come!

By the way, you really need to sit still for some new pictures!

Celebrating our Second Un-Birthday

2 years ago today, I was 23 weeks and 4 days pregnant with Gracie and Luke.

2 years ago today, I was having contractions (not the Braxton Hicks kind).

2 years ago today, I had an appointment with Dr. Hartford and he made me sit for 20 minutes having my contractions monitored. The machine did not register any of the contractions I felt.

2 years ago today, Daddy drove me home. I was scared and worried and waiting for the results of a test that would supposedly tell us whether I would go into labor in the next 2 weeks.

2 years ago today, I lay on the couch and the contractions did not stop. They got stronger and started to get closer together.

2 years ago today, the nurse called to tell me that my fetal fibronectin test came back positive. I panicked.

2 years ago today, when the contractions started to feel like the worst cramps of my life, Dr. Hartford had Daddy drive me to Huntington Memorial so that the nurses in Labor and Delivery could monitor my contractions.

2 years ago today, Dr. Hartford discovered that my body was in preterm labor. He was gruff and pessimistic and he scared the crap out of me.

2 years ago today, Dr. Hartford fought to stop my contractions and keep Gracie and Luke from being born. He was successful, kind of.

2 years ago today began a battle that would continue for 12 weeks and 2 days. On our side, Dr. Hartford, the best OBGYN in the universe (God sent me to him), magnesium sulfate (the medicine that kept my uterus from contracting), the Perinatal High Risk nurses who monitored me, held my hand, made me laugh, and held me when I cried.

2 years ago today could have been Gracie and Luke's birthday. But because we had Dr. Hartford and his team on our side, I can happily say that today is Gracie and Luke's UnBirthday.

Dr. Hartford,
Not a day goes by that I don't look at Gracie and Luke and think of you. You were pessimistic and helped me keep focused on my goal: growing my babies. You were exactly what I needed. My very own kick in the butt. You started out as my doctor, but by the end of the summer of 2007, you became my friend. You sat and talked with me about mundane things. You explained all of the technical stuff that was going on. You treated me like a person and not just a patient. We will be forever grateful to you for fighting for us.
Happy UnBirthday to you, too!

Celebrating Mommy's Birthday

It was a great day today. I've already forgotten how many times Lukie threw his binky on the floor and how many times Gracie ate crayons.

After dinner with Nana, Aunt Becca, Auntie Ten Ten and the cousins, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house for even more cake and ice cream. Grandma left the spoons a little too close to Gracie and Luke, with the following results:

Some of the best entertainment all week!

Mommy's Birthday

Today is my birthday. I was hoping that Daddy would be home by now. Alas, it was not meant to be.

Add to Daddy's illness, the freakiness of having our Federal tax return rejected last night, twins waking up an half an hour early this morning, and the spilling coffee on myself in the car, the disappointment at the day care people for doing something I expressly asked them not to, the day did not start out well.

Luckily, I teach at a girls' school. When I arrived today, I was surprised by a white board filled with Happy Birthday wishes, cookies, a cake, a gift certificate to Gymboree so that I can go shopping for Gracie and Luke, a bottle of Chanel perfume (wow!), a journal, and many homemade cards. I had cake with my Math Department friends and celebrated with my Birthday Homie, John. I had more hugs today than I have in the past 3 months!

Even though having Daddy home would be the best birthday present ever, unexpected kindness from others has made the day quite lovely. To top it off, we are planning to go to dinner with Nana, Aunt Bec and her crew, and maybe, Auntie Ten Ten and Nate Dog. Then, we are heading to cake time with Grandma and Grandpa.

Whew! A busy and happy day ahead. Yay!

Birthday Parties

Being twins, it makes sense that Gracie and Luke might have more than one party. We actually had 3!

On their actual birthday, we headed to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner with Nana, Aunt Bec, Hailey, Bianca, Brandon, Auntie Ten Ten, and Nathan. The Twinsies had garlic bread and spaghetti. For their birthday surprise, they had spumoni ice cream. Gracie and Luke are fascinated by fire, but don't understand what to do about it. I blew out their candles for them.

On Saturday, we had a birthday party at a park near Aunt Bec's house. Lots of people were there, including family and friends. My friend, Julie, was there with her twin boys and our friend from the hospital, Jessica, was there with her twin boys! The Twinsies had an Elmo Cupcake Cake for this party and had lots of fun making a mess. We had a great time eating blueberries, red frosting, and dodging the balloons dancing in the wind. There was a Cookie Monster pinata too!

(Be patient while the slide show loads!)

On Sunday, we had a party at our house for the people who live closer to us. This time, we had a Cookie Monster Cupcake Cake and an Elmo pinata. (Daddy wants me to say here that he was really impressed with Sam's Club. We gave them a picture of a Cookie Monster Cupcake Cake and they did a beautiful job!) Instead of wearing their 1st birthday shirts, Gracie and Luke wore their bears onesies. Gracie even had a ginormous Bears' bow. It's a good thing they wore them, because that night, the Bears played the championship Colts and beat them. Go Bears!

We had a lovely time at both parties. It was a long weekend, but we had such a wonderful time. It was great having everyone come to spend time with the babies and see how they are growing.

One special memory to note: This weekend, Luke started taking his first real steps. He is still a little wobbly, but he can take 6 or more steps and manage to stay upright. In the next few weeks, he should be just as good at walking as Gracie is!

Happy 1st Birthday, My Little Loves!

Words cannot express the joy you have brought to our lives. Your smiles, your laughs, the silly sounds you make, each of these is a reminder of how truly blessed we are! Daddy and I are the luckiest parents in the entire world!

May this birthday be the first of decades more to come!

Daddy's Birthday

Thursday, we celebrated Daddy's birthday! He is officially 38 years old. You wouldn't know it though. When he plays with the babies, he is easily 25 years younger and so very happy!

Daddy and the babies spent the day together while I was at work. Grandma and Grandpa arrived in the morning and surprised Daddy with the traditional clanging of the pots and pans. They sang for Daddy, too, and had a special breakfast. They played all morning!

In the afternoon, we all went with Daddy to get his picture taken for the America's Walk for Diabetes mile markers. The photographer was captivated by the babies and took lots of pictures with Daddy, with me, and of all of us as a family. She promises to post the pictures to her website so that we can buy them if we like.

After that, Daddy decided he wanted to go to Islands for dinner. For the first time, the babies had a wonderful meal with us! We ordered them chicken tenders and they ate them right up! They especially enjoyed the few french fries we gave them. They even tried Daddy's special birthday ice cream cake, but decided it wasn't something they enjoyed.

On the way home, the babies fell asleep and it was only when we arrived home that they woke up long enough for a bath and bottle before bed time.

At the end of the day, Daddy told me, "This was my best birthday ever!"

I think he really meant that!