Parlez-vous Francais?

With all this talk of flying off to Paris, it was time for Ryan and Lucie to learn to speak to the locals, or at least for me to have a little fun breaking out my rusty French.

Since they were babies, we've been trying to expose them to a bit of the language by listening to French music and reading a board book that Aunt Rach and Uncle Jason brought us from a trip to Paris. Before Ryan and Lucie started speaking, they'd listen patiently to the book (or in Ryan's case, climb on and off the couch), waiting eagerly for the mirror on the last page. But now that their own speaking skills have taken off, they are intrigued by the book. They recognize a few of the words, and then like to mimic my reading by speaking gibberish/baby talk and dissolving into giggles.

I've since tried to teach them a few French words at a time. They love to say, "WaYa!" (voila), "Bonjour!" and are working on introducing themselves in, as they call it, "Fwench". I quickly learned, though, the key is to find words to teach them related to their favorite things. We found a book in the library about things with wheels and their French translations. It was perfect! Ryan quickly picked up "camion de pompier" (fire truck), "tracteur" (tractor) and "pelleteuse" (digger).

The trouble is, now he wants more specifics. He's not satisfied with saying fire truck, he wants to know how to say hook and ladder truck, brush breaker, backhoe loader, front end loader, and excavator. Funny, that vocabulary never came up in any of my courses, nor did I probably even know these words in English until I started reading truck books to my kids. Until I do some research, we call all unknown heavy machinery a "camion" (truck).

Lucie's requests are a bit easier, but not much. She wanted to know how to say Ducky (of course), green blanket, and duckling. For lack of any better translations, I taught her the word for teddy bear to refer to all her loved ones. Calling Ducky a "canard" sounds straight off a restaurant menu, and doesn't begin to explain the love and devotion she has for that little furry-headed guy.

Marabelle

Over the past few weeks, Lucie has been introducing us to her imaginary friend, Marabelle. It started with a comment out of the blue one day during lunch. "Mommy," Lucie said, "we have to pick up my friend at the airport!" "Your friend?" I asked, not quite catching on yet. "Yes, Marabelle!" Oh, of course. How could I have forgotten her?

Like a Christmas advent calendar, Lucie reveals a new detail about her friend every day. We've learned that Marabelle lives in San Francisco. She often flies into town, sometimes asking to be picked up, other times claiming she's "too busy" to visit, or must instead spend her time "organizing things". Lucie will pick up her Elmo cell phone, say hello, and turn to me to say, "Mom, it's Marabelle! She's at the airport!" Marabelle is also known to communicate through rocks in the garden, fire truck hoses, or even carrots.

What else do we know about Marabelle? She rides in hot air balloons, and has a sister and a brother who are taller than her. Sometimes she's two and a half years old, other times, she's ten. She also has a friend named Bicca (Bicca, not Becca as Chris likes to call her — Lucie's very adamant about that) who pops up every now and then in her adventures.

We never know what Lucie might incorporate in Marabelle stories. Sometimes it's a tidbit from a book she read (her name comes from Fancy Nancy), a story we told at the dinner table, or a phrase she heard. Though she has some wild adventures at times, most often Marabelle can be found flying somewhere to organize something. Like our Lucie, she quite a busy girl.

Roundtrip to Paris, Please

Ryan and Lucie's imaginative play has taken off lately (literally). They've transformed our empty living room and a few dining room chairs into a six-seater airplane, with Ryan as pilot, Lucie as air traffic control, and Bunny as co-pilot. Uncle AJ and Aida were lucky enough to grab the last two seats on the plane (perfect for my stand-by flying brother) when over for a visit this weekend.

We were cleaning out a closet this week and happened upon our rolling luggage. The next thing I knew, R & L had stuffed it with all their loved ones and declared it was time to take off. Where to? Paris, of course. We've been reading a ton of Madelineand Fancy Nancy books, so I guess the City of Lights was fresh in their minds. (And they know I love it when they talk about Paris which makes me a willing and eager passenger!)

The trip has a very specific itinerary. We go straight to Paris with a short stop at a dinosaur museum. Ryan and Bunny make a great team, using a ring from an old stacking toy as a steering wheel. Due to their expert piloting and Lucie's navigation, we make it to Paris in less than 3 minutes. The boarding, gassing up of the plane (a Swiffer mop for a gas pump), and ticket collection takes longer than the flight itself.

I dream of taking my little ones to Paris someday, and love to see them practicing the journey already. If only it were this easy to get there.

Gold Medals in "Why?"

The first time we watched the Olympics with Ryan and Lucie, there was more feeding, burping, and rolling going on than actual watching. So much has changed in two and a half years.

We've all been enjoying a bit of the summer games together, with cute and funny results. Chris and I can't answer R & L's questions fast enough. Here's a bit of what we've heard lately:

Rowing:
"Daddy, where's the number four boat?" (Ryan)
"Whaz his name, Daddy?" (Ryan)
"Where's the number three boat?" (Ryan)
"I don see the number four boat, Daddy. Where is he?" (repeat this question over and over again, and that was Ryan's appreciation of rowing. Apparently he really liked the number four boat.)

Medal Ceremony:
"How did those flags go up, Daddy? (Ryan)
"Where are the flags going?" (Ryan)

Swimming:
"He went underwater. Where's he going?" (Lucie)
"Where are their heads?" (Ryan)
"Why did you say 'Oh Geez', Daddy?" (Lucie)
"How does he get out, Daddy?" (Lucie)
"Where's the ladder?" (Lucie)

And, finally, "Can we watch 'Clifford'?"

Skinny Dipping

Playing in your own inflatable pool is one of the many pleasures of being a toddler in the summer. Ryan and Lucie could (and sometimes do) spend hours pouring, dunking, dipping, drinking, mixing, splashing and pouring again. They love the water.

The first time I set up our pool, I had R & L decked out in all their swim gear — swim diapers, bathing suits, rash guards and hats. They were good to go.

Then, like so many of my best intentions to protect my kids, all was thrown out the window. Slowly, they began shedding their clothes, a rash guard flung off here, a bathing suit tossed over there. The next thing I knew they were naked, claiming swimsuits made them "too cold". How that's possible in lukewarm tap water and 90 degree temperatures is beyond me. But I don't argue with the logic of 2 year old twins.

Now all swimming is to be done in the "noodie-roodie". I have to admit, it does make clean-up and potty training a whole lot easier. I just feel sorry for Ryan and Lucie's buddies Erick and Evan who came over to play this week. Thankfully, Ryan maintained his modesty while entering and exiting the pool.

Cartoons in the Ceiling

A trip to the dentist's office is usually not a photo-worthy event. In fact, just the opposite. Unless, it's your kids' first trip ever, and you're a blogger.

Ryan and Lucie had a very positive trip to the dentist (despite what this look on Ryan's face tells you). Mostly, it was because the dentist was friendly, knowledgeable, great with kids, and gave them both a stellar report. But I think the TV mounted to the ceiling above the chair helped a bit too.

If you ask Lucie about the dentist, the first thing she'll tell you is all about the headphones she got to wear to listen to the "cartoons in the ceiling!" Unfortunately, Ryan didn't discover this during his exam. No problem, he was pretty excited about helping to count his teeth with the dentist, and the toy he got to pick from the treasure chest at the end of the visit.

When we got home, Ryan declared, "That was fun! Let's go to the dentist again!" I wish all of my dentist appointments went that well.

Apparently we're not the first people to document their child's first dentist visit. The dentist said he has seen his hands in many family photos, including a Christmas card! I guess I'm not the only wacky parent, though a Christmas card does seems a bit much...

Megan, Meggie, Megs, Meggers, Mommy

She may answer to many names, but she's loved by all. And on this day we say Happy Birthday Megan!

In our house, everyone can agree on two things: ice cream cake is the best way to celebrate a birthday and that Mommy is number one!