Holiday Cards and Crushes

As the Christmas cards came in this December, Ryan and Lucie were excited to add them to the wall of photos by their highchairs. I started doing this last year as something fun for R & L to look at during meals. (And I'm embarrassed to admit, it's also a cover-up for the food stains on our walls - yuck.) Ryan and Lucie became so attached to some of our 2006 cards, that they stayed up well into last year. Owen's card, a particular favorite, was so well loved that it didn't come down until his 2007 one arrived.

Now that Lucie and Ryan are talking, the cards are a great dinner time conversation starter (not that you need much of one with 2 year olds). They love to yell out, "Count babies, mommy!" And we'll count and name all the cards with babies. Then it's "Count boys, mommy!" And we'll count and name all the boys. Next, "Count girls, mommy!" or "Count doggies!" Often it even goes as far as "Count oceans!" or "Count leaves!" or Ryan's favorite, "Count Sybille!"

Ryan has come to adore our Stroller Strides instructor, Sybille. He gushes every time we see her at class. When she gave us a holiday card, it became one of his prize possessions. Unlike the other cards, it moves around a lot as he finds a new spot for it with each meal. Sometimes he even puts it on Lucie's high chair if it means it's easier for him to see. When I told Sybille about my son's crush on her, she gave him a big hug and carried him into the play yard. I loved the smile on his face that night as he told Chris the whole story. Chris and I joke that we're learning Ryan's "type" - blond, Swiss and able to effortlessly sprint up a hill pushing a stroller. Now that's some very good taste for a 2 year old!

Aggle, Flaggle, Klabble No More

We continue to be amazed by the things that come out of our kids' mouths. They went from simple words and phrases ("Daddy, up!") to entire sentences and expressions of emotion, all in the matter of a few months. I feel like I've gone from taking care of babies, to spending my days with two expressive little people, telling me what they think, how they feel and what they want. The transformation is really incredible.

Lucie has taken off speaking in full sentences and correctly using tricky words. Her latest is the word "actually". When asked what she wanted to eat this morning she first requested yogurt, and then corrected herself with "Actually, I like waffles." I was speechless — how did she learn that one? Well, actually, I shouldn't appear so stunned since she hears that word coming from her sometimes indecisive mother's mouth many times a day. But the fact that she used it correctly and didn't try it out in the wrong context first was what really made me gawk.

As if I need more reason to believe she's listening closely, here are some other recent quotes:
"I need to organize my shirt drawer!" (when putting away clean clothes)
"Ryan, I have a question for you!" (a question never followed, but you could tell she wanted to know something from Ryan)
"I'm thinking about it." (when asked what foods she likes).

My very favorite quote of the week is when she declared, "I love this part!" when the dinosaurs started singing on Elmo's World.

Ryan has a ton to say as well. Sometimes his pronunciation is a little different, but we usually figure it out after a few minutes of explanation. One of my favorite Ryan quotes is "Knuffle, Mommy" &mdash his personal attempt at "I love you, Mommy". This came from a well-read book, Knuffle Bunny, about a baby who goes from gibberish (aggle! flaggle!) to speaking words when her dad leaves her beloved bunny at the laundromat. Ryan seemed to catch on that "knuffle" sounded like "love you" (maybe the reason why the bunny was named that in the book?) Thanks to Ryan-speak, now all four of us say "Knuffle!" to each other at nighttime instead of the usual "I love you". It's the best way to end the day.

One of the Gang

As always, Ryan, Lucie and Tate had a great time together during our recent trip. With each visit, their play and interaction increases, this time more noticeably than ever before. Now that Tate is walking, eating finger foods, napping once a day, and interested in Uncle Andrew's old toys and Elmo's World, the three cousins practically acted like triplets. I loved it.

Tate wanted to do everything his cousins did, and Lucie and Ryan wanted to do everything Tate did. At one point R & L were crawling around on the floor saying, "I'm a baby!" as if to remind Tate how much he had grown since the last time we saw him. Tate was very aware of his cousins too, wanting to sit at the table with them instead of the highchair, take a bath with them, and sleep in the same room. Hopefully he didn't come to regret the sleeping in the same room part — his cousins have been making bedtime routine a bit of a challenge recently.

Ryan (and Lucie sometimes) has been testing us with seemingly endless requests for one more story, one more drink of water, one more song, one more anything to keep us from closing the door and saying goodnight. Tate was a great sport about this, and would calmly endure all of cousin Ryan's cries for "Mo Wata! Mo Wata! Mo Wata!". Each time I came in the room to calm Ryan down with a sip of water, Tate would sit up in his crib and smile at me. It was a sweet smile, with a sleepy twinkle in his eye, as if he was taking notes on Ryan's bedtime stalling tactics to try out on his own parents some day. Sorry Rach and Jason!

Now that we've been home for some time, Tate is still on Ryan and Lucie's mind. Each time they see an airplane in the sky, they yell out, "Tate! Tate!" When I commented that a sweater was getting too small for Lucie, she replied, "Give it to Taters!" In Ryan and Lucie's minds, all airplanes and outgrown clothes (even pink and purple striped sweaters?) lead to their much missed cousin Tate.

Raise Your Glasses...

as we toast the New Year! We hope everyone is enjoying the holidays as much as Lucie and Ryan.

After an extended trip to see family, we're back and will be posting about our adventures in the coming days.

"Wayne-Deer" and "San-TA!"

After two wonderful, adventure-filled weeks visiting family, it's been a bit tough for Lucie and Ryan to get back into the routine at home. Two tired parents and a bowl of Cheerios pales in comparison to the entertaining relatives and homemade breakfast goodies they had come to enjoy each morning over the holidays.

Lucie and Ryan aren't the only ones who miss waking up to grandparents, uncles, aunt and cousin just waiting to play with them. I sure miss that too — all the help meant a chance for us to relax and watch R & L soak in all the wonders of the holidays. Christmas through the eyes of twin two year olds is quite enchanting.

While they loved opening their many beautiful gifts, some of R & L's best moments were spent enjoying the little things in life we grown-ups sometimes forget are really fun. Here are some of Lucie and Ryan's highlights:

* Picking up the newspaper from the front step each morning with Papa
* Helping Gigi cook pancakes, "monkey bread", and cinnamon rolls
* Picking tomatoes (in December!) from the garden with Grandma
* Helping Grandpa put the flag out each day
* Enjoying all things with cousin Tate — from eating to bathing to playing with seaweed to jumping in their cribs after nap time
* Christmas lights galore in both grandparents' neighborhoods. As we drove by illuminated houses, Lucie and Ryan would yell out from their car seats, "I see 2 no-men mommy! I see 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 wayne-deer!"

Once again, Lucie and Ryan reminded me that the little details in life are often the most important and meaningful. Here's to more adventures with family and enjoyment of the small stuff in 2008!