Meet the Gacek Girls part 2

So here is the much anticipated interview with Eleanor, age 3 yrs 5 months.

Sunday Funnies

Three-year-olds are funny, in all senses of the word, really, but here I mean "ha-ha funny." Don't go all Pesci on me! (If you get that veiled "Goodfellas" reference, yay!)
So anyway, back to my budding comediennes. Yesterday was a banner day for them. They were funny from sun up to sun down. Below you will find some of their gems. Enjoy!

Natural Progression:
Ellie wakes me up yesterday and says, "I think you should teach Daddy to do laundry." Struggling to wake up and comprehend what she just said, I said, "Oh, why?" "Well, he knows how to do ponies!"
Apparently the pre-requisite for laundering our clothing is the ability to successfully create a ponytail in Eleanor's hair.

Buttering Uncovered:
So anyone who knew Ellie as a younger toddler, knew she had this weird habit of sitting on the floor with her arms and legs straight out in front of her and would rock side to side. She did this from about the time she could sit up and move on her own to almost 3 years old. When she could talk, she named it "Buttering" or "Buttering my butt." Yesterday, both girls are in the backseat and out of the blue, Abbie asks Ellie about buttering. "Why did you do that, Ellie?" Ellie says in an astounded voice, "I don't know, but I just couldn't stop!"
Proof positive that addiction starts at a young age.

Po-TAY-toe, puh-TAH-toe, Creole?:
Still in the car and still in the back seat, Ellie looks out the window and sees a Taco Belle. "That Taco Bill," she says? "Yes," I said. "That's Taco Belle." "MMMMM, I like Taco Bill. You like Taco Bill, Abbie?" "Yeah, I like Taco Bill, Ellie!" Finally, I said, "Is Taco Bill anything like Taco John's?" to which Abbie says, "Chocolate Don's?!? Where's that? I want to go there!!"
Obviously we need to get a little more aggressive in either cleaning out their ears, or enunciating when we speak!

I know I say it all the time, but I really need to live my life with a tape recorder. Every day is a collection of bits that would put any comedian to shame. So until next time, Laugh. And you're welcome for the additional years of life!

When I was a kid, I had this album:


I loved it. I think I listened to it every day on my Fisher Price record player. One of my favs was "Why, Why, Why," with choice lines like "Why can't a mouse eat a streetcar?" and "Why can't a cow have kittens?"

Well, apparently it affected my genes, because the girls highly excel at why questions. Could also be because they are 3, but I prefer to blame Anne Murray. Dang Canadians and their feel-good music! But I digress. Below you will find some of Clan Gacek's more choice Whys:

> "Why is the sky bleeding?" - Ellie on the very red evening sky after a recent storm
> "Why his mom let him draw all over himself?" - Ellie upon seeing Twins closer Jon Rausch for the first time
> "Why it's raining in here?" - Ellie on why her head was wet while sitting on my lap at Toy Story 3 (I was crying.)
> "Why you don't shave your legs, Daddy?" - Ellie
> "What his/her name is? Why?" - Either of them on seeing other people out in the world
> "Why don't you wear jammies, Dad?" - Abbie
> "Why we named your car Johnny Cash?" - Ellie
> "Why did they break that road?" - Abbie on seeing road construction by Cindy's house
> "Why are those cars getting piggie backs?" - Abbie on seeing a semi carrying cars, presumably to a dealership
> "Why it [current day of the week]?" - Ellie.
> "Why Johnny Cash eats gas? - Ellie after we pull into a gas station to fill up
> "Why Johnny Cash's air conditioning doesn't work? Why Grammy's does?" - Ellie puzzling out broken car accessories
And one of my faves: "Why don't daddies wear bras?" - Abbie after helping fold/put away laundry.

Yeah, I ask that sometimes myself, Little Bear. Until we find out, peace and thumbs.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

OH!! Would you look at that? I didn't fall off the face of the earth! It's been a while, I know, but I assure you that the Ringmaster and Casa de Gato y Ninas is still up and running, although now that we are in our "tremendous threes," every day really IS an adventure.

So a quick update: The girls are 3 yrs, 3 months going on 15. Seriously, 95% of what they say needs to be kept for posterity. If you follow my statuses at all on Facebook, you will know full well what I mean. The things that happen when they are around are sometimes beyond the pale. So here's a not so typical, yet completely typical example of life at Casa de Gato y Ninas right now:

I worked from home yesterday afternoon, but I had this meeting with my 3 supervisors and 2 co-workers that I had to call in for late in the day. Four of the five people work in our San Antonio office, so they don't really see or deal with personally (meaning face-to-face) on a daily basis. So I sequestered myself in our bedroom with the phone and things were going really well for about 45 minutes. Then it all stopped.
Ellie comes running to our door with no panties on, waving a plastic Target bag and SHOUTING, "ABBIE POOPED!!! ABBIE POOPED AND IT'S ON THE FLOOR!!" Abbie, who is now in the bathroom shouts back, "NO!! It's not on the floor anymore!!" as she is attempting to empty the contents of the potty into the toilet, which already has a great deal more than the 3 allotted squares of TP in it.
So here I am, phone clamped between my ear and shoulder, trying to wrangle a plastic bag from Ellie, clean a stinky, messy potty without water (because it's too noisy) while not gagging, wipe Abbie (which Ellie had started to do, and did a pretty good job, but then got distracted by the Target bag), AND find the poop that's on the floor while trying to listen to what the people on the phone are saying and praying that they don't ask me any questions.

So there you have it. Life with 2 three-year-olds...NEVER a dull moment.

Oh, and I did find the poop on the floor 10 minutes after the whole thing...Abbie had taken the washcloth from the towel bar and wiped most of it up off the floor and rug. So, on that note, until next time, dear devoted readers, Peace...and love

Eleanor - Ready for Broadway

So Eleanor recently told me that when she gets big, she is going to play violin, guitar, and piano, and will sing. Sisterrrr, aka Abigail, will play drums, piano and cello. So I thought I should get you a sneak peak into a recent practice session between the girls. Abbie is the opening band, but when the tacos get more interesting, E takes center stage. Please note her concert costume was of her choice, not mine, and DEFINITELY not taco eating attire!

Did you know...

that Jack Black makes all the triangles in the world in addition to cheese, corn, pears, and other various produce*?
Now you do, so until next time, truth.



*this is according to Eleanor who very sincerely told me this on the way to pick up dinner tonight.

Sawing logs

Sigh...dear readers, I tell you, there is never a dull moment in this house.

You need to know that although she is way ahead of most of her peers in many things, Eleanor does not excell at all when it comes to sleeping. She does okay for the first few hurs, but then the chainsaws come out and she snores like an old man. This combined with apnea events make for a very restless night when you share a space with E. She also has had some NASTY ear infections.

So today, on the advice from Eleanor's beloved Dr. Lawler , we met with the ENT specialist. He did an exam, and she is now scheduled for an Adenoidectomy, a Tonsillectomy, and a possible Right Myringotomy and tube. Everyone a mass of tissue in the back of their noses where the nose and the throat come together, which is the adenoid, and then two more masses on either side of their throat, which are the tonsills.

If either the adenoid or the tonsils are enlarged, it can mean infections. The other thing that an enlarged adnoid can do is block the Eustachian tube, the one that runs from your ear to your throat and then cause ear infections. In Eleanor's case, both of her tonsills and her adnoid are extremely enlarged, which is why she sounds like a Stihl MS 880 when she "sleeps." The doctor thinks this is also why she is having so many ear infections, as the Eustachian tube can't drain properly. So on July 14, our brave little Ellie will go under the knife and come out with far less facial mass than the average human. Hopefully this will solve a miriad of problems for her.

Well that is our health update for the moment. Until next time, sniff.

Kids Say the Darndest Things, part 2

Seriously, I need a 24 hour nanny cam or FBI bugging devices to catch all these.

Poop and Boogies:
Chris was home with the girls today. Ellie was digging in her diaper and got poop on her hand. Apparently she freaked out, and most of the day she has been saying that she has poop on her hand, even though it was thoroughly washed. So when they came to pick me up at work, Chris relayed the story to me, and he said something to Ellie about it, but rather than Ellie responding, Abbie said, "Ellie do you have poop-hands?" Ellie said, "YEAH!"

Starting them Young:
Ellie was in the basement playing with our new mop. When I asked her what she was doing, she said, "Cleanin up cat puke."

Day Late and a Dollar Short:
A few days ago, we were coming home from the babysitters and had to stop at a stoplight by a convenience store. There was a minivan wanting to pull out, so I was nice and let him out. (Yes, write it down, I was nice to a minivan driver.) What I didn't realize was that he wanted to pull all the way across and make a left turn at the actual light which was only about 2 car lengths from us. Apparently the guy next to me didn't intuitively know this either as the minivan cut him off and abruptly stopped at the light to turn. So the guy next to me starts honking and gesturing at the minivan. Abbie, who was on that side, asked me why that car was honking and I told her that the person in the other car was mad at him for pulling out in front of him. Apparently she understood the word mad and said, "Ellie, did you see that?? Did you see that Ellie? Did you hear the honking?" Ellie was intently looking out her window and didn't acknowledge Abbie at all. By this time, the light has turned green and we are going through the intersection. Abbie continues questioning Sister about the incident, "Did you see that Sistah?" and she's getting more upset at the situation. Ellie is still quietly looking out her window, not saying a word. Finally about a block from the site of the incident and as Abbie is getting louder and louder, Ellie finally chimes in a very sympathetic and equally exasperated, "Yeah!"

All I Have to do is Dream:
So I will admit it: Eleanor spends almost every night sleeping with us. Last night, (actually more like this morning, but who's counting) she shouts out in her sleep, "Bottle and French fries!!!!!" I would love to know what that dream was about.

Never a dull moment here at Casa de Gato y Ninas. I have to go now as I hear Abbie asking Eleanor to help her with something. That's never a good sign.
Until next time, patience.

Should I Be Concerned?

The other day, I was giving the girls a bath. We got these great letters that, when wet, stick to the tub. The girls LOVE them and love to try to get them to stick to other things. So on the day in question, I looked over at Eleanor and she was trying to get the "A" to stick to her chest. I guess my only saving grace is that the letter is orange.

Random update

So if you have seen the little ladies lately, you will know that they are growing by leaps and bounds. This goes for their personalities as well. Here are 3 stories for your reading pleasure which all illustrate a typical day in the life of Clan Gacek.

The Monkey and the Cheese:

So I gave the girls cheese sticks-whole cheese sticks. Both of them plopped on the floor and started munching along. Well, for some reason, A got tired of eating hers and tossed it just a little ways away from her, but right next to Eleanor. So E grabs the stick and hands it to Abigail who narrows her eyes and tosses it again. Again, E picks it up and hands it to her. By this time, A is ticked, grabs the slimy cheese stick and with an exasperated UNH, whips it across the room. Eleanor did not get up to get it.

Music Soothes the Savage Beast[s]:

For those of you who don't know, we moved into our new Casa de Gato y Ninas this past weekend. Along with the house, we purchased a piano, intending for the girls to eventually take lessons. Well, needless to say, they are fascinated with the thing. They can both crawl up onto the bench and reach the keys. So yesterday they are both sitting up there playing away and pretty soon Monkey starts saying, "EH EH EH!!" Then the Bear joins in, both babies yelling, "EH EH EH!!!!" Finally E points down the keyboard. They wanted the bench to be moved down so they could play new keys. As soon as I moved them a bit, they were contented.

Comedy of Errors-funny and pretty sure we are doomed to the seventh layer of Hell:

Unfortunately, we had to make a somewhat unexpected trip to Chicago the week of June 16 for my grandmother's funeral.The whole family traveled there via minivan, which was an experience in and of itself. We also got to meet the two newest members of the family, Anthony who is 4 days younger than Monkey and Bear, and Noah who is now 6 months old. The 3 toddlers took to each other immediately and absolutely loved each other's company.

Being only 15 months, sitting in Church was not their idea of fun, so we spent a great deal of time outside having adventures. It was a beautiful day, very warm and hardly a cloud, so we spent a lot of time outside rather than in. The church was built in 1928, but in the classic Catholic church style which always seems to include millions of steps. So there we are, Abigail, Eleanor, Anthony, my cousin Shari, my mom and I, watching the babies run and frolick through the concrete pathways, ride the statuary and play the bongos on the Virgin Mary's head. Nothing too crazy, until the natives grew weary of their playthings and chaos ensued. First, Monkey decides she would like to do her best Nadia Comaneci impersonation by doing a well executed forward roll into Anthony's OCCUPIED stroller all while standing on the 4th to the bottom step of the entrance. My cousin immediately pulled back on the stroller, via instinct and I lunged forward to grab the still rolling Eleanor, only for both of us to trip over Abigail, who was having a senior moment and was crawling on the sidewalk. The end result was 3 toddlers screaming, 3 adults laughing hysterically, and one older late-arriving funeral attendee giving us all the crusty of a lifetime, damning us, I am sure, to eternal perril.

Feeling guilty that we were missing the service and worried that we would have a repeat performance of Miss Gold Medal 1976, we moved indoors to the OTHER set of 25 steps. At this point, my cousin gets tired of listening to Anthony whine, and lets him out of the stroller. He then immediately decides to show us HIS stair stepping prowess by going down the stairs like a big boy. Any of you with toddlers or younger children will know that when they are first mastering steps, more often than not, kids will back down them, using their hands and feet, in a modified bear crawl fashion. Going down like a "big kid" involves walking down the risers like any adult not completely inebriated or otherwise impaired, would tackle a staircase. I digress. Anyway, so Anthony is at the top of these stairs. To his credit, he did make it down about 5 before momentum took over and he started sliding down on his heals, but not going into a full-on log roll until about step 12. I should point out that this is my cousin Shari Lyn and any of you who know her, know that although she is only 5 feet tall, most of those 60 inches are occupied by lungs, so she shrieks, "ANTHONY THOMAS!!!!!!" Chris swears he didn't hear her inside the sanctuary up in the front of the church with the other pallbearers, but I think he is lying.

So yes it was an incredibly sad day, having to say goodbye to such a dynamic and wonderful lady, but really, there she was in all three of those little ones, having the time of her life.

So as you can see, most days we have our work cut out for us. As they say on Jon and Kate Plus 8, "It maybe a crazy life, but it's our life." Here, here, Gossleins.

A top nine list for entering the second year of life

Yeah, I know it's May.
So what better time to reflect yet again about all the things that we have learned in our first year of life in the Monkey/Bear Initiative. Here it is, then, without further ado, the top nine things that both the Ringmaster and the rest of the circus have learned, noted, or experienced since March 18, 2007. Oh, and there's a bonus gripe at the bottom of the list. ENJOY!!

1. Falls are much easier to take when cushioned by a sister.
2. If you are ever watching our girls and you want them to bring you either the television remote or the telephone, ask them to bring the No. This is now officially their names. Similarly, the girls’ names have been changed to Eleanor No and Abigail No.
3. Jamba Juice in Whole Foods has the very best music to get your groove going. Whole Foods also has a lot of cheese for sampling.
4. If you are ever building a structure in California and have run out of materials, use wet Cheerios. They are stronger than any other substance out there, save maybe partially chewed grape skins, and could definitely stand up to the earthquake activity experienced in the region. Currently, there are 5 cemented to the dining room floor that will require jack hammers and industrial buffing devices if they are ever to be removed.
5. Daddy really likes it when you use your toothbrush to comb his hair, especially if you have been sucking on the toothbrush so it’s nice and wet.
6. There is absolutely nothing cuter than a 14 month old saying, “Thank you.”
7. The drumsticks from the Bee Band do fit in the VCR, but they tend to get stuck on the door flap when you pull them out due to the little Cilia on both sides of the sticks. This requires one to pull as hard as she can while grunting. This also often requires a diaper change.
8. Cheerios are much better if chewed by a sister then pulled out of her mouth and stuffed into your own mouth.
9. Although it would seem like they would, the afore mentioned drumsticks do not make any sound when used on the head of a sister. The sister, on the other hand, does.

And the previously referred to bonus gripe for your enjoyment:

· An issue that needs to be addressed:

Dear Margaret Wise Brown,

Thank you so much for creating such a wonderful story like Goodnight Moon. The repetitive rhythm of the text captivates my daughters and they love to listen to them over and over and over. However lately, I have become increasingly annoyed with the choice of text beginning with “Goodnight Moon.” Why follow this sentence with, “Goodnight cow jumping over the moon?” This, in my mind, breaks up the flow of the story by repeating “moon” too quickly. Another sticking point is why say goodnight to nobody? “Nobody” is not mentioned prior to this spot in the story, and yet there is a whole page devoted to nobody. Conversely, the telephone one of the first things listed as occupying space in the great green room, and it never receives a goodnight nod from the narrator. Perhaps it could replace nobody.

I recently read that you wrote your stories as children liked to hear them, not as adults think that they should be written. This is indeed a noble and most child-centric way to write and I fully support your effort. However, please know that until the telephone gets its just dues, nobody loses its significant, yet random kudos and the cow and the moon issue is sorted out, 2 little girls in Minnesota will be denied their AAP recommended 15 daily servings of your story. I realize that you have been dead since 1952, but science has made some great breakthroughs in cryogenics, so I am certain you will be able to make the necessary changes to your “classic” in time before my girls go into Moon withdrawal.

Thank you for your time.

Sarah A. Gacek

Karaoke with the Monkey

And now for your listening pleasure, Eleanor "the Monkey" Gacek is ready to take the stage.

Thank you Minneapolis and thank you Ringmaster for that wonderful introduction. Hello everyone and thank you for coming. You know, being 10 and a half months, I've learned a lot about life, love, and music. So in honor of Valentine's Day, I'd like to sing you one of my all-time favs: "Love Hurts" by Nazareth.

Love hurts, love scars, Love wounds, and marks,
Any heart, not tough, Or strong, enough
To take a lot of pain, Take a lot of pain
Love is like a cloud Holds a lot of rain
Love hurts, ooh ooh love hurts

I'm young, I know, But even so
I know a thing, or two I learned, from you
I really learned a lot, Really learned a lot
Love is like a flame: It burns you when its hot
Love hurts, ooh ooh love hurts

Some fools think of happiness Blissfulness, togetherness
Some fools fool themselves I guess. They're not foolin me

I know it isnt true, I know it isnt true
Love is just a lie, Made to make you blue
Love hurts, ooh, ooh love hurts Ooh,ooh love hurts

GUITAR SOLO-Take it Abigail!!!

Wait, what? I wasn't, what now?

I know it isn't true, I know it isn't true
Love is just a lie, Made to make you blue
Love hurts, ooh ooh love hurts
Ooh ooh love hurts
Ooh ooh...love hurts.

Oh thank you Minneapolis! You are so kind, so kind. We love playing here! Thank you! We'll be back soon!

Yeah, don't ask what that was, but just know that I thought it was funny. It just looked like she was singing and that song popped into my head and....

See what we have to deal with?? Sigh. I sure hope those weird genes all went to Eleanor and not me!

That Old Black Magic

I am not your average Gen Xer. I only read 2 blogs regularly. I know other people have them, but usually I forget the address and it's such a pain to sift through my mail to find the URL.
So yesterday I am reading one of them and I come across an entry talking about Oujii. Now anyone who knows the Ringmaster, knows that I was ADDICTED to Oujii in late middle school, so of course when the word is brought up, I am all ears, or, in this case, eyes. In reading further, I see that kms refers to a procedure that you can do to "predict" your future children with just a necklace, a pendant, and your bare hands. Well now I am totally focused. What does the Ringmaster love more than french fries, Chipotle and Diet Coke but the mystic arts!! So of course I had to do the trick at my desk (yes, I have a job now...more on that later. Stick to the story at hand. Geez!) So you take a necklace with a pendant on it and hold it so it dangles from your right hand. Let it dangle over your left hand, holding it as still as possible. It will start to move and it will tell you not only the number of children you are having, but their sex as well. It all depends on the trajectory of the pendant: back and forth means boys (apparently they make you rock, possibly in fetal position) and in a circle for girls (cuz they make your head spin-or maybe it's their heads that spin). It will briefly pause between readings, indicating another child. At first the necklace gods were right on-circle, Eleanor, pause, circle, Abigail, pause, circle, pause, circle, pause, back and forth, pause, circle, pause, back and forth, pause...at which point I stopped the game. This far from scientific predictor coupled with the fact that if you already have fraternal twins, your chances for having another set with the next pregnancy quadruple, well, let's just say that me and my little Mirena are BFF.

incidentally, if you would like to read the original post, migrate to http://caffeinatedlove.blogspot.com/
and for something to quell your sorrows in a truly Minnesotan way, go to http://dackyardigins.blogspot.com/ great recipes and great photos.

Year-end top ten for babies!

Top ten...oh MAN!!
Yes, dear readers, it's that time of year when everyone and their brother makes a top ten list of their favorite things about the year. Usually they are books or movies or music, but as the ringmaster of Casa de Gatos y Ninas, and being who I am, mine will not be your run of the mill top ten. It may not even be a top ten. We shall see as it unfurls below. So here it goes...
The top ten or so things that I have either said, done, learned or experienced this year that I didn't imagine doing, saying, learning or experiencing last year.

1. Baby mittens do not belong in the VCR, although they do fit nicely in the movie slot.
   
2. "No, Sister's ear does not come off no matter how hard you pull on it."
3. Teaching Bear to say MMMMMMM when she eats does pay off when, unbeknown to Momma, she is in the kitchen chowing on cat food
   
4. "Please don't eat that [fill in the blank]!" Some examples are dreidel, Christmas tree, cat, Sister, CD of Ryan Adams you found by stretching to your full height and knocking it off the desk with the very tips of your fingers (although I do admire your tenacity on that one.)
5. I learned that although it took 15 minutes to set up the elaborate baby keeper inner that would rival that of a state penitentiary, the sheer force of 2 nine month olds can break it down and escape in 5 minutes.
   
6. The blind sweep that you learned in CPR for clearing a choking victim's airway also works for getting any number of shredded pieces of tissue paper, fur balls, cat food, and any random nastiness that shouldn't go into babies' mouthes back out.
7. "Eleanor, stop licking the DVD player."
8. In a blind taste test, the left-hand side of the cart handles at the Minnetonka Target taste much better than the right-hand side.
9. This one I already knew, but since I have been out of college for almost 12 years, I had forgotten it: no matter how many times you wash your hands, you can still smell the vomit on them.
10. I never realized that I can carry on a 20 minute conversation about poop.
11. When wet, Mum-mums and Gerber Puffs are stronger than super glue.
12. Our kids will curse us for our capturing a lot of their embarrassing moments digitally, like these most recent photos:

Eleanor with a puff stuck on her nose

Abigail with Chris's socks on

Now that wasn't too painful, was it dear reader? 2007 has been quite the year for us Gaceks, but it's been a great ride. Here's hoping that 2008 is just as fun and interesting. Until next time, peace, love and a lot of patience.

Cupids and Cuspid

Who knew that they were all the same letters?

Of course last month was a red letter one for us; babies turned six months on the 18th and we had our first wedding anniversary. Wahoo. But seriously, it was a great week. We had some other milestones happen, as you will soon read!

Cupids

Sunday, September 23 was our first anniversary. We didn't do much, at least not together. Some would say that that is the true sign of a married couple. We have learned that although it's much nicer to be together, divide and conquer seems to work better if crap is ever to get accomplished. So after a lovely brunch with my parents and the babes, we went our separate ways-Chris and Abigail went home to nap and bond, and Eleanor and I went shopping. Ah wedded bliss.

Cuspids

Okay so it wasn’t exactly a cuspid, but “central incisors” just doesn’t work as well.

Eleanor has been working on getting teeth since Bear got hers in August. As you all know, when she commits to something, Monkey throws herself into it whole-heartedly. Consequently, she had been having fevers, rosy cheeks, grunting, gnawing, chewing, trying everything she could to get those little buggers to come out. So when we woke up on Sunday morning, Eleanor grabbed my finger and shoved it in her mouth to feel the sharp beginnings of the left central incisor, her front tooth! She was so proud. Everyone she saw that day had to feel her tooth, she made sure of it. Since then, the right incisor has come in, too.

Sibling Rivalry

So you may say, “But they are so young! How could there be sibling rivalry?” Well, I would argue that there has been rivalry since they were mere zygotes. Witness Monkey’s mis-shapened head. And now that they are out in the world, the rivalry continues. Abigail watches with raised eyebrows as Eleanor scoots across the floor. If E is in a circle of neglect (aka excersaucer), and I hold A outside that saucer, Monkey will grab and cover any toys within the Bear’s sightline, even if Abigail touches nothing. Eleanor does this in the manner of a 3^rd grader trying to cover her paper from any cheating eyes. Quite amusing. Even the story above regarding the teeth is veiled sibling rivalry. So on that topic, and not to be out done by sister, Bear started sitting on her own on the 23^rd, and then started saying, “hi,” “hey,” and, very rarely, “head.” Balls in your court, Eleanor. Which milestone will you claim as yours?

Postnote: Since this was originally written, Eleanor has learned to sit on her own, too. She also doesn't really scoot, but more like shoots across the floor, usually motivated by the prospect of pulling on electrical cords. As my friend Tracy said, "That's a mistake she'll only make once." She also has learned to say "Momma" and "boo boo." Right back atcha, Bear!

Why is Mommy feeding me knives?*

No, I am not feeding them knives, but sometimes to judge by their looks, one might ascertain that. So far, both babies are very fond of yogurt, peas, green beans, applesauce, and oat cereal. When fed bananas, A looks like if she could, she would gag out her toes. The feeling is mutual for both babies and sweet potatoes, even though they are homemade. Little ingrates! Next conquest: avocado!

Close to close

Nothing much else to report. The weather is getting colder, probably cuz it's getting toward Halloween. I know I say it all the time, but man! Time has just flown by! I swear they are going to be voting soon! I'll let you know their political leanings next week when they are speaking in full sentences! Until then, GO TRIBE!




*My friend BP said this in reference to how it felt to eat most things as a kid-she was allergic to a lot of stuff.

Hit the Road, Jack

So the flashbacks and night terrors have finally stopped from our whirlwind 5 state tour in mid-August. Actually, I am being dramatic (and we wonder where Bear gets it?!)...it wasn’t that bad. It was very exhausting and tense at times though. Nevertheless, in the end, it was very nice to see the fam and to be a part of Joe and Erin’s special day. Moreover, how many 5 month olds can say that they have already been in five states? Really, when it comes down to it, how many 5 month olds say anything that any human over the age of six can understand. If they do, whoa, that is very creepy.

So anyway, the trip was innocent enough on paper: 5 adults, 1 9 year old, and 2 babies plus 1 Chevy Tahoe and a boat-load of supplies turn their wagon westward toward Colorado. The problem with plans on paper is that they usually do not go according to the paper. Along the way, we hit some snags, which I have detailed below for your reading enjoyment.

Snag #1: The Chevy Tahoe was not designed to have infant seat car bases installed into it’s very back, third row bench seat.
Therefore, the infant seats must be hoisted into the back, shoved between the 60/40 folding middle row at just the right angle, then shook up by the impact of the 60/40 folding middle row being slammed back into place, and manhandled to each side so that a regular seat belt can be intricately threaded through the clips, locking them into place. You must do this smoothly, too, so as not to wake up the slumbering beasties that lie within the infant seat itself.

The view from the way back

Snag #2: Infant seats containing 4 ½ month old infants are not light.
This is especially true when it is the 15th time that one has lifted an infant seat up over his/her head. I think that my arms are definitely more cut now than before the trip.

Snag #3: The Chevy Tahoe, while roomy and mostly comfortable, has enough cargo space for an umbrella stroller, two backpacks, and a pack of diapers.
Enter the Rainex roof pouch. Each of the road trip part, we had to unpack and repack that sucker, and, as I alluded too above, the Tahoe is a tall vehicle. Good thing I played a lot of Tetris in college!

Snag #4: On average, infants get their first teeth between 4 and 6 months.
Abigail’s just happened to come in 2 at a time closer to the 4 month marker. Think about when you were 6 and you got your first permanent tooth. Then think about getting two at once. Then think about your family and quietly thank them for their patience and understanding.

Snag #5: Babies do not care if you are outside at a park without access to a changing table or garbage can.
If they gotta poop, they gotta poop. Hence, the photos of the entire group that witnessed the wedding and me holding two white things. No, those aren’t programs, and I am not moved to tears by the ceremony, I am trying not to gag.

Me in the middle of the back row: note the small white packets in my hand and the look on the face of the girl in front of me

So as you can see, despite some drama, it wasn’t THAT bad. Not that I want to do it again next week, but I am sure it could have been much worse. Apparently, it really was not that bad as the girls and I drove to Chicago over Labor Day weekend. Either that or I am just a glutton for punishment! Well then, until next time, sit back and enjoy some choice photos. Until next time, as is said in some circles, mint.

Cheyenne in Cheyenne

Chris and Baby Chris

Babies' first ball game

Eleanor muggin for the camera

Clan Gacek

The happy couple

Cheyenne and Brody being silly

Brody and Nyla

The Pasta Pope

Uncle and his building

All the news that's fit to print

So where to begin?? It’s been so long since last our paths crossed dear readers! Our summer has been busy indeed, and I am sure you are assuming that since we last spoke, the girls are in college and have 6-figure jobs pending! Well, not quite. They are, however, 5 months old and are delightfully changing in many ways, both literally and tongue in cheekish.

The Bear and Poo-tato
So anyone who knows Abigail, knows she has a penchant for the dramatic. Well earlier this month, around August 3rd, she decided to start crying. This apparently was a great decision for her, and one that intended to fully commit to, so she did. For 3 full days. Let me tell ya, it was GRAND! And to make matters even better, we were supposed to leave for vacation on August 7 (driving to Colorado-see more specifics on THAT adventure in my next post). Therefore, fearing another UTI, we called the doctor, who squeezed her in (no pun intended, which will make sense after you finish reading this section) to see our most favorite doctor next to our regular doctor, Dr. Jones. (Incidentally, we have Dr. Jones to thank for discovering Monkey’s heart murmur. It was so slight and so erratic, that the other doctor missed it.) They took her temp, listened to her chest, checked her mouth and ears, nothing. However, when she had her UTI last time, everything was normal, too. It was not until they did the urine culture that time that they found that it was so teeming with bacteria, it could have walked out of her urinary tract. (How’s THAT for a visual?) So they did a urine culture this time, nothing…still screaming!! So, as a last resort, he had a tummy X-Ray done. That was a challenge. Bear, who is normally not the wiggly one, decided to channel her sister when getting the pictures taken. Luckily, we got one good one that showed a very clear, very large potato-sized poop on board. So after a little prune juice, a couple of baby enemas, and enough Pampers Swaddlers to fill a small landfill, little Bear has lost her internal tuber, but has gained a new nickname: Tator Tot.

Toofers
All you all who think I am talking about beer, get your minds off the bar rail. Not 2 for 1s, toofers, teeth. The other thing adding to Bear’s discomfort last week was the fact that she got teeth, 2 to be exact. AT THE SAME TIME. What can I say, I have borne an over-achiever. So I guess, in a sense this does pertain to beer and 2 for 1s, in that after her getting 2 at once, I needed a toofer special! To make it even more interesting, I think she is now getting top ones. Stay tuned to see if she is able to cut them mathematically.

All Bear, No Monkey? What’s up with that??
Just so you don’t think that I am preferential to Baby B, here’s the scoop on the Monkey. Baby E is making some strides of her own. She now rolls, rolls well, and rolls A LOT! She also have been seeing a physical therapist for her crooked head. When she was still in the womb, as most of you know, she was smashed up against the wall by the big bruty Bear. Therefore, in effort to get a little room, she slid down the birth canal a bit, which caused her head to be misshapen and her to hold her head crooked. This is an actual condition called torticollis. According to torticolliskids.org (yes there is a website for everything), torticollis is most often caused by a shortening of the sterno-cleido-mastoid muscle in your neck. It’s that big one that you rub when your neck gets stiff. The condition is kinda like when women wear high heels all the time-after a while, those muscles shorten up because the aren’t being stretched to their normal length. I read about all the stuff that COULD happen with this condition before her first appointment and there are some scary things out there! Torti-collars, helmets for misshapen heads, surgery, YIKES! Needless to say, I was really nervous for the first appointment. So now, Monkey has gone in for therapy twice, and because her dad has a background in PT and is super diligent, she is much better. When she went in for the first time, she would not turn her head completely to the right. Now she does both and will track a toy from over her right shoulder to over her left. The therapist says that she is very certain that E will outgrow this and will not need a collar or a helmet. Thank GOD! She has special exercises that she and Daddy do, and she is being encouraged to roll all she wants, which is fine by her!
Another super cute development is her vocalization. She never stops talking. She even talks through her yawns. You know how when you exhale during a yawn and make that loud sigh noise? She does that. She growls, she squeaks, she does this thing where she sucks in her breath and makes noise, a little like a gasp but not. She even talks through eating her cereal. Way cute. WAY cute.
The Monkey is also working on teeth, although, having bore witness to Sister’s trials, I think she is a little leery about that eventuality. Can’t stop change, Baby!

Wait for it
So rather than innudate you with everything at once and blow up the system, I will devote a separate entry for the uber-vacay of the century. That way we can all relive it together. Now won't that be fun??!? So until later, courage.

Longest Entry Ever.

You outta be in pictures
So I ripped this off from Sarah and Tim, too. Monkey and Bear have their own picture page now. Their web address is monkeybeargacek.googlepages.com/home. There is also a permenant link to it over on the right disguised as "Aren't we cute??" As the page says, this is the best of the best, since, following in the tradition of all first-born children born after the instamatic was invented, there probably a good 1000 photos of these guys out there in the world. The page is under constant construction, so don't be surprised if the layout and pictures change or have changed since last you were there.

Not exactly dinner-time reading
Since Abigail's disappointing diagnosis last week, today was Eleanor's big day at the doctor. What?! You didn't hear about the Bear's condition?! Well, let me not only enlighten you with specifics, let me dazzle you with my limited yet extremely impressive medical knowledge.
About 3 weeks ago, we took Abigail in to the doctor for a fever and a cough. After a long, painful appointment, it was determined that the main symptom for which she came in, the cough, was the least of her worries. She had a urinary tract infection, not a very common thing in babies her age.
Because she was so young, her doctor's fear was that she had Vesicoureteral Reflux (ves-i-ko-you-ree-te-al ree-fluks). Normally, urine flows down into the bladder where it waits until it's voided out of the body. But when a person has Vesicoureteral Reflux, the urine flows out of the kidneys toward the bladder, but refluxes back up toward the kidneys. Because urine is a waste product, it has a lot of bacteria and when it flows back up toward the kidneys, a urinary tract infection can happen. If it happens enough and the condition is at a high enough level, there can be kidney damage. The other bad thing about this is that this condition is hereditary; 30% of people who have this, have a sibling with it. With twins, the instance is 50%. Therefore, if Abigail had it, Eleanor has to be tested, since she has a 50-50 chance of having it.
In order to find out if this was happening to Abigail, she had to go to Children's Hospital and have a test called a Voiding Cystourethrogram, VCUG for short. Well, long story short, Bear has it and her's is level 2 of a 5 point scale. She has to be on a daily dose of Amoxicilan until she is 6 months old, then switches to a broader spectrum drug until it goes away. This is to keep the bacteria in her urine at a minimum so it doesn't create any more UTIs. The good news, according to our doctor, is "that she will probably grow out of this by the time she is 3 or 4!" Well thank GOD for that! Poor Bear. Poor Bear's bum. Think about what happens to you when you have been on antibiotics for a week and then think about Abigail. Let's just say we will be keeping the Butt Paste people in buisness for the next 4 years!
So back to Eleanor. Today was her big date with destiny. Monkey's scan was different than Abigail's. Since she wasn't symptomatic, she had a scan that uses a lower dose of radiation and simply detects how the lower parts of the urinary tract are operating. This test isn't read right away, so we won't know if she has the reflux for a few days yet. If she does, she will have to have the VCUG and be on the dose of antibiotics, too. Yuck.
But not only did the Monkey have her turn at radiology, she also went to see the regular doctor. Yes, Eleanor has a lovely, auditorily pleasing, hacking, wet cough which has been plaguing her (no pun intended) for about 2 weeks. Since this is my last day of leave, sniff, sniff, I thought she should be seen, just to make sure she didn't have something like pneumonia or consumption. Upon examination, we were releaved to hear that she just has a nasty chest cold, no Moulin Rouge/Rent/La Boheme reinactments will be taking place here. We also found out that little E is now 9lbs 7.5oz, a half a pound more than she was at last check-up. Way to go Monkey!

In closing...FINALLY!
Nothing else too exciting is happening...Miles and I have a bocce game going-I am winning 2 to 1, but I am sure he will kick my butt in the end. We are working on painting the trim to the house. It's an awesome celery green. I ca't wait to see it when it's done. And the Gaceks have nothing planned this weekend other than church on Sunday. What a good feeling!
Wish me luck on Monday. I will really need it. And wish the Monkey luck, too. 1 baby on antibiotics is really all our family needs. So until next time...paper.

Copy cats and other animals

Monkeys and Kitties and Bears, OH MY!

My friend Sez recently started a blog about her pregnancy. What a great idea. I should have started this months ago...could have kept me happier on bedrest, although it's really hard to type on your side. After reading that, and after all the searching on the net for information about twins, I came to the conclusion that I should start my own blog. Not that I am an expert, nor that interesting, but if the Monkey and Bear can bring a smile to just one more face, my work will not have been in vain. Yes, I am a copy cat, but I do mean well!

So welcome to the Monkey and Bear show. I am your host, Ringmaster Mama. Yes, some mothers call their children sweetheart or sugar bumps. Mine are Monkey and Bear for utilitarian reasons, really. Eleanor looks like a monkey and Abigail looks like a bear. And it really is like a circus here. You should see when they both are crying to eat and the Ringmaster is alone. I can get pretty creative, if I do say so myself. Fighting off cats and crying in a single bound. Gosh! I sound like a superhero!

In closing, what's news for Clan Gacek this week? Well, we are still waiting to hear when the newest Gacek (technically Flores) will be heading for home. Isabella Pena Flores was born on Monday and is having some issues with eating and breathing. Looks like she needs to come down and talk to the Bear. At 10 pounds 2 ounces, she could teach her a thing or two about both of those subjects. God speed, Isabella!

Also, the Gacek girls are being baptized on Sunday, so the fam is coming into town. It will be very nice to see everybody and have them meet the girls. I will publish some pictures of the doings for sure.

Well that should be all for now...until next time, courage.