A truly GREAT-grandma

My abuelita was 30 years old when she delivered my dad (her firstborn), and my dad was 30 years old when I (her first grandchild) was born. I promised her once that I would have a child before I turned 30 so that she would not have to wait until she was 90 to be a great-grandmother, but that turned out to be a promise I couldn't keep. By the time the quads were born, I was 32—and their Bisabuela was already gone. Today, on the 5th anniversary of her death, I remember her here with a tribute I wrote on the day of her funeral:

Her Faith Is Now Sight 

They're burying my abuelita today. I won't be there, but fortunately my dad was able to fly out soon after we got the news on Thursday. Although in Peru it is customary to bury a person the day after she passes away, the family chose to delay my abuelita's funeral long enough for my dad, her firstborn, to arrive. I am glad he will be there.

It will be strange to visit Peru next week with my abuelita gone. The family revolved around her. And despite the fact that thousands of miles separated us from her, she was a strong presence even in my nuclear family. I am certain that her steadfast Christian example shaped the way my dad treats my mom, as well as the way my parents raised me and my brother. Every single time I talked with my abuelita, she told me how much she loved me and that she was praying for me.

She and my abuelito, both of whom devoted their lives to the ministry, made a lot of sacrifices to provide for their family of nine. My dad remembers how his mother's hands used to bleed from doing housework. And she was always trying to find a way to make things last a little longer. When she could still see, she would tear plastic bags into strips and then crochet them into rugs. I didn't appreciate the beauty of these recycled treasures until I was older, so I got rid of most of them years ago. But I still have a lovely purse that she crocheted for me out of clear plastic bags, and I cherish it.

My abuelita was the family historian. She loved to talk and, if you let her, she could go on for hours, usually telling stories about people long dead. She had such a soft voice that I sometimes could not even hear what she was saying, but she did not seem to mind. She just wanted to reminisce. I was the first grandchild and I was born on my dad's birthday, so that day was like a national holiday for my abuelita. She would send us beautiful birthday cards decorated with traditional Peruvian scenes, and inside she would write: "¡Viva el 3 de setiembre!" For a while, she would even kill two turkeys on our birthday, and the family in Peru would feast in our honor.

My abuelita could also be quite cheeky. In Peru, we would say that she had a chispa, a spark. She retained it even when she was so sick that she could barely speak. In fact, when we thought she was near death on our last visit, I mentioned to her that I was growing my hair to donate it, and she immediately said, "Te regalo mis trenzas" ("I will my braids to you"). We all just had to laugh through our tears. I am sure that next week I will hear many more stories about all the funny things my abuelita did and said during her long and blessed life.

Everyone who knew my abuelita will miss her terribly. But even as I mourn, I am reminded that this is also a time to rejoice. Her pain and suffering are over, and she is finally home.

My abuelita in 1946, at age 30 (left), and in 2004, at age 88 (right)

Our 15 seconds

In case you haven't heard, we're a little bit famous right now. Our adventure as (very minor) celebrities started on Wednesday night, when one of my friends discovered that the Huffington Post was featuring one of our videos. I was absolutely floored! The next morning, I was astounded again when another friend informed me that our video was hanging out on AOL's homepage:

I thought that would be the end of the story, but yesterday my aunt noticed that another YouTube user has uploaded our video as his own (probably to increase traffic to his channel). And today I woke up to find that our original video is closing in on 1 million views:



Can you believe it? All because of a little video that I took to remember the first time that Tío Ner played his guitar for the Fab Four—crazy!

Growing up

Almost exactly two years ago our Bisabuelo brought us these beautiful handmade dresses from Peru:

Lucy and Dahlia at 8 months old

Today we wore the same dresses to church—this time as shirts:

Dahlia and Lucy at 2.5 years old

My, how we've grown!

An extra-special extra

Several months ago my cousin Glenda transferred our wedding video onto a DVD. I decided to pop it in for the first time on our 11th anniversary last month, and was utterly shocked when the Fab Four asked to see it again the next day—and again the next! Nearly a month later, we are still watching parts of our wedding DVD daily. The kids love seeing Mommy dressed like a "princess" (the royal wedding made a big impression on them), and they get a big kick out of naming everyone they recognize on TV.

Their favorite part of the video, though, has to be the extra clip that Glenda included of my dad's youngest brother and his band performing at my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary party, shortly before his death. The kids like the clip so much that they ask for Tío Arturo (aka "Dee-o Doodle") to sing to them almost every day before nap. Recently a couple of his littlest sobrinitos have begun to accompany the band:



I can't tell you how happy it makes me to know that, even in death, my Tío Arturo is teaching my children to love music. Thanks for adding such a special extra to our DVD, Tía Glenda!

Inca quads

In honor of Peruvian independence day—and by special request from Tía Harriet—I give you the Fab Four's first sips of Inca Kola (the national soft drink of Peru):









Too bad the kids long ago outgrew their Inca Kola shirts from Bisabuelo (I guess we know what the abuelitos need to bring back from their next trip to the motherland). Thanks for the 2-liter, Harriet!

2010 in statuses, part 2

I'm taking a walk down memory lane, Facebook style. You can read the entire series here.

With the arrival of spring, my excitement about first steps and solid foods soon gave way to thrills of the outdoor variety.

MARCH
2 Gave the kids mazamorra morada for the first time today. They loved it!

3 Snot monster(s) in the house. Hopefully it's a short visit.

16 Just took the kids on a walk. Ah, fresh air! Ah, sunshine! Ah, we're OUTSIDE!!!! (P.S. The stroller is a LOT heavier than it was last summer ... I think I just burned 1,000 calories in 30 minutes.)

20 Took our first family walk this morning. Yes, our first family walk EVER! It was fun. :)

The last time all four kids fit in Abuelita's lap (14 months) 
clockwise from bottom left: Jude, Lucia, Isaac, and Dahlia

22  During our morning walk, the rain lulled the kids to sleep ... I was soaked yet exhilarated by the time we came back. :) Love my Adventure Buggy with its rain shields and super-cozy sleepy bags!

23  Walked the kids to CVS today! Takes just under 20 minutes to get there from our house. Didn't buy anything, but was THRILLED to be "shopping" with my children! The kids liked it, too ... first time they've ever been in a store! :)

24 Took two of the kids for their 15-month checkup today. One of the receptionists looked at me and said, "You look great!" Which would have been a wonderful compliment, if she hadn't followed up with, "I remember when you first brought the babies in. You were much [mimes fat person, then stops short] ... I remember you." Uh, thanks???

27 It's official: My children are white Hispanic-Americans of Peruvian origin in the 2010 Census. Now Ted and I must raise them to be worthy of this designation. :)

30 On our walk this afternoon, a gentleman on his deck saw that I had four babies in the stroller and yelled, "FOUR babies? You the BADDEST gal I EVER seen!" Why, thank you. :)

The Fab Four dig in to Easter baskets from their tios (15 months)
left to right: Lucia, Isaac, Dahlia, and Jude

31 Walked to the grocery store with the kids for the first time this morning. Got so distracted fielding questions that I paid and started to walk off without my groceries! Not sure how to concentrate on what I'm doing without appearing rude.

APRIL
5 It is HOT out there. Must brainstorm other outdoor activities that don't involve me pushing a mammoth stroller with 80+ pounds of baby in it.

7 Tornado sirens going off. To wake the babies, or to not wake them?????

16 Spent the last couple of hours garage-saling with the kiddos and MS (mammoth stroller). Got in some good walking, met several neighbors, answered LOTS of questions, and even found a few good deals! Fun morning. :)

The pudding song

The Fab Four haven't mastered using spoons yet, but they're getting better all the time (especially Dahlia). Several months ago, I discovered that a great food for them to practice with is rice pudding. I make it from scratch about once a week, and the kids absolutely love it.

As good as rice pudding is for honing the kids' spoon skills, however, I still think it's much more fun to spoon-feed it to them while singing "Arroz con leche," a song I remember from my early childhood in Peru. This little ditty never fails to magically put everyone at the table in a good mood:



(In case you're curious, the lyrics roughly translate to: "Rice pudding, I want to marry / a maiden from Portugal / I want to marry this one / I don't want to marry that one / This is the maiden that I will marry." See, nursery rhymes in Spanish don't make much sense, either!)

Four little cholos

Today is the Peruvian independence day, and guess what? The Fab Four just happen to be one-quarter Peruvian!

Being expatriates, we didn't have any parades to attend, but we didn't let that stop us from commemorating this special day in our own way. To kick off our celebration, the kids modeled the warm chullos that their Bisabuelo brought them when he came to visit last year:

Later they took turns admiring the beautiful Peruvian flag:

And then, to top it all off, the whole family enjoyed some lively huayno music in the van:



The only thing missing was a Peruvian feast. Maybe next year I will have time to fix some yummy food—or better yet, Abuelita Joanna can come cook it for us!

Our guitar hero

What could possibly be better than jamming with your great-uncle on your toy guitar?


How about having a great-uncle who will give you a real guitar of your very own!


You read that right: My Tío Ner hand-carried a little guitar all the way from Peru just for the Fab Four! Lucky for us, he's a classical guitarist who believes that it's important for young children to be able to explore an instrument—to climb on it, hit it, feel it, and pluck its strings—in order to hear the effects of their actions. The kids seem to discover something new every time they play with their guitarrita!

Ted and I are so grateful for my uncle's investment in our children's musical education. We also love it when he gives us a private concert. Here's a clip of the first time he performed for the Fab Four, just about a year ago:



My dad's side is blessed with several gifted guitarists (including my brother), so hopefully all of this early exposure will pay off. I certainly wouldn't mind having another guitar player (or four) in the family!

A truly GREAT-grandpa

The day we found out about the quads, my Abuelito in Peru was one of the first people I called. When I told him that his dream was coming true—that I was pregnant—he let out a celebratory whooooop! Then I told him to guess how many babies I was having. After a pause, he declared that he'd be happy with two. Laughing, I replied, "More like two times two!"

Stunned and overjoyed, my Abuelito immediately recalled the story of Sarah, who laughed when she learned of her miracle pregnancy. He then offered a prayer to God, thanking Him for his love and his gifts and for how He grants the desires of our hearts and always provides for us. And he prayed that the four beings growing inside of me would grow up in the Lord and to love the Lord.

The moment was bittersweet: Knowing the risks and challenges of traveling with premature quads—and keenly aware of my Abuelito's advanced age—I feared that he would never get to meet my children.

Saying goodbye to my Abuelito at the airport in Peru (November 2007)

Then, several months ago, my Tio Ner and Aunt Harriet started talking about bringing him to the States to meet the quads. As much as I wanted this to happen, I did not pin my hopes on it. There were too many obstacles—among them distance, age, money, and the U.S. State Department itself. So imagine my joy when I learned that he and my Tia Julia had been granted tourist visas to come see us!

They braved the long journey from northern Peru in mid-August and were in this country for nearly a month. I cannot describe what a special gift and privilege it was to be able to introduce my babies to my only surviving grandparent. Not in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine my Abuelito here, holding out his arms to embrace me and my four babies!

I tried to make the most of our precious time together, but I did not take nearly enough pictures. Here are some of my favorites:

Abuelito meeting Isaac for the first time

Lucy studying Abuelito's mustache

Abuelito holding Jude for the first time


Abuelito cuddling with Dahlia

The quads with their Abuelito Nehiel and my Abuelito (their Bisabuelo)

Thank you, Tio Ner and Aunt Harriet, for your efforts to make this seemingly impossible dream a reality! Abuelito, nunca olvidaré los momentos que pasamos juntos acá en mi casita. ¡Lo queremos mucho!

1 week old

It's amazing what can happen in the span of 7 days: Believe it or not, all of our little ones are off their CPAPs, no longer need phototherapy, and are feeding regularly (which means no more IVs!). The nurses put them all together last night for their first picture together, and today they gave us a print to bring home. As soon as we get it scanned, I will post it here, but I couldn't wait to share the good news!

Of course, this progress leads to the inevitable question of when the babies will be able to come home. According to the nurses, each baby first has to be weaned from his or her isolette (incubator). This is accomplished gradually, by first dressing the babies in clothes (check), then adding a blanket (check), and then turning down the temperature in their isolettes over the course of several days. Once it is determined that the babies can maintain their temperatures without help, they will be moved to open cribs (and that will be our cue that a homecoming is imminent). The babies must also be either bottle or breastfeeding at all feeds (right now they still have feeding tubes in their noses, which are used to fill their bellies when they are too tired to suck), be gaining weight, have no apnea (which none of them have, anyway), and pass a car-seat test (that is, be able to sit up in a car seat for the length of their trip home without experiencing any dips in heart or respiration rates).

Based on this info, I would bet that our boys will be the first to leave the NICU (no wimpy white boy syndrome here—I guess it pays for their mommy to be half Peruvian!), and the girls won't be far behind. Although the prospect of being in charge of these four tiny beings is admittedly scary, we are looking forward to settling into life as a family. For now, though, we must be content with precious moments like these in the NICU today:

Ted holding Isaac for the first time and Suzy holding Jude for the first time

Isaac going a little cross-eyed for the camera

Lucia being held by Dad for the first time

Jude giving a big YAWN! for the camera

Dahlia being held by Mom for the first time