Super Helper

What do you do when there is so much that needs to be done to get dinner on the table and you don't have enough hands or enough time to do it all yourself? You call on Super Helper, of course. Wiley came into the kitchen the other day with his cape on and asking Mommy if he could help her. Besides dinner preparation, he also enjoys setting the table and washing dishes. That's good, because we are going to need all the help we can get in a few weeks. Just four weeks to the Due Date!!

The "Buzz" Around Kudjip

With each haircut, Aden expresses interest in getting a 'buzz' haircut. However, he always backs out of it when the time comes to do it. Yesterday, we noticed that his hair was getting pretty thick and mentioned the 'buzz' word again. He was pretty excited about it and wanted to try it. When it came time to do it, we figured he would back out again, but to our surprise he still wanted it. He didn't flinch when the 'buzzing' sound came on, so we started in. It actually tickled, he said, and was a bit disappointed when Daddy turned the "buzzer" off. In the end, we had a new Aden that all of a sudden seemed older than three. The new haircut marked the first time for Daddy to participate in the ritual (and I am sure not the last). The new haircut has become affectionately known as the "Bubu Jim cut" since he is currently sporting a similar do, and one of the first things we had to do this morning was go down and show him.

Going Solo

Aden's latest thing when he goes to the bathroom is that he wants to go all by himself with no help from mommy or daddy. He is finally tall enough to turn on the light by himself. He can get his shorts and big boy pants off by himself (he still likes to take them completely off). And he can 'do his business' by himself. Shortly after all of this, we will hear the toilet flushing. Washing hands seems to be next before getting dressed. There is a stool at the sink, but it isn't tall enough so that he can reach to turn on the water by himself. However, he has discovered that he can pull himself up onto the counter with his elbows and then turn on the water. I have walked in a few times to see him hanging from the cabinet, naked from the waist down. The other day was different though. I could hear the water running for much longer than it should have been. Since we haven't had much rain lately, and the rainwater is our source of life, I went to check it out before he emptied our tank. As I walked into the bathroom, I found Aden standing on top of the counter in a squat position, and yes still naked from the waist down, leaning over the sink. I asked him what he was doing up there, to which he calmly explained that he had an 'oww-ee' on his big toe that needed to be washed. While I was impressed that he was able to scale the vanity so easily at three years of age, a discussion was still necessary (and hard to do with a straight face) about how standing on top of the bathroom counter with no clothes on is generally not appropriate. (For obvious reasons, there are no pictures included with this post.)

Project Countdown

With just seven weeks to the due date, every weekend counts for getting things ready for the baby. The list of things that need to be done is getting smaller, although Daddy is fairly certain that this list will never be completely done, even after the baby comes. Call it a sneaky suspicion or just his experience with the last two boys, but Aden and Wiley are starting to agree with him.
This past Saturday was no exception. One of the big projects that was on the list was to paint the bathroom. It never got done after we moved in two years ago, and was in desperate need, showing colors from up to three different previous paint jobs around the room as well as the mold issue we apparently have. The process actually started on Wednesday when Mommy and Daddy went to town and bought supplies. On Friday, some hired help gave the walls and ceiling a good scrub with bleach and sugar soap. On Saturday, after realizing he did not get all of the supplies he needed, Daddy had to go down and borrow a couple of things from Bubu Jim's house. Finally though, the painting was starting. Daddy did the first coat, although it seemed like Mommy was the expert as she pointed things out to him that he needed to do, or that he had missed. Daddy was quick to remind Mommy that she should not be inhaling the fumes in her condition, so she took Aden and Wiley down to the new hospital with the bike. By lunchtime, the first coat was finished. After lunch and after naps, Aden and Wiley woke up to find that Daddy had almost finished putting on the second coat. It seemed though, that there were a few spots that he needed some expert help with so he called on Aden to help finish it. To protect his clothes, Mommy used one of her aprons and some creative clothes pinning to cover him all up. Aden was able to help Daddy paint the door as well as a hard to reach corner spot. He tried both the roller and the brush, but seemed to favor the brush.
What a day! We knocked off one of the biggest projects of the list. Not sure that the baby will necessarily appreciate it too much, but I think this project was just as much for preparation of Grandma Karen coming to stay at our house next month as it was for the baby. From here, the projects should only get easier and less messy. We can at least hope so, anyway.

One Man's Trash . . .

Recently, Wiley has taken it upon himself to be the cleanup crew on the station. There are not heaps of trash lying around, but it is pretty easy to look down and see something that needs to be thrown away. Our walks have grown longer as Wiley has taken note of these small pieces of rubbish. Each time he spots one (particularly candy wrappers), he identifies it as "rubbish" and then says, "bin" looking around for a place to deposit his find. Since he is too short to throw anything into the rubbish bins, he either has to be lifted up or hand his trash to Mommy or Daddy who can throw it away for him. This can really slow down a walk, but it has also drawn a lot of attention. We are hoping that as people around us see a toddler cleaning up rubbish that they pass by, or perhaps that they themselves throw on the ground, and as they see his great effort in getting it into the rubbish bin, maybe they will think twice next time, before carelessly tossing things on the ground.

Wiley's quest for a clean environment has also carried over into our home. This is helpful when it's time to clean up the toys. But sometimes we'll see him throwing something away and we don't know what he's found and declared to be "rubbish." When questioned, he only remains quietly focused on getting it into a trash can. So when he's done, we'll ask again, "Wiley, what did you have? What were you throwing away?" And he very practically responds, "Rubbish."

Another First for Wiley

At Daddy's encouragement, and after a few days of difficult deliberation, Mommy finally realized it was time for Wiley's Official First Hair Cut. He had a trim off the top before our trip to Madang in April, but his curls in back had remained untouched (giving him a bit of a mullet, no less). Lately, however, we began to notice that Wiley was looking rather shaggy. It was harder and harder for him to see, as his hair hung over his eyes, and his curls had so much length and weight that they were no longer very curly, hanging loosely down his neck. (Although Wiley had discovered that he liked the feel of the curls brushing his neck when he shook his head from side to side.) So, with some encouragement, when Mommy finished Aden's somewhat routine haircut, she mustered the courage to cut off Wiley's locks. It was not an easy process, and not just because Wiley doesn't sit still for that long. In fact, for most of the haircut, he was wandering around the porch, with Mommy following close behind him, poised with the scissors and waiting for him to pause long enough for another snip. But it was harder for her to see the curls go than to keep up with him.
She managed to hold the tears back mostly, as she watched her baby boy become a little boy very quickly. At one point he turned around and Mommy gasped, "He doesn't look like Wiley anymore!" (She actually said that many times for about the first 24 hours after the haircut.) But once she had started there was no going back, especially when she had saved the back curls for last, and the mullet became more pronounced. It seemed to us that in those few minutes Wiley grew up quite a bit into a little boy, but we'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Let the Good Times Roll...

While the new hospital still has some interior work to be done, it is not being used yet. It has some great sidewalks that are perfect for riding bikes. Sidewalks are pretty hard to come by in this country, I should add. This past Sunday afternoon, Aden was begging to ride his bike. So, we went down to the new hospital and let him loose. He was a little unsure at first and had to have Daddy run alongside of him down the inclined sidewalks, but eventually was asking Daddy to not run with him. We are just thankful for the training wheels that are still on the bike. He is getting more brave by the day. Anything Aden can do, Wiley will certainly have a go at himself. Since his legs are not as long as Aden's, he can not do the pedaling like big brother, but he can hold on tight while Daddy pushes him around. When Aden is riding, Wiley mostly likes to run behind him trying to keep up, especially since Aden usually challenges him to a 'race.' Daddy usually ends up in these races too. It won't be long before the training wheels will be coming off for Aden. Unfortunately for the boys, those sidewalks will probably be lined with patients by then. It will of course be an exciting time for us all when the new hospital opens, but we are happy to just enjoy the sidewalks while we can.

Happy Anniversary, Daddy and Mommy!

Apparently, this week was Mommy and Daddy's anniversary. We knew something was up, but had no idea how much fun it was going to be. First, there was a pre-anniversary dinner a couple of nights before the actual day. Uncle Andy and Aunt Judy came over to our house with a nice meal and Mommy and Daddy went to their house. I don't know what they did, but it couldn't have been more fun than our evening. See Uncle Andy's blog for the story. And then on Friday (the actual anniversary day), Mommy and Daddy packed a suitcase for them and a bag for us. It was around 11 a.m. when we finally left, although it seemed like an eternity. We got to spend the night with Bubu Jim and Kah-tee, Tim, Cilla, Jo and Lydia (and of course Buckeye). We had lots of fun there. Mommy and Daddy said they were going into the town of Mount Hagen to stay the night. Not sure why you would pick to do that over staying where we stayed, but it was their loss. The next morning, post anniversary, we moved down to Uncle Scott and Aunt Gail's house to play with Allison, Emma and Olivia (and their dog, Coppertone). We always have fun playing with them and couldn't imagine that Mommy and Daddy could possibly be having anywhere close to as much fun as us. Around 3 p.m., we heard that they were back and so we went home to see them. We were glad to have them back, and were excited to tell them everything that they had missed. They were pretty excited too and said they had a good time as well with nice meals, quiet evening, and hikes through the rainforest (complete with rain). Yeah, I think we had a better time than them. We were curious to know where they went and stayed, so they showed us their pictures. We thought you might want to see them too. It looked pretty fun too, although we don't see any toys. We are already looking forward to next year's anniversary. Happy 5th Anniversary, Mommy and Daddy! We love you!