Say cheese!

A couple of Emma's first . . .

. . . and a new smile for Aden . . .

 At 6 1/2, we knew Aden's smile would be changing soon.  For a few weeks, he would tell us about his loose teeth, and wiggle them from time to time.  But since losing a tooth was such new territory, he was a bit apprehensive and didn't work at it too hard.  Finally, in mid-November, a tooth that had been loose for a few weeks was only hanging by a thread.  Aden bravely let Daddy twist it around when he brushed his teeth, but he was daunted by the pain and Daddy stopped just short of pulling it out.  However, after reading books at bedtime, Daddy convinced Aden to give it another chance.  Everyone went back to the bathroom and cheered and watched as Daddy pulled out the tooth.  After the initial shock, Aden found that Daddy was right - he was so proud of the new hole in his mouth and quite eager to show it off!

 

Just a couple weeks later, a second tooth was quite loose, but this time Aden found it much easier to let Daddy give it a tug to expand the gap in his mouth.

Concert Season

As December approaches, our calendar is filling up with holiday festivities and year-end events.  We've had the privilege of attending two concerts where Aden has participated.  While Grandma was here, Aden's school had a concert.  The Grade One and Grade Two classes each presented a poem, and the higher grades performed a new, interesting version of The Three Little Pigs.  For weeks, Aden talked about the concert and wanted to make sure we would all be in attendance.  With Emma's due date just a few days before the concert, we were unsure at first if we could all make it, but since she arrived early, the school concert was one of her first outings at just one and a half weeks old.  (Her first outing was a Saturday trip to Rebel Market.) 

Aden really wanted everyone he knows at Wilro to be in attendance, but we only had room for so many in our car, so we limited the invitations to Grandma and Aunt Sarah Arni.  We already knew Aden's part, since he had practiced some at home, and we were quite impressed with how well he stayed in character.  The class filed in to "shark music" (two alternating low notes on the piano), walking in two lines, wearing shark hats and "waving" their "fins" (hands) from side to side.  Apparently they were told to look mean, like a shark; Aden took this instruction quite seriously, not even breaking a smile when he caught a glimpse of his family.  He said his line perfectly ("A shark is a pet that you don't want to get") - and to our surprise, in a South African accent!  

Aden is on the far right

While the shark poem was only a small part of the evening, it made a huge impression on all three boys.  In the days and weeks following the concert, we often witnessed them re-enacting the whole thing, and within just a few days all three boys had the entire poem memorized just as Aden had taught them - accent and all.  In fact, if anyone goes to the keyboard and plays the two low notes, Noah immediately responds to the cue - he goes to his place "backstage" (the bathroom) and soon emerges waving his shark fin as he walks to the stage (the stairs).  They stand in formation and pass around a toy mic as they say all the lines, often remembering to wave at their parents when they are done.

Aden's piano lesson

Also while Grandma Karen was here, she was able to go to Aden's piano lessons with us.  His lessons are at a church on a large property, so we often go as a family and enjoy walking around the property, kicking a ball, watching the geese and chasing the guinea fowl before and during Aden's lesson.  In October, his teacher told us there would be a concert in November for all of the music students and asked if Aden would be participating.  We weren't sure we should commit - after all, we'd have a new baby, and the concert wasn't close by, so would mean a long Saturday evening for our family . . . not to mention how shy Aden is in front of people, and we didn't think he would want to do it.  But he proved us wrong - as it approached, Aden decided he did want to participate, and even wrote his own song to play and sing!  Not wanting to squelch his enthusiasm, we decided to make it a family event.  We encouraged him to practice and his teacher was thrilled that he would be a part, impressed by his gusto and vibrato as he sang.

On the evening of the concert, as the venue filled up with students and their families, we weren't surprised that he began to get cold feet.  We tried to encourage him, reminding him that he had said his line in the school concert in front of a larger crowd; it would be over soon and he would be so glad that he had done it.  He couldn't back out when his teacher took his hand and led him to the front of the church, but was probably thankful that his teacher joined him on the piano bench, and that he was small enough to hide almost completely behind the keyboard and music stand.  However, when it was all done, he was beaming with pride, and we rewarded his valiant performance with a late dinner at McDonald's.  The next morning at church, we overheard Aden telling about it like a fish story - in his version, he "wasn't scared at all."  Then, after telling his whole class at school about the piano concert, his teacher asked if he would play the song for the entire school at their assembly - and Aden agreed!  We were quite shocked, knowing how intimidated he had been at the piano concert, and Mommy gently reminded him "You'll have to sing, too."  But Aden quickly replied, "I don't care.  I've said a line in front of more people than that" (referencing the shark poem at the school concert).  And from what he told us about the assembly, he had no trouble at all.  He played and sang for the whole school; then for just his class, he played and a classmate joined him in singing.

We are amazed at how much Aden has burst out of his shy little shell during the last year he's been at school! 

Priceless Artwork

One day Mommy was extra-tired at nap time and just couldn't keep her eyes open.  So she gave the boys temporary unlimited access to an old ream of dot-matrix printer paper to keep them occupied; she changed Emma's diaper and left her on the floor while she closed her eyes for a little while . . . When she woke up, she found that Emma had fallen asleep on her changing mat . . .

. . . and had become a part of the art gallery the boys created on the living room floor:

Sleeping Arrangements

We took our time getting ready for Emma's arrival.  In fact, until just a week or two before her birth, just by looking around our house, you would never have known we had a baby coming (unless Mommy's profile was blocking your view, of course).  We really didn't have a nursery set up, or any baby paraphernalia lying around.  That soon changed, however.  With a new baby in the house, and Grandma's visit, we had to get creative about our sleeping arrangements.  A couple days before Grandma arrived, Daddy got to work in the boys' room and after an hour or so unveiled a surprise for them . . .

His creation from turning the twin beds on their sides, with the mattresses on the floor between the frames, allowed enough sleeping space for all three boys.  They were thrilled and quickly nicknamed it "The Cabin Bed."

We didn't have space to set up a crib and also have a bed for Grandma, and knew that Emma wouldn't need the space of a crib for a while, so we hoped to find an African basket-bassinet for her to use.  But we had trouble finding one here in Jo'burg and ended up ordering one to be made in Mozambique.  While we waited for the basket to be ready, Grandma Karen helped convert a dresser drawer into a baby bed.

And right away we also put to good use the baby bilum Aunt Gail Dooley had sent from PNG.

A peek inside the bilum

When Emma was about two weeks old, her basket was ready! 

Grandma Karen

Here she comes!  (Being licked by a giraffe)

Almost as exciting as welcoming a new baby into our home was having Grandma Karen come to visit for three weeks.  She arrived on Sunday evening the 14th of October, just in time to help watch the boys while Mommy and Daddy went to the hospital Monday morning for Emma's delivery. 

Little hands helping pull Grandma's luggage

A first look at Baby Emma

Grandma helped with EVERYTHING around the house - cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, taking care of the boys . . .  She got Wiley started on a new chore of washing the breakfast dishes.  There were almost daily walks to the grocery store around the corner to make sure we always had enough bread and whatever else was needed. 

Sorting laundry with Grandma

Walking to Spar

She took the boys to the tennis court, and dug in the dirt with them.  In fact, together they planted a flower garden for Emma.  Each of the boys picked seedlings to plant and Grandma taught them how to get the dirt ready and carefully plant and water the flowers in the prepared bed.

Cuddling with Emma at Papachinos

While Grandma was content simply to be a part of our daily routine, we were able to do a few special things together, too.  The boys insisted on taking Grandma on safari to Pilanesburg, giving Mommy and Emma a quiet, restful day at home.  They also insisted that we show Grandma our favorite second-hand bookshop, just a "hole in the wall" but one of their favorite places.  Grandma treated us to dinner at our favorite restaurant - Papachinos - twice!!  She joined us for Aden's concert at school and enjoyed hearing his piano lesson, getting a sample of what he would play at the piano concert after she was gone (blog post coming soon).  Grandma got in as many cuddles as she could with Baby Emma, particularly in the night.  She shared a room with Emma, so when Emma woke up, Grandma brought her to Mommy to be fed; then when Emma was done, Grandma stayed up and burped her and changed her if needed, while Mommy went back to sleep.

Last goodbyes at the airport

In short, she spoiled us rotten!  It was a bit surreal when we said goodbye at the airport.  Daddy and Mommy looked at each other and said, "Well, here we go.  A family of six.  On our own."  The boys spent the next 48 hours tracking Grandma's path across the ocean and back to Ohio, and Noah kept asking when she would come back.  He wasn't completely satisfied with our answer until we promised him that we would also get a turn to go on the airplane and visit Grandma at her house.

Baby Makes Six (a story of birth, and beyond)

Mommy's profile, just before heading to the hospital

Daddy samples Mommy's breakfast

Emma Katherine made her appearance Monday morning, after a scheduled induction of labor for Mommy.  The doctor ruptured the membranes at seven a.m. as planned, but nothing really happened for a while.  After being monitored for 30-40 minutes, Mommy and Daddy were able to walk around and try to get things going.  They quickly discovered that all the hallways were short, and also dead ends.  Then they found a small courtyard (maybe 100 square feet) where they walked laps and talked about a name.  They laughed at the scene, and shared the play-by-play of the experience with Uncle Bill and Aunt Marsha over email, still able to share the experience all the way in PNG.  They went back to have Baby monitored again, and were asked over and over if Mommy had eaten her breakfast yet.  Mommy didn't want to eat, but in order not to disappoint anyone, Daddy made a small dent, eating the toast and some of the potatoes.  Around 10:30, not seeing much change in contractions, the doctor ordered a slow drip of oxytocin to help move things along.  Around 11 am, labor had picked up intensity, and right at noon, just as Mommy had hoped, we were able to celebrate the miracle of Emma's birth.

While they had been walking around, Daddy and Mommy had spied a nice, quiet, and best of all, empty private room with its own courtyard.  When we inquired about a private room, it was the only one available, just at the end of the hall, away from most of the activity of the maternity ward.  Daddy went home and brought the Band of Brothers and Grandma Karen for visiting hours; while Grandma was content to hold Emma and get her dressed, and the boys enjoyed seeing their Baby Sister for the first time, approving of the name, they mostly seemed to enjoy the courtyard where they sang "Twelve Days of Christmas" and "I May Never March in the Infantry" at the top of their lungs.  Not quite 24 hours after Emma's arrival, we were able to go home on Tuesday mid-morning, after completing all the documents for Emma's birth certificate and saving us a trip to Home Affairs. 

Grandma Karen's first cuddle with Baby Emma

Emma's home in the nursery

Our Family of Six, during visiting hours

All strapped in, ready to come home from the hospital

The Welcoming Party

The boys have been quite proud of their baby sister.  They waited anxiously for visitors to be allowed to come and see Baby Emma.  Aden was thrilled to have a printed picture to take with him when he returned to school on Wednesday morning.  He got home and informed us that he had invited his whole class to come and see her sometime!  (Mommy suggested that perhaps they could meet Emma at the upcoming school concert instead.)  Noah has been full of questions, mostly "Why?" -- Why is Emma sleeping?  Why is Baby eating?  Why does he close his eyes?  Why is he awake?  Why are his fingers too big for him?  Why do we ever never change his diaper? -- for the record, we do!  (For Noah, everyone is still "he.")  Noah has also taken it upon himself to make sure Emma never goes without a hat.  Wiley has been proud to have his picture taken with his new baby sister, to get to hold her, and to gently kiss her forehead.  He has been eager to share pink balloons with Emma, and drew her a picture of baby dolls on her first day home. 

Introducing . . .

Proud to Be Five

When Wiley first realized the Baby would be coming shortly after his fifth birthday, he was quick to tell us that he would be happy to share his birthday with his new Baby Sister.  Even just a few days before his big day, he reminded us that was still okay with him.  While we were thrilled by his simple expression of generosity, Daddy and Mommy really hoped Baby would wait and make her appearance later and let Wiley have his own day.  Thankfully, she waited (and is still waiting).

Wiley's birthday really started Monday night, since he was born in PNG just before 1:30 a.m., so after we enjoyed dinner with Uncle Mark, Aunt Linda, and Alex (one last time before they left for Singapore), we all sang Happy Birthday to commence the celebration.  On Tuesday morning Wiley was quite pleased to discover that the Birthday Boy shirt still fit him!  He was also pretty excited that he didn't have to do any chores, and happily watched while Aden put away his clothes and Daddy made his bed.  We had his special request - chocolate chip pancakes - for breakfast.  Just after breakfast, it was time for Daddy to go to work, and Aden to go to school.

Lunch was also Wiley's choice, and we had corn dog muffins.  Mommy added homemade chips (french fries) to round out the menu.  It was Aden's first day back to school after a two week term-break, and he was quite disappointed to have to head out on Wiley's birthday, missing any festivities while he was gone.  When he came home at lunch time, he had a special surprise from his day at school.  Apparently one of his friends at school noticed that he was sad and asked what was wrong.  When Aden explained that it was Wiley's birthday and he was sad to be missing it, his friend offered that they should tell the teacher.  When they told the teacher, she altered the day's plans a bit and had all of Aden's classmates make cards for Wiley.  So Aden came home with fourteen birthday cards for a very proud five year old, and Aden took the time to read each one to his little brother! Wiley also opened a couple of gifts at lunch:  a puzzle from Uncle David and Aunt Jodi, and a portable barn with small farm animals from Mommy and Daddy. 

Lunch, just before Daddy and Aden came home

Reading the cards from Aden's classmates

"Travel" barn and animals from Daddy and Mommy

Puzzle from Uncle David and Aunt Jodi - completed at rest time

After a short rest time, Daddy took Wiley to the store to pick out his requested birthday gift (a new soccer ball - he decided that the one he received last year was getting too worn out).  While they were gone, Mommy and Aden worked to ice the birthday cake and finished up birthday gifts from his brothers.  (We did something similar on Noah's birthday also; it isn't intended to be a tradition, but has worked really well for us, and the birthday boy has especially enjoyed all the attention and Daddy-time.)  When Wiley came home, he showed us what he had picked out.  He had changed his mind quite a bit from the soccer ball, and had picked out a package of animal stickers, a small "real" football, and a new backpack.

The boys went down to the tennis court with a friend while Daddy and Mommy made tortillas and finished the final preparations for the birthday dinner.  When we sat down to dinner, Aunt Sarah Arni joined us at the table for the celebration, even though she had already eaten.  After Wiley's dinner meal request - tortillas, it was time for cake and ice cream.  Wiley gave Mommy a very specific birthday cake request, requiring review several times through the week as Mommy planned to make it.  He wanted a chocolate chip cake with a "safari" on top - a road in the shape of the number 5, with 2 cars on the road (which Wiley picked himself), and 5 animals around the road (which Wiley also picked); he also specified brown icing on the sides (for dirt) and green frosting on the top (for grass).  Interestingly, for the safari animals, he chose a cow, two tigers, a fox, and a zebra.  We sang the five Kudjip birthday songs, along with our addition of the Afrikaans birthday song; while we were in the middle of it all, Grandma Karen called on Skype and joined in with us, which the boys thought was great.  After everyone was done, we moved to the living room for the last of the gifts, from Grandma Karen and Grandpa Dan, and also the gifts from his brothers.  From Grandpa and Grandma, he received a new pair of Crocs, a new Puma brand play outfit, as well as some nicer clothes for church.  Aden had made a popsicle stick puzzle, and Noah gave him a lion sock puppet. 

Working the popsicle stick puzzle from Aden

Wiley testing out his new sock puppet from Noah - "Lemur the Lion" 

Even though there wasn't a big celebration, it seemed to be just enough for Wiley.  After all the excitement of the day, finishing with birthday bumps, the boys went right to bed after baths.  It's hard to believe that Wiley is now five years old . . . and even harder to imagine how tiny his sister will be when we meet her soon!