Overheard (III)

Noah (as he periodically asks):  Mommy, how old are you?
Mommy:  33
Noah:  Are you a half?
Mommy:  No.  Adults don't really do halves anymore.
Wiley:  So that's the difference between kids and adults!  Adults don't have halves, but kids do. 

Mommy:  When you get tired of chewing, you need to spit out your gum.  Don't swallow it.
Noah (only minutes later):  My tummy is sleepy and my mouth is too.

Wiley (bursting into the kitchen while Mommy made dinner):  Stir-fry!
Aden (interpreting):  He is just saying what he thinks is for dinner.  (Both boys knew we were having pizza.)
Wiley:  No, I was just saying one of the foods I know.

Noah in particular is a dirt-magnet.  After spending a morning in the garden, his shoes were too dirty to wear anywhere.  It was time to get Aden from school, so Mommy told Noah he would have to go barefoot. 
Noah:  Barefoot in what?
Mommy:  In the car.
Noah:  Barefoot in my toes?
Mommy:  Yes.
Noah:  Why can't I go barefoot in my shoes? 

Aden (eating an open-face pizza sandwich):  Mommy, I need this recipe for my wife.  (He has also asked for the recipe for a honey-and-butter sandwich, for the same purpose.)

Aden (after a "snowy" day at school):  Great news, Mommy!  I've never had hot chocolate before, but I had some today.  And I like it.

Wiley (apparently after tasting something he found left on his face after lunch):  I didn't eat all my jelly. . . . But then I realized it wasn't jelly.
Mommy (not yet realizing what Wiley was talking about):  What was it? 
Wiley:  Dried-up snot. 

Mommy:  Noah, come here.  There's something on your back.
Wiley (quickly inspecting Noah's back): Yeah, it's a suvv. 
Mommy:  A suvv?
Wiley:  Yeah.
Sure enough, there on Noah's back was a large piece of fuzz.  Either a minor case of dyslexia, or more likely, a little too much Dr. Seuss.

Noah (wanting Vicks):  Daddy, could you put ice on my boogers?

Mommy:  Noah, are you hungry?
Noah:  Yes.  And drinky.  Can I have my water bott?

Aden (trying to convince Wiley to go upstairs for baths):  Mommy and Noah are going upstairs.
Wiley:  But God isn't.  He's everywhere. 

Wiley:  Can I have some more milk?
Mommy (prompting him for better manners):  Please?
Wiley:  Yes.

Aden (on why he wanted to draw instead of sitting on the couch while Mommy read Farmer Boy, in the Little House series):  Mommy, it's kind of weird.  I'm used to colored pictures, and I'm not used to not-colored pictures.  It's just how God made me.  And I don't complain about how God made me.  I just yell for joy at how God made me. 

Aden (after passing the street carving salesman, selling wooden cats): I want to be a carver when I grow up.
Noah:  I just want to be a cat. 
Aden:  Then I can teach my children to carve.  I want six boys.
Noah:  I want five boys.
Wiley:  I want seven boys.
 <Wow!  That's a lot of grandsons!>

Noah (interrupting Mommy when she was reading a book to him):  Mommy, are you telling me?
Mommy (not quite sure what he was asking, interpreting this to be "are you reading to me?"):   Yes.
From that point on, after every sentence or two Noah would comment, "Oh," or "Yes," responding to all the new information Mommy was "telling" him.

Aden (in a conversation about languages):  Who speaks Siswati? 
Before anyone could answer, Noah quickly raised his hand in the air. 

Noah (tearing up from the Vicks Mommy put under his nose):  I'm getting sad. 

Noah (after snuggling with Mommy while she carried him downstairs):  I bubbled on you.  (Translation:  I drooled on you.) 

Aden:  Noah's lucky.  He gets an airplane bowl.
Noah (tattler extraordinaire):  Aden said I'm yucky!

Wiley:  Noah, do you remember when we were on our way to Swaziland and my cars and Aden's cars . . . (Wiley proceeded to tell a little story to Noah about what they had done on our trip)
Noah (quite vaguely):  Yeah.
Wiley:  Noah, you don't remember because you weren't in the back (of the car) with us. 

Confession is good for the soul ...
Noah (from the top of the stairs):  Mommy, me and Wiley jumped on the bed.
Wiley:  No I didn't!
Noah:  I jumped on the bed. 

Wiley, on Native American History (reading Little House on the Prairie):  Back then they called it Indian Country; now they call it Oklahoma.

Wiley to Noah:  Remember, don't drink your water.  (Advice often heard when traveling abroad, and also good advice, in this case, when painting with water colors)

Mommy:  Wiley, do you want another muffin or are you all done?
Wiley (after 4 muffins):  Probably not, because muffins are too hard swallowing for me.  I always take a too-big bite.

Noah (from the backseat):  Mommy, I'm throwing up.
Mommy (not to be graphic, but Noah occasionally tells Mommy that he threw up in his mouth; wanting to find out just how serious this situation was, but unable to turn around and check on him while driving):  Is it coming out of your mouth?
Noah:  Yes.
Wiley (immediately offering the correct diagnosis):  Noah, those are just hiccups.
A few days later when Noah had the hiccups again:  Mommy, I still have the pickups.  

Wiley:  When I grow up, I want to be a farmer, then a ranger, then a fireman, a policeman, and an expert. . .  and the "year-man."
Mommy:  What's the year-man?
Wiley:  You ask, "Is it January?"  I'll say, No.  You ask, "Is it September?"  I'll say, Yes.

Daddy:  Wiley, what do you want for lunch?
Wiley:  A banana.
Daddy:  How about a sandwich to go with it?
Wiley:  I want a cheese sandwich.
Daddy (when the sandwich was ready):  Wiley, your lunch is on the table.
Wiley:  I also menu'd a banana!

Mommy read a Paddington story, about the "launderette", and explained that hot water wash can shrink clothes. 
Wiley (looking at toys, mostly matchbox cars, scattered across the floor):  Is that what happened to all these toys?  Because they're little.

Daddy:  Who's your favorite Daddy?
Noah:  Mommy!

A Different Kind of Birthday

For many weeks Noah has been looking forward to turning THREE.  He knew when his birthday was, and with plenty of reminders from his brothers and Mommy and Daddy, he was ready for the Big Day as soon as he woke up on the 21st.  Unfortunately, the day went a little differently than any of us expected.  To set the stage, at the start of the week, Noah had been sick with a stomach bug; it didn't slow him down much, but we kept an eye on him.  A couple days later, on Wednesday, Wiley seemed to have caught the same bug, though with more force.  The next day it was Aden's turn.  We hoped for the best, maybe another 24-hour bug and Aden would still be ready to celebrate with us at least by Friday evening.  So, we started Noah's birthday celebrations a man down. 

When Noah woke up, he was thrilled to see the birthday banner and chair cover ready and waiting for him, along with the Birthday Boy shirt, which he proudly wore all day.  Mommy had pumpkin chocolate chip muffins baking in the oven for breakfast.  Muffins are one of Noah's favorites, especially if there are chocolate chips inside.  He usually asks for a bowl of "mogurt" as soon as he is up in the morning (even if breakfast is on its way, just to tide him over), but on his birthday decided he could wait for the muffins to be ready.  He opened one gift at breakfast, a book about the animals on Noah's ark, though we moved to the living room so that Aden could participate from the couch.  After breakfast, Mommy rushed off to a doctor's appointment and Daddy stayed with the boys.  When she came home mid-morning, Mommy brought balloons that helped to bring some birthday entertainment.  Noah stopped playing with Wiley at one point to tell Mommy, "Big birthday boys don't pee or poop their pants.  And they don't hit.  And they don't whack. ... but balloons don't hurt."

Just before lunch, Noah and Wiley helped Mommy mix up the birthday cake, Grandma Sue's wacky cake.  While it was in the oven, Daddy came home and picked up Noah for a special birthday lunch at McDonald's.  Distracted by the discovery of a toy in his Happy Meal, he didn't eat much but did enjoy the special outing.  When they came home again, Mommy kept hoping that Aden was on the mend.  He wasn't sick but certainly weak from not eating and unable to get off the couch.  As Mommy was working in the kitchen, Noah walked toward the bathroom and casually said, "I'm sick."  Mommy poked her head out of the kitchen, not sure if she had heard right, but sure enough, there was Noah losing everything that had gone in that day.  With Aden still on the couch and the Birthday Boy appearing to be down for the count, we decided naps were in order for everyone and we would postpone the rest of the birthday celebrations.  That gave a little more time for the older boys to finish making their gifts for Noah (which they had planned to work on while Noah napped), and for Mommy and Daddy to recover from all of the sick-care and slow down a bit. 

However, after naps, Noah seemed to be fully recovered and Aden had not been sick since early morning (though still quite lethargic on the couch).  Noah woke up asking why we hadn't had birthday cake yet, so we decided to try the birthday celebrations as planned.  We moved quickly getting pizza dinner ready and finishing the icing on the cake.  Everyone was able to sit at the table for dinner . . . but none of the boys ate a whole piece of pizza.  It seemed that Wiley and Noah were too excited, and Aden still a bit worn out. 

Finally Mommy brought out the long-anticipated Birthday Cake and we sang the birthday song medley, with the boys' addition of the Afrikaans birthday song.  Noah had requested a black cake and also strawberries.  He doesn't actually like strawberries, so Mommy put just a few on top, growing on a vine in the dirt cake.  All the boys, but especially Noah, were thrilled with the cake, especially when they discovered the "worms" buried in the "dirt".  Noah immediately reached for the shovel and rake perched in the dirt and began to serve himself.  He entertained all of us as he ate right from the oversized utensils.  Once dessert was over, we again moved to the living room for gifts as Aden was ready to lie on the couch again.  Grandpa Dan and Grandma Karen's gifts had arrived in the mail just in time, and Noah loved his new crocs and ball.  He even slept with them.

In spite of the up-and-down plans, and the tummy trouble mid-day, Noah seemed quite pleased with his birthday celebrations.  We promised that once everyone was completely healthy, we would have a little more celebration to present him with the rest of his gifts.  So on Saturday, hoping that all sickness was behind us, and in the midst of laundry and airing out and cleaning the house, Daddy took a break to take Noah on a special trip to the shops to pick out a new balance bike.  Assembling the bike at home was an event for everyone.

While Noah had been out shopping with Daddy, his big brothers took the opportunity to finish their gifts for him.  When Noah opened the first one, he exclaimed with excitement, "Socks!  Red socks!"  But on closer inspection, and with some help and demonstration from Aden and Wiley, he realized it was more than just a sock.  Each of them had made sock puppets (an alligator and a dinosaur) which quickly took on their own personalities once attached to the end of Noah's arm.  Noah's personality shone through his birthday celebrations, and he is quite proud to be three.  To top it all off, he'll be able to go to a new Sunday School class tomorrow at church, "graduating" from the creche. 

You Can Take the Boy Out of Kudjip . . .

. . . but we just can't take Kudjip out of these boys!

For those who have never experienced the Kudjip Community, we should first explain a bit.  It is certainly close-knit - as we learned first-hand, especially when Mommy and Daddy were "dating," nothing goes unnoticed to the neighbors.  The walls are thin, with no insulation; not only can you hear from room to room, you can hear from inside to outside the house, even with doors and windows closed.  There isn't a lot of vehicle traffic on the station, and these boys love cars, so anytime a car drove up to our end was a big deal, and they would run outside to see who it was.  If they heard voices outside it was the same way.  At any given point in the day, they could be found outside, just watching the world go by while they played, keeping track of who was doing what and going where.

Aden and Wiley watching the station from our front porch in Kudjip

Living in a big city is quite different, but we do live in a small town-house complex within the city.  We don't have a front yard, and there isn't much space to play out front, with a limited view at that, but that has not deterred our little Kudjyptians.  In the mornings when they get up, Aden and Wiley sometimes look out their bedroom window together, watching to see who else might be stirring at dawn, or just watching the birds.  In the mornings before Aden started school this year, when they watched Daddy ride off to work, they would stand at the gate of the car port and wave, holding onto the bars like prisoners.  On Sunday mornings, they stand in Mommy and Daddy's bedroom, looking out of the big picture window, watching the people come to the Afrikaans church behind our house.  They keep track of who drives what car, and sometimes will let us know when our neighbors arrive at church in the morning.  Aden says that window is his favorite place to watch the traffic on a road up a hill beyond the church (his favorite road).  It is especially exciting at night, when you can see all the lights of the cars.  In spite of limited views of the outside world, they are pretty good at keeping track of who is coming and going in and out of the complex.  They can tell us when the corvette has left, or when someone has had car trouble; when the Judo teacher comes and goes to teach her classes; who has company, and sometimes who the company is.  But it's not just about the people coming and going.  Recently Aunt Sarah Arni moved into a house opposite ours, and they were thrilled for her that she would have an exclusive view of the weaver birds and their nests.  We're thankful that they are often easily entertained simply by opening their eyes to the world around them. 

Singing Christmas carols to people coming to our house for prayer meeting (in January)

Watching cars from the upper level of the regional office

Watching cars come and go on the mission station in Swaziland