Chatting with Hertsje

Hertsje tells it like it is!

She Makes an Exception

Normally, I do not laugh at the misdeeds of the dear little people who gather around my dining room table to play with Legos.  Nor do I post about them, as I would not want someone doing that to me.  For we all know, I do have my moments.

But occasionally, something bad does happen that causes me to just plan LOSE it in the laughing department.

That happened today.

After playing with the Legos, Jonge went off on his own and created a rather convincing alien costume out of a bunch of pipe cleaners and sticky-back googly eyes.

Everyone had a turn being chased around and seemed to be enjoying it.

Until Kado had had enough.

During what I thought of as a friendly alien assault Kado bit Jonge on the back.  It was shocking to Jonge, who thought it was all in good fun, and equally shocking to Kado to hear the screams that ensued.

When an incident like that happens I'm never sure what to do first.  Console the injured party, or grab the guilty party?

I grabbed the guilty party and told him to 'wait right here'.  And he did.  Now screaming just as loudly as his brother.

After assessing the injury (it looked mighty painful to me!) and applying the proper attention, I brought the two together to figure this thing out.

Now, of course, I had my own thoughts about this.  Jonge was the only one with the alien get-up and the other three, who seemed to have been enjoying it, where at his mercy.  My thought was that Kado doesn't quite have the language to express that enough is enough, but he does have teeth.

So I asked him, "Why did you bite your brother?"

His answer was very animated and rose up and down the tonal scale, "It's because I got the biting hiccups, and when you get those they never go away!"

Then he made a believable apology.

After which Jonge looked at me and said, "The biting hiccups?  What are those?"

And we laughed, and we laughed, and we laughed.

Everyone except for Kado has caught a cold.  But mostly we are all afraid of catching the biting hiccups, because if you catch those, they never go away!

Monday

Wow.  What a Monday.

Everyone was happy and a wee bit sleepier than usual.

Kado took a FOUR HOUR nap.

Seems like he was hardly even here!

But he was.  This boy is so fun.

Several times a day he will say to me, "Beppe, can I ask you a question?"

The questions are always very well thought out and interesting.

If I had any sort of memory left I would tell you what they were.

He also tells very interesting stories.  Today at lunch he told me that Jesus told Santa to "shut up".

Of course, he isn't allowed to say that, but when framed in a story about Jesus, well, he is just repeating what Jesus said.  Did you notice that these words are not in red?  That's because I don't buy it.

 Notice Feintsje's hand in this picture?

Yet another grandchild experiencing the joy of catching dust particles as they float around my living room.

Although I DO appreciate the return of sunshine, it does have a down side.

And Hertsje?  She does like peas!

Actually, there is not much that she doesn't like.

She took a two hour morning nap and Feintsje took two one hour naps.

There was a twenty minute time period when all three of them were sleeping at the same time.

I never dare dream of this happening, but when it does I DO enjoy it!

Oh, and Feintsje learned a new word today.  He can now say LIPS!  It's adorable.

Hertsje Has Something To Say

This girl is such a sweetheart!  And does she ever have things to say!  This was during our afternoon snack one day last week.  She was just so very chatty.

Oh, Those Stinkin' Cowboys

Playing on the sand hills was THE highlight of the day for all of the kids, and a few of the adults still young at heart.
The only one to have a wee bit of a problem with it was Kado.  Occasionally the wind would change and bring in a foul smell.  Kado is three.  This means that he will not stop making a statement until it has been met with a satisfactory remark.  To HIS satisfaction, that is.  So, Kado kept repeating "Something stinks.  What is that smell?  Something stinks.  What is that smell?"  Apparently, our responses weren't what he wanted to hear, which meant he kept on repeating this.
Finally, I took him and his statement/question to the expert, Uncle Clayton, who owns this land and has lived here for a very long time.
He patiently explained to Kado that there is a dairy farm to the northeast and that the bad stench is from a cow slurry pit.  Or, in three year old language, it smells like cow poop.  Kado seemed extremely satisfied with this response and therefore STOPPED REPEATING HIMSELF.
As we headed back to the sand hills Carter ran off to tell his mommy the good news.
"Know what that yucky smells is?  It's cowboy poop."
Oh, those stinkin' cowboys.

Kado

Kado hasn't been feeling well this week.  A bit of a cold and fever.  He slept for over three hours yesterday afternoon and woke up a bit sluggish.

But yet he LOVES to talk, and I LOVE to listen to him.

Sometimes he can be a bit hard to understand, but he is doing much better as time goes on.

Just before school started  I told Famke that I would probably be calling her at school so she could interpret what her brother was saying, as she always knew exactly what he meant.

So far, I haven't had to do that.

But he has said a few very cute things.  In this picture he is looking at the mantle.  When I first decorated it for fall, he was delighted by it and told me with much enthusiasm that he really likes all my "pumpnicks".  He only said it once, but forever they shall be known as "pumpnicks" to me.

Also, anything that happened in  the past he refers to as "lasterday".  Last week we were playing a game that involved jumping.  Suddenly he stopped jumping to tell me that "Lasterday at my friend Josh's house we played on a Jump-o-leen !"  Kado would really like to have his own "jump-o-leen".  Seriously though, why aren't trampolines called that?   Where did the 'tramp' come from?

Lasterday, I used to like jumping on jump-o-leens, but now I'd rather just gaze at the pumpnicks on my mantle from the comfort of my living room.

Rest Time

Yesterday  my sister came over and brought along her two year old grandson.  The morning was spent with everyone carrying around their own individual tea sets.  I don't think they actually did anything with them other than carry them around.  But they did it with much passion and considerable joy.

Here we are ALL taking a rest while watching Caillou.  I love Caillou.

Soon after Kado went down for a nap.  He is still an amazing napper.

While my sister was packing up everything to leave, her grandson smacked his head on some decorative detailing under the buffet in my dining room.

OH.  MY.  GOODNESS.

Was there ever a lot of blood!  While I held him and my sister washed the blood out of his hair he was very brave and only kept asking, "Am I going to be okay!?" Thankfully, the bleeding stopped quickly and it proved to be only a spot about the size of a pin head.

He recovered very quickly.  I haven't yet.  My sister probably hasn't either.

Then, just after they left for home a fire truck and an ambulance came screaming down our street and stopped at a house just across from us.  They couldn't gain entry so we watched as they broke in through a window.  No fire and no one was taken away.  Another thing to be thankful for.

So, that was Wednesday.   I'm happy to report that Thursday has turn out to be a much quieter day in the neighborhood.

So I Don't Forget

Kado presently is referring to his cheeks as his "chickens".  No one knows why, but this is what he calls them.

He adores giving Feintsje kisses on his chickens.  This could be due to the simple fact that Feintsje has the most kissable chickens!

Reading To Famke

If you've ever stepped into my home, you would notice that it is filled with books.  This is one of my newest acquisitions.  For years I've been crazy about the art of Tasha Tudor.  Last week I found this book somewhere.  It  was a fabulous price even before I realized it was on sale.  As I recall it was less than two dollars.
Now one might think that since I read all the time and have many books, I must read to my grand children all the time.
HA!  I only wish that were true.  It is a very hard thing to do with four.  Rarely am I EVER just sitting there wondering what I should read to whom.  But today?  Today was one of those days when things worked out.
Jonge left for school and Kado and Feintsje were napping at the same time.
So, Famke and I snuggled up on the couch with FIVE books.  She chose four of the books we read (from a good sized collection of little golden books) and I chose one story from the Fairy Tales book.  We read Sleeping Beauty.  The one main picture was of a reclining Beauty with the Prince leaning over her to give her the kiss.  Famke seemed fascinated with the picture.  I was yammering on and on (as i am wont to do, even with the very young) about how someday she might want to get married like mommy and daddy got married and then her husband would kiss her.  Finally, she looked up from the page and said, "So if he's kissing her I think he must be going to work."

So I Do Not Forget

For all of December if one were to ask Kado what he wanted for Christmas he would quickly reply:  "Pizza, Mickey Mouse, and Woody!"  He seemed very happy with all of his presents, even his many Woody dolls of different sizes and materials.  Although he has seen the Toy Story Movies, Buzz and Woody are the characters that stand out the most, especially to him.  A few of his new Woody 'action figures' came with Woody's horse, Bullseye.  Kado didn't seem to know exactly who or what Bullseye was so he didn't pay all that much attention to him.  Until one day this week, when Daughter heard him calling for something.  She wasn't exactly sure what it was he wanted until he found it.  He was calling for Eyeballs.

Just Being Two

Today I came into my living room to see what looked like Kado brushing Feintsje with a whisk broom. Being the proper Beppe that I am, I pointed out to Kado that Feintsje is CLEAN and that whisk brooms are only used on dirty things.

When I returned from disposing of a diaper, this is how I found Kado. Playing chimney sweep with the whisk broom in the mess that is my fireplace. As I expressed my horror he said something like "THITHS is DIRTY." Why, yes. Yes this most certainly is.

Two is my all time FAVORITE age. Mostly because of the mixture of honesty and sass.

Monday I heard Kado say to Feintsje in perfectly clear English, "Good night Feintsje. Sweet dreams!"

Although from time to time I still need a translator.

Monday he also approached me -grabbed my leg - and demanded Ben Bar Schwandershons.

I must have said "WHAT?" in my sweetest voice a half dozen times before Famke chimed in with "He wants a peanut butter sandwich."

Today we did not play with my great idea from the post below. Only because I am again (or is it still?) battling the illness that has been bouncing around our family for over a month now.

Today making bottles, changing diapers and making ben bar schwandershons took up all the energy I had. So I threw a sheet over some chairs and called it good. Since I hadn't done that in awhile, they LOVED it. Although they could not figure out how I knew they had brought crackers into the tent.

Say What?

Kado is SOOO expressive. I just wish that I understood.

And for the record (because we have established that there IS a record) I finished reading the Abraham Lincoln biography last night. VERY good read. Hopefully now I will stop having dreams that involve battles.

Oh. And I am not surprised that Mary Lincoln went crazy. I would have too. WAAAY to much death for one woman to handle.

I took a bunch of videos today. Maybe I'll have the time to post a few more.

Please humor me.

Say What?

This conversation happened on Wednesday.

Famke: When we go to the hospital to see Feintsje tonight will he eat bra food?

Me: What?

Famke: You know, bra food!

Me: Do you mean breast milk?

Famke: Oh, right. Breast milk.

I LOVE this picture of her. She is sooo excited to finally have her turn for the dress-up glasses. Look at those dirty little feet! Ah, summer...

Fun Friday Afternoon

Kado REALLY wanted to be in the tree.

As soon as Pake set him up there, Kado yelled out "Yee Haw!"

Today he talked constantly. Almost all of it is understandable, which is surprising to me because until recently he really hasn't had all that much to say. Pake got out of work at 2:00 today so got to spend much of the afternoon outside with us. Since he'd been up since 4:00 AM he was trying to relax while a herd of wanna-be dinosaurs raced around the backyard. Kado the dinosaur got a bit tired, so I was holding him on my lap while keeping an eye on those other two. I felt a bit of a draft and looked down to notice Kado peering into my shirt. He looked up at me and announced casually, "My mommy has those."

Listening to Children

Kado took a very loooong nap this afternoon.

So, his picture is from yesterday. He INSISTED on wearing the Red Wings Hat. Famke had a rather short nap and woke up from a bad dream. No words to describe the dream, but that it just felt like a bad one.

I love the spontaneous conversations that happen with children. In the pictures of Famke she is telling me about some possible hairstyles. Famke hates barrettes. HATES them.

Jonge found an embroidery hoop that accidentally made it's way upstairs on my arm. To him it made a lovely frame for his silly antics.

And look! We had 'arts and crabs' again today. Another bouquet of flowers for me.

The sweetest comment was made by Jonge to Famke while we were making more flowers. Kado was at the table with us, and at first was content to just fiddle around with his chunky colored pencils, or as he calls them, "blues". But soon those no longer were bringing him the great satisfaction they had in the past, so he moved on to attempting to punch out flowers. This was not going well. Someone else wanted a turn with the flower punch and Famke leaned over and kindly explained that someone else needed it and when they were done he could have it back. Kado was having NONE of that. After this rather noisy scene ended, Jonge piped up from across the table, "Famke, I like hearing you talk nicely to Kado. You are a kind sister." Lest I paint too perfect of a picture here they are normal children and have been known to throw punches - both kinds. I was actually quite close to telling Famke to just yank the punch out of his chubby little fist, but their way was obviously the better one.

It saddens me to think that there are children that have no one interested in listening to them.

Well Imagine That

Today I put Kado down for a nap. When I returned to Jonge and Famke I found that they had three different chairs lined up. The chairs were piled with various pillows, and my recently purchased trellis was leaning upside down against the wall a ways in front of them.

I recognized at once that they were honoring Pa, as they each had a train whistle and were OBVIOUSLY riding on a train.

But what necessitated the upside down trellis?

Being the not very smart Beppe that I am, I questioned them.

Jonge gave me one of those 'looks' he's become rather good at giving and told me with great exasperation,

"We are on a train going to the Eiffel tower."

So to ME it may be a trellis, but for anyone with any imagination it is the Eiffel Tower.

Of course, me being me and all that entails, I got out the globe. I hated to ruin their fun (not really), but one just cannot get to the Eiffel Tower from here by train.

It's truly a mystery to me how at the age of five he knows what the Eiffel Tower is, but at least now he can find Paris, France on the globe.

Good thing that with just a few easy maneuvers their train can transform into a boat, plane, bus, car, basically whatever mode of transportation one desires.

And now? He wants me to wrap it in lights, as he heard somewhere that the Eiffel Tower lights up at night.

Two Front Teeth

Jonge is still four years old and already he has been visited by the Tooth Fairy TWICE!

One day this week I walked into my living room and saw Jonge leaning over the back of a chair, spitting.

This was a wee bit shocking to me.

Of course, I immediately yelled, "What are you doing?"

Spitting behind chairs isn't something he would normally do.

"Spitting." He replied honestly. "I tasted one of your pinecones. It tastes just like ear wax."

I just bet it did.

If like me your home is filled with the wonderful fragrance of cinnamon scented pinecones, don't taste them. They are purely decorative.

What the Siblings Do

Please do bother to read the post below.

This is what Jonge and Famke were doing while their seriously cute little brother was causing my remaining hair to turn even more interesting shades of gray.

Reading their Bibles.

Actually, Jonge is terribly concerned about some of the pictures. He finds them disconcerting. I don't, as they are drawn by the same guy who did the cute pastels of children for a major toilet paper company many long years ago.

Famke just makes pronouncements, repeatedly, that begin like this, "THE BIBLE SAYS..." and than she adds whatever it is that she either does or does not wish to do. It's a totally different story coming from a two year old than it is when a person is, say old enough to vote, and yet continues to do it.

Doctor's Appointments

Today I rode along with Daughter to the doctor.

Kado needed four shots. He accepted this fact with just a bit of kicking and screaming which ended as soon as his mommy picked him up.

Jonge needed two shots. He is indeed a very brave boy. And a very tall one too.

Famke required no shots today. But she did need to have the staple removed from her cute little head. Again, she made no fuss about this. Still she insists that it only tickled a little bit.

I have a picture of her stapled head, but I've chosen not to post it. You can thank me later.

While Jonge, Famke, and I waited for Kado's appointment to end we were playing catch with a stretchy bracelet of mine in the waiting room. Famke made a catch and broke out into a scream of delight. My first thought was to remind her to use her 'inside voice'. She announced that she didn't know what that was. So, I told her - it's the quiet voice you use when you are inside. She looked at me puzzled and said, "I don't think I have one."

Oh, well. I'm just thankful that she had screams of delight instead of one of fear and pain from having a staple yanked out of her scalp.

Where Was I?

This post was going to include a short video of Jonge, but I just cannot seem to upload videos here lately.

Notice Famke looking intently at a picture. It's a picture of Me, THGGM, Oldest Son, Daughter and Youngest Son in the mid 1980's.

It was cute watching her 'recognize' us in the picture.

The picture was taken at the end of a work picnic. The younger two weren't ready to hold still yet. That's never been a problem for the older three.

The video would have shown Jonge asking the question:

Where was I when this picture was taken?

You weren't born yet didn't cut it for him.

He wants to KNOW where he was.

I think he was seriously doubting my abilities as a care taker.

Of all people, how could I NOT know where he was?