Big Boy

Sometimes I forget what a competent, independent boy Alexander is. He's almost six years old and he knows how to do so much! Of course, I'm always trying to show him how to do things and it annoys him to no end. I'm trying to back off.

This weekend he made pannenkoeken for the whole family...practically by himself. Michiel was there for safety, but Alexander did it all himself. And yesterday, he came home and folded everything in the laundry basket. Without being asked.

A week or two ago he came to me all proud of himself and said, "Mommy, did you know that the leaning tower of Pisa is in Italy?"

I said, "Yes, I did know that."

"Arrrgh!" He said. "Why do you always know everything I want to tell you?"

Poppies Mural

I finally finished the mural I started ages ago. It was for a woman who remodeled her house and then found the half-bath too bland, so she asked me to paint some poppies. I'm glad to have finished it (at 29 weeks) before getting too big.

Halloween

Though Halloween was two weeks ago, I'm finally getting around to posting something. I'm behind with everything these days. So, here's what the kids got for lunch on Halloween. I was particularly proud of the little pumpkin-shaped carrot slices - Michiel's idea, my execution.

And here's our little pink bunny, ready to go out and get candy. She was pretty cute because she kept mixing up which she was supposed to say first: "Trick or treat!" or "Thank you!"

And here is my little policeman and my little bunny trick or treating at the house of our good friends, John and Hilary.

And of course, later on, examining the loot. Alexander got about twice as much candy as Annabel, even before convincing her to share a bunch of hers with him. He's quite the little con artist. I suppose that's a privilege of being the oldest. I remember convincing Jo to make all sorts of candy trades with me - two of her snickers for one measly malt ball. She doesn't remember any of it. I hope Annabel will be so lucky.

Embarrassing Moments

Every mom has these stories. Your kid starts talking loudly about his penis at the library. Your daughter points and asks what happened to that man's legs. Usually, I don't get embarrassed by this kind of stuff. It comes with the territory. No harm done.

But this summer, my sweet little girl raised the bar. We were showering after a swim at the local pool. Another woman, whom I recognized as one of the nuns up at the abbey, was showering next to us. She smiled at Annabel and asked, "Did you have fun in the swimming pool?"

Annabel did her little bashful routine--lowering her head and swinging her arms. Then she laughed as if to herself, pointed at the naked nun, and declared, "You're a fat little lady!"

But she didn't stop there. Oh no. While I stood there momentarily stunned, my girl continued gleefully: "Fatty-fat-fat!"

Now, this woman was short and a bit squat, but she was definitely not huge. Just a bit pudgy.

It took me a moment to recover, but by the time I had bent down to Annabel and explained that that was not a nice thing to say, the nun had finished her shower and was quickly toweling off. By the time we got to the changing room, she was gone. I wish I had had a chance to at least smile apologetically at her.

As for the "fatty-fat-fat," which seems especially cruel, not to mention out of the blue, I've pondered where she might have picked up that phrase. The only thing I can think of is the Dutch series of books featuring a cat named Dikkie Dik, which would roughly translate to Fatty Fat. Michiel and I find that quite funny and have been known to laugh about it. She must have picked it up from us.

Third Child

It's been a while so I'll just jump right in...

We're having a girl!!!!

It will be nice for Annabel to have a girl to play with. Alexander's pretty happy also since, as he puts it, "A girl won't want to play with my Legos." Always thinking, that boy.

The estimated due date is January 28th, so I'm just heading into the third trimester. We're planning a home birth again.

Whenever we ask Annabel what our baby's name should be, she says, "Rose flower." Alexander recently played with a boy who's younger sister was named Emery, so he's been championing that name. Emery Rose? I'm inclined to go with a full-on Dutch name, but we'll see...

Our Little Bed-Wetter

I'm told that Michiel wet the bed well past his toddler years. So it's not surprising that our son often wakes up in a wet bed. For a while there he was wetting twice per night, even though we restricted evening liquids and woke him to pee when we went to bed. Thankfully, that time has passed.

Alexander recently took a stumbling step forward in the quest for bladder control. He actually got up in the middle of the night to pee. Hooray! He's even repeated the feat a few times. But the other night while Michiel and I were both working in the office, we heard him get out of bed and stumble around. We thought he was going to pee, but a few moments later he walked right by the bathroom and headed for the living room. Poor boy was so disoriented and sleepy that he couldn't find the bathroom.

Michiel helped him out and put him back to bed and then realized there were little dribbles all over the hall floor. The dribbles led into our bedroom, where we found a puddle on the floor and a streak down the door. Alexander had mistaken our room for the bathroom and peed against the door! Poor sleepy little boy!

New Baby!

Hooray! We have a new baby in the family. Yesterday, at 9:01 pm, Kevin and Therese's baby girl arrived a few weeks early, checking in at 9 lbs, 7 oz and 20.5 inches. She's a little cutie, and her name is Alana. No word on middle name yet.

 This morning, we visited in the hospital and Alexander and Annabel sang Happy Birthday to their first cousin. And yay! I'm an Auntie!

Therese had a long and difficult labor, but now their long-awaited little girl is finally here!

Portrait of Annabel

It's been a while since I've written about Annabel and all the things she's up to these days. So here's a portrait of our little girl lately:

She gets excited about everything. She hears an airplane or school bus or garbage truck and she freezes with her mouth open and eyes wide. "Mommy, there's a garbage truck," she whispers. Then she takes off running all over the house shouting, "A garbage truck, Xander, a garbage truck!"

Here are the kids in their new cozy corner. Both have beanbags now, and I got tired of having them flung all over the house. Hence, the "cozy corner."

Annabel loves to draw and write. She can't actually write letters yet, but she'll make little vertical lines all over a page and say, "I'm writing my name. I'm writing A's. For Annabel!" Here she was busy writing a shopping list for me.

Though she still has a shy streak, once she's warmed up to somebody she is wonderfully free with her hugs and kisses. I love it! She's such a lovey little girl. What's even better is that Alexander sees her give all these hugs and kisses and he wants in on the action also, even though he used to be rather stingy about it.

Annabel loves yogurt and raisins and oatmeal (at breakfast she often has a bigger bowl than I do). Strawberries are a big favorite. Plus peas and any kind of beans. Oh, and sausage. This girl can put away a large sausage easily. Two if we let her.

What portrait would be complete without a few choice sayings? She has such a distinct lilting way of talking. She pronounces every letter, but her inflection is all over the place, like a song.

"I wuv you so much." 

Melts my heart every time.

Looking up and pointing at Michiel's nose: "Papa, you have a spider in your nose."

She's had a few incidents of biting, usually when her brother has just taken something from her and she feels no other recourse but to use her teeth. I think she's mostly past that phase, but every once in a while she pretends to do it again with a little naughty grin on her face.

So, the other day, when she said to me, "I want to eat you up, Mommy," and came at me with an open mouth, I wasn't exactly sure how far the play would go.

After that she started saying it all the time. "I'm going to eat you for breakfast." And with the emphasis she puts on 'eat' and 'breakfast,' she might just.

Tulip Festival

Well, it's not the Netherlands, but it's what we have here...the Woodburn Tulip Festival!

And of course, it wouldn't be a festival without all sorts of extra hoopla and attractions. So, aside from the beautiful tulips, there was the rescued reptile tent:

 the gigantic wooden shoes:

the bumpy slide:

And what festival would be complete without a bouncy castle?

More about the beach trip

Our beach trip was a whole week ago, so if I'm going to write about it, I'd better do it now, before it becomes a distant memory. It was fabulous and relaxing and sunny and glorious! We visited the Oregon Coast Aquarium. In addition to seeing all the animals, we got to partake in some earth day activities.

Later, on the beach, both kids got a good dunking in that cold, cold water. And Alexander had an adventure running way way down the beach, trying to keep a kite in the air. Unfortunately, we forgot to take pictures throughout most of this, so you'll have to exercise your imaginations.

The next day, we headed to a wooden boat show then spent a good long time on a sheltered beach, where there were barely any waves and the kids could walk out and out before the water reached their waists. Annabel was deliriously excited about the sand and water, and Alexander immediately went off and made friends with a boy who was building a sand structure.

It is so nice that Annabel is old enough to really appreciate these outings and that Alexander is so good at making friends. I got a sunburn that is still with me. Michiel had a nap.

Crab Feed

We took a trip to the beach this weekend. It was absolutely fabulous! Sunburns all around! But more about that later.

When we were still planning the trip with our good friends, the Traegers, I told Alexander that they were planning on going to a crab feed one night but that we probably wouldn't go. He got all pouty and asked, "Why not?"

"Because Papa's not a big fan of crab, I'm not wild about it either, and I don't think you kids will like it."

"I like crabs! I do!"

"Really? When have you had crab?"

Alexander then put on his saddest face and started crying.

"Why do you want to go so badly?" I asked.

He wailed, "Because I want to feed the crabs!"

Disaster Strikes Small Town

Alexander Carel Nankman: gossip-monger or concerned citizen? You decide.

Last Wednesday morning we had some excitement in downtown Silverton. Firetrucks and other rescue vehicles (Alexander counted at least five) crowded into the intersection of Oak and Water streets. We could see their flashing lights as I was dropping Alexander off at school. For once, we were early. But did Alexander go in and begin his school day as all the other children did?

No, he did not.

He had to find out what was going on. As each new parent arrived with a tidbit of information, we discovered that the popcorn machine in the Palace Theatre had caught fire and burned up the lobby. Did Alexander go into the school then?

No, he did not.

He patrolled the sidewalk to make sure that every student entering the school knew what had happened to the Palace. Finally, once everyone else was in school and there was nothing more he could do, he relinquished his post and joined his classmates, no doubt to speculate on the details of the accident and the number of flashing lights on the rescue vehicles.

The Power of Zero

Alexander used to say this thing when he was mad, and it really annoyed Michiel and me. Well, probably me more than Michiel. So, here's the scenario:

I would ask Alexander a question (usually trying to get him to do something) like, "Do you want to get dressed first or brush your teeth first?"

He would fix me with an angry stare and say, "Nothing."

Of course, the defiance was one thing, but the completely nonsensical response to my question was what really gets my dander up.

"Hey, Alexander, do you want to go to the park today?"

"Nothing."

I knew he meant no, but it doesn't make grammatical sense!!!!

Lately, though, he's put a new spin on the "nothing tactic." I think it came about a few months ago when he really started getting into numbers and using his abacus and all that, when some larger mathematical concepts started clicking into place.

Instead of saying, "Nothing," he started saying, "Zero," with all the venom he could muster.

Somehow, him upping the ante in such a geeky way bumped our little confrontation into the realm of the ridiculous. Now I find myself delighted by it.

Sometimes, when he asks me a question, I give him a sly smile and reply, "Infinity."

Bookworms

Alexander and I have a lovely routine for rainy days. When Annabel takes a nap, we curl up on the couch together and I read to him. Sometimes for an hour or two. We've gone through three of the Ramona books, a couple of Judy Blume books, the Mouse and the Motorcycle, and now we're on the Borrowers.

But the loveliest part of it (for me) is that while I read, Alexander will sit behind me and brush or play with my hair. Sometimes he'll scratch my back but mostly he sticks with my hair. I love it! It's so relaxing that I come dangerously close to needing a nap.

And it looks like Annabel is shaping up to be a bookworm as well. It's practically the first thing out of her mouth when she wakes up from a nap or when someone she knows enters the house:

"Want to read a book to me?"

Often she'll have a stack of books all ready to plop in the unsuspecting lap. Beware when you enter our house!

Alexander Writes

I meant to post this story last month but never got around to it. So here it is now:

Alexander's writing has really taken off. Last month I received this picture while he was at school, with the message: "Alexander has been writing for 1 1/2 hours so far and still working."

When I picked him up, I discovered that he spent 2 hours writing. Two hours sitting on the floor with chalk in hand writing letters, words, and sentences. He bubbled over with what he'd been working on.

I have never known him to concentrate for so long on one thing, not even legos. His teacher was bowled over as well. This is how Alexander does things. He goes along taking small steps, and then one day--BAM--he's writing sentences, or riding a bike, or pooping in the toilet. When he's ready, there's an explosion. Of learning.

And the favorite sentence that he made up?

"Rat sat on a chr."

Annabel Turns 2!

We have a two-year-old in the house. Let me tell ya, she is two and then some.

We had a quiet birthday celebration for Annabel. Still lots of flags and balloons and the foods she likes, but we celebrated with just the four of us (Michiel, Lisa, Alexander, and Annabel).

Here she is, sharing ice cream with her brother:

And here's her birthday muffin...banana chocolate chip with fresh whipped cream and m&m's on top:

Reading her new book, Frog in Love:

In honor of her second birthday (well, actually, it's her third...if you count the day she was born, but that gets confusing) I thought I'd list some of her recent doings and sayings:

"Ta-da! I look nice pretty"

If you ask her to hop she'll sort of gallop around the house yelling, "Hop, hop, hop!"

She's fond of saying, "I want to do dat too-also," or "You do it too-also."

She calls cucumbers "Q-manders."

She loves the Frog and Toad books and always asks for the same stories: "Cookies" and "Spring." Other favorite books are the Gerald and Piggy series. She knows them so well she can sit in a chair and "read" the stories to herself. When she gets angry, she'll sometimes quote Piggy: "I am mad and sad!"

Favorite songs at bedtime(in her own words): Row row row, my only Sunshine, sing song sickpens peck of her nose. She also likes to sing, "happy birthday to me" and "head shoulders knees toes." The other day she padded down the hallway, cocked her head to the side and said, "I love you in de afternoon."

We have stopped nursing (Yay!)

As of today, she weighs 30.5 lbs. and is 35 inches tall.

Annabel likes her routines. Each morning after we drop Alexander off at school, she says, "Xander's going to sko-el."

"Yes," I say, "Xander's going to school."

"I go to sko-el too!"

"Yes, in a couple of years you'll go to school too."

Normally, the conversation stops there, but one morning a couple of weeks ago, she went on: "I not go to sko-el in a cuppa years. I go when I 39 and a half."

Later I discovered that my parents had weighed her a week before at 29 and a half lbs, so that's probably where she got the number.

Alexander's Birthday, Part 2

Last weekend we had a joint Alexander-Annabel birthday party with the family, and it was quite the event. Those kids got so many presents! Alexander is still in Lego-heaven. And he's got a bunch of books to read in his new beanbag. Annabel got(among other things) a ladybug umbrella and a ladybug pillow (from different people...apparently I didn't get the memo about the ladybug theme).

Alexander wanted a Lego cake, so here's what I came up with:

Annabel was happy just picking off the m&m's and stuffing them in her mouth.

And of course it wasn't long before the boys had to pop open the Lego boxes and start building.

Alexander Turns 5

It's official. We have a five-year-old in the house. I may be more excited than he is. I remember turning five. I remember what a great year it was. All the new things I learned. All the things I discovered I could do. It's exciting when your child gets to an age that you have very clear memories of yourself.

But on to better things. This lucky boy got two parties. One with friends on his actual birthday (Feb. 9th) and one yesterday with family. The friend party was a pannenkoeken (dutch pancake) party, though we americanized the toppings: strawberries and whipped cream, blueberry sauce, nutella and banana. Yum!

There were lots of balloons and party favors and little boxes of Dutch candies. At the end of the party, the kids got to light sparklers in the front yard as they were leaving. It was a brilliant way to end a party with no breakdowns or dawdling about leaving.

And then, Alexander got to open his last gift for the day. The mobile police unit that he's been talking about for months. Here he is demonstrating the door.

And here is the finished product:

I think I'll save the other party for a different post.

Dis Thing

Annabel's still nurses a couple of times a day, or less if I can finagle it. For her, it's nice quiet time with Mama, and she's not at all ready to give it up.

The other day she woke up from her nap really cranky, so I grabbed a book and she settled in to nurse. Normally, she'll nurse for 5 or 10 minutes then say, "Odder side. I want to nurse on the odder side." But this time she was nursing for 20 or 30 minutes before she sat up and said, "Mama, dis thing isn't working any more. Uh-oh, I tink it's broken."

Yup, I think I'm about ready to wean.

Sweet Potato Sausage

This was one of those lovely parenting moments that I'll probably always remember. Like when Alexander (at age one) toddled over to stand beneath the basketball hoop and I, thinking I wouldn't make it, thinking it was probably the safest place for him to stand, shot the basketball. Poor, unsuspecting Alexander watched the ball fly to the hoop. He tipped his little head back and watched the big, orange ball come down through the net, down, down, to smash into his little face.

Not one of my shining moments as a parent.

Here's another one, though not quite as bad. We were coming home late after picking Alexander up from school. Annabel was tired and cranky and hungry. She screamed hysterically when I set her down to prepare lunch. Then she wouldn't eat any of it, even though she loves sweet potatoes. She only wanted to be in my arms. So, I strapped her to my back and she calmed down.

As I got Alexander's food ready, I gave her bites of sweet potato on a fork. I couldn't see her eating them, but every time I reached around with the fork, the bites disappeared. After 7 or 8 such bites, Alexander said, "She's asleep. And she's got food in her mouth."

I asked him to get it out, since I couldn't reach, but he said it was too gross. Finally, I went to the mirror.

I had to take her off my back to get the sweet potato out, and she woke up during the process. A huge sausage of sweet potato came out of her mouth! I couldn't believe her mouth could hold that much. I don't think she swallowed one bite of what I gave her. She must have fallen asleep on the first bite. And I just kept shoveling it it!

My poor kids.

Bad Dad

Last week Alexander was drawing on the window with the window-crayons he got for Christmas. Mostly he scribbled. Rarely does he actually try to draw something.

After a while he started writing letters, practicing what he's learned in school. He would say the sound of the letter t-t-t then write the letter itself: T.

"d-d-d," he said, writing D.

"a-a-a." He wrote A.

"d-d-d." He wrote d. Then he stood back, looked at what he'd written and said (with delight and surprise), "Dad!"

It was the first word I've ever seen him create. I knew he was learning to write letters in school, but I hadn't realized he was putting them together to create words. Pretty cool.

So I asked him to write another word. Above "DAd" he sounded out b-b-b, a-a-a, d-d-d. BAD.

I started laughing before he had a chance to stand back and read the whole of what he'd written: BAD DAd.

It's a bit hard to read. If you squint (and ignore the P and R he added afterwards) the pink letters spell out BAD DAd.

A few mornings later at breakfast, I was grumbling about Michiel because he forgot to put the trash out so I had to run out there in my pajamas before the garbage truck came. Alexander looked up from his cereal bowl and said with all the wisdom of an almost-five-year-old, "Bad Dad."

It's Not a Joke

The kids have their own joke that they find hilarious. I have to admit, the more they do it, the funnier it becomes.

It goes like this:

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Broom.

Broom who?

It's not a joke. It's me, Broom.

Are you laughing yet? Give it 20 or 30 more times. Oh, and it helps to have a cute little not-quite-two-year-old trying to upstage her brother by yelling in her halting yet surprisingly well-articulated English, "It's me, BROOOOOM!"

Annabel is in a parrot phase right now. If you rest your elbow on the table and cup your chin in your hand, she'll do the same. She watches every move and tries to imitate everything, saying, "Ah-bell do it TOO!"

She tends to over-emphasize the last syllable of whatever she's saying.