Jethro and Hazel and German

Sometimes—well actually, quite frequently—I am still a bit weirded out that my kids speak German. When I hear them speak it (which is of course not very much at home) I am amazed.

The other day I asked Hazel how she learned German. She said, “When I was in kindergarten, the teacher just told me things in English, so I didn’t learn it. Then in first grade, everyone spoke German, so I listened to it, and I learned it.” I asked her if she ever got frustrated when she didn’t understand something, and she said, “No. If I didn’t understand something I just raised my hand and told my teacher I didn’t understand.” Oh the EASE. It is amazing!!!

So here is a video of Jethro and Hazel a la Deutsch. (You would not believe how much I had to harass and threaten them to get them to do this, and then they had a good time. Sillies.)

They are so cute. Here are a couple still shots from within the video—I love Hazel’s expressions:

Okay, but my FAVORITE thing is that I got all these pictures afterwards because they were being so funny and happy with each other. I am IN LOVE with how genuinely happy they are in these! Hazel’s smiles in particular are sooo candid and natural because Jethro was being goofy and I also think Jethro looks particularly cute in these pictures.

Jethro totally had the idea for this. He said, “She should act like she’s going to kiss me, and I’ll make a face.” Then Hazel was laughing. :)

HA ha!

This one of acting like they're going to hit each other was also Jethro’s idea. Too bad Hazel looks like she’s going to hit herself! ;)

These pictures reminded me of these ones (taken in Sep 2007) (look how little they were! and look at the milk rings that Jethro used to always wear on his wrists) -

GOSH my kids are adorable!!!!! I ♥ Jethro and Hazel!!!! (Yes, I just typed a heart for the first time in my life. It seemed fitting.)

Ethne with mascara.

These pictures are from way back in May.  One morning, on a whim, I put mascara and a little bit of other makeup on her.  I have to say, she looked adorable!  Her eyelashes are really long and pretty, but of course almost invisible by themselves.  Anyway, we had fun taking pictures.  So many of these pictures I just adore. 

 

 

I really wish this one weren’t fuzzy.  I love that face!

 

   

Oh, Ethne.

  

Beautiful girl.  As fun as it was though, no more mascara for a long time!  It makes her much too grown-up looking.  I’ll enjoy my little girl for a good while longer.

Brothas

My little boys.  I looooove them!

The thing about digital cameras is, since you’re not ever “wasting” film, you can just take a whole lot of pictures in succession, in order to get the perfect one somewhere in there.  Which is great, except then sometimes you have about 9 or 10 (or 20 or 30) pictures that are ALMOST identical, except the merest change in expression, which leads to GRIEF and ANXIETY and ANGST when trying to decide which one to put on your blog.  Not that that ever happens to me. 

(There were more than those.)

Talmage sure loves his baby!!!  He’s very possessive and affectionate and sweet.  However, today he almost killed him and I honestly was very terrified for about 3 seconds.  I was helping Jethro make some chocolate sauce in the kitchen.  I heard some choking type noises, so I walked the two steps around the corner to the couch (it was pulled up really close to the kitchen table at the moment) where Orrin was lying, and saw his face all purpley-red and he was struggling to breathe.  I ran over, saw a big coin in his throat (a 2 frank coin, bigger than a quarter), grabbed him up and turned him over and I think I even said out loud, “please please” and it came right out and fell on the floor and Orrin was smiling and laughing again within a few moments.  But man, my blood was pumping.  I’m so grateful that I was right there, and that it fell out.  Sheesh.  Talmage had been playing with two coins earlier and I don’t know why I didn’t think to take them away.  Exhale. 

Anyway.  Today Orrin also got a shot at the doctor and was really brave about it.  And, I stuck a needle into a little blood blistery thing on Ethne’s thumb that was giving her grief.  So that was exciting for me.  I skyped with Brett tonight –it’s the second skype conversation of my life.  It was pretty awesome.  I asked a friend (Damaris) about a craft store, and she told me where one was, so I found that while I was in Bern for the doctor appt. and got a couple things.  That was cool. My downstairs neighbor Sidi is a chef and he brought leftover food to us last night and the night before that.  Awesome.  I actually exercised today.  Way to go me.  We had icecream and chocolate sauce for dessert.  It was delicious.  Ummm.  That’s all.

(Random) Vintage Pictures

This is my Grandpa and Grandma Walburger.

This is my Grandpa and Grandma Rasmussen

 

This is another relation.  Can you guess who?

 

This is a really hot guy.

 

And here’s that really hot guy with, oh look—me!

 

  

 

And here’s Ethne again.  Yes, that is Ethne.  Remember when I took these pictures? 

And here’s Hazel.

And Jethro.

p.s. Why am I not in bed sleeping yet???

p.p.s Ginger, now every time I hear/use/see the word ‘vintage,’ I think of you.

Perty light.

So Brett is away in Berlin still, and every night that I’ve called him at around 10:00 he’s still out somewhere partying it up.  I asked him before he left what he was going to do with himself all those nights alone in a hotel room, and he was like, “Work on the book chapter and catch up on all this work I’ve got to do, blah blah blah…”  Uh huh.  He was out seeing the sights, at a restaurant, a bar (I know, tut tut).  Basically the kid is running wild.  And all this time all I have to comfort me is youtube and some icecream.  Sob. 

So, I still have a backlog of things I want to post, but tonight I looked out the window and the color of the sky and the light was just amazingly beautiful, so I ran out and took a few piccy-pics.  I do not know why I just said that.  Anyhoo, here they are.

  

 

I liked these perty weed thingees.

I feel like I should write something important and poetic.  Thinking, thinking… um nothin.

The end.