Happy Evie

Evie has a new favorite head movement and sound. She raises her eyebrows and forehead while inhaling through her nose, and then exhales while dropping her eyebrows and head back down. This is all coupled with a slight sing-song vocal breathing to accompany her nodding.

So now, instead of the quick in-out-in-out breathing while crinkling her nose and pursing her lips, it's a gentle up, down, up, down with a gentle in and out breathy song.

Of course, she's smiling, or at least smirking and beaming with full self-satisfaction, the entire time.

William's words

William likes to play with Mirjam's digital camera, and often he will request a "puhk-chur." Unfortunately, his cute mispronunciation is now all but gone, and he can almost always say "picture" as clear as a bell. Oh, well.

He also enjoys a "peeter butter" sandwich, much to Mirjam's dismay. (She can't stand the stuff!) I, of course, encourage the habit whole-heartedly and ask him often if he'd like to have some "peeter butter."

Because he's learning two languages, sometimes what comes out is a mix of both. He used to say "dee-too" any time we told him to say "danke," but now we hear either a clear "danke," full of all the correct consonants, or a quick "tanks," sometimes followed up by a tremendously heartfelt "merr much."

It's exciting to hear him talking more and more every day, and it's great to finally understand what he's been babbling about all this time (well, some of it anyway), but it's sad to hear him growing up so fast. Sometimes when I hear Mirjam coaching his pronunciation, I'll ask her to let him say it wrong for a while yet.

Dinner prayer

William no longer wants to have help when saying a prayer. I used to tell him, line by line (sometimes word by word), what to say.

"Vater im Himmel"
"Ftrrhmml"

"Danke"
"Dee-too"

"Fuer Mama"
"A-mama"

And so on. The other day at the dinner table I asked him if he wanted to pray, and he said "yep." I asked him if I should help him, and he said "no." So I let him go.

"Ftrrhmml...(unidentifiable babbling)...Mamas Brot, ah-Papas Brot, ah-Evies Brot, Iiyams Brot, Amen."

We were completely stunned. Mirjam and I looked at each other. William had said his first situationally appropriate prayer. Of course we weren't sure what he had said in the middle, but most of it sounded pretty good, so we resoundingly praised his success and ate our William-blessed Brot.

Cackling Evie

When Evie laughs, some other concerned parents thinks she's coughing or choking, and some will even ask Mirjam if her baby is okay.

Her laugh is a sort of forced-air, Tommy Gun-like cackling, and now William, who used to do something similar when he was a baby, has caught on again and occasionally laughs the same way.

It's hilarious to hear that coming from such a small baby, and it is contagious. Sometimes Mirjam and I catch ourselves doing it, too.