Finally Okla-HOME: KJB @ 3.75

Once upon a time, there was a momma who did a fairly decent job of documenting her firstborn's current cute/funny/surprising phrases, expressions, and questions. She stayed on top of these "From the Mouths of Babes" posts from January through August of 2011, then -- what do you know? -- life happened, and writing them sort of fell by the wayside. I've been intending to do an "All About Kaiser" post for some time now, and though it's impossible to record them all, I have tried to gather up some of the more notable things that our 3 1/2-year-old (well, technically 3 3/4-year-old!) has been saying and doing as of late. I'd venture to say that this incomplete post has been sitting in my drafts, just begging to be finished, for going on a couple of months! So, without further ado, let's get to updatin'...

When Kaiser isn't with us, he can be found at "his work". That's right, our son has a very important job, which he talks about frequently (sometimes several times a day). Any guesses as to what that job is? He's a doctor, of course. (I can't imagine where he came up with that one!) We hear such interesting tales of his adventures in the OR, where he stays quite busy fixing people's broken bones. He's even operated on a few of his buddies, though I'm not sure Amy is aware that her son sustained a serious injury to his ankle a few months ago. Thank goodness Koen had a talented orthopaedic surgeon friend to make him all better. :)

While we're on the subject of work, Kaiser has a special friend named "Max" who works with him at the hospital. Again, we hear a lot about Max on a daily basis. Though it's hard to keep track of all of the details (like how old he is, and where he lives), we do know that Max's daddy's name is Bert, and he also has a baby sister. I often catch Kaiser on the phone with Max, usually talking about their plans for the day. Though I've never met him in person, I'm always told that he'll be meeting us at the park, restaurant, etc. where we're headed.

Though Dr. Kaiser seems quite content with his current profession, if you ask him what he wants to be when he grows up, he will answer, "A racecar." (You read that right -- I once asked if he meant to say "A racecar driver", but was promptly corrected. The kid wants to be a racecar, a la Lightening McQueen.) He pesters his baby brother all the time to race with him around the "track" that is our kitchen/dining area/living room. When Porter's not in the mood, Kaiser's usually fine with just running solo. He takes his role rather seriously, loudly revving his engine (which, to the untrained ear, sounds like a growl) and warning us when he "shoots fire" out of the back of him so we won't get burned. It's not uncommon for him to announce that he's "out of gas", as well; should that situation arise, Mommy is quick to lift up his arm, stick her pointer finger into his armpit, and "fill him back up". (For the record, this gal can also change a mean blown-out tire.)

Kaiser is in an interesting stage where he loves to make up words, then ask, "Do you know what ______ means?" and provide us with a completely nonsensical explanation of what it means, as well. I have said on numerous occasions that I need to write down these words and their meanings; there have been way too many to count! For example, here is the conversation that took place when our familia was driving in the car a while back:

Kaiser: "Do you know what 'lunday' means? It's a special Mentos treat for grown-ups, not for kids."

Mommy & Daddy: "What made you think of that?"

Kaiser: "It's just the way it is."

HUH?!?!?!? We have absolutely no clue where most of these crazy words and definitions come from; sometimes I find myself wondering if this is how normal 3-year-old brains work!

I don't know if it's because we're about to have a brand new baby in our house, or because over the past several months our family has been witnessing Porter's language development, but Kaiser frequently comments, "When I was a baby, I used to say _______." These statements always make us smile, as they also usually involve made-up words. For instance, he will say, "When I was a baby and I couldn't say 'table', I used to say {insert long pause as he thinks of an alternative word} 'brable'." This is sure to be followed by a smile and a giggle, as our smarty-pants is intentionally being silly. :)

Though Kaiser loves to reminisce about his babyhood, he is understandably looking forward to being older, as well. He is excited to turn 4 years old on December 18, and talks of his birthday often. He has started to associate this next milestone with all sorts of things he might not feel 100% comfortable doing a this point in time. I can't tell you how many times we've encouraged him to climb to the top of a piece of playground equipment or go down a steep slide, only to be told, "I'll be able to do that when I'm four."

I am constantly reminded of just how blessed we are to have had two boys, back-to-back, close in age. On the whole, Kaiser and Porter play so very well together and (usually) show lots of love for one another. However, I'd be a big fat liar if I told you there weren't moments when they were downright mean to one another -- stealing toys, screeching in frustration, and chasing each other around the house to retrieve something that was rudely grabbed out of their hand. Obviously, it's not always Kaiser's fault, but there are times when I have to explain to him that my expectations for his behavior are a bit different than those I have for his brother. About a month ago, the boys were playing together in their room after waking up for the day, when suddenly, over the monitor, I heard a stern voice say, "Porter, I should take you over my knee and spank your bottom!" (I'll go ahead and skip over story about why our eldest child had heard me say those exact same words to him just the day before...) Obviously, I went into the room immediately and talked to Kaiser about whose responsibility it is to discipline his brother when he does something wrong -- Mommy's and Daddy's. (For the record, Porter's "spankable offense" was putting the puzzle pieces back in the wrong section of the divided storage box. Oh, dear.)

Our big boy has recently started displaying a bit of anxiety when it is storming outside. He is extremely aware of the weather and quick to ask if a storm is on its way; or, if it's already in progress, he wants to know when it is going to stop. We always explain to him that God is in total control of the weather, and the rain/thunder/lightening will be done when He wants it to be done. (I've retold the story of Jesus calming the storm many a time this summer.) Kaiser usually wants reassurance that we'll be safe inside our house, and then he is calm. There was only one time when a particularly startling nighttime thunderstorm kept him from falling asleep, and he came out of his room worried that there was going to be an earthquake. After about 10 minutes of rocking and talking with Mommy in Sissy's room, he was good to go back to bed.

Kaiser's musical talent was already highlighted in this post, but I think it's worth mentioning again that he truly loves praise and worship music, especially when he gets to play his guitar alongside Daddy. He composes his own songs about Jesus on a pretty regular basis. I think my favorite one was entitled, "You are my hero, You are so strong!" (The lyrics consisted of that single line repeated over and over and over.) It brings so much joy to my heart to hear our son singing simple praises to our Savior.

Lately my boy has shown increased interest in helping me in the kitchen. He begs to help pour, measure, and stir whatever it is I'm currently making. Even though it doesn't always make cooking easier, I try when possible to find steps to incorporate my little aspiring chef into the process. Aside from some spillage here and there, he really is quite a good helper, and takes a lot of pride in getting to tell Daddy when he's responsible for part of the dinner that our family is eating.

Ever since Kaiser has started staying up a bit later in the evening so that Porter can fall asleep first, he has become borderline obsessed with the iPad. Fortunately, there are several apps that are both fun and educational for him to play. Also, this is rather random, but I feel like it's worth recording that right now Kaiser thinks the following video is about the funniest thing on the face of the planet. (We first saw it during the previews at the movie theater before Ice Age: Continental Drift.) The stinker bugs us to watch it incessantly -- and Daddy and I give in more often than I'd care to admit.