Growing Up

Four years old seems so grown-up to me. That’s the age when they start learning real things… like reading and counting and chores. That’s the age when you can have an actual, meaningful conversation with them that revolves around more than just food and toys.

Judah turned 4 last month, and in the busyness of road-trippin’, Christmas, unpacking, packing, traveling around the world and moving again, I never got around to doing his birthday interview with him (last year’s still brings tears of laughter to my eyes). So here it is! Thoughts and silliness from our creative, goofy, caring, sensitive, timid, friend-and-brother-loving, cuddly, excitable, introverted yet social, and sweet 4-year old Judah Johannes.

20 Questions for Judah, with occasional comments by Elias (Judah answered in German and I’ve translated the answers to make it simpler, although his German-with-an-American-accent-and-mixed-in-English-grammar is quite priceless)

1. How old are you?  “Five? Six? Seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve?” (starts counting frantically… I think I’ve drilled him with counting too much lately. Elias holds up various finger combinations to join the guessing game) “Oh! Four!” (got it, buddy)
2. How old is Mommy? “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight…. sixteen” (see what I’m saying about the counting drills? Elias just keeps on waving as many fingers as he can as quickly as he can. Thanks, kiddo. I’m not that old.)
3. How old is Daddy? (Judah just holds up 10 fingers. Done with the whole counting thing, I guess.)
4. What is something Mommy says to you? “Good things. Like ‘Hello, how are you?'” (Elias puts on his most feminine, husky voice and imitates me saying “hello” while John and I are laughing hysterically) 
5. What makes you happy? (Elias yells out “God!” Points for the lil’ bro.) “Yes, God… and when you sing to me, Mama.” (awwww)
6. What makes you sad? (Elias yells out “God!” again. Forget about those points.) “When you have to leave… and when you can’t come into our house…that’s all.” (us leaving the boys for 2 weeks has definitely left some separation anxiety)
7. What makes you laugh? “When someone does this, and this, and the tongue out, and this face…” (he’s demonstrating all the funny things a face can make while talking and rambling on about noodles on the head and being cross-eyed) “Das macht mich funny.” (one example of his confused, bilingual brain)
8. What is your favorite thing to do? “Watch movies and eat treats. And play.” (Elias supports his brother enthusiastically, “Movies! Treats! Legos!”)
9. What’s your favorite thing to do outside? “Play.” (Elias, a little less enthusiastically,”Me too.”)
10. Who’s your best friend? “Layla, Daisy, Halle, Kaine, Ruby…” Elias: “Trent?” Judah, “No, that’s your best friend… mine are Kaine, Logan, and Rex” (he truly misses his Missouri friends and often asks for them).
11. What are you really good at? “Play with my webs (as in Spiderman webs that shoot out of his wrists, of course) and fighting.” (Elias yells out, “Flying!” Maybe those boys need a little more reality and a little less superhero action).  
12. What’s your favorite Bible story? “Peter!” (when he cuts off the ear of the soldier. Judah has a thing for swords.)
13. What is God like? “He can make eeeeeeeeeeeeverything! And make flowers! (true, true)”
14. Which superhero do you want to be? “All of them!” (Elias: “All, too!” Those boys are in a serious superhero phase right now) 
15. What’s your favorite food? “Dessert.” (Elias, very matter-of-factly, “Yep.”)
16. What’s your favorite book? “Superhero books” (there they are again)
17. What’s your favorite song? “Knights, dragons, and superheroes.” (….and again)
18. What’s your favorite color? “White, pink, blue, and green.” (his favorite colors haven’t changed from last year except that green was added. Funny.)
19. What’s your favorite animal? “Eagle, Dodo (still his word for elephant), Cheetah.”
20. What’s your favorite toy? “My biiiiig Spiderman! See it over there?!? See it??” (gets all excited about the big Spiderman laying on the floor that can shoot ropes out of his arms)

We couldn’t be more thankful to have Judah in our lives. Happy belated birthday to our firstborn!