Dane has a little bit of a lisp in English, maybe he has one in German as well, but my German isn’t good enough to hear it. What I do hear is:

“Good Mowning!” and; “Guten Morrrrrrrgen!” His “r”s are “w”s in English, but in German they are extra, um, roll-y. I have yet to figure this phenomena out.

It’s rapidly coming that Dane outspeaks me in German. Before his ear tubes, his first 5-6 months in German Kindergarten, he couldn’t hear very well and he didn’t learn very much German. Now that his tubes are working so well, he’s picked up the language very, very fast. I’m thrilled that my kids are truly becoming bilingual.

Of course, they aren’t using their new super power only for good. All super powers can be used for good, or evil. And my little superhero’s are using it for a little bit of evil. These days nothing brings them greater joy than to talk in “secret” code amongst each other. I’ve been working hard at teaching them it’s rude to talk about others, even in if it is done out in the open, and it’s rude to leave others out. I also realize, as I type this, that I’ve been admonishing them their whole lives in secret code, usually in Dutch but lately more in German. I am a bad example. Sigh.

Over Christmas everyone got at least one of the new Nerf Vortex guns. These shoot little discs and were the biggest hit of the year. On New Years Eve we had both the Colonel and our friendly neighborhood lawyer chasing kids through the house blasting away with the Vortex. This is a toy everyone loves. Dane and his friend Ilias frequently team up against our American visitors. Everyone underestimates the littlest duo. However, everyone soon realizes that these two are quick, and with their secret code, they are stealthy, determined and fast.