Dorothy Kay was about to turn 1 and her birthday cake needed to be decorated. Vi, grandmother of 12, was happy to do so with Dorothy Kay’s older siblings, Carolynn, 2, and Phillip, 4. They started with coconut. Then Vi needed to leave them briefly; an unopened tube of pink frosting was on the counter. When Vi returned, the tube of icing had been squeezed all over the cake in big long streaks and blobs. Vi took a deep breath … and they finished the decorating with animal crackers. When Jeff came to pick up the children, Phillip told his father with excitement, “It’s decorated just like a birthday cake should be! It has snakes and worms!” In Phillip’s eyes, it was the perfect cake!
When she shared her cake story with me, Vi said it reminded her of the nursery rhyme:
What are little boys made of?
What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails
And puppy-dogs’ tails,
That’s what little boys are made of.
Here is another story from my sister Vi Wysong of Wawaka.
Maria Joy, 6, was proud and happy that her first grade class qualified for a special party. The students had achieved their goal of sitting and reading for half an hour. She brought home a note from her teacher about the special party. Maria wanted to read the note aloud to her grandmother, Vi, while they were running errands. Maria was holding the note close to her face, sounding out words, and making some progress when they arrived at the post office. Holding the letter in front of her eyes, Maria Joy continued trying to read while entering the post office. Vi asked her not to read while walking. “OK!” Maria Joy said. And she started to skip — still holding the paper in front of her face and trying to read, while skipping.
Children playing together can be on completely different wave lengths. Phillip, 4, was racing around on his toy fire truck. He told his little sister Carolynn, “I am a fireman. I’ll help you!” Carolynn, who was with her baby dolls and pretending to shop, said, “Yes, I’d like one … in my backyard!”
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Erin Raatz of Fort Wayne shared this.
Henry, 6: What if an astronaut tried to sell drugs in space?
Erin: I guess they would get arrested.
Henry: But how would the FBI get to space?
Note from Erin: I guess we found a loophole.
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Sometimes before bed, Lucy and Jair let their two children watch 15 minutes of TV. Jairzinho, 1, gets to choose because he’s the youngest. He absolutely loves the movie “Encanto.” However, he isn’t 2 yet and can’t pronounce the full word so when his parents ask him if he wants to watch “Encanto” his reply is, “Si, caca!” Caca in Spanish means “crap” or poo. Lucy and Jair laugh every time.
Thank you to everyone who shares photos and/or stories. When you share your stories and/or photos, you brighten the lives of many people. Please email me at ghousholder@kpcmedia.com; mail stories to me at 816 Mott St., Kendallville, IN 46755, or go to funnykids.com. I always need more stories! Please share this column with friends and family — I would love to hear from them, too.
