My Date’s a Norwegian

As a surprise, I sang this to Els at a family meeting in May 2016 in Bozeman.

So I’ve never sung alone in public before, and I’m not much of a poet either, although I am a writer. My favorite board game growing up was The Farming Game. It was a bit like Monopoly, but the box stated: “Invented on the seat of a tractor.” So back in May I spent hours developing and practicing a song while driving one of my dad’s four-wheelers, handpicking rocks in a field.

I dedicate it to my beautiful, beloved bride Els. She is the mother of our precious kids, has faithfully put up with me for eight years of marriage, and walks alongside me in our faith in Jesus Christ. I love you, I try to pray for you daily, God bless you—and I hope you enjoy this as much as I liked planning it.

My song is four short verses. I intend it as a combination of light confession and light teasing. And since many of us are Norwegian, or married to one, I think you will appreciate the song.

Els and I befriended an Iranian-American couple in Qatar. The husband has an amazing voice, and more than once he serenaded his bride at parties. My godfather Norm was equally talented, and he sang to and with his family all the time. My voice is nothing like theirs, and my song is no serenade, but I think they partially inspired me. So—here is My Date’s a Norwegian.

My date’s a Norwegian, but at least he’s cute.           He calls this food, how can I eat?

My date’s an old Norske, oh what shall I do?            He loves his sugar, but he’s not that sweet.

My date’s a Norwegian, but at least he’s cute.           He said he loved me, but I wonder when

My date’s an old Norske, oh what shall I do?            He will ever open his mouth again.

My date’s a Norwegian, but at least he’s cute.           He works hard all week, then asks friends to ski.

My date’s an old Norske, oh what shall I do?            I often wish he would make more time for me.

My date’s a Norwegian, but at least he’s cute.           It’s hard for him to do things I like.

My date’s an old Norske, oh what shall I do?            But worst of all…we're married…so this is for life!

My husband’s Norwegian, but at least he’s cute!

My husband’s a Norske, oh what shall I do?

Oliver-isms: Part 2

So Ole is now four years old, and I will probably run Part 2 for the next few years. I still love being a dad, and my boy is so precious to my beautiful bride and me. God willing, we will have another little monster running around before too long (Eli, as it turns out), and I'll have to start another one for him or her as well! For now, here is Oliver-isms: Part 2 (second section for age 8 and up at the bottom) -- and thank you, Jesus, so much for our kids!

~~~~~~~~~~~
SENTENCES:

A long time ago at Miss Jenny's, I smelled a bear drinking milk.
Mommy / Daddy, can I cut something?
Ole cut a long piece of paper with scissors, and called it a waterfall. Then, after showing me how it is a waterfall, he said with great enthusiasm: "You're learning!"
Yes, I blew my nose and nothing popped out!
Thank you for taking out my garbage. (He often thanks us in the sweetest of voices for things I would not think a toddler would care about.)
[In April...] Daddy, I want to go to Bozeman in June. (This was at age four, and we typically drive to Bozeman 1-2 times a month for groceries.)
I'm fragile / Goggy's fragile. (Mommy and Daddy sometimes describe him with this word when he is tired, then he began using it for himself, or his favorite stuffed animal, in the cutest and most pitiable of voices.)
Maybe it's a little tractor. (Ole guessed at what present was in a small paper bag for Mother's Day.)
Mommy, you will have a little room next to me [in the backseat of the car], because my sleeping bag will be next to my seat. But I will carry it, because you have a baby. (Mommy was 7 months pregnant at the time.)
My skeleton breaked / didn't break.
It's not a ship. It's a boat-ship!
Hey, I got some pancake on my hand. Can you lick it off? Hahaha!
How big is this (pair of pants)? I can say 90 feet tall.
Wash, wash your hands, get nice and clean. Wash the back, wash the front, fingers in between. (Sung to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." He learned it when he was three at his preschool -- Miss Faye's -- and sings it frequently at ages three and four, including once when he went to the bathroom in the middle of the night, even though he was very sick and tired.)
It looks like a basement. (His opinion of some peanut butter on a knife.)
Dear God, please help our country not to blow up.
I'm going to dream about race cars next year, I think.
On the other side of [outer] space where Uncle Nay-Nay lives...
I'm hooking up still; sorry. (Ole had the hiccups.)
I love your ears. They're so, so, hairy.
Bye! (Ole calling downstairs from -- supposedly -- quiet time, when one of Elsbeth's friends dropped by. Then after she left...) Who was that? I want to see her shirt.
Daddy, play with me! (He most often addresses me, but might ask anyone this wholly enthusiastic and endearing question.)
Ole: Baby Eli looks so handsome today. Mommy: Can you teach him how to be handsome? Ole: No, I'm too tired.
I'm not kidding! / Are you kidding me? (With "kidding" particularly emphasized in both cases.)
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8 -- OLE'S FIRST BIBLE VERSE!)
(The end of one of Ole's prayers...) "...and I always want to pray, and I hope to have a pumpkin. In Jesus' Name, Amen."
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 16, 19, 11. Eleven players!
Next year, when it's night, I want to eat pesghetti (spaghetti).
(Normal voice...) Daddy, want to know what [big boy / night night] wear-wear I have on? (Quiet in-the-ear whisper...) Car / Soccer / Frog wear-wear. (Normal voice...) Want to see it?
Daddy: Are you going to space (in your pretend spaceship)? Ole: No, I'm going to the Moon.
Ole: Daddy, I am eating (this sandwich) slowly because you cut it into four pieces. Daddy: Why does that make you eat slowly? Ole: Because that's just how God made me.
Daddy, let me tell you someping.
(After visiting a 97-year-old friend of Daddy's in Billings) Ole: Maybe she's going to die soon. Daddy: Maybe, though God might take any of us into Heaven soon. Ole: Well, maybe she's going to die tonight.
(From inside the spaceship tent) This gun is for stopping earthquakes. It shoots "ache eyed" or "geyser lights." (We went to Yellowstone last week.) And here is the handle. The red part is hot like fire, and this button on the green part shoots out big lambies.
Daddy, your truck is parked sideways (diagonal) in the driveway. Mommy did that. I didn't do it. Elias didn't do it. You didn't do it. Mommy did it.
Ole: Let's be fireworks. Daddy: I don't want to be fireworks; then we would have to blow up. Ole: Yes, we have to blow up!
Daddy: We are just going to go quickly to the post office. Ole: Why? Daddy: Why do we usually go to the post office? Ole: Well, to get mail but you don't have any mail today.
Daddy: Ole, I need someone I can tickle. Do you know someone I can tickle? Ole (quickly and grinning): No, this is not the one.
Daddy: Hi Ole. Did you grow bigger today? Ole: Nope, I'm still four-and-a-half.
Daddy: No, I am not going to throw away perfectly good food. Ole: It is bad food. Daddy: Oh really? Did you contact the Food and Drug Administration and ask them whether the food had deteriorated beyond repair for adequate metabolic consumption? Ole: Yuck!
Daddy: Did you know that when you drink water you are really drinking hydrogen and oxygen? Ole: Yuck!
For real? / Yes, for real!
(This event involved few words, so it is basically just a description...) At 4.5 years old, Ole had his first known sleep-night. He woke up around midnight, and walked right past Daddy, who happened to just be peaking into his bedroom right then. Groggily, he went into his bathroom, walked right up to his toilet, took his pjs off, turned 90 degrees (toilet now at his right-hand side, bathroom doorway directly in front of him), and starting peeing...and continued peeing...and continued peeing! Utterly shocked, all Daddy could do was say things like "Oh wow!" and "I love you!"
Dear God, please help our planet not to blow up.
Ole often offers Mommy and / or Daddy one or two of his presents, treasures, toys, candies, etc., even if he only had three or four to begin with -- meaning he would often give away 1/2 - 2/3 of his stuff to us with great willingness and initiative and smiles.
I saw one of those before [a dragonfly] - when we took Mommy's blood to the hostible. [She was getting blood work during her pregnancy.]
Can you please come and eat me? Ole sandwich. Ole cheese sandwich. Ole peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
I am a frosty boy! (Ole smiles proudly after getting cookie frosting on his face.)
I winned...and you winned, too!
Ok let's go. On the count of 9...
Ole counts to 109 early in his fifth year: 48, 49, and 50...58, 59, and 60...68, 69, and 70...78, 79, and 80...
Daddy, don't look at me. I am a naked boy! I am a naked boy!
When I say 9. When I say 1. When I say go...
Ole monologue-d to me for 15-20 minutes about gasoline for his toy trucks - including one that included "liquid leaves, liquid grass," another ingredient to make "liquid gas." Another involved five ingredients including "liquid water" that eventually turned into "5000 rocks" that were small enough to go into his toy tractor.
Several of Ole's guns can blow up trees, houses, and the world. Their size doesn't matter - they have big bullets.
Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds...
Daddy, can you get me an Odyssey that I have not heard in 100 weeks / 3 years / etc...?
Sometimes, superheros call Yoda "Yota."
Ole: How big was Eli when he got in you? Mommy: Haha, how big? Ole: Yes, how big? Mommy: About one cell, well, two cells big. Ole: This big (holds fingers close)? Mommy: Smaller. You would have needed a microscope to see him. Ole: Wow!
Ole: I'm singing a song. Mommy: Oh? Ole: Want to know the name? Mommy: Yes, what is the name of the song? Ole: Lover. Mommy: Oh...that's...uh...a nice name (looks at Daddy who is grinning).
Daddy, when you finish your snack, I will give you a sticker!
After twice counting all the fingers and toes of himself, Elias, and Daddy, Ole came up with 58 total, and then 66 total.

Daddy, can you please help me unjacket the zip?
Ole walked, balancing, on a gate post that was down. Then he asked if I had ever walked on something like that. His tone was half-assuming I had, because I was Daddy, and half-assuming I hadn't, because he had just done something pretty cool. He looked satisfied when I said "yes." Such sweet conversations happen at least monthly - such as with climbing trees, or eating something, etc.

Hundreds of snow / rain...
Dear Jesus, thank You for dying on the cross and coming back to life and going into heaven and going into the tomb (a very frequent, if out-of-order, prayer of Ole).
How many is 100 hours?
Are you old yet?
(Daddy gives Ole a piece of bread.) Is there an octopus in this?
How many is 50 100s? Is it as big as this chair?
I have 21 moneys (quarters).
Dear God, Thank You for Daddy and Mommy and Eli and me...And thank You for Daddy's two favorite boys: me and Eli.
(How Ole tells many of his stories) Let me tell you about that...but that's not all...here's the next part, it is not very long, and maybe I told you before, but maybe not...and then do you know what happened...guess...
(Names are very important to Oliver. The honorable part is that he often asks people's names directly - older or younger - or else asks me what their names are...sometimes beating me to the punch. The humorous part is that he likes to give extravagant names to games and animals, etc. Hence, his naming his first cat "Tree Apple" - which we changed to "Apple Tree." Also...) Daddy, do you know what this game is called (where he melted crayons with candles in order to make a picture on paper): "Candle Melting Crayon Game."
Ole: Some of those stars look like my kitty! Daddy: Yeah? How many are in the shape of your kitty? Ole: Oh, about 200 or 100. And it looks like my (black) kitty because the sky is black.
Daddy: Do you ever do anything with the older kids at school? Ole: Yeah, about 11 times. Well, maybe 5 times.
Daddy, after I'm done with my dinner - my healthy dinner - can I please have some - two - of those [white chocolate chips]? Or three? Or one?
Daddy, you like the same thing I do, so we're twins!
This tastes like chocolate, because it's a strawberry waffle.
Mommy told Ole about our renter Sammy, a single mom who did not have an abortion but "kept her baby" instead. Ole's response: Are we going to keep Eli? (who was 18 months old at the time)
(I saw Ole getting and putting on a bandaid, and asked...) Hm, did you get a scratch? Or a cut? Ole: No, my skin is falling off.
Daddy, pretend... (Oh, this is so frequent that it became very hard for me to participate for very long. I wish I could / would, as he has always really loved pretending anything, whether with real or imaginary toys, on the baseball field, or wherever, simply pretending something other than / beyond the reality staring us in the face. A great imagination! May You, oh Lord, find many ways to use this in and through Ole all his days!)

Daddy: Wow, look Ole, I have never seen an ant crawling around under water! Ole - without any hesitation, without seeming surprised at all, and more or less in a matter-of-fact tone: Daddy, those are called underwater ants. Do you know why they are called underwater ants? Because they crawl around underwater.
At age 5-6, when Ole wants to whisper something, he practically gets his tongue into my ear if I'm not careful!
Ole, at lunch: Mommy, can you tell me a story? Mommy: Not while I'm eating. Ole, immediately: Can I tell you a story? (After Mommy, who is also trying to work, says no, then Daddy laughs and opines that ever since Oliver started talking, his mind has worked in pairs of thoughts, because he seems to have an instant back-up comment or question sooooooooo often.)
Ole: Mommy? (for the 50th time this morning) Mommy: Mommy left the building. Go tell Daddy your chitter chatter. Ole: Daddy? Do you want to hear my chitter chatter?

I don't know what I'm talking about.

I think we can see the whole world from here. (Ole said this from a 10,000 foot ridge on Mount Borah in Idaho - his first major mountain climb. August 2018)
Can I just be in my wear-wear? Well Ole, if you want to go out with Daddy, you have to keep your clothes on.
Daddy, do I have a tree growing on my neck?
Daddy, can I ask you a question? (Ok.) pause.......I am thinking of one.
Guess what I am drawing? (A sun?) No. (A moon?) No. It's a masterpiece.
(Parent) Do you like the chicken? (Ole) No, it's too chicken-y.
May you please get me some water? (Ole asked this and similar questions with "may you please" for much of ages 5 and 6.)
Daddy: Well, Ole, I just went into town and voted.  Ole: Did you vote for America?  Daddy, smiling: That's a really good question, Ole.  I hope I did.
Dear God, thank You for everything in the world, amen.
Dear God, thank You for c-a-n-d-y.
Dear God, please help Boppa love You in zero minutes. (Ole often prays various versions of this, as well as for other people to love Jesus.)
Dear God, please help boys and girls who don't have mommy's or daddy's or houses to have mommy's or daddy's or houses.
Dear God, thank You for allllllllllllll the [four] Bible verses I have memorized.
When I grow up I'll feed my kids C-A-N-D-Y.
That was a long prayer! I don't even remember if I said "Dear God" at the beginning.
Daddy, I was just getting refreshed outside. I was jumping around in the mud.
Alex (an older lady friend of ours), I want to show you my wart!
From 6.5-7, Ole frequently - though unintentionally - shuts the bathroom door loudly late at night, waking up Eli. We start telling him he cannot shut the door at all, just mostly without touching the handle. So at 10 pm one night, we, downstairs, hear him shut the upstairs bathroom door as usual. I go up and tell him he must not shut it all the way. He looks at me with sleepy eyes and says, I didn't even know I shut it. (Losing battle, Parents?)
After Elsbeth talked with Ole for a bit about abortion and adoption, she asked if Ole thought we should adopt sometime. He answered, "Yes, Mommy, and I think the first one should be a girl, because I know you more girls in the house."
Upon seeing Ole looking rapidly all over the sky with his binoculars, I asked him what he was doing. He said, "I am looking for Bald Eagles."
Twice near the end of First Grade, during school-wide parent events, Ole and his classmates held up signs saying what they wanted to be when they grew up. Ole's sign: "A Pastor"
When I'm 20? That will be too late because you guys will probably be dead!
How about...? (Ole says this over and over and over again, as he generally likes / tries to take charge and propose rules or games with his friends, and sometimes adults as well.)
The paper airplane works - it went straight down!
Please don't get frustrated... (By age 7, sometimes Ole begins a request with this - often in a quiet tone...Sometimes this is a divine check on Daddy's attitude; other times it is our clever boy just trying to get his way!)
After saying something confusing, Ole asks, "Do you get it?" I say, "No." He says, "Ha, gotcha. It was a joke."
A good challenge to his Daddy, Ole looooooooooves backrubs - maybe more than his Mommy!

Ole: I wish this shot silly string all the time. Daddy: I am very glad it doesn't. Ole: That's because I am a kid, and kids like fun things. Kids don't like coffee, men like coffee.

Daddy, can I have one...two candies? Or at least one? (quite the negotiator!)
Ole tells Eli to go change his diaper, "or I'm going to give you a spanking (not allowed by us parents)...three, two, one..."
At Ole's first ever soccer game, I predicted that switching goals at halftime might confuse the seven-year-olds. Sure enough, Ole and one or two others were briefly running and kicking the ball the wrong way!
Daddy: Maybe, but I don't remember it that way. Ole: That's because I remember in years, not minutes.
Ole (on a rainy / snowy day): What color is the sky? Daddy: Gray. Ole: No, it's dark white.
At 7.5 and 3, Ole for the first time prompted Eli to serve his royal older self: While watching a movie together, Ole asked Eli to go ask me to fill his (Ole's) water cup while he sat glued to his chair in front of the screen. Oblivious, Eli cheerfully and promptly came to ask me to fill the water cup. Just as oblivious, I consented - realizing only afterward Eli's kindness and my mistake! I asked Ole who, grinning, admitted to the whole scenario.
Mommy: Ole, don't poke your privates with your pencil! (He was wearing pants, but still...)
These two rockets (one of his lego constructions) are going straight to the Sun. Then we will move the Sun out of the way, and the rocket will go all the way out of the universe and then run out of fire.
Daddy, after Mercury transited the Sun in 2019 (when I was 37): This won't happen again for 13 years. You'll be 21. Ole: 13 years. Will you still be alive?
(After Kids Group one night, Daddy asked Ole what he learned. His random response, on quite different another topic...) First, tell me about the four heads carved in the cliff (Mount Rushmore)?
For awhile, Ole never saw me drink my coffee, but did see that my coffee disappeared. He started to wonder if I had "totally invisible" coffee. Then one day he insisted on watching me take a sip.
Cinderella cheese (mozzarella cheese)
When Ole urinates - especially noticeable outside - he pees faaaaaar! His "distance" is better than most adults I can remember from hiking trips or whatever. And he knows it, too, he laughs and shouts and teases the less endowed...

Whenever I read a Psalm with Ole that was written by "the sons of Korah," Ole pipes up with a smile, "I know Korah!" (a girl he knows from church)

----------
Age 8...
(In all sincerity...) I don't know what I want to ask you, because I don't know what I want to ask!
Ole has really liked Star Wars themes and characters for 3-4 years, but only finished watching his first Star Wars movie (Episode IV: A New Hope) with Mommy and Daddy on his 8th birthday.
Ole wants to be a scientist on the Moon, travelling there in a day, and going back and forth every 2 weeks. I told him one day that most scientists don't seem to love Jesus, so it would be great if he wanted to be a Christian scientist. He told me not to worry, since he would be on the Moon.
On one of Ole's first Zoom calls with Libby during COVID-19, he and she spent 15 minutes (with Daddy's help) trying to decipher the Adventures in Odyssey code "I Slap Floor." (pretty cute)

What's wrong with the sky? (first cloudy and non-smokey day in weeks)
Less than 60 seconds after being bored for one of Mommy's stories, and asking if he could tell one of his stories, he asked Mommy, "Why don't you sound interested?"

On the first snow day of Winter '20-'21, Ole was sledding in the backyard. Having been learning a little of American history this schoolyear, he declared, "I am George Washington of North America. I am going to ride the wagon down this little hill."

Daddy, are you going out to take salt and pepper...I mean, salt and mineral [to the cows]?

When someone's air apparatus quits underwater, Ole says the people "start to unbreathe."

Cabin constructor (cabin counselor)

Ole and cousins were playing with a balloon, which for whatever reason (total ignorance) Ole named Mr. Pecker. When I said he needs to change the name, he said, "Okay, Mrs. Pecker." I told him to try again!

Do bosses do any work?

(Daddy) Ole, you need to take a logic class. (Ole) I don't know what a logical class is.

Does butter mean "melt"? Because butter melts!

Axle, ratchet (trying to say axe or hatchet)

At age 9, Ole started asking and expressing some very hard questions and thoughts about faith, mostly about God and the Bible. It was pretty draining for me, actually, but by the end of it we sang "More Precious than Silver" together, and he seemed to be coming around to some more confident  and hopeful understanding. The very next day, by God's grace to us both, he twice got excited about making and wearing the Armor of God all on his own. If nothing else, Elsbeth and I need to pray more for our boys - which we did quite a lot more that week!

Reading a book one day, Ole humorously, but accidentally, mixed up "in prison" with "in person" multiple times.

One dinnertime, Ole and Eli had prepared a ventriloquism, where one of them hid under the table and talked, and the other sat in their chair and moved their mouth - all with big smiles.

At 11, Ole joined his cousins for one dance at a "Dance for Joy" recital they put on with Zak and Kara at BT Evangelical Church. He was a little reluctant, but afterward he said he wished he had done more!

On a hike with Ole, we saw a sign in the Bridger Mountains that read something like, "Watch out for debris on trail." Ole read it, then asked aloud, "What are derbies?"

At age 11.5, Ole often says "thank you" very genuinely, with eye contact and strong intonation. He also still loves multiple good-nights and good-night hugs. Pretty inspiring!

Starting at 10, and more so at 11-12, Ole became a good babysitter of his little brothers, especially baby-then-toddler Simeon - for hours at a time!

Ole broke his first bone (or bones: double fracture in his left forearm) three months before turning 12. He fell down the upper half of our household steps, and we didn't even realize it was broken until Els took him to the doctor a week later. He got a cast, but no surgery.

At 12-12.5 years old, Ole passed 5 feet height and 100 lbs weight!

At 13, Ole said he once thought it best to set his clock a half-hour behind. (very useful!)

At 13.5, Ole said he wanted "half an egg" for breakfast.

~~~~~~~

WORDS:

apposed to = supposed to
someping = something
tonnect / untonnect = connect / unconnect
hostible = hospital
calapitter = caterpillar
refrigelator = refridgerator
halleyuyah = halleluyah
competer = computer
patterin = pattern
consoles = tonsils

unvisible = invisible
electric = electrocute


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WRITING / SPELLING:

Cats or vare fuze. Bars or vare blak. Bls hav sumtims sum horns. (Cats are very fuzzy. Bears are very black. Bulls sometimes have some horns.)
(On a card Ole made for the family...) Look at the uthr sid. I love you uspeshule Ele and Daddy and Mom. (Look at the other side. I love you, especially Eli and Daddy and Mommy.

Utenchin / Atanchan (attention)

Nolij (knowledge)

He tot in the sinugog.

Oliver-isms: Part 1

So I completely love being a dad...still.  At 12-48 months, Oliver has been simply adorable, sweet, clever, fascinating, fun, hilarious, and--we hope and it seems--on a lifelong pathway toward God.

My beautiful bride captures many of his moments on video.  So I wanted to record a bunch of his phrases so that we don't forget them.  His baby book has space for his first word, which certainly was memorable.  But what he has communicated since then has often caused much admiration and / or laughter.

These are in no special order.  But he has said nearly all of them multiple times -- whether recently or months ago.  ALL CAPS indicate his own pronunciations.  I will write what he says followed by the translation.  Oh, and I may update this from time to time.  :)

(As of his fourth birthday, I will begin a new post of Oliver-isms.)

WORDS:

cow
tracTOR = tractor - possibly his favorite thing in 2014
Goggy = Lamby - his ultimate stuffed animal friend from about 6 months onward, necessary for sleep and owwies
kee-kee = kitty
DAA-dee = Daddy
Ma-MAA = Mama
Oh-we = Ole
yuck = truck
kitchup = pickup
choo-choot = train
yucker = sucker
boagol = bagel
buu-dee = birdie
beep-beeP = beep, beep (car noise)
hay-hay-hay (with head and voice shaking heavily) = neigh
pease = please
yucky = bug / garbage
hay-yo = hello (he says this whenever he plays with a telephone...and every time he sees the scoreboard at the baseball field, as if it's a phone, too)
aay-men = amen (said loudly, with a rising tone and his face lifting higher and higher on "aaaa" and down sharply on "men" -- most frequently follows an adult praying "in Jesus' name")
cow = moon (he had a round white cow clock in his room in Doha, plus he loved the cow jumping over the moon picture in "Goodnight Moon"; he and I would go back and forth, saying cow, moon, cow, moon, when we saw the moon in the sky -- second half of 2013)
HAnim = M&Ms (mid-2014)
Gamma = Grandma
Gampa = Grampa
yay-yer = 4-wheeler / ATV
Nay-Nay = Uncle Nathan
buffaffo = buffalo
yo-yo = radio
bee = bottle / sippy cup (2013 and 2014)
tee = tree
oFF = off (he emphasizes the "f" sound loud, long, and with a great facial expression)
nosy = noisy (many, many things are noisy for him, and get the semi-serious critique quickly!)
sisasaur = dinosaur
'gen = again (said whenever he wants to hear or see or experience something again...which is often!)
fan = the famous clock in the Old Faithful Inn
self / Ole's self = referring to himself -- often in an insisting or frustrated tone because he wants to show that he can do things by himself (mid-2014)
[Mommy] Do you need a spanking?  [Oliver] Yeah!
baboon = balloon
ni-night = goodnight (can also be said to the Sun or Moon when they go behind mountains or clouds)
big = from 18 months onward, he uses the word "big" with intense and hilarious intonation
gun shooters = nerf bullets for his first little dart gun
copcorn = popcorn


PHRASES:

Bye-bye the Mama = bye-bye Mama
Airs-za Daddy = there's the Daddy
Hi the kee-kee = hi kitty
Ear-za car = here's the car
Wa wu = I love you
da potty = the potty

Kee-kyu = thank you

Ezaat? = what's that?

Amen! = let's pray (often several times per meal, and he usually wants to hold hands, and wants everyone to sit down; sometimes he prays softly out loud for everyone, starting with the words "Dear God" and then we cannot understand until "aay-men!")
Prayer update: by 2.5-3 years old, we can understand much of Ole's prayers. It sounds something like "Dear God...babble...doggy...babble...Mommy...babble...Esus' house...babble...tractor...babble...mac and cheese...umm...truck...babble...etc.

E-sus = Pastor Bryan
E-sus' house = church

two, tree, tree, treeee = counting to three

two, tree, twooo = counting to three
Oh wooow = oh wow
Daddy, be hush = Daddy, be quiet (usually with emphasis!)

buttons = Post Office -- which has automatic doors operated by pressing buttons

Ozzie = Adventures in Odyssey
Alldone = all done (he says it so fast it sounds like one word)
Ole laughed and laughed one day when we tried to get him to say "mountains."
Sisasaur nosy, sisasaur nosy = Noisy dinosaur, noisy dinosaur
a, c, d, x = His abc's
one, two, four, six, seven, eight, seveeeeen = counting to eight (or maybe ten)
Kiss...better = I want a kiss...it feels better (he often wants a kiss where he has an owee -- often amid tears -- then his tears end and he quickly informs us that he feels better...yes, it really does work!)

Deers...beep = he sees deer (with an "s" added), and wants me to honk at them...even if we're walking through the woods

Paisey no! = Paisley, no! (Ole often tells our dog no for no reason -- even when she's not in the same location or even the same state!)
Paisey come! = He also tells Paisley to come; this can follow right after "Paisey no!"
Paisey ok? = Checking sweetly to see if Paisley is ok when she whines in the back of the car
Buffaffo come! = He wants a very close buffalo to come to us in Yellowstone, when we accidentally come upon it while walking in the woods!
Moon on / off = The moon is visible / invisible (as in behind clouds)
Oh-we's turn = Telling Mommy and / or Daddy that it is Ole's turn to go down the stairs by himself, turn off the light, shut the door, etc.
Daddy sit! Paisey sit! = Telling Daddy and Paisley (the dog) to sit down before we pray at dinner
Dear God, thank you asdf Daddy, asdf Paisey, asdf eggs, asdf Daddy, asdf, Amen! = Praying before dinner one night (asdf ~ words I didn't understand)
Ar, ar, ar! = Bang, bang, bang! (Ole shooting a toy gun.)
Hap Birdday to you! = Happy Birthday to you!
Ride horsey, Daddy...dis fun! = Him wanting to be a horsey for Daddy, then he says we're having fun
Rub da back a yittle more = Rub my back a little more (typically in bed at night, after I have already given him a back rub and then try to stop and say goodnight)
Ole often says or does something, then immediately tells us what he just said or did.
Oh, my Paisley! (with great intonation)
Berry owwie = Very painful
Yes, but no, but yes! = Often when he's trying to decide something; often just as a joke
Ole: Hey Mommy, you splashed me! Mommy: Oh, I'm sorry. Ole: Do it again!
You're Nik? = (usually with a grin, to Daddy)
Dear God, Thank You for Mommy and toast and Mommy's coffee...and Ole's not going ni-night. In E-sus' name, Amen.
Dear God, Thank You for Mommy and Daddy's toast, and Paisey, and lots of grandmas, and Ole's toast. In E-sus' name, Amen.
A yittle tiny, tiny more. = Often spoken when he's almost done with his sippy or his medicine
Daddy, where's Mommy go? = With a big smirk, when Mommy is right in front of him or next to him.

Take a picture. = I just gave him a bath, and wrapped him up in his favorite tiger towel. This time he requested a picture -- knowing that he himself is so cute!
Look at meeeee! = Multiple times when he's naked after changing clothes or whatever.
Last night / Last year = any event in the past, whether three hours ago, "last night," or three months ago
Oliver always sings songs. Sometimes with a few discernable words, other times with just singing sounds. He often sings whatever song over and over again in the span of 5-10 minutes, alternating words or volume, but not the tune or the beat -- which, by the way, he usually gets quite accurately!
Jesus' house pants/shirt = Church clothes (usually his, but sometimes he mentions it for Mommy or Daddy's clothes, too)
Ole can't [x] because Ole can't, because Ole can't.
I want to not to have.../I want to not to go... = I don't want to have/go (he always says these words rapidly and with determination)
No, it's not pretty. It's bad! = Mommy sang a song in the car purposefully off-key or out of rhythm or something, then she asked Oliver if he thought it was pretty; he gave her more of an answer than she wanted -- though all three of us were laughing.
When's my next birthday? (first time he asked anything so specifically about his birthday -- at 3 years 5 months)
Ole: It's ok Ole has a skittle please? (Daddy: No, not right now.) Ole: Why? (Daddy: Because.) Ole: I can brush my teeth first.
Ole addressed Mommy as "Miss Faye" (his preschool teacher), and burst out laughing.
God's in heaven, God's in heaven; praise His name, praise His name. Thank You for my food, thank You for my food. Amen, Amen. = Song / Prayer Miss Faye taught Ole, and that he taught Daddy on our little boys' weekend trip to the Lewis and Clark Caverns (tent camping) and then Virginia City the next day -- Mommy was in Toronto at her cousin Brittanie's wedding.
My brain hurts / My brain is not on.
Mommy: Bite or bed, bite or bed, bite or bed!
You can sit next to me. / You can play anything whatever you want / You can play with me. etc. (Just him being sweet.)
Mommy, are you pooping? / Daddy, what is that? (in a public bathroom stall!)
Daddy / Mommy, I love you! (All of us always say "I love you" in response to each others' "I love you," And Ole initiates that more than us -- conviction?! -- and usually several times a day.)
Daddy / Mommy, I forgot to give you a hug. (Also frequent and seemingly unprompted -- and convicting.)
She's so, so pretty. = Usually refers to Mommy, but can be other things / people.
Mommy: Are you excited to show [your cousin] Caleb your room tonight? Ole - without hesitation: He's not going to get my [stuffed animal] cow, is he?
Soccer bubbles = bubbles he makes in the bath from tooting
I don't been there in a long time / I don't remember this book in a long time / etc -- or "a long, long, long, long, long, long, long time." Sometimes it was an hour or a day ago, otherwise it was weeks or months ago, and other times it has never happened at all!
This book is too long, because I don't want to read it. (Ole says this sort of thing all the time -- he knows the meaning of "because," but he nearly always says it in the wrong order.)
It looks like a dinosaur. = Four-weeks pregnant Mommy had just shown Ole a picture of what baby looks like in her tummy.
It's a little bit not dark outside. = Ole wanting to come out of his room at first light in the morning.
Uncle Rachel

Give you stuck hug = Ole's nearly nightly ritual -- all his own idea -- of announcing the kind of hug he is giving at bedtime. He locks his fingers around your neck, often tells me to "go night-night," and then insists that you kiss or tickle him until he can no longer hold on.
Daddy, I want you to meet me in Heaven.
It's ok I...? = His frequent, and polite, way of asking permission.
Store clerk to Ole: "See you later alligator." Ole to Daddy as we walk out of the store, somewhat concerned: "Ole's not a alligator. Ole's just Ole."
Mommy told Ole he could learn how to change a flat tire with Daddy because that's what a man does. Ole's response: I'm not a man. I'm a little boy. I'm a little person.
Yes, I am! / Yes, I did! (Often a cheerful response to a compliment like "Ole, you did a great job hiking today," or "Ole, you are being so nice to Mommy!"  The tone isn't arrogant, even though coming from an adult the words might seem so.)
It's ok, Mommy. (In the sweetest possible voice, Ole often tries to comfort Mommy if she's upset.)
Mommy, be nice to my daddy! (or vice versa -- This can come during conflict or even during teasing between Mommy and Daddy)
After Daddy explained what a fire hydrant was, and why one was by the edge of the city park, I asked Ole, "You wouldn't want a fire in a car, would you?" He replied, "No, because it would be hot."
As Daddy drove Mommy's car down a steep hill, Ole reminded me not to fall off..."because Mommy would punish you."
"Dear God, Thank You for our food, and hands, and coffee, and all our body, and apples, and Baby Elliot (in Mommy's tummy), Baby Moses (10 Commandments), and pictures, and spoons.  In Jesus' name, Amen."
(At our supper table on a normal night...i.e., not going anywhere.) Mommy: Ole, where did you get that blood on your thumb? Ole: It was from a big rock. Daddy: Maybe you can go wipe your hands off. Ole: Yes, and then I can get my pjs on and we can go to the big hotel with a clock way up high.
I smiled at you. (and / or) I gave you a kiss. = Ole often tells us what he just did or told us. This seems particularly important (and precious) when he is going to bed, and we leave his room with the door cracked open, and he wants to be sure we know he just gave us one more little love offering.
Ole: Mommy, my feelings got hurt. Mommy: Oh no, I'm so sorry. Ole: Yeah. (His sighing "yeah" face is adorable!) Mommy took a shot in the dark: Where are your feelings? Ole: Right here, behind the ankle (pointing to his knee). They got hurt when I was sitting for so long.
Ole: Is that calf still dead? Daddy: Yes, it's still dead. Ole: I hope it goes to heaven. Daddy: Me too; that would be nice. Ole: Maybe a lion or a bear or a dinosaur killed it.
Ole: Daddy, I want to show you my owwee. Daddy: Ok. Ole: Let me find it (as he looks up and down both arms).
I found an injured owl on the ranch one day, and named it "Jacob." We dropped it off at the vet, then Ole asked, "Why did we leave Jacob there?" I said, "Because he had an owwee." Ole replied, "Is that why he couldn't talk?" I laughed and said, "No, that's why he couldn't fly."
Let's go walk to space. It's going to be a long walk. Let's go find it! And we need our rain hats, and when I see rain we need to put them on. And when I see thunderclouds, we need to put our thunder hats on. Let's go; you're taking a little long time (as I'm typing these exact words). Daddy, Daddy, can you come, please. (repeated, and singing nicely)
I dreamed about dinosaurs, lions, and hoteeeeels -- my hotel -- and about mountains, and more lions, and Boppa, and Mommy. That's all I dreamed about.
On 3/31/16, the day before his fourth birthday, which we celebrated last night in the La Quinta hotel in Billings with kid water slides and pools, rather than doing presents...I told Ole he is four years old now, and I said Daddy is thirty-four years old.  Ole's response: I'm almost your age!

Thank You, God, for my wonderful boy...and for letting me be one of Your boys -- despite all my Nik-isms!