Desi Candor

While eating a tasty pasta dinner Des explained, “Sometimes the smell eats for me.”

“Mom, you know what? I love you so much and I don’t want you to DIE!”

“I’m gonna be a dad who takes care of my kids – and tackles and tickles and not be smiley in pictures and stay home with my kids and take them to school.”

“Mom! I have a surprise for you, a ball made out of toilet paper and water!”

“I was just trying to defend myself against Zoe. She was an ANIMAL, she was a dragon trying to blow fire at me!”

“My nose is full of snod”

On his 3rd day of attending an all Russian school, DPJ asked, “Dad? Why do I have to go to school if all I do is sit there and do NOTHING ALL DAY?”

“Aren’t we going to watch ‘Sounds Excusting’?'” I had told him earlier that day that we would be watching ‘The Sound of Music” that evening.

“Zoe looks so cute in the morning – she looks like a rockstar!”

Zoe: Desi? Can you be Boots and I’ll be Dora?

Desi: No.

Zoe: Mom? Can you be Boots and I’ll be Dora?

Desi: But mom’s too big. Maybe, though, she can be a huge GORILLA boots! {Des, of course, later agreed to be Swiper.}

After being tickled DPJ exclaimed, “JOY!JOY!JOY! JOY knocked me OUT!”

While sitting at dinner Desi decides to turn a boring meal into an imaginary feast at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was quickly established that he would be Harry and Zoe Hermione. They both look at me. “How about I be Nearly Headless Nick!” I say with a chortle. Des looks at me for a moment (not even smiling) and says solemnly, “No, Snape.” I choked on my white bread.

While practicing writing his English alphabet one night, DPJ happily observed, “I’m happy I'm not dead yet, it’s fun being on this world.”

“Her hands feel like smooth macaroni.” Des observed of Zoe during a morning cuddle.

Des seems to have a very high body temperature and usually runs around shirtless while indoors. Nathan grabbed him one afternoon and observed, “I bet you don’t wear a shirt so I can squeeze your belly.” Des countered, “No, so the hotness can fly off my body.”

“Run for your lives and jump into the UNIVERSE!”

On a long train ride to southeast Kazakhstan we shared a train cabin with another American, A.C. from Atlanta, GA. He asked Desi at one point in their conversation, “Do you play sports?” Des responded enthusiastically, “Yeah! Basketball High School Musical!” For weeks he’d been replaying the first scene from High School Musical 3. We have an inflatable beach ball and he bounds around the living room singing and ‘playing basketball’.

Zoe: Can you stop kissing me please?

Des: But I can’t! You’re so cool!

“Dad, you’re a tremendous goofball.”

On trying to open the front door to our apartment in Taraz, Des capitulated, “I can’t! It’s too hard for me – that’s because I never do Pilates workout.”

Zoe is usually the first to rise in the morning and begins to chatter with me very eagerly. Des mumbled over to us one early morning, “How about you be sushed up.”

“I love mysister Zoe more than pizza!” It was Zoe’s 4th birthday and we were on our way to a much anticipated pizza restaurant in Taraz, KZ.

“Zoe? Why does you hair look like cabbage?” She had ponytail braids for a day and we had just taken them out.

On a sick day at home Desi sighed, “Ohhhh . . . I wish I could have some broccoli.”

Des regularly stumbles and bumbles when walking. On our first day out in Samarkand, UZ Des crashed pretty hard and observed, “I’m the tripper around here.”