Another Satisfied Customer

Pete called me at the office this morning. This was the entire conversation:

Pete: Dad, I killed Spark Man and now there are some new things I haven't seen before.

Me: ok, you finished the Robot Masters. Now you need to kill the Dark Masters so you can go to Dr. Wily's castle. Start with Gemini Man, and then do Needle Man, Spark Man, Shadow Man, and Break Man. On Gemini level, use laser for Flash Man and Shadow Blade for Bubble Man.

Pete: ok. Thanks Dad. See you tonight.

Another satisfied customer.

21 Words

Sam is a man of few words. Not that we are worried about it, but Christy read somewhere that they should be able to say 21 words by 21 months. This means we have until Sept. 4 to get 21 words out of him. Which, of course, means I need an action plan. So far he knows "backpack" and "Spongebob". So one strategy would be to change the channel from Nickelodeon to Noggin. Then at least he can learn "Bing" and "Bong". Do they count as words? (note to self, track down the person who came up with the 21/21 rule and see if Bing and Bong count as words). I have this plan to not let him go to bed on Sept. 3 until he says his 21st word. I'm getting one of those interrogation lamps like the FBI uses. If you come to the house that night, you might hear "just say purple and the blanket is yours".

The Rhyming Game

I was playing a game with Pete the other day. Basically, you sing this song to the tune of "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush":

I know some words that rhyme with car,
rhyme with car,
rhyme with car.
I know some words that rhyme with car,
Do you know some too?

Then Pete says words that rhyme with car, and then you do other words.

Then I said "ok, Pete, it's your turn". He looks frantically around the room to think of a word, then sings:

I know some words that rhyme with picture,
rhyme with picture,rhyme with picture.
I know some words that rhyme with picture,
Do you know some too?

I thought for a moment and said "sorry Pete, there are no words that rhyme with picture".

He thinks for a second and says "what about mixture?"

I'll Get Him By and By

Saw this poem today that had me thinking about Pete. I like the part "she can have him now, I'll get him by and by".

Love that boy,
like a rabbit loves to run
I said I love that boy
like a rabbit loves to run
Love to call him in the morning
love to call him"Hey there, son!"

He walk like his daddy,
Grins like his Grandpa Ben.
I said he walk like his daddy,
And grins like his Grandpa Ben.
Grins when he's happy,
When he sad, he grins again.

His mama like to hold him,
Like to feed him cherry pie.
I said his mama like to hold him.
Like to feed him that cherry pie.
She can have him now,
I'll get him by and by

He got long roads to walk down
Before the setting sun.
I said he got a long, long road to walk down
Before the setting sun.
He'll be a long stride walker,
And a good man before he done.

Sam Will Try Anything

Note: if you are playing the game in the basement where you and Pete do things and then Sam does them, after Pete does a fake run head first into the wall you need to run over and grab Sam.

Sam's First Song

If sam sees anything with McDonalds on it he sings the "ba-ba-ba-BA-ba" song. Then Pete finishes with "I'm lovin' it".

Pete's Bedtime Needs

Here are 10 most requested items by Pete when he calls us after he is already in bed:

fresh water
turn fan on
emergency tape flip
fix covers
heard a noise
rememberd scary scene from a TV show
has a question
one of his dogs is not covered
turn fan off
scratch back

Clearing Space on Tivo

Christy has come up with a new rule that Pete needs to delete programs from Tivo to get it less than 100% full before he can set it to record another show. The process goes like this: Pete says "I want to record Spongebob". Then Christy and Pete go through the reasons why we can't delete any of his 47 shows from the hard drive ("I haven't watched the commercials at the end yet", "I've only watched that once", etc.). The process ends with "Dad, can I delete McLaughlin Group?".

Tantrum Redux

We moved into the new house in Ashburn yesterday. Sam has been doing this thing for the last few months where he has a little "tantrum" when you tell him no or take a toy from him (e.g. a razor blade). He throws his head back on the floor as part of the show. Well, he's figured out that we have hardwood floors, because now he pauses mid-tantrum to gently tap his head on the floor before he proceeds with the rest of the tantrum.

The Attic

Yesterday Pete made his first and last trip into the attic of the house we are moving out of on Monday. I had been going up and down there for the last few days repairing the attic fan. It is very difficult to get up there, but he had to see it for himself. With much help, he made it in but then he ended up doing a header into the insulation. He stood there watching me fix the fan for about 30 seconds before he had to go potty. So then the ordeal of getting back down. He was all itchy, so we had to take a bath. His favorite thing in the bath at the moment is to fill up his mouth with water from "cold drippy guy". Then I tell him a joke and he spits the cold water all over me. When Sam is in there, he'll spit it on Sam. Somehow, Sam doesn't seem to mind. Good news, the new house had a ladder going into the attic.

Welcome

Well, this is my first posting to the Pete and Sam memories blog. I will try to focus on funny stuff, and include any memories as they happen.