Swing Ride

Here is Pete's latest contraption, which is called Swing Ride. It actually swings around very smooth and fast. And it is pretty durable, which I know since I saw Sam running around with it and somehow it was still intact when I saw it later.

The Two Faces of Sam

I think maybe Sam is one of those people with multiple personalities. For example, the other night I came home with pizza.

Sam: Pizza! Daddy bring pizza. Me eat pizza. Look, Pete. Pizza. Let me see. Sam carry pizza. Big pizza. No touch, hot. Mommy cut it. Sit table.

Me: Sam, do you want some pizza?

Sam: No.

Nunchucks

Everybody duck! Pete has nunchucks. They let him bring home a set to practice for the demo team.

Go to a safe place and then click the photo above to see some video.

Adverse Selection

Health insurers suffer from a well-known phenomenon called adverse selection, where people who are the most likely to suffer claims are the most likely to purchase the insurance.

I think there is a similar phenomenon in parenting. This is where Pete is most likely to ask for help with something at the most difficult or desperate times. So let's suppose (hypothetically) he is building a clawing lobster. He will ask you to help with the piece that requires the most supreme amount of strength and finesse, but of course without applying too much force (which would destroy the entire infrastructure of the model). Also, it is also assumed that you are instantly familiar with the full schematics of this item that you have never seen before.

Digital Camera Game

One of Pete's favorite games is the digital camera game. You go all around the house taking close-up pictures of various objects or places. You need to include just enough detail so that the item is uniquely identifiable. Then Pete goes through each picture and tries to locate the item. It can be good exercise, if you make sure each picture is on a different floor of the house. I think Sam is almost ready to try the game. We will have to try it with him. Maybe we can do things in his room to start.

Tasty

Maybe it's just me, but the snow in Virginia seems to taste a lot better than in New Jersey. It has a certain something, maybe it is the smooth tobacco flavor in the air. Of course, Pete is lucky because he has always lived in Virginia.

Goro, Prince of Pain

Here is Pete reading his first comic book, which is Goro - Prince of Pain.

He is wearing his karate uniform. Things have been interesting at karate, as Pete was selected to participate on the demo team. He had one practice so far. Apparently they have him doing flips and various other maneuvers that are outside of the standard orange belt repertoire.

Second Snowman

We got enough snow last weekend for our second snowman of the season.


We also had a pretty good snowball fight. The only rule for snowball fight is that if you hit Sam, then you need to stand frozen for one throw by your opponent. Sam started out on dad's team, but then somehow ended up on Pete's team. I think it happened when he ran up on the sidewalk because he was afraid of the snow plow. That was when he found the opportunity to convert over to Pete's team.

Scrabble

Answer: February 5, 2006
Question: When did Pete first defeat his dad in Scrabble?

However, it should be noted:
1. Mom helped him find a place to use his Q, which just happened to be on a double letter space.
2. The use of the word "er", as part of a combination word, was questionable.

Mystery Color

Pete said we should put this picture of Sam on the blog and ask people to guess what color popsicle he was eating.

No More Cribs

Yesterday we changed Sam's crib into a bed and turned his doorknob around so we can lock it from the outside. It went pretty well, he didn't come out at all when going to sleep last night.

This morning when the alarm went off at 6:00 I said "I think I heard some shuffling a few minutes ago in the hallway. We should check on Sam." We found him in the basement playing with the Playstation.

Racquetball Handicapping

I played racquetball with Pete again on Saturday. He is getting better. One of his strengths is in the area of trash-talking.

Pete: Can you play racquetball with more than two people?
Me: Yes, there is something called doubles where four people play at the same time on two teams.
Pete: I think you and I would beat Tom and Brian.

-- about 5 minutes later, Pete stops the ball during a point --
Pete: I'm pretty sure Tom and I would beat you and Brian

-- 10 minutes after that --
Pete: Brian and I would beat you and Tom