This week’s memories are dominated by three progressively weirder conversations I had with Samantha. First was this one, which took place as we sat on the bouncy bed:
“Watch me, Daddy!”
“Sam, don’t–“
WHAM!
THUMP!
“Waaaaa-haaaa-haaaa!”
“Oh, Sammy, awww, come here. Did you hit your head?”
“Yeah. I did.”
“Sammy, you know what?”
“Yeah?”
“That wasn’t a very good trick.”
“Yeah…”
Then there was this one as we sat at the kitchen table:
“Sammy, did you just toot?”
“No. I didn’t.”
“It’s okay if you did. Just say ‘Excuse me.’ Everybody toots.”
“Everybody toots. Grandma toots and Nana toots and Uncle Brent toots.”
I’m not sure what these three family members did to earn the title of most flatulent in Sam’s estimation. I would have asked, but I was laughing too hard.
And then finally there was the king of all non-sequeters as I was changing her diaper. Sam grabbed my head in both hands, turned it sideways, and peered intently at the side of my skull.
After a few seconds I asked, “Sam, what are you doing?”
“I’m looking in your ear,” she whispered.
“Why?”
“To see if there’s any poop in it.”
“…Well? Is there?”
And now, here are pictures:
There are some pretty cool pictures of the swimming pool complex that Ger took Sam to this week. I didn’t make it there (work and all that), but it sounds and looks like some kind of aquatic Xanadu, replete with fountains, waterfalls, and many kid-friendly activities. After hearing about it I nonchalantly said that I’d have to make it there later in the year. This prompted Geralyn to give me a quick refresher on the chemistry of water and how it freezes solid under certain circumstances, such as those fostered under winter in parts of the world that aren’t Southern California. How quickly I forget.
I also like this picture, even though the composition is off a bit. Over the weekend I plugged in Guitar Hero for the Playstation 2 and started to, as we say in the music business, rock out. Within seconds Sam came running in and started clapping, squealing, and jumping like my own little toddler groupie. She totally go into it, even if my attempts at teaching her to “throw the horns” were rebuffed by a vigilant Geralyn. Still, Sam was soon requesting songs (her favorites seem to be “Take Me Out” by Franz Ferdinand and “Hey You” by the Exies) and either singing along or chanting “red, red, blue, yellow, green, green” in response to the on-screen signals.
I gotta say, playing some Guitar Hero with my daughter has been a lifelong dream. No, seriously. This has turned out to be like the best reason for getting a kid yet. Two more and I can have a whole set of backup singers.
Glad to hear I was not included on the list of relatives! Uncle Brent will be honored by his inclusion!!!
Isn’t Guitar Hero awesome? It’s such a great group game. I can only imagine what it’s like with kids. I mean, you know, REAL kids, not the ones I work with.
Guitar Hero IS a great group game. I have a rule: if you step foot inside my house, I’m going to put the controller in your hands and show you how it works. In my experience very few people don’t latch onto it quickly and have fun. And the few who don’t at least enjoy watching others play.
The best thing about playing the game with Sam is that she never says “Nexties!” so that she can take a turn.
I love the fact that my daughter can play games. She called me at work yesterday to say she wanted to play Lego Star Wars when I got home. Never in a million years would I have though I’d look forward to playing Xbox games with a 5-year-old.
jjohnsen, I knew I knew you from somewhere, and I just remembered today. Planetcrap.com, right?
And yeah, I’m totally looking forward to Sam’s taking a more active role in gaming. I hope she enjoys it as much as I do.
My favorite to play is still I Love Rock And Roll (I don’t care if its easy!), though my favorite to hear is Hey You.