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Got an early Valentines/Birthday/Anniversary gift.

And yes, your arm does get sore from playing Wii tennis. Unfortunately I don’t think it counts as a workout.

Of course that puts these on the wishlist:

The new Mario Kart for Wii isn’t out yet.

Emma just informed us that “I didn’t want to get my hair wet when I got appetized.”

I suppose we’d all be upset if we were going to be served up before an entrée and had to get our hair wet in the process.

Winning against a team that everyone hates is even sweeter.

Parenting is all about hoping for the future “I can’t wait until my kids are able to do …” and glorifying the past “It was so great when my kids …”

During football season (Yay Giants!) I’d glorify the past. Particularly the days when Emma was just a few months old and she and Drew were both napping in the afternoon. Mom and Drew would go upstairs to nap, Emma would fall asleep on my chest and I got to watch the game. Nowadays I very rarely get to watch a show I want to see while the kids are awake (though I think Drew is starting to like Mythbusters).

Of course this is a case of “the good old days” since the reason that Mom was napping along with the kids is that Emma was still getting up in the middle of the night.

For a long time I longed for the days when the kids would be out of diapers. Not that changing them was so horrid but because it was a general hassle. Now I just long for the day when Emma can go to the bathroom without assistance from dear old dad.

This was our second year at Boo at the Zoo - the National Zoo’s Halloween event. For Emma it was essentially her first time trick-or-treating. Last year she was too little to get even the slightest idea what was going on. She continued that at first - reluctant to put on her costume, a bit put off by the decorations and crowds, etc. Then people started dropping candy (and other treats) into her bag. The wide eyed amazement was fun to watch. By the end of the day it was “Treat?”. She couldn’t quite get out the whole “Trick or Treat” so she decided to focus on the important part.

Straight from the “things kids say files” …

Drew and Katie are playing at the playground slide thing ..
(Did you ever notice that there’s no such thing as the plain old fashioned slide anymore - you know the kind that’s just a set of steps that ends in a slide? All the “slides” now are fort like things with multiple stairs and slides and fireman polls, etc. “They didn’t have that when I was a kid.”)

Katie is at the top of the “fort”.
Katie: Oh, no. A dragon is coming. I need someone strong and brave to rescue me.
(I believe she refered to Drew as a prince).
Drew: No, no. Dragons are for Knights!
Katie: Oh, not during the bright daytime?

I missed the first proposal - by his friend Amelia - but was on the court to witness Andrew’s second marriage proposal. Drew, Philip and Katie - all living on the court and all within about 6 months of each other age wise - are developing into quite the torrid little love triangle. Well as torrid as 3 year olds can get. It’s As the World Turns on China Rose Court.

This particular marriage proposal was quite amusing as it went something like this.
Philip (to Katie): You’re marrying me.
Katie: No! I’m marrying Andrew.
Andrew: No.

I’m not sure whether to be afraid that Drew’s a commitment-phobe or to be proud that he doesn’t want to be tied down just yet. He’s quite the stud.

We took Drew (and Emma) to see Dora’s Pirate Adventure - the live musical - at the Warner Theater. Andrew, who had just woken from a nap in the car, was pretty much stunned the entire time. He did seem to enjoy the show, though he spent the entire time on either Mom or Dad’s lap. And of course it got the ringing endorsement from the TiVo raised child, “I want to watch it again”.

Emma, true to her nature, danced away for the first half and then spent Act 2 climbing the stairs in the theater and running the halls.

What amazed me most however was my willingness to spend $12 on a Dora flashlight thing. It’s one of those things that I’d ordinarily balk at - having been taught that lesson by my own dad - but something about the circumstances made it seem like a worthwhile expense for a memorable occassion. Drew of course loved it for about 3 1/2 minutes.