Snoopy

Random had a sticker on her shirt today, and I asked her, "Hey, who's on your shirt?"

"Poopy."

"No, you mean Snoopy."

"Yeah! Poopy!"

I don't know if she's messing with us or what. She's perfectly capable of saying Gamble, but she still calls him "Bubbles." So now we call that dog Poopy.

Pinking You Up

Gamble likes his Monopoly. It's no secret that he asked for his room to be painted the exact shade of the Monopoly $20 bill (mint green, to Mommie's chagrin).

And he likes this money so much that when we play, he pays with every other kind of bills. First he gets rid of the pink fives, a process known as "pinking up". The conversation might run thus:

Daddie: Ok, Gamble, that'll be $26 for rent on Pacific Avenue.

Gamble: Sure. Five fives and a one.

Daddie: Just give me a $20, a five and a one.

Gamble: No, Daddie. I'm not giving up my greens. I'm pinking you up.

Daddie. Ok, then. I'm going to pink you up next time, then.

Gamble: NOOOooooo!

Quickie Blogs

I can't believe how long the lag is between writing these now. It happens, I guess. We start up a project with the best of intentions and five years later (five years? Oh my!) things just peter out. Some things become more important, and other things just... slip.

There've been quite a few things that I made a note to write about. Maybe I have already. Maybe I haven't. I looked back a few months and didn't see any of these back there, so I thought I'd blast them out quickly.

Gamble's doing great with story problems. He does math on the phone with Nic's folks all the time. Things like ok, take five hundred minus twice thirty. He does it in his head, and he mostly gets it done right. It's pretty amazing, watching him work.

Gamble and I built a clock. A digital clock made from a kit, with something like 50 LEDs (the LEDs were blue, and too bright, but we're going to cover the clock with yellow construction paper, which both mutes the lights and turns them green.

Sometimes if we're cross with him, Gamble gets embarrassed and down on himself. He'll slink back in and say something like, "Sorry, Daddie." The other day, he came in and said, "Sorry I've been so S-H-I-T-Y." Ok, gold stars for using the word correctly in a sentence; demerits for spelling.

Also Pobbes pooped in the tub again. No more fun cleaning up a second time, that's for sure. Number two, #2, I say.

Family Trip

We are celebrating it as our first family vacation since we had Random.  Sure, we've been to visit family and friends as a family, but we've never gone *on vacation*.  

It was really a trip for me, since Cedar Point is about my favorite place on the whole planet, and this was the first time I've ever gone there for two days.  We stayed at the Breakers for the intervening night, which also increased the fun (you get to start riding an hour earlier than anyone else, and the entrance to the park is about 100 yards from the hotel).

Additionally, I've never gone to Soak City either.  While the experience was hampered somewhat by the bugs and the bird poo fairly prevalent throughout that park, the rides and attractions there are pretty fun, too, though maybe not for a whole day (I don't know how to go there and *not* get sunburned, for example).

One of the main attractions we planned to visit there was Camp Snoopy.  I'm not sure at what point Cedar Fair got in bed with the Peanuts Gang, but the Snoopy-themed attractions for younger kids were really well done, and kept both kids riding.  Gamble could ride almost all the Peanuts rides by himself, and Random was able to ride them with an adult rider.  

Random was particularly funny to watch.  She went from cautious, to scared, to cautious, to enthusiastic all in the course of a day.  She really liked the balloon ride that you could help spin (or help retard the spin).

They had the characters walking through the park, and Random was sure to give Snoopy lots of hugs, and she kept giving Lucy knuckles (or "the rock" in Ohio-an).  

Mommie also paid for her to pick a duck from the duck pond to win a prize.  Even the game operator was surprised when she pulled a duck for a large prize (there must be ver few).  She picked out a white doggie with purple markings.  When I asked her what the dog's name was, she told me, "Purple!"  She dragged it everwhere for the rest of the trip.  She's a very lucky little girl.

Gamble, however, was a real treat.  He seemed to be suffering an identity crisis.  On one hand, he seemed to really enjoy the rides he went on, but at the same time, he seemed to be frustrated about hanging around all the little rides in Snoopy land.  He was into Peanuts a couple years back, but seems to have moved on, and we think that maybe he felt a little too old for Snoopy.

At 46 inches, he wasn't able to ride many big-boy rides, but he was able to ride quite a bit with me, and there were even a couple rides he could get on that would be considered mainstream.  

It was with great pride that I put him in the front car of the Iron Dragon, a suspended coaster that was, to my knowledge, his first real roller coaster beyond the kiddie fairground fare.  He loved it.  So much so that we rode it seven times over both days.  He was also able to ride Disaster Transport.  If you haven't been on Disaster Transport lately, they've taken away all the lights.  It now rides completely pitch black.  He loved that one so much that he took his Mommie on it!

During one of the rides, it was evident that Gamble was pretty excited.  "Daddie?  I think I'm freaking out.  I'm so excited!"  And from then on, we said it everywhere we went, and on every ride.  Freaking out became the way that we enjoyed the rides, and the way that we celebrated.  While we were in the middle of the Iron Dragon: "Hey, Gamble, I think it was this part of the ride where you were freaking out."  "Stop it, Daddie!  I'm giggling!"

What a fun trip. Thanks to this Mommie for making it all happen!

Chee-bugger

Random's speech is really coming along nicely.  One of her favorite things to tell you is that she's hungry, thirsty, and what she wants you to do about it.

For example, she might say, "Nannum!  Hungie!" or "Sih-cess cup - appa juuuice" (princess cup, apple juice).

She can even tell you when she's finished.  She'll be chowing away at the table when you'll hear, "Done!  Eeeeeating!  Done!   Eeeeeating!"

All that's pretty expected, but what wasn't expected was what she keeps asking for.  The other night on the way home from day care, I hear a littel voice pipe up from the back seat and say, "Nannum!  Chee-bugger!  Nannum!  Chee-bugger!"

Yup, she always seems to want, and even request, cheeseburgers wherever we go.  In fact, sometimes she'll get so demanding that she'll say it over and over again:  "Chee-bugger, chee-bugger, chee-bugger."  

I'm hoping to teach her to say "No coke!  Pepsi!" next...

Scout

From Mommie: 

"Gamble is very much coming out of his shell too.  He has made many new friends in the neighborhood and is having the time of his life.  In fact, when there are no kids around, he gets bored and very sad.  

"After listening to him pout this afternoon, I finally told him to go knock on the neighbor's door to see if the little boy could play.  Eager to take my advice (this is something that I am well known for doing when I was a kid), he went down there.  

"After a few minutes, he comes back with a popsicle.  Confused, I asked him what happened.  He said that he ran into his dear friend Kayla and that she gave it to him.  Happy as a clam, he ate it outside, waiting for some kids to come out.  

"With the looming rain, it wasn't looking promising.  

"Then he proclaimed that Caden could play once he finished dinner and that he needed to finish his homework and dinner so he could go back and play.  Excited for him, I told him sure.  It wasn't until later that I learned that Gamble had Kayla go to Caden's house and ask if he could come and play with Gamble while Gamble waited on the sidewalk for an answer.  

"Five years old and already getting other people to do his dirty work.  Nice.  I guess that is why he came home later and tried to tell me what I should be doing.  Ummm, no.  Think again, kid."

Impressing the Big Kids

From Nicole: 

"Random is becoming such a big little girl.  The other day, she played outside all day with Gamble and his new friends, Cade and Cara.  

"Random kept up all day with them and even skipped her nap.  She loves to be outside and loves to play, as you well know.  Well, to keep them out longer, I would periodically throw snacks outside.  

"After 2 bowls of goldfish, I thought that it would be enough for awhile but then R came in to see what I was doing and found my stash.  She grabbed for it and immediately went running outside "Kids!  Kids!" as if to say "I got the loot, how cool am I?"