Thursday, February 24, 2011

Pete and the big 1, 2

I'm a bit late, but Pete turned 2.
He requested a rocket ship cake, so here was my attempt (not my best):



Don't you love the Fonz look?

The latest Pete talkings:
"Oh man!" --when something goes wrong
"I'll do it!!" --he's becoming very independent
"Milk please, mom" --said in the sweetest voice no one could possibly resist.
"Baby sister" --pointing to my belly
"Julie" --when I asked him what we should name our baby sister. There ya go.

A bit about Pete:

He L.O.V.E.S. his big brother, Charlie and is usually only .5 seconds behind him, imitating him in exactness.

Pete is always up for a party, is a bit of a showoff, but can be shy among strangers.

His silent fits (protesting by just lying on the floor) last but a few minutes and then he's fine.

When it is just Pete and me, it is the easiest thing I have ever had to do.

His sweet eyes cut to your very soul and I can't stay mad at him for very long.

He is very forgiving and is always quick to apologize.

His favorite game to play is "Duck Duck Goose" and his favorite song to sing is "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes".

To Pete, any big building with a pointy top is labeled a temple.

He loves soft, fuzzy, cuddly things. Thus we got him a doggy Pillow Pet for his birthday.

He is a great sleeper and usually naps for 3-4 hours in the afternoon.

He never fails to point out a distant siren, an airplane/jet/helicopter, the moon, or a bird.

Pete has a bit of a sweet-tooth (a boy after my own heart) and will do anything for a treat.

This little guy steals my heart daily. He is so sweet and has a heart of gold. So glad you came to us, Pete!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Cancel your Valentine's date


Or make a party out of it!!

I was driving home from D.C. by myself the other night and was listening to NPR's Science Friday. I don't know how I hadn't heard about this before then, but the segment was on IBM's Jeopardy challenge game against WATSON, a supercomputer. WATSON will go up against the beloved Ken Jennings and the lesser known but undefeated and bigger money winner, Brad Rutter. The competition will run over three days, Monday-Wednesday, normal Jeopardy time for your area.

Go here for your Final Jeopardy Party kit complete with Alex Trebek's mustache cut-out.

If you are REALLY interested, download the podcast from NPR (17 min) with the author of the book, "Final Jeopardy: Man VS. Machine and the Quest To Know Everything" (which can not be released until after the show airs.) They talk about how the computer was made over the last 4 years, very interesting.

Rumor has it, though, that Google has leaked the outcome of the competition so DON'T GO SEARCHING if you don't want it spoiled.