Birthday week

Desmond's birthday is on Wednesday.  It seems like he's been to a ton of birthdays, lately.  So many, in fact, that I will occationally find him singing happy birthday to Bubba. 

We decided to make this his birthday week and let him open one present a day until his real birthday. 

Today, he picked out the big present from Grandma and Grandpa Pankow. 

A couple notes:
1) Desi LOVES Toy Story, particularly Buzz Lightyear.
2) He's getting a lot of Toy Story gifts, this year.
3) I didn't realize the DVDs weren't in cases, so please pardon my not actually letting Desi touch his new gift.
4) You may hear me say, "Hold this while I kill the dog" just before I hand off the camera.  Quincy was managing to stretch his short body up to the dining room table and was in the process of pulling down Desi's uneaten plate of Orange Chicken.  To Quincy's relief, I didn't actually kill him. 


Toy Story vids from Jason Pankow on Vimeo.

Conversation pieces

Daddy: "Sorry I didn't get to say goodnight, last night.  I was at an event."

(Aside: I was at a seminar on a panel discussing how to use Social Media to find a job)

Desi: "I want to go to event."

Daddy:  "You do?  What kind of event do you want to go to?"

Desi: "A Cookie Event!"

Kinect

Everybody should buy one of these.

For anyone that isn't sure what I do, this is what my last year was spent on.  My team has been hiring the people that developed this product. 



Basically, it's a device for playing video games without a controller.  "You are the controller" is the tagline.

Bottom line: It's awesome.  And, it's not just for gaming.  It's for movies and music as well. 

Here's a pic of Shaundar and I playing on of the games.  Even Desi got into it.

Get one!

Halloween pics

Wow...it's been almost a month.  Here's some Halloween pics for you.

Not quite ready for "Got your nose."

No, he didn't run off screaming or anything.

Yesterday, I decided to play with Desi one of my favorite games that my Grandpa Pankow used to play with me.  I decided to take his nose. 

At first, he looked at me a bit confused.  Then, I showed him his nose in my hand.  That's when he started to understand.

"My nose," he said, as he tried to take it back.

Here, I decided to up the anti.  I put his nose on my face.

"It's my nose, now," I told him.

"That's MY nose," he repeated. 

"Well," I said, "you have to take it back."

So...he did.  He reached out and grabbed my (his) nose.  And by grabbed I mean he literally tried to remove his nose from my face.  His thumb went up my nose as his nails dug into my nasal passages.  It was not pleasant.  If he had a crowbar, he probably would have used it.

I quickly surrendered his nose back to him and it put it firmly back upon his face.  I think I'll let him keep it for a while.

Recipe - Curried Chicken Salad Sandwich

This was inspired by the food on our way to Mexico.  Thanks to our friend Tom (who flies constantly for work and was able to use his studly flyer status for some extra perks) we upgraded to First Class.  In First Class, they actually feed you, still.  And, the food is GOOD.  No, really.  I'm not kidding.

They served us Chicken Curry Salad Sandwich.  It was quite tasty.  So, when we got back, I looked up a recipe.  We had this tonight.  It was Delish!  Here's how it goes.

Ingredients:

2 Cups Mayonnaise (I used Miracle Whip, which I prefer to Mayo)
1/2 cup chutney
3 tablespoons curry powder
6 chicken breasts (the recipe calls for bone in, but I used boneless and it worked fine)
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup coursely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup chopped celery
4 croissants

First...cook the chicken.  I seasoned them with the salt and pepper and put them in a skillet, covering them with water.  Let them simmer until they're cooked through.  Then, put them in the fridge for at least an hour (I did this overnight).

To make the dressing, mix the mayo, chutney and curry.

Take the refridgerated chicken and shred it.  Shaundar did this.  Took her about 20 mins.  Once this is done, throw in the walnuts, raising and celery.  Combine them with the dressing, and viola!  Throw them on the croissants.

Pretty easy. 

Bargaining

I have concluded that the best way to get Desi to do what I ask is to bargain for it.  If you do A, you can have or do B.

Example...every morning when he wakes up, I ask him, "Do you need to go potty?"

I know very well that the answer is Yes.  But, Desi almost always responds with a grouchy, "NO Potty!" and then proceeds to pee in his new diaper.

Well, the other day, I had an idea.

"Desi...do you need to go potty?"

"NO potty, Daddy!  Watch Elmo."

*ding*

"Desi...if you go potty I will let you watch one Elmo clip.  How does that sound?"

*silence and contemplation...*

"Go potty."

At which point, we proceed to the potty and have a dry diaper for the rest of the morning.

Of course, I have to follow through and then let him watch some Elmo (or Cookie Monster or Telly or some other Sesame Street character), but it works out. 

We have been trying this with dinner, lately.  But dinner is a little more tricky.

"Cookie!"

"Desi...if you eat X more bites, you can have a cookie."

Of course...he will then proceed to take the smallest bites possible.  I think I will have to rephrase to, "Desi...if you eat X more bites of X in circumference, you can have a cookie."

Pics from Grandma and Grandpa's visit

As promised.  Most pics taken by Grandma.

Wishing he was getting scuba certified with Daddy.

Blocks

Thinking of how he's going to cause trouble.

Playtime with his buds.

Music time.

With Andy and Keely.

Yay, Grandpa!

Des doesn't realize that you're not supposed to wrestle in restaraunts.

Paparazzi shot.

He had a total blast with Grandma.



Walking the dog

No...this wasn't staged. 

Desmond has GREAT taste in movies

My folks will appreciate this.  I've probably seen the Three Amigos more times than any other movie, save maybe Monty Python and the Holy Grail. 


Desi and the Three Amigos from Jason Pankow on Vimeo.

He was cracking up even harder when we watched this scene the first time through.  This is about the 3rd so I could get the video. 

I'm tall!

I'm tall! from Jason Pankow on Vimeo.

Some random pics

There's been a lot happening this summer, but I haven't been good at posting.  Here are some pics from the last few months.

Blue Angels

Our friends, the Herrings (Mark, Meghan, Mitch and Matilda) invited us out to Seafair with them to watch the Blue Angels. 

Mitch, Meghan, Matilda and Mesmond...I mean, Desmond. Sorry.

Lunch Time

(sorry for the smudge...I didn't notice it was on the lense until halfway through the day)

Desi was pretty crabby and pouty.  Until he got his very own Boeing 797 Dreamliner to play with.  Then, he was all smiles. 

When the planes came, he wasn't paying attention.  He was playing with one of his toys.  They planes drew his attention by turning on their afterburners.  The sounds freaked him out and he ran over to me crying.  So, he sat in my lap and I covered his ears.  After that, he got a kick out of them, pointing and saying "Airplane" over and over.  Until, that is, he got too excited about them and left my lap to dance a bit as they played Highway to the Danger Zone.  The next pass, complete with very very loud jet plane sound, sent him screaming back to my lap.

Italian Ice

Dancing before the realizing that it's gonna get loud, again.

After the show...

 

Random Summer pics

Here's just some other pics from our summer.

Playing stairball with Daddy and Quincy

I know this is a bad picture, but I crack up at the glowing eyes and command over Quincy.

Not fully convinced that our new wading pool is fun.

Still skeptical.  Even though Duncan is clearly enjoying it.

Convincing our neighbor Charlie to vote Republican.

Story time with Mommy.

Watermelon with neighbor friend, Dylan.

That's all!

Why?

This is the new question.

Why?

Why is it time to go to bed?

Why is it time to take a bath?

Why do I have to leave my toy here?

Why does Daddy have to go to work?

Why is the mailman?

Pretty much everything we say to Desi...he responds with "Why?"

I don't think he really knows what he's saying.  I mean, his grasp on the English language is still very far from perfect (for instance, he says Pee-Mad-Ow for piano).  But, it's still pretty funny and cute. 

Here's a conversation from the other morning:

Me: "Desi, it's time to go to go to school."

Desi: "Why?"

Me: "Because Daddy needs to go to work."

Desi: "Why?"

Me: "Because I need to make money."

Desi: "Why?"

Me: "Because I owe money to the man."

Desi: "Why?" 

Me: "Because I wasted it all on cheap booze and women."

Desi: "Why?"

Me:  "Because I was tempted by the devil."

Desi: "Why?"

Me: "Why do you ask soo many questions?"

Desi: "Cookie."

We'll see how this conversation looks in a couple years.

Okay, fine!

Here are some pics taken from the "Pirate Landing" which is little more than a bunch of old men playing dress up and kicking off Seattle's annual Sea Fair.

Holy crap

Has it really been almost a month since I last posted?  I have to get on that.  I have a ton of pics.  I'll try to get some up, soon.