Adam Miller and Family

After a long while, Sam finished the first Ha...

December 31, 2006 by Adam in Sam

After a long while, Sam finished the first Harry Potter book. He's already started the second. Last night, I crawled into bed next to he and Jamie and we all read together until it was time to sleep.

Sam and I went for a long hike yesterday, lea...

November 26, 2006 by Adam in Sam

Sam and I went for a long hike yesterday, leaving the girls at home while we menfolk went into the deep, dark forest. One of our favorite spots is the "crazy paths" at Hendrick's park. When he was little, we'd love to go exploring off the beaten trail. These days I usually have Emma, which makes such adventures too difficult.

Yesterday, though, we went trudged through the rain to cross Fern Forest and reach Goat Farm. We had to come up with epic place names along the way. Eventually we turned back, much to Sam's sadness.

He turns eight tomorrow. Sam's grown into a great kid, someone I can easily be proud of. He's honest and smart and funny. If we're stuck together for another decade, he's a good person to be around.

Sam's reading has gotten incredibly good lately

November 23, 2006 by Adam in Sam

Sam's reading has gotten incredibly good lately. Evidently at school he's reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. His eyes popped out when he saw how many pages it was. I guess only he and another kid have gotten to it. Now to get his math skills up to the super genius level and we can watch his massive noggin pulsate as he moves things around with the power of his brain.

I picked up the Borne Identity from the libra...

November 06, 2006 by Adam in Sam

I picked up the Borne Identity from the library, a great spy thriller that came out a few years back. It was fun sitting on the couch next to him, realizing that we share the special bond of mysteries and car chases.

I warned him of an upcoming scene that potentially involved kissing. He said it wasn't that big a deal. I suppose it's part of the whole spy experience, along with the car chases and such.

Sam is a reading maniac

October 18, 2006 by Adam in Sam

Sam is a reading maniac. Last night he read an entire book. The days before, he read through three "Magic Tree House" books. Evidently he's inherited his parents' reading genes.

School has started seriously for Sam

September 29, 2006 by Adam in Sam

School has started seriously for Sam. He had his spelling test yesterday, getting 100% on the normal words and getting three out of four of the hard bonus ones. Ironically the one word he misspelled was "homework".

Yesterday Sam spent nearly two hours working on a comic book titled "Captain Plunger", which is loosely based after the Captain Underpants books. It was actually pretty funny. Sam had me as the editor, mostly correcting spelling mistakes as I told him the different perspectives I liked. He's becoming quite an artist, at least when it comes to superheroes, toilets, and exploding things.

Sam started soccer practice again, a long tra...

August 30, 2006 by Adam in Sam

Sam started soccer practice again, a long tradition of young boys running about and kicking balls. It was a fairly light turnout last night, so they may end up combining us with another school. Regardless, Sam had a good time and is especially excited about the prospect of finally keeping score.

Sam's reading has also improved incredibly, especially his motivation to read. I've been getting him "level 2" books from the library, which he quickly reads through. Now he's on Tintin, and just finished his first one last night. When I got home, he wanted to read more than playing with me or the computer, which is probably a good sign.

Sam had his first day of Pirate/Rainforest ca...

August 15, 2006 by Adam in Sam

Sam had his first day of Pirate/Rainforest camp yesterday. It's a quirky combination, but evidently they had to merge a couple of the camps. So far it seems like a pretty traditional camp with assorted activities. He played Sharks and Minnows, made a couple pirate-themed crafts (I was sworn to secrecy about them), and did a bit of drawing. His friends Jake and John were there, which made it extra fun for him.

I was secretly hoping for a peg-leg or a jug of grog, but I suppose lawsuits have made such things less common with modern camps.

Sam triumphed over dentistry last night

August 09, 2006 by Adam in Sam

Sam triumphed over dentistry last night. He's been nursing a loose tooth this last week, avoiding crunchy food and making funny drooling faces. He finally yanked it out himself, watching the carnage in a mirror. We waited until after he fell asleep to do the Tooth Fairy switcharoo.

We had a surreal and funny moment last night

August 05, 2006 by Adam in Sam

We had a surreal and funny moment last night. I took the kids swimming and Sam explained how he couldn't say words that started with the letter F due to it wiggling his loose tooth. "Don't say the F-word," I joked. It quickly devolved into a game where I tried to make him say words that begin with the letter F. "How old will Emma be next year?"

Well, later that evening, the topic was brought up again. Soon enough, the real F-word was flying around. Jamie was saying the F-word, Sam was saying the F-word, and Emma was eating her lasagna and trying hard not to fall asleep.

We talked about bad words and what exactly makes a word bad. Sam tentatively threw out the fact that he'd made up an F-word song while at school, though he couldn't remember the lyrics when pressed.

We tried to leave him with the sense that bad words aren't inherently bad, though other people can certainly get very upset with them. In general, it's best to avoid their use. I expressed a preference for funny swear words such as "yucko bunny eyeballs" and the like.

Ah, these Kodak moments.

Sam got three more checks on his work chart a...

July 28, 2006 by Adam in Sam

Sam got three more checks on his work chart and got his Star Wars: Republic Commando game. He was pretty excited about it and I let him play a bit longer than normal. It's funny how motivated he gets with his chart when video games are involved.

Sam's reading is improving greatly, seemingly by osmosis. The other day he played a complicated card game by himself, reading all the cards and actually winning. Everywhere we go, he'll be reading signs out loud.

The exciting part of Summer starts soon, with swimming lessons next week. At this point, he's really comfortable in the water and basically just needs to work on his technique. He can swim around the deep end with basically no problems these days.

Good kid.

Sam has a star chart that he gets stars for w...

July 04, 2006 by Adam in Sam

Sam has a star chart that he gets stars for when he works. Once he gets five stars, he gets a check, which can be redeemed for certain prizes. Lately, he's been saving up three checks to get assorted Gamecube games. The latest is a Shrek one that he's nearly "purchased". It's a good motivator and he gets a sense of accomplishment when he gets something.

Yesterday, on his own, he decided to make a star chart for me. It's labeled "Dad can be a good dad." and I get a star every time I do something nice for Sam. When I fill up the row, I get an hour of "alone time", something quite prized. It was very sweet and funny, which pretty much sums up Sam's best qualities.

Sam and I have also been having fun lately taking action photos of him in the back yard, leaping over our wading pool. Emma gets in on the fun, too. Ah, the joys of warm summer evenings.

A few days back, Sam and Emma were taking a b...

June 29, 2006 by Adam in Sam

A few days back, Sam and Emma were taking a bath as usual. One of the toys they regularly play with is a shark puppet that doubles as a washer. I came in to find them putting on an old Saturday Night Live skit I must have told Sam about long ago.

Emma would hold up her hands like doors and Sam would say "Knock, knock." Emma replied, "Who's there?" with an answer of "Candygram." As soon as she opened her hands, Sam's shark puppet would then attack. They did this over and over, much to Jamie's and my amusement.

Jamie and I were remarking the other day how ...

June 25, 2006 by Adam in Sam

Jamie and I were remarking the other day how Sam has become generally happy and pleasant. It's increasingly rare that we need to raise our voice with him, or come up with some sort of "consequence" for his bad behavior. It makes life much easier, and I've been making a point of telling him that I appreciate it.

Sam's reading is incredible compared to a year ago. He doesn't have all the rare and unusual words down, but he's clearly picked up Jamie and I's reading talent. Last night he was reading "Princess Smartypants" to me and even adding intonations. Before it was mostly a monotone struggle to puzzle out the words.

We're still adjusting to the end of school and start of Summer. So far he seems pretty happy with the switch. I think he'll miss his friends, but we've so far filled it up with vacation and Josh visiting. Later we'll have Summer camps and swimming lessons.

Ah, time for a monthly Sam roundup

May 30, 2006 by Adam in Sam

Ah, time for a monthly Sam roundup.

Sam played at the park with Gavin yesterday. Already he has a fair number of boys at school that he plays with once or twice a week. He's evidently fairly popular at school and has to rotate the kids he plays with.

Soccer has ended and we haven't signed up for T-ball or anything soon. Swimming lessons start in a month or so, which both kids really like. In the fall, I'm sure we'll do soccer again.

Sam's scholastic skills have improved by leaps and bounds since the beginning of the year. His reading is far better and he does a pretty good job reading by himself. The other day I caught him volunarily reading to Emma, who thinks its a great treat. His new game, Animal Crossing, has a ton of reading, but he can play by himself now.

All-in-all, Sam's doing really well. He's funny, smart, and usually kind and polite.

For better or worse, I think Sam is going to ...

May 05, 2006 by Adam in Sam

For better or worse, I think Sam is going to turn out to be a lot like me.

Last night he decided to make his own collectable card game, so he made over twenty playing cards with pictures of creatures, along with speed and armor rankings. Later that night, Sam had the whole family playing the game, which ended up being a lot like War. Jamie won, which had her more excited than she'd probably admit.

Sam has gotten more confident with soccer, I think. It used to be that he'd regularly fall down after every kick. It still happens on occasion, but more often he'll run right into the action and try to get that ball away.

School goes well. His reading and spelling continue to improve vastly over the beginning of the year. The challenge is finding books for him to read that he's really interested in. The problem at the moment is that his vocabulary is far more advanced than his reading skills. Books that he'd enjoy take too long to read. Fortunately he reads out of habit these days, and does tons of drawings with various labels on things. I'm sure he'll get to be a proficient reader soon enough.

I think Sam and Jake have resolved any differ...

April 10, 2006 by Adam in Sam

I think Sam and Jake have resolved any differences they might have. They had pizza together and were busy playing around when we went to soccer practice the other day.

Yesterday when we painted, Sam was very helpful. He carefully did the roller with minimal splashes and worked on the corners with the brush as well. I love being able to tell him "Go get the screwdriver and take off that faceplate." Magically, he'll scurry off and it gets taken care of.

Poor Sam's sick today

January 30, 2006 by Adam in Sam

Poor Sam's sick today. Jamie called and let me know that when she picked him up from school, he was feeling not so great. Now he's parked on the couch, watching television and letting Tylenol do its thing.

Since I was sick on Saturday, I suspect it's the same thing I had. I was the only parent watching the kids, so Emma is likely next on the list. Poor girl.

Sam and I had a funny discussion while playin...

January 25, 2006 by Adam in Sam

Sam and I had a funny discussion while playing with PlayDough last night. He and Emma were squishing away, with Sam making PlayDough zombies. I asked him if it would be a good idea if he had superpowers or not. "Sure!" was his first response. "What if you're in a bad mood?" I asked. "Oh, yeah." he replied.

He then went on to demonstrate with pencils and PlayDough what might happen. "I want a cookie! Bzzt!" he exclaimed, and then explained that the pencil he was poking into another PlayDough creature was lasers from the eyes. "I said I want a cookie! Bzzt!" It went on like that for a bit, with lightning blasts and the like.

Ah, morality plays with PlayDough. Who would have thought?

Sam had a bit of a melt down last night

January 24, 2006 by Adam in Sam

Sam had a bit of a melt down last night. I was watching both kids as Jamie got her hair cut. He was quite pleasant and cheerful for dinner, and then I told him to put away the dishes and I'd give him a cookie. Well, soon enough he was screaming and I sent him to his room. It escalated from there, with Sam pulling the bannister out from the wall and causing general havok.

It took a long while before he calmed down, and even then was more unruly than usual. He lost a fair number of privileges before the night was over. Jamie had several long talks with him. I put him to work fixing the banister with me.

It was fairly strange, as normally he's a pretty good kid. I suppose learning how to control your body is one of those key skills when growing up.

I think Sam is slowly approaching getting the...

January 13, 2006 by Adam in Sam

I think Sam is slowly approaching getting the necessary number of stars and checks to get his first game. He's opted for Zelda, the Wind Walker. After an initial burst of excitement around doing jobs, he lost interest in unloading the dish washer or cleaning the play room. Last night I tried to change his attitude by turning it into a game. The play room cleaning suddenly involved heroic leaps and tossing toys clear across the room. At least he got it done.

Sam's getting increasingly good at reading and spelling. He basically gets 100% on all his spelling tests these days and doesn't require much in terms of preparation. Fortunately he's inherited Jamie's near perfect memory, which helps immensely with these things.

The other day, I bought a couple games for Sa...

January 02, 2006 by Adam in Sam

The other day, I bought a couple games for Sam's Gamecube in hopes that he might be motivated to do chores around the house and earn points towards "buying" the game. Well, it worked amazingly well. Soon enough he was pestering me to do work around the house. I had him clean the play room, scrub toilets, and watch his sister. Every time he'd finish a chore, he'd run up to me and say "Ready for duty, sir!" When he put a star on his chart, he'd count to see how many more he needed before he could buy a game.

I tried to get a couple games that were highly rated, as well as being on the easy side. The first is Animal Crossing, which is completely non-violent (other than fishing) and involves making your house and your village a nice place to live. The other is a Zelda game, involving sailing and rescuing and the usual stuff. Both involve a lot of reading, which worries me some, but perhaps it will be a motivator for him reading more.

I remember the Zork games from years ago, teaching me to spell things like "gazebo" and touch type pretty fast.

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