Half-pint Conquers Super Mario Brothers...Almost...

Half-pint petitioned for a Wii for more than a year. When he didn't get one Christmas 2009, he talked about it nearly everyday of 2010. He quickly realized that Mom and Dad were not very anxious to get him one, so he trumped his parents by announcing that he was asking Santa for a Wii. Smart kid! All year long he told everyone who would listen to him, that he was going to get a Wii from Santa.

There were tears when Santa showed up in the flesh on Christmas Eve and gave Uncle D a Wii and didn't bring one to him. There was a discussion about waiting until morning to see what Santa would leave while everyone was asleep, because Santa obviously didn't bring ALL his presents at his special visit, he only brought special Christmas Eve pajamas for the kids.

Half-pint was ecstatic to find a family Wii Christmas morning and has been playing it fairly regularly ever since. We've had special play dates with his school friends so they can help get him farther along in the Super Mario Brothers game. The boys want to play nearly every morning when they get up. It's been a great motivator to get ready for the day nicely; and it's usually the first privilege lost for misbehaving.

Last week, Half-pint was insistent that I play Mario with him. I played a little Mario back in the day, and I wasn't too bad. The Wii Mario is completely different than the old Nintendo 64, and needless to say I'm pretty horrible! I finally relented and played for about 45 minutes with him. Thankfully the baby started getting pretty fussy so I got out of it, but not before my thumbs hurt! Half-pint has kept up the insisting, despite my comments about how badly I play. The other night as he was going to bed, Half-pint informed me:
"Mom, I'm your coach. I'm your Mario coach. You'll never get better if you don't practice!"
He's right of course; and he's been practicing...he's even unlocked two more levels this week and is quick to call his school friend to share the good news. It would be long until he has the game beat!