Metroid

(Did I say something earlier about being able to find time to catch up on my blogging?  Obviously, getting a yucky cold wasn't part of the plan, so I beg mercy.....)

Alex has picked up a totally cute ability for an almost-14-month old:  He's making sound effects.  You know, he watches the kids like a hawk, and tries to do everything they do.  Which, a lot of times, is not fun:  Like when he tries to climb the bunk bed ladder, or jump on the couch, or all sorts of too-big-for-him things.  But when it comes to imaginitive play, the whole copy-the-big-sibs thing is so adorable!!!

Lately, their new thing is playing Metroid.  I mentioned this briefly in one of the Facebook Friday updates (and yes, I realize I haven't posted the latest installment....).  The kids dug up a copy of Jesse's Game Boy Advance "Metroid Zero" game about a month ago.  Since then, they've asked him to play it, they've asked me to play it, and they've figured out how to play it themselves.  And of course, it wasn't long before they started pretending Metroid games in the home.  Complete with curling up into a ball to get into narrow spaces, doing the beam-me-up animation style "save", and of course, shooting enemies.

Jacob is such an action poser.  He mimics it with such precision.  He would grab his forearm, get into a forward-facing attack crouch, and make "Pshew, Pshew" sorts of laser gun sounds as he shot at imaginary monsters.  So then Jesse had the bright idea to give them props, which he made from used Vitamin Water bottles - just cut off the end, and painted them green, like Samus' weapon.  Observe:

 

You get the concept, right?  Green cylindrical shape that covers your forearm.  Easy enough, with a water bottle or two!!  Well, Jacob's was a hit, and Melinda soon got her own, and now even Alex has one.  Because he just couldn't be left out of the fun.  As soon as anyone starts playing any sort of shooting/chasing/fighting game, Alex is so in on it.  And the sound effects make watching it just absolutely a hoot!!

So I tried to grab a video of it tonight - it's not great... there's a lot of other noise going on in the video, and I had a hard time being in front of him so you could see his face while he was making sounds.  But of the "Pshew, Pshew" sounds, Alex is making about half of them, and Jesse's doing the rest, for the most part.  Also, if you see a large pink tutu flying around, Jesse was pretending it was a fireball shooting out of his fist.  I'm so glad he can still play with the kids like that.  It's awesome, and I love it.

So here's the video.  Enjoy the cuteness!!  I know I do.  :)