max seriously scored, gift-wise, on his birthday this past weekend. he’s been wanting a cell phone for a while, but jeannie and i keep saying no. but this fall, there were several times when it would have been so much easier for jeannie and me if he’d had one. so we broke down and got him a free one (which, of course, isn’t free with the monthly fees; but we were able to roll him into jeannie and liesl’s family plan without adding any minutes). he is indescribably giddy.
then, he’d been saving his money to buy himself a wii. but the family who is living with us right now got max and me a wii for his birthday, and for christmas for both max and me.
it would have been difficult to find two gifts that would have made him float more. i don’t think his feet have touched the ground since saturday morning, when he received these.
UPDATE
max got his gift from grandma and grandpa in the mail yesterday: two wonderful non-tech gifts, called books. one is on how to draw three-dimensional objects, and the other a full-color encyclopedic type of book on how things work. since he’s not allowed screen time during the school week, he spent all evening glued to these books. fantastic.
he just looks so happy… please just give him a big hug from me! hehe. also – i think he’s wearing the same hoody in every photo featured on your blog just about. cute.
The Wii is awesome – get WiiPlay; it’s a great game AND it comes with a ‘free’ controller (really, it’s like buying a controller and for an extra $10 you get a great game)! : )
I second buying WiiPlay its the first game you should get. I’ve had my Wii for a few months and still only have WiiSports and WiiPlay and its enough. I did go out and buy 2 more WiiMotes (plus the one that comes with WiiPlay) so that we can play 4 player WiiSports.
jeannie was asking lisa and i about the cell phone issue when she was here in atlanta. we have a 10 year old who just inherited lisa’s cell phone.
it used to be that getting a car was the first big step to independence. i think the cell phone has now become the first step. it’s kinda of weird being able to call my 10 year old on his own phone.
Super Mario Galaxy is one of the most addicting Wii games. My wife, who hates video games, cannot stop playing it! Which is bad, because when shes playing it, I can’t!!
some wii advice: youve gotta own tennis so max cant ever beat you. he will beat you at everything else, but you gotta have a respected game that no one can beat you at, tennis is it. i have mastered tennis and NO ONE can beat me. although my neice and nephews always beat me at mario party and everything else.
I second Mario Galaxy. It’s the best Wii game hands down. Also good: Zelda: Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3, Wario Ware (great family game), Wii Play, and Zack and Wiki (great puzzle game).
Nice to see that Wii’s are available SOMEWHERE!!!
So how often does he text message dad?
I’m no astrologer, but I can sense a Wii coming into my life in the not so distant future. I’ll probably be getting one for Christmas! (Hopefully I’ll be able to play it on my 20 inch TV..) I’ll definately check into all these games that are recommended!
funny — so many of you recommended wii play and super mario galaxy, the two games max used his own money to buy!
todd — we didn’t get texting for max. seems that can wait.
What is a mobile phone used for other than text messaging? That is why I got the LG eNV.
The Wii is so much fun for the whole family…it makes a great youth group game system as well. It might make trips to the bowling lanes obsolete.
Yeah, yeah, books and Wiis and cell phones are nice. However, I have to imagine that the best gift of all was getting one of the YS convention bags (seen on the chair to the right [max’s left] in the second photograph). :)
Marko, I’d be curious to know what Screen Time means exactly, as it sounds like a great idea. Is Max not allowed any Computer & TV during the school week? Or is it just games? Same for Liesl or is it different for Liesl. My 13 year old daughter will spend a ton of time on the computer if unchecked. And my 7 year old son loves his computer games. Anyhow, just curious what you do. Thanks!
Welcome to the WiiFamily (okay really bad) Marko and Max! My boys and I have great fun with Wii together, plus you can download all of those old school games from when we were younger. We limit the boys to 2 hours over the weekend, and it has worked well. Such a blast!!!
I believe the Wii has begun the revolution of video gaming. I thoroughly enjoy mine. My youth kids love coming over and playing it. One great thing I have noticed is it does cause interaction between a few students rather than hinder it because a few are just plugged into another gaming station. I recommend purchasing more Wiimotes and nunchucks to go with it. The Wii Sports is still the most often played game. I also have Wii play (but we don’t really like it), and then of course, Madden! I’m hoping to score the new DDR and Guitar Hero for it for Christmas (so wifey, if you’re ever on Markos blog, which I don’t believe you are, here you go!) Sounds like Super Mario Galaxy is also high on the list!
ps. don’t forget to register it on the nintendo.com
The one thing my wife asked for for Christmas was a Wii. How can you say no when your wife asks you to get her a video game system? Our college group meets at our house every week. I know they can’t wait for Christmas to get here so they can play with it, too.