A good game of "Pride"

First, the Hallowe'en report: I carved a pumpkin, with face designed by Sam. As previously mentioned, Sam dressed as a jaguar for the occasion proving that the free hand-me-down costume is better than the store-bought one, especially if it is more comfortable. Trick-or-treating was great: It was cold and gloomy, befitting the occasion, and everyone was hospitable.
In fact, even the kids who came to our door were well behaved and we have none of the teenagers dressed as teenagers (which I despise). Sam was in heaven for the whole experience. And thankfully, as he was just getting over what was likely h1n1, being outside in the cold for a little while didn't seem to exacerbate things.
Shown here is Sam organizing his loot. We did the usual: he collects candy, then we switch it (with his knowledge) for a peanut-safe batch we'd already bought. He did just fine in the trade and wasn't bothered at all. He's still plowing through it all, since we generally don't give him candy except early in the day, and if he's eaten well. And lately he's eaten like a bird.
Sam was helpful today in raking leaves, both during the bagging and in dragging bags the last dozen feet to the curb. And he had a great time jumping in the big piles. It hasn't rained for several days, so they were perfect for jumping. Shown is a typical three-picture tumble.
Unrelated to these activities: Sam announced yesterday that he wanted to play a game of "pride." What's that? You describe, and if possible demonstrate, what you are proud of. In his case: (a) choosing books (he chose a dinosaur encyclopedia at the library which he loves); (b) shooting (imaginary guns); (c) fighting (karate--his own personally invented version). We add to this things like coloring and painting. And he wants us to play as well. Always interesting to see what he comes up with.
On the subject of pride, he's just transitioned to pull-ups instead of diapers with his pjs at night. When Susan put them on him the other night, she tells me he looked shy and even ashamed, and said they didn't make him proud. She asked what would, and he said "underwear." She assured him that would come soon enough as he learned to go through the night without urinating. I know we're from the generation that tends to overpraise and artificially inflate egos, and we are always trying to counteract that tendency. And having read articles on emotional IQ, we try to praise him for hard work rather than innate ability.

Then he comes out with something like this. And we just want to hug him and tell him not to worry about his pull-ups or diapers or whatever, because we love him. So nice to be able to do that.