We’ve got a new game Kiddo has been playing recently. For lack of a better name, we’ve been referring to it as the “How About” game. Rules are simple: parental unit says “How abouuuut _______?” and Kiddo responds with either an opposite or an associated word. For example, we’ll say “How about down?” and he’ll say “How about up?” Or, from last night: “How about rice?” and his response “How about beans?” If we happen to hit one of his preferred responses, he’ll either giggle or just say “YES!”

He’s got some cute ideas of how things pair up. Many of these are reversible.

(Us) How about…	(Kiddo) How about…
Up	Down
Inside	Outside
The Outback (aka Dad’s car)	The Prius (aka Mom’s car)
Preschool	Home
Mommy	Daddy
Ernie	Bert
Cookie Monster	Elmo
Big Bird	Elmo
[Any other Muppet]	Elmo
Elmo	YES!
Irwin	Dawn
Kenny	Dana
Red	Orange
Green	Orange
[Any other color]	Orange
Orange	YES! (or occasionally Red)
Grandma	Grandpa
Uncle Nick	Uncle Tim

…and many other pairs.

The puzzler in me is pretty sure there’s one in there somewhere just waiting to come out.