Original subtitles

Bill: previously on "the little couple"...

we're ready to race.

Bill: Will recently joined cub scouts,

and this weekend is the pinewood derby.

♪

(groans)

(cheers and applause) i know Will did his best,

so despite whatever the result is...

Will, come on up. you won third place.

...he's a winner. pretty cool, huh?

i know. you got it, man.

♪

Zoey has been taking bollywood dance classes,

and she has her first recital coming up in a couple months.

♪

Zoey definitely is excited

to learn more about where's she's from.

yeah. yeah?

give me five. (laughs)

Bill: coming up...

let's check you out, man.

it's Will's 9th birthday,

and we are celebrating it with a pirate-ship party.

you look good.

each year, Will's birthday comes around,

and then shortly thereafter, it's his gotcha day.

gotcha day is the day we brought our kids home

and became parents.

because Will's gotcha day and birthday are so close together,

we've decided to dub this whole period of time Willypalooza.

today's the big pirate-ship extravaganza.

are you guys ready to have a water-gun battle?

(all cheering)

(indistinct shouting)

one...two...three!

jen: get daddy!

no! never surrender!

i'm sure you liked that.

although, it's probably amoeba-ridden water

that they're squirting. yeah, i was thinking about that.

i was like, "mm, where'd they that water?"

jen: hey. knock-knock.

how you doin'? i'm alex.

we're hosting one of the drivers from the st. pete grand prix,

alexander rossi.

he's here to give some gifts and spread some cheer.

the team and i would love to have you

and your family out this weekend.

oh, my goodness. that would be amazing.

Bill: jennifer got tickets to go to the grand prix.

like his dad, Will's a pretty big fan of cars.

i'm really excited to ride a race car! ahh!

♪

(camera shutter clicks) dude!

♪

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

captions paid for by discovery communications

♪

yeah?

all right. go.

i'm watching.

go.

agh! close.

agh!

close.

jen: hey, so we're all ready for Will's birthday, right?

Bill: we have the pirate ship,

and then, the pizza party before.

we have to find a place for pizza.

so, do you want to find the cake,

and i'll find the pizza place?

okay.

sounds like a plan.

it's Will's 9th birthday,

and we are celebrating it with a pirate-ship party.

we have a pizza party.

we have a trip on a pirate boat.

he's kind of into pirates.

and we try to, you know,

find something that they can do that they really like.

we've been really fortunate

that Will's made some really good friends at school.

he's got a good group

that he really enjoys spending time with,

so he's excited about inviting them

to his birthday party, for sure.

i think it's good that he's taking advantage

of the opportunity to have a big party,

have fun with a lot of friends.

i'm super excited to see the kids

on the pirate ship having fun.

what do we want to drink?

it's like an early bird. (chuckles)

each year, Will's birthday comes around,

and then shortly thereafter, it's his gotcha day.

gotcha day is the day we brought our kids home

and became parents.

we got Will about two weeks after his third birthday,

and the same for Zoey.

we got Zoey within three weeks of her birthday.

all right.

Will and Zoey, come on, time to eat.

(claps hands) chip chop.

Will's gotcha day and birthday are so close together,

we've decided to dub this whole period of time Willypalooza.

and Zoey's definitely aware

that she Will have her Zoeypalooza time

coming up soon.

Bill: like christmas, they know it comes every year,

and like christmas, they can't wait for it.

okay.

let's see how my dumplings turned out.

are they good?

mmm!

they're good, but it's just spicy.

Bill: it's not spicy.

Bill: i got these dumplings from the market.

it's a chinese market that's close by.

so ever since we've brought Will home,

we've tried to embrace chinese culture to show that

we're appreciative of and enthusiastic about him

continuing to immerse himself in chinese culture.

so, i don't think my dumplings are gonna quite do all that,

but they're also a pretty tasty snack.

jen: so...

i can't believe another gotcha day is here.

six whole years.

you guys know what gotcha day really is?

Will: uh, yeah. what does it mean?

it means the day you got your baby.

Zoey: gotcha day! that's right.

now, how old were you

when you came into our lives?

3.

and how old were you when you came into our lives?

2.

yes, you were 2 years old.

Will, we got you

about two weeks after your birthday,

and, Zoey, we got you about three weeks after your birthday.

gotcha day is like a --

it's very symbolic for me and jen

because when we went to china, we became parents on that trip.

and, you know, i remember Will's gotcha day

like it was yesterday.

you're the perfect family to adopt a child with dwarfism.

Bill: all of a sudden, it goes from they're the custody of the state

in the people's republic of china to they're yours --

and that's it, in a moment's notice.

hey. hey!

hey!

you don't know what you have that much love in your heart

until you adopt a child that looks at you

and sees their parent and gives you a warm hug

and makes you cry.

look at this. hi!

it's a moment in time that changed our lives.

(laughter)

what are you doing?

i get to celebrate that every year.

now that i am a parent, i love every moment of it,

and i couldn't imagine not being a parent.

gotcha day is all about just being thankful

for the fact that this did happen to us,

that we did get to be parents, how lucky are we?

look. can we bet i can balance?

dad, look.

Bill: apparently, nobody likes my dumplings.

dad, look. you cheated.

Zoey, can you roll it off your nose and into your mouth?

ready? ready? ready?

♪

(laughs)

i did it!

i cheated! i cheated!

all right. do it again, do it again.

♪

and what are we doing?

can you get maggie to do the limbo?

today, we have a pretty packed agenda.

while jennifer's at work,

the kids and i are gonna go to the costume store.

hopefully, we'll find some pirate costumes,

and we're also gonna go order the cake for the big party.

are we ready to hit the road?

we got a lot to do today.

what are we doing today?

that's right.

9.

mm-hmm.

Bill: all right.

Zoey, are you ready to go?

all right. let's go downstairs.

Zoey took the elevator.

♪

yes.

well, you could put nine.

nine is still okay.

it's when you get to be old like daddy.

you can't put 45 candles on a cake.

'cause the cake Will melt.

(laughing)

♪

there's a sale going on.

yay!

everything is always 50% off.

♪

look at all this pirate stuff.

what'd you find?

ooh. what is that?

(laughing) it's silly.

it's supposed to be a monkey that goes on your shoulder.

that's a monkey? oh. that's a monkey that goes on your shoulder, Will.

that's a thing for your head.

look, man. put it on your head like this.

that is cool.

Bill: that looks pretty sweet.

you can do that or you can do a hat.

yes, ma'am?

these are all girl pirates over here, yep.

pirate perfection, huh?

we got to find a kids' size one.

all right? so let's go look at kids' sizes.

wait, i want that one, i want that one, i want that one.

you want that one? okay. let's put it on you.

no, no, no, no. put that down.

put it down. that looks good.

can you see? yeah.

okay.

she'll make it work.

what do you think?

we're making progress.

we got a hat, so that's good.

oh, here we go.

here is the girl pirate. this one.

and then, you'll match your brother.

you want to try that one on, Will?

that's gonna look good on you, man.

try it out, dude.

you want to try it on?

all right. Bill: all right.

and, Zoey, can you try on that one?

you want to try it on or you just want to...?

all right, all right, so let's go into to the dressing room.

that's gonna match your hat.

how about -- is dad gonna dress up?

are you dressing up? oh, no.

really? oh, really.

what the heck?

i don't really dress up.

you know, it's just -- it's not my thing.

as a kid, i never liked face paint,

i never was a pirate, so, i am not --

i'm not dressing up.

there's no way.

if i'm gonna look like any of that stuff...

nobody's gonna want that.

you sure you don't need some help? (gasps)

wow, you did that quick. lookit!

let me tie your hat for you.

check you out, man! i like it, dude.

can i still keep that gun?

yeah.

yeah, mommy Will not be happy.

but that's okay. let me see, let me see.

turn around. oh, yeah! you got your sword?

you look like a pirate. nice.

you got your sword? yep.

and you know what? that glows in the dark, too.

♪

i think my kids like the pomp and circumstance

of a birthday party.

i don't know where they get it from.

probably their mom.

'cause it's not me, clearly, you know?

i mean...

i have the imagination to wear a polo

every single day, with a pair of shorts.

you know, that's the -- you know --

i don't have that talent.

but my wife certainly does,

and i think it's rubbing off on the kids.

okay, say, "ahoy, mateys!"

hi!

wow!

you look good.

oh, my goodness.

i mean, you're cute,

but you're also scary like a pirate.

hey, Will?

Will! William?

♪

oh, boy! (woman laughs)

she likes to reveal to Will.

Zoey: Will?

you waiting for your brother?

i mean the rest of him.

what is that? what do you think?

dude, you are killin' me.

"sugar daddy"?

(laughs)

the first pirate pimp, ladies and gentlemen.

♪

no, no, no!

no, stay out of that room. that's the naughty room.

Will: (laughs)

you got a pimp staff and a pair of handcuffs.

(laughs)

this store caters to mostly adults that have...

an active night life?

thankfully, a lot of this stuff was hung up a little higher

and out of the reach of the 9- and 7-year-old child

that i brought in, so...

disaster averted.

all right, now turn around.

let me take a picture.

let me show it to mom.

all right. ready?

smile!

(camera shutter clicks) yay! perfect.

all right. great.

all right, guys, what do you say?

okay, guys... bye.

bye. thank you very much.

ha!

bye.

(Will grunts)

are you ariya?

it's so nice to meet you.

every year, st. petersburg hosts a grand prix,

and in fact, we're hosting one of the drivers, alexander rossi.

we go like 200 miles an hour.

(imitates engine revving)

just like that, yeah.

you nailed it.

listen up, mateys! we're going to my boat!

these kids are going to love the pirate ship.

woman: all right, mateys!

are you guys ready to have some fun for Will's birthday?

all: yeah!

give me all your treasure!

all: argh!

♪

♪

jen: this should be fun.

not your normal day, right --

usual day for simulation, right?

i know. this is, um...

the oncology floor,

so really, a lot of great kids.

and i'm excited to meet a race-car driver.

jen: since my hip surgery,

i've been back to work now for quite some time,

and it's back to the grind, busy as ever.

you know, i'm actually trying to squeeze in

going to outpatient physical therapy here and there

to try and increase my strength and flexibility

based on what i'm allowed to do, but...

i'm pretty much back to normal activity level.

hi. how are you doin'?

good. nice to meet you.

i'm alex. i'm jen.

welcome to the hospital here at johns hopkins children's.

thank you very much. it's a pleasure to be here.

every year, st. petersburg hosts a grand prix,

and in fact, we're hosting one of the drivers

from the st. pete grand prix, alexander rossi.

i get to be your host and show you around.

okay.

the floor that we're gonna go to here

is actually our oncology floor,

so, kids of all ages

who are dealing with cancer, so...

got it.

i'm alexander rossi, indycar driver for andretti autosport,

and i'm in town in st. petersburg, florida,

'cause it's the first race of the ntt indycar series.

so, we're gonna get to meet some kids

and talk to them and everything? absolutely.

fantastic. thanks for comin'.

yeah. no problem.

he's here to give some gifts and spread some cheer.

so this hospital,

i was a patient a long, long time ago,

but it just recently became a johns hopkins institution

about six years ago.

while this is not the unit that i typically work in,

it's a privilege to be able to come and visit the kids

and to be able to show alex around

and sort of connect with some of our patients.

hey!

knock knock! hello! good morning.

how are you doing? i'm alex. what's your name?

roman? nice to meet you, bud.

hi, roman.

do you like race cars? yeah?

do you know there's a race happening this weekend

just a two-minute walk from here?

we go like 200 miles an hour.

(imitates engine revving)

just like that, yeah.

(laughs) you nailed it.

walking into johns hopkins all-children's hospital,

it's always kind of mixed emotions.

you got a hat?

you're obviously excited to see the kids, but it's also --

you know that there's something pretty serious

going on with them in order for them to be here,

so you just want to be able to try and bring some sort of joy

and a smile to their face.

and there's a lot of reward for us to be able to do that

and to give back to the families

and the communities of the places that we race.

♪

are you ariya?

it's so nice to meet you.

hi.

i brought a friend with me.

his name is alex. hi.

there's a lot of people here, huh?

(laughs) yep.

i'm a neonatologist, so i don't take care of kids with cancer.

but i was once a patient who had cancer as an adult,

and in fact, when i was treated,

i was treated in our pediatric oncology unit

because, you know, of the complications

of my stature, so...

i'm thrilled to be here, to be able to be a host,

because out of all of the units in the hospital,

this is definitely one near and dear to my heart.

hello. hi.

it's nice to meet you.

nice to meet you. how you doin'?

we're big fans. well, nice to meet you.

i'm jen. nice to meet you, jen.

alex: there's a hat for you, as well.

yeah.

no problem, man.

♪

that looks good on you. jen: yeah, it does.

i like it.

"racing for kids." that's cool.

that's awesome.

there's some more stuff here, if you want.

yeah, you know it. oh, it looks like you.

that's a plus. yes.

yeah, we worked on that specifically.

i've been both a caregiver and a kid in the hospital,

so it's always quite an honor to be able to go around

and do something fun like this that isn't direct patient care.

'cause i know it's no fun being in the hospital.

so, i hear you kind of reference indycar pit stops

in some of your presentations, so...

i do.

the team and i would love to have you

and your family out this weekend

and kind of show you firsthand indycar pit stops,

introduce you to the team, the mechanics and everyone,

and it'd be really cool to have you out.

oh, my goodness. that would be amazing.

i can't thank you enough. i mean --

yeah, i talk about, you know,

training our healthcare teams to work like a pit crew

in a crisis every day, so this is --

we'll give you some firsthand examples

and experience, then.

that would be awesome. yeah.

thank you. no problem at all.

and thanks for having me here today.

it's always a privilege

and an eye-opening experience

to meet the kids and family.

aww, thank you for taking the time out, really.

i'm totally thrilled that alexander invited myself

and my whole family to come out to the race track.

i think it'll be a blast, and, you know,

it's gonna be sort of like the icing on the cake

for this month,

because with all going on for Will --

it's his gotcha day, it's his birthday --

this is definitely something else that he'll enjoy.

so it'll definitely add one more element to Willypalooza.

thank you. and good luck.

thanks. be safe.

and be safe, yep. (chuckles)

♪

Bill: we have a pretty busy day here.

jennifer's at work.

i don't know.

i don't know what they have in here.

Zoey: i don't know what they have.

i think we're doing pretty well. we've got he costumes.

we've got the pirate ship.

really, all we have left to do is get the cake.

woman: what do you want to have?

pace yourself, pace yourself.

look around.

yes. there's lots of choices.

yeah, there's a lot of cool stuff here.

we do need to talk to these guys about a birthday cake.

what do you want to do? you want to talk?

you want a pirate-ship birthday cake?

we can help you. for sure.

of course.

does it have to have cannons?

can you do cannons?

or something that looks like cannons?

we can work something out. of course.

let's see. what do you like?

you want to try mint chocolate chip?

you did? okay.

let me go see what's goin' on over here.

wait, wait, wait, wait.

did you get mint chocolate chip?

she did.

that's my favorite. here you go, sweetie.

did you get red-raspberry sorbet?

did you want some, dad?

nice. you know what?

i'll try the mint chocolate chip, if that's okay.

yeah?

dad! dad! dad!

ahh! scary!

did you guys want to try any mini cupcakes today?

this one? all right.

that's a red velvet.

all right. thank you very much.

thank you so much, hon.

i think we're in a pretty good status at this point.

the kids have gotten their fill at the ice-cream store,

the ladies there are going to create a fantastic cake,

we have costumes -- we're ready to rock and roll there --

so really, there's not much more to do

but to let them burn off all that sugar they just ate

and get to bed.

oh, boy. don't make a mess.

(laughter)

where'd it go?

woman: ta-da!

(applause)

wow! good job! bye, guys.

buh-bye. have a great day.

♪

jen: so, where did you get these from again?

it's a bakery on 4th street.

it's like southern bakery or something like that.

southern bay? is that what it's called?

southern bay? ooh!

nice place. looks good.

the people in there are great.

we picked out some cake for Will's party.

although, i kind of lost track.

we were bombarding them with requests.

and then, of course, Will and Zoey took over.

they were eating ice cream. they were...

oh, really? oh, yeah.

they have ice cream in there, too.

they ate while they were there?

of course. it was a bakery.

are you kidding me? yeah, it looks really good.

messy, but good.

jen: i think we're pretty ready for the birthday.

Bill: i'm looking forward to seeing

Will see his friends showing up to the party.

yeah.

'cause i think that's, like, the...

you know, that's the big moment.

this is very good.

it's good? yep.

when i first became a parent, i had these grandiose ideas

that i was gonna be able to do it all,

that i was gonna be at every function, every event,

and be super mom.

and the truth of the matter is, you know,

i don't think super mom really exists.

i think each mom has to find out

what balance works for them and for their kids.

i wish i had more time to plan for the party,

but thanks to Bill, we are ready.

and definitely after a busy week at work,

i'm excited to have some fun this weekend

and celebrate Willypalooza.

we also stopped at the costume store.

okay.

we might need therapy.

why?

um...

well, so i thought it was just gonna be a costume store,

but it turns out it's, like, a costume store for kids

and adults, which...

oh, boy. yeah.

if you wanted to, let's say, you know,

have a harem of ladies following you around...

like a pimp?

yes. it's a pimp store?

they sell pimp costumes.

Bill. (chuckles)

yeah.

sorry about that.

that's what happens when you leave me in charge of that stuff.

if you're going to be in the pimp game,

you need to have the right gear.

our children are not in the pimp game.

i'm just sayin'...

it's possible. let's hope not.

career move? no. (laughs)

i don't know.

good news, though -- other good news...

remember i told you

i was giving alexander rossi a tour of the hospital?

yeah. he was super nice.

and i think i got, like,

vip invitation to the grand prix

for the whole family

to go check out their crew in action, so like...

at the grand prix. nice.

isn't that nice? that's great.

i've never done that before in my life.

no? really?

never. never been in a pit.

of the things you've done and all your love of cars --

i didn't know that. mm-hmm.

i did not know that. so, thank you.

or thank -- what's his name?

alexander rossi, yep.

we'll just have a big crew go.

i mean, it'll be fun. Will loves cars.

so that's perfect. yeah.

nope, since day one.

yeah, day one. the real gotcha day.

the real gotcha day.

Bill: i'm hoping Will really likes the grand prix.

i know he's a fan of cars, much like his pop.

this is his first big exposure to a race of this sort.

it's part of Willypalooza party bonanza,

and hopefully, he likes it a lot.

all right, so, Willypalooza begins --

pirate-boat birthday on a boat,

family and friends, and now the grand prix.

perfect.

it's like a whole Willypalooza week.

i know i'll be drooling on the car.

i just love all that stuff. i know you do.

Will does, too, you know? he does.

and he'll get a kick out of it.

♪

you want to get in?

Will and i have been big fans of cars for a long time.

oh, that's awesome!

oh, wow!

i'm really excited to ride a race car! ahh!

♪

Bill: check it out.

in every one of these tents,

they put a car in there.

Will: fascinating, dad.

this is pretty cool, right?

Bill: today is one of three days

that st. petersburg hosts a grand prix.

today, they're doing qualifying runs,

practice runs, and actual races.

see? look.

look at these cars. these are all indycars.

see them?

and jennifer got a bunch of tickets for us all to go.

i have my dad and step-mom in town.

we're gonna go check out where they stage the cars

and get them all set up and fix them and stuff like that,

and then we'll check out pit row,

where they're actually racing cars.

so we'll be, you know, right up there.

i can't wait.

like his dad, Will's a pretty big fan of cars,

so i think this grand prix race

is going to be a great addition to Willypalooza.

i'm really excited to ride a race car! ahh!

pretty cool, huh?

that's neat. see the motors are behind?

hey! nice to see you again, alex.

this is my husband, Bill.

how you doin', alex? nice to meet you. Bill.

this is my son, Will.

alex is one of the racers here.

yeah.

i got 20 bucks on him to win.

just kidding, just kidding.

(laughs) enough with the jokes.

thank you for inviting us.

this is amazing.

you want to go over there?

i'll be right back.

okay.

so, when you go to an indy race, it's really loud,

and Zoey apparently was not doing so hot with the noise.

so she retreated to go hang out with grammy and pop pop.

all right, now, we can't touch anything, okay, Will?

you got to be careful. don't touch anything.

how much does this car weigh?

yeah?

you want to get in?

Will and i have been big fans of cars for a long time.

jen: beep beep! look at that beep-beep.

Will. i'm going this way.

the first day that we got Will,

he saw two cars, a maserati and a ferrari ff.

he really loves cars.

i love you. (laughs)

we were both standing there just, you know, in awe,

and i said, "which one do you like?"

♪

beep beep! beep beep!

Bill: and he goes over and he hugs the ferrari.

in my heart, that made a lot of sense.

i'm pretty sure i've hugged a ferrari before.

i can't explain how we have that connection so quickly.

we have a bond that...

it's inexplicable, but it's awesome.

oh, that's awesome! dude!

oh, wow!

hey, Will, smile.

(camera shutter clicks) ah, that's cool.

thank you. thank you, guys.

yeah, thank you again for having us.

so awesome.

i'm going over to pit row.

we'll catch you guys in just a little bit.

jen: yeah, we'll be right back.

ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.

♪

jen: alexander rossi was able to get us passes

to go down to the pit

and actually be with the pit crew

during one of the practice runs,

which is where they get to overhaul the car.

that's sort of my opportunity

to see how a pit crew really works,

which is what relates to my work at the hospital,

but of course, being down in the pit

right there where the cars are coming in and out of the race,

it's a little dangerous.

so we left the kids up on the stands

with the rest of our family.

this is like your control room.

i know. right?

yep. they have a direct view.

they have video feed.

pretty cool. no, this is definitely

a lot like what we try and train to with our pit crews.

everybody's got a different role,

working together, communicating,

good teamwork skills...

trying to get the car back on the race -- out in the race.

it was great to see the pit crew in action

and see how they communicated,

see how they paid attention to detail,

how different members of the crew

had very specific goals and specific tasks,

and just how efficient they are and timely

and how much they practice to get to that point.

so i'm excited to take back some of those lessons to our program.

♪

now that jennifer and i had a chance

to go down into the pits to check out a practice run,

we're going to rejoin the rest of the clan

up in the grand stand and watch some of the qualifying races.

William: how fast you think they're going?

if i had to guess, i'd probably say like 140.

(laughs)

having the st. pete grand prix as part of Willypalooza

was really awesome.

i think everybody had a great time.

not to mention the cars. yeah.

and then there's the cars. very, very cool cars.

don't forget about the cars.

oh, pop pop somehow got some ice cream.

look at that. thank you, pop pop.

you're welcome.

but the weekend's not over yet.

we still have our big pirate-ship party to go to,

so next up, we're gonna take this race on the water.

all right, guys, what do you think?

pretty cool? Will: yeah.

it's pretty hot.

yeah, hot stuff, right?

(laughter)

(engine revs)

Will, i am ready to party. how about you?

you ready?

i think Will is super excited to get to spend some time

with his friends and celebrate his birthday.

next time you decide to have a costume party,

i want you to send me exactly what you're wearing

because this ain't right.

♪

Will, i am ready to party. how about you?

you ready?

how about you, joey?

you ready, party poopers?

glow-in-the-dark sword!

♪

okay. here's your sword back.

today's the big day.

it's Will's 9th birthday. it's the pirate party.

we're gonna have a pizza party,

celebrate with the cake and all that fun stuff in advance,

and then, it's all culminating

with this big pirate-ship extravaganza.

it's his last single-digit birthday.

we gotta do it right.

are you sure? i think it's that way.

no? it's this way?

that way?

okay.

all right. can we go?

are we ready to go? let's go have a pirate party.

okay.

well, Zoey's got to go find her map.

Zoey, can you close those doors when you're done?

let's go, Will. i got your hat.

i think Will is super excited to get to spend some time

with his friends and celebrate his birthday.

and we're excited about the fact that we get to have

a lot of our family there, too.

are you guys ready?

Zoey, you ready to get in?

jen: you know, now that we live in florida,

we're closer to a lot of Bill's family,

a lot of my family,

so it's nice to have birthday parties

with family more often again.

♪

Bill: hey. how are you? it's good to see you.

what's goin' on?

hey, abby. how are you, sweetie?

welcome. thanks for comin'.

how's it goin'? you look adorable.

(laughs)

next time you decide to have a costume party,

i want you to send me exactly what you're wearing

because this ain't right.

three phones calls i made to this guy --

are you sure everybody's coming dressed in costume?

hold on, hold on, hold on. in costume.

and he said -- all right?

there. oh, my goodness!

you're one of us! argh!

my son Bill told me

that everybody was getting dressed up.

maybe i went to the extreme.

i'm not sure about that.

yeah. guy-liner?

yeah.

this is the first time for me, so...

i'm hoping it looks good.

it's good.

yeah, yeah. no, i've been back.

i'm walking now without a cane, without crutches, and...

it's been good.

everything's good so far, yeah.

i mean, i'm a little uneven,

so it's a little bit of an awkward walk.

we went up to new york

to the hospital for special surgery.

i mean, they have a great hospital for ortho, so...

it was pretty straightforward, they said.

i mean, you know, no complication.

yes, exactly, so...

♪

all: yay!

where'd you get all that?

woman: the coins are on the floor.

oh, boy.

(indistinct shouting)

man: let me see you as a pirate, Zoey.

give me all your treasure!

all right. come here, birthday boy.

oh, Will, look at that cake!

wow!

Will: oh, my!

Bill: holy cow!

whoa!

that's the boat we're going on.

excuse me.

jen: i definitely can't believe that i have a 9-year-old.

as he gets older,

i'm gonna miss this endless happiness and excitement

and enthusiasm for a birthday party,

for cake, you know, for spending time with their friends.

i kind of don't want him to get too old.

all: ♪ happy birthday to you ♪

cha cha cha!

♪ happy birthday to you ♪

cha cha cha!

♪ happy birthday dear William ♪

♪ happy birthday to you ♪

(applause) yay!

jen: whoo!

Bill: i can't believe Will's 9.

i feel like time flies so quickly

that i'm almost afraid that i'm not doing something right,

because it's going by so rapidly

that i feel like i'm missing things.

what did they do to this thing?

this is called a shipwreck.

it's amazing to see how much things have changed.

Will has a lot of new friends in st. pete.

he's really built some great relationships.

all right. let's start packing up, huh?

i want you checking to make sure that all your friends

got everything that they need to get on the boat, okay?

you can tell that he's a friendly kid

and it's not just me that thinks so

because of the people that he surrounds himself with.

and i'm thrilled that they're having as much fun as they are.

William: all right, mateys! argh, mateys!

listen up, mateys!

we're going to my boat. we're going to my boat.

who wants to go to my boat?

(indistinct shouting)

get in your vessels!

get in your vessels, matey!

i'll meet you at the boat.

and take these big people with you.

woman: the captain told me that a bad pirate named pegleg pete

has been spotted in the area.

i'm pegleg pete today.

i'm now part of the cast.

argh! i'm here for your gold!

(indistinct shouting) argh!

never surrender!

(adventurous music plays)

♪

man: mates, are you all ready for Will's 9th birthday?

(cheering)

prepare to walk the plank to fun!

argh!

William: everybody walk the planks.

come on, girls, come on, girls.

Bill: it's Will's big weekend.

he's turning 9.

on top of that, it's his gotcha day.

Willypalooza. Willypalooza.

so we started off the birthday party

with a pizza party,

and now we're off to the main event,

the pirate ship.

the kids are going to love the pirate ship.

i mean, it's huge. it's multiple stories.

it's multiple floors.

there's, you know, actual pirates on there.

it's gonna be a lot of fun.

William: everybody say "argh!"

all: argh!

♪

woman: all right, mateys!

are you guys ready to have some fun for Will's birthday?

(cheering)

walk the plank.

woman: all right.

now, i went up there and i talked to the captain,

and he told me that a bad pirate named pegleg pete

has been spotted in the area.

here you are, my friend. come on over here.

i'll just mustache you up.

not that you don't already have one.

it's just this one's cooler. ah, thank you.

what do you guys think pegleg pete is afraid of?

boy: us! boy #2: water!

water! that's right!

he's so afraid of water,

he hasn't taken a shower or a bath in 10 years.

he smells really bad. everyone say "ew"!

all: ew! that's right.

so what are we gonna do if we see him?

what are we gonna do?

shoot him! that's right!

a couple battle scars right here

to make it look like you're, you know, war-torn.

now say "argh"! argh!

i'm pegleg pete today.

i'm now part of the cast.

the last of my outfit...

i think.

all right. i'm off.

woman: he smells really bad, guys.

i think he's close by, but i don't know.

i don't see him anywhere. keep looking.

argh! i'm here!

i'm pegleg pete, and i'm here for your gold!

woman: oh, no! he snuck up behind you!

get him! argh!

(indistinct shouting)

my eyes! argh!

woman: scream "argh"! one, two, three!

all: argh!

woman: pegleg pete, get outta here!

get pete with water! you killed me!

if he doesn't surrender, keep shooting, in one, two, three!

no! no surrender!

this is your last chance. do you surrender?

all right.

get outta here, ya -- all right.

get outta here.

i definitely was my impressed by your Willingness

to get dressed up as pirate pete.

but yeah, no, it was fun.

i was happy to dress up as the victim

of the many, many squirt guns.

that's the best part. yeah, i'm sure you liked that.

although, it's probably amoeba-ridden water

that they were squirting all over me.

yeah, i was thinking about that.

i was like, "mm, where'd they get that water?"

gonna paint your faces to look like pirates now.

so, look up here.

i'm gonna give you a really good mustache, okay?

be very still.

♪

yeah!

oh!

my turn!

Will, it's your birthday.

you get to hit the piñata two times,

and hit it as hard as you can.

are you ready?

take those first two swings.

hit him again.

jen: Will's having a blast.

i'm glad to see all his friends having fun

and all the kids just enjoying, the parents enjoying,

so i think this has turned out to be a pretty good party.

yo-ho! yo-ho!

dance party!

(dance music playing)

♪

Bill: being a parent is definitely one of those things

that you just --

you can't appreciate what it's all about until you are one.

your kids give you the opportunity to do things

that you thought were done in your life

and just make you smile.

and that is magical.

good job, good job, good job.

give me a hug, give me a hug, give me a hug.

happy birthday, buddy.

jen: there's probably not many more years

where a pirate-ship birthday party is gonna be cool,

and i'm holding on to every moment

where your kids are just so immersed in the fun.

so i am excited to see them get older

but also sad to see them get older.

i don't want them to grow up too fast.

Will, take one photo.

one...two...three!

all: argh!

♪

Bill: next time on "the little couple"...

hi.

jen's working right up until her birthday,

so she's gonna meet us at the park.

we're gonna hop on the bikes

and try and get a couple lessons in.

good job, buddy.

all right, Zoey. i'm not gonna let go.

keep pedaling.

i got ya.

i had an idea for mommy's 45th birthday.

we got to keep it a secret.

it's a big weekend. it's jen's big birthday.

the big 4-5.

oh, wow.

happy birthday. happy birthday.

i'm very excited because my parents have come into town,

and we're just gonna have a fun day of celebrating me today.

where do you think Zoey went?

we picked out a garden store to go to in hopes of finding plants

that we can put in the pots that we had made.

oh, did she find a chicken? oh, boy.

roosters make a big clucking sound.

(shrieks)

(laughs)

(shrieking)

Bill: do you hear mom?

she's gotten into the elevator.

♪

all: surprise!

surprise!

surprise!