Pink-ink

I think I forgot to tell this most important story and post accompanying movie...GASP!

We'll start with one of my favorite new words! Richie has known many of the colors for quite some time, but has just started to verbalize them. (Actually, he's verbalizing virtually everything he hears even if we don't try to directly teach it to him. Like today after dinner he said, "Bib!" and tugged at his bib because he wanted it off.)

I think I've already mentioned Lellow, which was my fav for several weeks. Momma was teaching him other colors, too. Richie has a tendency to drop the last syllable, so when she taught him pink, she put particular emphasis on the hard 'k' at the end. This resulted in Richie saying, "Pink-ink!" In an effort to emulate the emphasis. That, is my new favorite Richie word! I make him say it over and over again! I have to because soon he's going to drop the -ink part. I really should take a movie of him saying it. I digress.

Richie and I went to the Science Center on the 12th to join in the egg drop contest! They provide you with a handful of materials and an egg in a plastic bag. We had to construct a device that would protect the egg as it fell three stories in the science center. As usually, we were late leaving the house and by the time we arrived, we (I) had a total of 10 minutes to construct such a device. I had access to: empty bottles, plastic bags, toilet paper and paper towel rolls, tape, yarn and packing peanuts. I remembered from Boy Scouts that you want to distribute the force along one of the ends of the egg and not the side. I immediately went for a paper towel roll, but it was not wide enough, so I cut a slit down the side and slid the egg in. Put take along the bottom and filled the tube with packing peanuts and taped the partially split tube up. Unlike most bags used as parachutes, I used the four corners of the bag with the yarn to attach the chute to the tube. Most people were just using the bag handles. Then, some tape around the top of the tube just to make sure the yarn stayed in the little holes I had made along the top of the tube. All of this in 10 minutes! Oh, and where was Richie you ask? (Especially since it was just the two of us?) Well, I did the only thing I could. I gave him a pair of scissors to play with so he'd stay next to me. He's not allowed to have them at home, so I know it would occupy him for a good amount of time and they were kid's scissors, so we was not likely to permanently injury himself. Thankfully, he did not cut his pants, which is what I was expecting him to do.

When we went to turn in our egg-protecting-contraption (which was far less of a contraption than many of the other contestants), we were asked to name it. I looked at Richie and said, "Should we name it Pink-ink?" The name was greeted with a big smile and a nod of the head. So, without further adieu, here is the maiden voyage of Pink-Ink!!!!!

Ha!

Richie continues to add enumerable words to his vocabulary! We have been practicing his full name to the point where he can say, "Rischi Cook Go-n-sky." He knows my name is, "Ellit" and his mom is "Marylee." (No wonder that one is the best.)

He was up late tonight, which was lucky for me because I got to see him after I finished my moonlighting. While playing around in bed I asked him what my first name was?

"Ellit."

"What is your moma's first name?"

"Marylee."

"What is your full name?"

No answer.

"Richie, what are your three names?"

........a short pause......"Rischi, Baby, Bicki."

Said with a big smile and an eruption of laughter from Moma and Gaga!

Stuff

My family is finally starting to adopt Skype. Yes, a bunch of early adopters, it's true. My "older" sister got her first web camera and this is what she decided was appropriate for her first video conference. That's Oma off to the side!


The life of a scientists' child.


Richie was enjoying Shabbat with his play-set!


Yes, it's Mardi Gras season! We finally figured out what we're doing with the 50 pounds of beads we've been moving all over the country. We're going to donate them to the library! (It's bad luck to just throw them away...aparently)



He napped for two hours in this position!


I mentioned before the Richie's vocabulary has really exploded. Although he still refers to himself as, "Baby." He is able to say his full name...well, in babelish.


There was a Zydeco band that played at the library in celebration of Mardi Gras. Richie got to try out the violin afterward! He seemed to enjoy the music, although he did not dance nearly as much as we have seen him in the past. And there were two young adult women dancing all alone. Usually, he steps right in there!

Fame!

Some of you may know that Richie enjoys going to Tot Shabbot at the Baltimore Jewish Museum of Maryland. Well, at the last event, they took some pictures and Richie made the Home Page! Follow this link (yes, GG, click here) and scroll down to see Richie!

Gasp!

You mean....two posts within 24 hours of each other? How could that be?

Well, Richie's Birthday party pictures just could not wait! We had a small gathering of Richie's play group plus some family friends over. We got a cupcake pull-apart cake from a shop around the corner. Although we were expecting Richie was rage after the chocolate, he (and I) preferred the "Sinnabon."


Here you can see Amy with her newest addition. Richie looks like he is running away from Dan's legs. But, I think he was just running.


In the middle and two the right are our neighbors (C.J. and Patricia) who are expecting in about 4 months. We thought the party would get them warmed up for their future! On the left edge is Dan...one of Richie's babysitters, who also happens to be a private practice pediatrician. So is his spouse, who is Richie's other babysitters. No, we do not worry for Richie when we go out without him.


And! There's the other doctor-spouse/babysitter, Naomi. Next to her is Christopher (or Kyle as I prefer since their other son is Kenny). That's Kiki's youngest son who is 2.5 years old and the person from whom we used to get all of Richie's clothes. Unfortunately, Richie out grew Kyle (I mean Topher), and clothes have started flowing in reverse.


We'll start with the stray videos which are too cute to pass-up. (GG, from here on-down, these are all movies.)

As you saw in the last post, Richie is back in Music Together. Each session they give you a CD full of folksie music that is also played in class. We have really taken to the new CD and there is a song called "Driving in the car." Which Richie really likes! He'll go sit on his green Train engine (Seen in the movie below) and drive around the room. There's a part of the song where the lyrics go, "Sleep. Sleep. Sleeping in the car. Sleeping in the car all day." And, the movie shows you what he dose whenever he hears that part of the song!


We had another snowfall/ice storm on the 22nd of last month. Richie has really started getting into sledding, so we took him out for some sledding in the back driveway.


Such a cute smile! It reminds me of his cousin Sammy's smile.


Okay, finally, here are some clips from Richie's birthday party!


He had no interest in his cake. At least initially...


But he did eventually warm up to the idea!