Fourth of July

For the Fourth, we went to a great local outdoor festival. Elliott drank tons of fruity smoothie and had runny poo for several days afterwards (not to mention the diaper rash from heck!), but it was totally worth it. Elliott had lots of fun in the kids section of the festival. Please note that my men are both appropriately dressed in red, white and blue.

Paper plate art. What says Independence like some great paper plate art?

Coloring with a buddy we met there.

Our little athlete is immediately attracted all things associated with balls

Elliott thought a little ring toss was fun... put the rings on the stake, and then pull the stake out.

Elliott's New Wheels

Elliott is now the proud owner of the best-selling car in America - the Cozy Coupe! (That statistic is true, by the way!) Elliott kept trying to ride his Little People tractor (as in made for Fisher Price Little People - who are about 3 inches tall) and jump behind the wheel of Daddy's car, so we decided maybe he would want some wheels of his own.

Tee hee!! Check out Elliott's new ride!

Honey, I'm home!!!!

Drinking and driving... water, of course!

Now, is that a happy kid of what?!?

The County Fair

Ok, this was a couple of weeks ago, but the pictures are too sweet to leave out. We all went to the local county fair and Elliott had the BEST DAY EVER. He played his little heart out, and by the time we got home and bathed, he was telling us that it was time for night-night.

Here's Elliott dancing with Smokey the Bear. I think the bear picked up some new moves from our little guy.

Elliott really enjoyed the petting zoo. They had lambs, goat kids, a calf, a horse, and a donkey. The donkey pooped and the cow peed and Mommy was totally skeeved by the germs - but Elliott had a good time and pet several of the animals himself.

Elliott gets up close to the fire truck. He was unimpressed. It was much more impressive from far away.

Also, one other thing that we unfortunately do not have a picture of. There was a band playing and Elliott tore up the dance floor after dinner. There was a little boy breakdancing on the floor... so not to be outdone, our little monkey got on his butt and started spinning around too! What a ham!! I have NO IDEA where he gets it!

What?!? Me messy???

We're a little backblogged here at the Rickert household, but until I can catch up, here is a little tidbit o' Elliott...

Elliott fingerpainted some art for Daddy for Father's Day. I think the real present was that Daddy wasn't there to help clean up.

Super Sunday

So, today was the BEST DAY EVER! For breakfast, we went to Busch Gardens and had breakfast with Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie!!!!

In this picture, Elliott looks like he is in shock. He was definitely starstruck.

They came out on stage (which was only like 15 feet from us) singing, "Sunny Days," and I swear, Elliott peed himself in excitement. Fortunately for all involved, Elliott wears diapers.

Elliott is saying, "Hey Mom, Look! Its Sesame Street! At breakfast! Look! Cookie Monster! Look! Elmo! Look!" They don't really have words for this emotion. I think ecstatic might come close.

Elliott touches Ernie's nose. "Is this really happening, or am I dreaming??"

Elliott awed by Elmo's greatness.

Every time Elliott was around Cookie Monster, he said, "Num num num num," while pretending to stuff cookies in his mouth.

Mommy and Elliott with Bert.

Then to finish off the day, Mommy and Elliott made cupcakes. Elliott did the sprinkles. And then in a fit of joy, Elliott got to eat one. One word... bliss. While eating his cupcake, Elliott would randomly laugh or say "Yum."

Best day ever.

Melancholy: Love of Locks

So, today it finally happened. We said goodbye to Elliott's baby curls. And I must say, I was not expecting the immense sadness that came with it! I mean, he's already had his first haircut, but they left the curls intact (mostly due to necessity - Elliott said the haircut was done!) But Elliott was cruising dangerously close to mullet zone and I recently had a couple of older women who asked, "Its a boy, right?".... so I knew the time had come. The curls had to go.

I thought I was prepared. I packed a snack and brought several favorite items that I hoped would entertain Elliott for a couple of minutes - a "chip clip" from the fridge and two of his swirly glitter-in-water cups (weird selections I know, but our child is not your average hand-me-a-toy-and-I'm-happy kind of kid.) I was even prepared for the awful keening that erupted when the hairdresser brought out the clippers and water bottle (I'm not sure what part of "my kid doesn't like to be squirted with water" that she didn't understand.) But I was NOT prepared for the raw mom emotion that rose up in me after the hair cut was over and the stylist was positively sweating in relief that her most difficult client of the day (or possibly week?) was finished. I was SAD. Hmmm.... maybe DESPONDENT is a better word. I felt like the kid who ran out of the house with a dollar in hand just as the ice cream truck turns out of the neighborhood. (Do ice cream trucks still exist?) Who knew a couple of (shimmering, silky, bouncing, joy-imbued) blonde locks could instigate such a postpartum response!

But he is so HANDSOME in his big boy 'do. See for yourself... along with a couple of photos pre-haircut - for nostalgia's sake.

Front view
Side view

Making pancakes with Dad Saturday morning. Elliott wants to "cook" all the time now.

Elliott plays peek-a-boo.

Elliott feeds himself yogurt. He looks pretty satisfied with himself!

How big is Elliott?

SO BIG!! Elliott has been embracing summer in a big kind of way. I swear, I blinked and it turns out that I have not a baby, but a little boy! Here's a little of what we've been up to since our last post.

I see you!! Elliott got a big kick out of the lids to the pots when he realized he can see through them.

Elliott helps Mommy cook eggs for breakfast. He put pepper in his pot, and at one point, he stuck his finger in and tasted it... wow, do I wish I had the camera ready for that face. That was even better than the popsicle!

Reading Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb, with Dad. This is Elliott's favorite book of all time, and he is now finally able to say the line, "Dum ditty dum ditty dum dum dum." Well, kind of. It kind of sounds like "duh duh duh," but we know what he means.

Here's Elliott at the playground, perhaps waiting for cute little girls to come kiss him. In the meantime, Elliott practices crossing the bridge.

Elliott takes his new horsey for a joyride on his pony. Thanks Mrs. Lynn and Mr. Jim for the Clydesdale - E loves it. Now, if we could only think of a name...