Bad Parents - Part One - TV

The video speaks for itself...

Things Ripley can Do - Hold her bottle

I think it may have started a while back with Chuck. And then the ladies at day care have been encouraging it, but little girl can full on hold her bottle when she wants to...

New York City - September 13-14, 2008

I realized that even though I posted last weekend, it wasn't really about Ripley, so it is high time for me to steal a few minutes for some updates. I tried to put them in order - so this update on New York is the most recent, but I also just added a few others, so scroll on down.

Ripley made her first trip to the Big Apple this weekend. We stayed with Pop Pop in NJ on Friday night - Granny was away on retreat, but we'll see them again this coming weekend when they are down in Baltimore so Vivienne can fly to Detroit.

We headed up to James and Mare's place on Saturday. So beautiful. A wonderful view (Chrysler Building on the left; UN on the right), and a gorgeous courtyard. You can just make out the

Empire State Building in the background of the photo with Ripley in her stroller.

We did a lot of walking on Sunday, and it was sweltering, but we found a cool toy store, Kidding Around, and bought a fun rattle for the little girl to chew on. Of course, Ripley spent some time napping in her sling...

All in all, we had a wonderful visit and will have to make sure not to go almost a full year without seeing James and Mare again. Chad seems to think we could live in Manhattan, but I am more incined to make more of an effort to visit more often.

Things Ripley can Do - Bubble Mouth

I wish I had a video for the full effect, but when Chuck and Vivienne were here for Labor Day weekend, I didn't think twice about letting little girl hang out with her Pop Pop until I discovered that he somehow taught her to put spittle on her lips and blow bubbles. This causes her to drool even more than usual. Chad did take photos - you'l have to use a bit of imagination, but I think you can see her gearing up in these photos.

First Day of School at Patterson Park Public Charter School

As most of you know, Chad is principal of Patterson Park Public Charter School in Baltimore City. Charter schools are public schools that are free to all city residents, and typically serve the communities in which they are located. His school is currently K - 7th grade and will add an 8th grade next year. The work is never simple. As they grow, they've needed to do a lot of construction. Last year, while their cafeteria was being worked on, the students ate outside in a huge tent - sort of like going to a wedding reception every day for lunch.

This is the start of his second year, and Ripley and I wanted to support him as he welcomed back his students. He has such a demanding job and so many responsibilities, but always makes times for little girl. She'll have a lot of reasons to be proud of her daddy - the important work he is doing for kids in Baltimore City is just one of them.

Ripley at the Maryland State Fair

While she slept through about 80% of our visit, Ripley did wake up towards the end of our trip to the Maryland State Fair on August 24. She missed out on the fair food (funnel cake for baby in 2009!) but got to see the tractors, and we walked through the goat/sheep barn. We also tried to see the rabbits and chickens (one of my and her daddy's favorite things), but most of them had been judged already and taken home. We'll have to make sure to go earlier next year.

Grandpa Dean on The Tonight Show

As some of you know, Dean was at the Republican National Convention this week. While there, he got accosted by several news agencies, including the Tonight Show. We recorded it on Chad's computer, but the file was pretty big - even when I cut it down to just the segment Dean was a part of. I was finally able to figure out how to share it by compressing it some (which makes the sound about half a second off - but still watchable) and then uploading it to YouTube. So you can see it there or you can watch it here. How exciting that Ripley will get to see her grandpa in years to come!

Slide show of Ripley's First Three Month

I'm only about a week late for her 3 month birthday (August 27). If you have 6 minutes, take a look at the slide show I cobbled together of sweet baby during her first three month. It was my first attempt at using Microsoft Movie Maker, and I think it turned out pretty well. I suppose I'll need to keep track of months 3-6 so I can make another one in November for her 6 month birthday.