.climate.change.

I know, I know ... cold weather should not be unusual around Easter, but I was planning on going running, I was not expecting this ...

Yes, both of these pictures were taken this morning, here in Vajta. Crazy, huh? And I was about to take off my winter tires, silly me!

.nicknames.

Dictionaries say that a nickname is a descriptive name for a place or thing. I believe that nicknames tell us a lot, not just about the person they describe, but the person describing as well.

The most common of the nicknames we use for Nina are:

• manó - Hungarian for urchin, or a mischevious child,
• Ninukovics - a name in the style of very attitudinizing Serbian turbo-folk singers, since Nina is known for throwing fits occasionally,

but this next picture cries for new nicknames, she could be Atlas holding the entire globe, and Venus in her nakedness, right before taking her bath.

.for.the.grandmas.

This post is mainly for the grandmas, and the honorary grandmas, aunties (Patty, Kenzie, Trudy, etc, you know who you are). They are all constantly requesting pictures of Nina, so here's one of two days ago, after a carrot-chewing project, to hopefully brighten your day.

.stuffed.animals.aint.got.nothing.on.me.

I am sure people educated in child psychology have a Latin or Greek one-word description, or a clever acronym for what I am about describe, but since I don't know that word, I am going to have to use more than just one word to describe some of the favorite "toys" Nina enjoys on a daily basis.

name: the bottle
description: an empty vöslauer water bottle with an unusually shaped bottle cap
features: the jagged bottle cap provides just what a teething baby needs




name: the cable
description: a coaxial cable not needed any more
features: perfect for practicing two-dimensional to three-dimensional transformation at any time, also good to chew on






name: the boxes
description: a box with a single pill of tums in it and a box with some mints in it
features: these are the best items to create noise with - they rattle, also when banged against things (especially hardwood floors or tiles) they make a much louder noise


name: the clamp
description: a fairly cheap clamp for holding things together after gluing them together
features: it provides a sense of seriousness to everyday playtime and ample preparation to any little girl who wants to be able to hang a picture or change a light bulb by herself as an adult


name: the cups
description: a paper cup from haagen-dazs and an empty yogurt cup
features: you can chew on it and when putting it into your mouth it can be held by your lips, so you have a free hand to pick something else up, it also amplifies your voice when screaming into it


name: the roll
description: a big roll of clear packing tape
features: thanks to it's unique shape this item provides an endless source of amusement, because you can talk straight through it, but you can also chew on it





name: the coasters
description: half a dozen of coasters with van Gogh paintings on them, from the Louvre in Paris (thanks Garth and Gabi)
features: besides being a priceless educational resource, it is also something to (once again) chew on









name: the tins
description: an empty starbucks tin of chewing gum and an empty tin of candies from London (thanks Imre)
features: these metal items will help any baby make as much noise as they can by banging - very annoying items to own indeed