Learning to be Chinese

Dear Friends,

I have not been ignoring you! You've been in my thoughts, but I've been trying to relax in my new fabulous home and recover from the exhaustion of moving -- taking in the mountain air and views in the lounge chair.

However, Grandma and my great aunt Helen would have none of it:

They taught me what Chinese discipline and hard work are all about:

When I was not sweeping the patio, I was training to be the next Michael Phelps. I understand the Chinese treat their victorious Olympians very well. (Maybe they're even allowed to have a second child?) Although I may not have Chinese citizenship, I feel sure China will grant it so they can dream of medaling in swimming in 2012. I look fabulous in red.



Yes, if you do the math, I won't be old enough to compete -- but as you know, that doesn't stop the Chinese.

--Maddie

July and August at a Glance

What can I possibly do to catch up after so long away from the keyboard, and so many miles and so much water under the bridge?

I am overwhelmed.

I remain full of surprises:

(Farewell, 1162 Russell! Farewell, Georgia!)

And the world, blessedly, continues to surprise me:

(Hello, Descanso Gardens! Hello, California!)

I remain cool:

(I have no idea what this picture is. In fact, I assert that it was Photoshopped.)

I am still a party animal, as I demonstrated again at Uncle Jerry and Aunt Olivia's wedding:


Perhaps most importantly, I am still fabulous... and California has only augmented my fabulosity:

(Thanks for my Paris Hilton shades, Abbey! The future is so bright that I will need them.)

--Maddie

I am still alive

I got this message today from Gandalf:

Dear Maddie,

It has been a month since you last posted anything on your blog. Were you so swept away by your first kiss that you have lost interest in communicating with the grown-up world? I would have expected that in 10 or 12 years time, but are you extraordinarily precocious in this respect, too?

I know that you have made a big move to a new home. Those of us who are far away would love to have some photos and hear your perspective on your new digs.

Eagerly awaiting some further postings.

Love,

Gandalf

Therefore I will soon tear myself away from the Summer Olympics (and from performing balance-beam routines on our rolled-up carpet) and return to blogging.

--Maddie

My first kiss

Today, when Mama and I were saying goodbye to my friend Charlie at Chick-fil-A, he kissed me!

This came as a shock to Daddy, who thought he had about ten more years before he had to worry about this sort of thing... and who was dead sure that I was at least going to be toilet trained.

After giving it some thought, Daddy had a conversation with me at the dinner table:

Daddy: Maddie, if a boy ever tries to kiss you again, you bop him in the nose, OK?

(Pause.)

Me: (Smiling impishly) Is that funny?

Well, Mommy and Daddy thought it was pretty funny that I knew it was funny.

One last photo

I realized that we had not yet had a photo of the beautiful bride...

Sarah's wedding, Take 3

Sarah's wedding photog has now posted some photos from the wedding. Here are ones that are relevant to Maddie enthusiasts:




I also want to officially welcome Uncle Ken to the family:

Caption contest!

Boy, it's been a long time since we've had a caption contest here -- possibly because the first few were unmitigated flops. But we are not so easily deterred. Therefore, I present to you another photo from Sarah and Ken's reception, courtesy of Uncle Tim:



And finally, uncle Jerry sent in this photo, which portrays me at about 10:30 p.m. central time, i.e. approximately three hours past my bedtime:


After this picture was taken, however, I rallied, of course!

--Maddie

My Wedding, During Which Aunt Sarah and Uncle Ken Got Married

Congratulations to Aunt Sarah and Uncle Ken! I understand that sometime after I walked down the aisle tossing flower petals, made too much noise, and was escorted out by mom, you two tied the knot! Good on you! Two fine people in love -- what could be better?

There's so much to report. First, for my faithful fans, a reprise of one of last year's greatest hits, the getting-pretty-for-the-wedding photo:

I've come a long way, baby.

I practiced really hard to be a flower girl, along with Annalise and the other Madeleine who was also born on March 7, 2006 (spooky). This entailed a lot of physical conditioning:

We also played a rousing round of "London Bridge is falling down" with Mama:

It was an awesome reception with a great band. Daddy and I danced the night away:

So much fun! I wanted to be sure that Aunt Kate really savored the whole experience:

In sum, I hope to have many more weddings before I get married.

--Maddie

Summertime, summertime, sum sum summertime

Good times at the Decatur Beach Party...

Into Every Life, a Big Limb Must Fall

This happened on Sunday afternoon:


(This may be one where you need to click on the photo to see the large version.)

Could have been worse... ten minutes before that 40-foot secondary trunk from our neighbor's rotten old cherry tree crushed our fence and swing, Mom and I were sitting in the swing...

Snippet of conversation from the drive to school

Maddie [in carseat:] Whine!

Daddy: Maddie, what happened? Did you bite your tongue?

M: Yeah. I bite my tongue.

D: You bit your tongue. "Bit" is the past tense of "bite." [Pause] The past tense is for things that happened earlier ... before now.

[Pause]

M: I bit my tongue in past tense!

(Dad is taking over the blog today...)

This week at the park, Maddie found a lens that had broken off a rear bicycle light. It was orange and faceted, and sparkly.

"Maddie!" I said, "How pretty -- you found a gem! It's like a diamond or a ruby!"

There was a brief pause. She replied: "It's like an octagon!"

You might think I was impressed by this early display of vocabulary, but instead I was disappointed. You see, it was actually a hexagon.

Then I thought about it some more, and decided that actually she was technically correct -- a hexagon is like an octagon, relatively speaking.

Anyway, for those of you who just read this blog for the pictures, here are a couple from the grandparents' visit last weekend while we tried to find a house in California...

The horror! The horror!

A picture is worth a thousand terrifying words:

Cute James' First Birthday

Today I got all pretty...


...and went to my friend James' birthday party:


You can see that I was so beautiful that he couldn't even focus on his candles and cupcake.

Well, OK, for a brief while, anyway... then the familiar carnage ensued.


Happy first birthday, James!

--Maddie

Springtime!

In springtime, a young family's thoughts turn to thoughts of real estate. We're pimping the house to sell, so naturally mom and dad have put me to work landscaping...


Inside, I'm also doing my best to help, including unleashing a baby-powder cloud that I thought would give the nursery the perfect smell that would make buyers swoon.


No, that's not smudges on the lens. That's the flash reflecting off the powder in the air.

Meanwhile, dad got a new outfit. Mom says it makes him look like big, blue marshmallow:

Bucking the trend

I exist. Take that, statistics.

Seriously, though, this might explain why Barritt's dad left grad school for law school.

A force of nature

Apparently, word is out that I'm moving to California.

Baa-aa-aa

For some reason, this picture from the NY Times reminds me eeriliy of Dad's and my morning hair-brushing and clothing routine:


Except Dad doesn't have one of those fantastic hats.

Here's the real story. It's a good thing Dad didn't see that story before he got a job... $80 an hour to shear sheep might have sounded pretty good.

Oh, right, almost forgot to mention... Dad got a job. At Fuller Seminary. To me, this means moving near Hollywood, which will make it so much more convenient for me to become a star!

What doesn't kill you...

Yes, this blog still exists.

We are only just emerging from the rigors of dad's job search, and our dark den of late-winter sickness. I just got over pneumonia -- fun, like swimming in a lake of phlegm.

Dad, who had been eerily healthy as Mom and I were battling wave after wave of germs, returned from his final job interview and promptly became deathly ill as well. You can call that mind over body, or the grace of God -- as you wish.

Anyway, let's see, what have I missed? Dad, Nana, and I all shared a birthday party in Durham:


I have also gotten really into gymnastics, although since I'm going to be six feet tall, it may not be my true calling as an athlete. This is me on the trampoline:


But, in truth, this is a better representation of the past few weeks:

Just Average

Dear Readers,

This week I have had my two-year-old doctor checkup, and a parent-teacher conference at school. The report from both is just as dad expected: In size and capabilities, I am normal, healthy, average, and unexceptional.

For a three-year-old.

Nope, not kidding.

Unfortunately, my teacher also informed my parents that I have become a junior gang leader in preschool. Thought I was going to be able to fly under the radar on that one.

--Maddie