(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

Grandma visits

Dear Readers,

It is always an occasion when Grandma Chiu visits. We never eat better. Of course, I tend to trust new food coming from anyone (except my parents), but this really was special. She made us noodles, fried rice, sauteed spinach, and lots of other good things. And we went up to Buford Highway for dim sum and Chinese bao (sweet buns). I had fallen to about 50th percentile in weight (being sick nonstop will do that to you ... thanks daycare!), but I think I'm back on track now.

I have decided that I like sauce. All kinds of sauce. Anything liquid that one pours on food. Salad dressing, soy sauce, honey, marinara, cheese sauce, whatever. Pour it on. Food to pour it on is optional. I was very upset the other day when I was denied mom's sriracha.

Anyway, Grandma didn't want to miss a chance to celebrate my birthday, so we had a birthday warmup, complete with cake:


I was quite happy until they told me I had to share it.


Let me alleviate your concerns by explaining that that bug is not attacking Grandma. It was one of her birthday presents to me. The man at the store called in a butterfly, although dad insists it is a dragonfly. In any case, I enjoy running around our house with it, knocking things off shelves.

In other news, I am becoming a bit of a photographer, as I may have mentioned in a previous post. Here are a few images from my new exhibit, "Ready for My Closeup: The Human Face in Excruciating Detail":

Happy (late) Valentine's Day

Daddy gave me a rose for Valentine's Day. He said that one day, lots of boys would probably want to give me flowers... but that they would have to get past him. Then he said something about buying a "shotgun," which is a word that's not in any of my books or on any of the TV channels that I watch, so I don't know what that means.

Anyway, happy Valentine's.

--Maddie

Heartwarming moment: My first insult

They don't have an entry for "my first insult" in the baby books that I've seen, so it's a good thing I have a blog instead...

Today when I got up from my nap and was grumpily waiting for my afternoon Goldfish snack, Daddy walked into the kitchen and said, "Hi, Funny Socks!"

What a comic genius he is -- I have socks that make it look like I'm wearing shoes -- and you know, I just wasn't in the mood... the blood sugar was a little low, whatever. So I told him, "Daddy has funny shoes." And then I walked around him in circles a few times to make him think I was hexing him or something.

Don't mess with the Madster.

Who you calling a Neanderthal?

Oh, you are so in for it, Harvey Karp. First you told my parents to tie me up, and now this.

I know where you work, so look out -- I might move there soon...

Winter wonderland

Back to your regularly scheduled me...

My blog may make it appear that all I do is have fun, but in fact I am very hard-working. I have chores now.


But, OK, I do have a lot of fun...


...and I am very hard to catch.

Miller B. Hays, R.I.P.

Where were you rushing off to, great-grandad? I just got here.

Heat at last! Thank God Almighty, there's heat at last!

Six days and one blizzard later, our furnace is fixed and we can once again use the whole house, not just whatever two rooms had the space heaters in them. If you are buying a furnace any time soon, you may want to be aware that Amana does not keep its parts in stock, nor does it ship overnight from its factory, so you are up poop creek without a paddle if it ever breaks during the winter... which is the only time you would know that it was broken, anyway.

Here's some footage of the blizzard. Don't let your eyes fool you -- it was a blizzard. You know what they say: the camera subtracts ten inches of snow:



And yes, I do know what color snow is. I had just said it before the camera started rolling, and I am not a trained seal to perform on cue.

In general there has been much hilarity around here as winter slowly makes us all stir crazy.

Christmas con Brio

A little perspective

Although I missed that trip to Hawaii, I guess things could be worse.

I have made it clear to mom that she needs to be careful not to get busted.

What if?

Dear Readers,

I'm sure many of you are wondering the same thing I was this Christmas Day... what if? What if my parents had taken me to Kauai with the rest of Dad's family? What if I had been lucky enough to tread the sands of Baby Beach?

Thanks to the wonders of technology, I can offer you an artist's rendering of what that would have been like if I had gone to Hawaii...


... and if I were carrying a Mr. Potato Head; and, uh, if I were very large; and if I had traveled back in time to about 1957.

Sigh.

Christmas did happen here. I will post about it just as soon as I get over what didn't happen. And as soon as I hire a new graphic artist.

--Maddie

Dear Reader,

You may notice certain significant details in today's photo, assuming you can tear yourself away from my startlingly cute self:


First, I have achieved grownuphood, having left behind my high chair for a booster seat.

Second, and in the same vein, I am drinking from a cup with a straw, and have almost learned that I don't have to tip it up.

Finally, Daddy has started me on Hebrew -- but he says I won't have to parse anything until I turn two.

--Maddie