Growing like a weed!

Mama and I grow many things in our garden: lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries, green onions, tiny deformed carrots, lots of flowers -- you name it.

But the plants neither demand as much care nor give as much delight as I do.

--Maddie

Wet wiped

We spent the afternoon today in Ladera Ranch, in Orange County, with Ellen, Jeff, and my new cousin, Jasmine. She's so cute! I can't wait until we can play together. Today I settled for rocking her vigorously in her car carrier.

Let me tell you something about the OC -- it may be sort of a weird subculture, and it may feel a little like Dallas, but they've got themselves a killer water park:





I include this video of the superbucket in action because you could hardly envision the violence, carnage, and joy if I did not:



So I was pretty much wasted on the way home, melted down in the bathtub, etc. All in all, another average day in the life of the Madster.

--Maddie

Rachel Alexandra -- You go, girl

This is just a quick shout out to my fellow fast and overachieving 3-year-old, Rachel Alexandra. Way to take it to the boys.

You go, girl!

--Maddie

The Hays Pool is Officially Open

I love to swim more than just about anything. It's the first thing I want to do in the morning. I will swim for hours if you will, and when you finally drag yourself out, I will beg you to stay in.

On the West Coast, we don't wait for Memorial Day. A week of temps pushing the 90s, and the pool is already at swim temperature... well, uh, competitive swimming temperature. You won't break a sweat in there.

Nonetheless, the water is just as refreshing as I remembered it - maybe even more so. Dad finally had the pool cleaned but he forgot to switch out the pool lightbulb when the water was drained. So, I guess no night swimming this year.


Here's me practicing my jumps:

In California with Dakota

It's been a while since I last blogged, but I am picking up right where I left off: Hollywood.

People often wonder what an L.A.-based kiddieblogger such as I does on the weekends. Mostly, I hang out with other child stars. Like today, when I met up with Dakota Fanning at Griffith Park:


She's really unbelievably charming, and she keeps asking me when I'm going to costar with her. I keep telling her that my schedule is too crazy...

HOLLYWOOD

A Natural Teacher

Both my parents are educators. So it's not really surprising that I have a little of it in me, too. Just see for yourself.

Here I am teaching mom and Gram how to dance.

Here I am teaching Gram how to slide without picking up too much static.

Here I am teaching Dad how to wave to the adoring crowd below. It was just Uncle Jerry down there but I told Dad, "You got to start somewhere."

And here I am teaching the boys at soccer practice how to stretch on the white line.

Reverend Daddy

Daddy became a Reverend last week at church. I went up, like Gram and Gandalf, to pray for him.

But I was told that I had to be at least a deacon. Sorry, my misunderstanding. I thought Princess (TM) trumped everything. (Exit left.)

Catching Up 2: My Second Third Birthday Party

Imagine my surprise when I woke up from my nap to another birthday party, this one just for family:


My favorite present was a ballerina musical jewelery box that Gram brought back from England, which earned my best fake smile, and real joy:


Naturally I broke it the next day, but Mama fixed it, and so far entropy has not taken it.

Anyway.... after I opened this one, I pretty much lost interest in the other boxes, but I did humor my parents and parents by playing dress-up. I think Mom and Dad can remember when these flapper dresses were in style the first time. (Old folks are so adorable.)


We're still on last Saturday. There's a lot of catching up still to do...

--Maddie

Catching up: Installment #1: My Birthday

Wow. What a weekend. Gotta start somewhere...

It started with my birthday, for which Mama imported Disneyland to our house:




(I have video of a very prominent New Testament scholar bouncing in that thing, but I am withholding it in case I need help paying for college or something.)

My magical day continued...



(That's Dad doing the Twist-n-Shout with me. Aunt Abbey said it was awesome and she wished that she had captured it on video for posterity!)


That's Belle, by the way. I don't think she played guitar or painted faces in Beauty and the Beast -- but it's a tough economy, so I guess even a Princess (TM) figures she should give a little value added.

And Aunt Abby brought fabulous homemade cupcakes!


So, now I'm three, and I will tell you so if you ask!

"The South Land," by T.S. Eliot

Nam Maddam La Crescentis ipse oculis meis vidi, et cum dixi, τί Θέλεις; respondebat illa: εσΘιειν Θελω.

February is the cruelest month, blowing
everything everywhere, mixing
short days and chilliness, bothering
Maddie Mei with too much rain.

In the San Gabriel mountains, there you feel free.
I play with trains, much of my naptime, and watch Dora when I wake.

I will show you fear in a handful of juice.
Those are jellybeans that were his eyes.

And mama and daddy saying,
HURRY UP PLEASE IT'S TIME
HURRY UP PLEASE IT'S TIME

So rudely forc'd!
What you get married for if you don't want children?
O ces voix d'enfants!

I Madster have foresuffered all.
Maddih Maddih Maddih(1)

____________________________________________


(1) -- Maddih. Repeated as here, a formal ending to a blog posting. 'The Uproar which passeth understanding' is a feeble translation of the conduct of this word.

Free fallin'

Our seemingly interminable week of rain* finally ended, and so we headed to Millard Canyon to hike -- certainly the most serious mountain climbing I've ever done.


... and the payoff at the end:


Mostly, though, I was my usual subdued, contemplative self:**


--Maddie

* -- If Mom and Dad stay here long enough, eventually I will probably start saying things like this with a straight face.

** -- It will probably never be possible to say this with a straight face.

Blast from the past

It's easy to forget that I have always been this cute...

Perspective

As you can tell (again) from the last post, my parents think I'm pretty d*** special. But at least they're not pompous enough to give me my own gallery show for my art.

Giant Madster, redux

Almost three years old, almost 40 inches tall.

I had lunch with daddy at his work today. Someone who met us in the hall said, "I have a son about her age. He'll be five soon."

Visiting neighbors

I finally went to visit my neighbor Mickey today...


Unlike Daddy, Mickey lets me drive...

One from the archives

To keep the support base happy while we experience technical difficulties.

Dear Maddie fans

You may be wondering about the blog. The new camera went back to the store because it had a dead pixel on its screen, so we are cameraless again.

Just as well, really -- this week's news is not very photogenic: I'm learning to use the potty!

Male role models

It's important for a girl to have male role models to look up to. (Mama could probably cite you the literature on that topic.) Yesterday daddy carried me up the mountain behind our house...



Then we came home and I practiced being daddy...




...after which I practiced being Gandalf:

Camera

I had a run-in with the papa-razzi this week and ended up dropping our camera on its lens. So, uh, no new photos for a week or so while we wait for the new one to arrive...