Smirnoff the Chinese baby

Daddy/daughter dance

2009-03-07T22:48:00.001-06:00

Last night was the Girl Scouts daddy/daughter dance. Chloe was thrilled to attend. The theme was "black and white", one of the few themes that I can make a reasonable attempt at. A photographer was on hand to record the happy couple.

Ingredients: sugar, artificial colour

2009-01-16T11:40:00.000-06:00

Either the blue-tinted sugar turns green when wet, or she's been chewing the bowl.

Whac-a-mole

2008-12-28T10:15:00.000-06:00

Concentrating hard on beating Grandpa Bob.

School pictures, old and new

2008-12-27T16:27:00.001-06:00

This montage makes it clear why we chose to have the original picture (on the left) retaken.

Pony sleeping bag

2008-12-26T12:20:00.001-06:00

We continue to acquiesce to requests for pony-themed gifts as proxies for a real equine creature. Santa brought this sleeping bag, to critical acclaim, and of course nothing else would do at bedtime last night.

Hallowe'en cowgirl

2008-11-01T12:14:00.001-05:00

This is the closest Chloë will get to having a pony of her own.

Kindergarten class photograph

2008-10-16T20:30:00.000-05:00

I think this turned out rather well. As always, click on the image for a larger version.

First day of school

2008-08-22T12:21:00.001-05:00

Chloë started Kindergarten this week: afternoons only, in Mrs. Seum's class. Here she is posing with her neighbour Annie who is in the same class.

Five years old

2008-08-01T20:24:00.000-05:00

I keep putting off updating the blog because I never seem to have simultaneously (1) a good picture, (2) some witty words, and (3) the time to do it (at least 5 minutes are required, sometimes 6). And so with (1) and (3) to hand, I present this picture of Chloë on her fifth birthday last Friday.

Smiling is all very well, but Chloë's first priority is making sure the cupcake will fit in her mouth.

Catching up

2007-12-12T22:52:00.000-06:00

No, you aren't imagining it. I have finally updated the blog after almost 6 months. Here's a picture from last weekend when Chloë happily sat on the big red fella's lap, in contrast to last year. I'm filling in the gap with pictures from the summer and autumn: so far I'm up to August. More to come.

England in August

2007-08-16T22:41:00.000-05:00

We visited family and friends in England in August. Here we see Pat, Jess, Chloë and Bitty.

A physics lesson

2007-07-21T22:21:00.000-05:00

We visited COSI, the science museum in Columbus, for both fun and education. Chloë focused exclusively on the fun part, so I must deliver the educational content. Here we see how Chloë's hair, under the influence of toddler energy, defies at least one, and possibly all three, of Kepler's laws.

However, according to Newton's third law, every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Back in front of the camera...

2007-07-03T22:03:00.000-05:00

...where she belongs.

Just close enough

2007-06-29T21:57:00.000-05:00

Chloë sometimes takes control of the camera, and we get some interesting shots. Here are Grandma and Grandpa, looking their best.

Online

2007-06-24T21:53:00.000-05:00

Chloë is now updating this blog herself, using her own laptop (12 years old and non-functional, but she doesn't seem to care). Note her "crossed hands" keyboard technique, which might explain a lot about the drivel you read here.

How do you get 3 toddlers in a car?

2007-06-16T21:45:00.000-05:00

One in the front and two in the back. (OK, I've used that one before, in Tate's ice cream shop last summer). Still, here Chloë is enjoying a carnival ride at the Winnetka Children's Fair with her friends Peter and Evan.

An evening out

2007-06-15T21:33:00.000-05:00

Chloë is all dressed up to go out for the evening to Emma's dance recital.

After the recital, a trip to Graham's for ice cream. These girls take their ice cream very seriously.

Another big day

2007-06-07T11:01:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we bought a used trailer bike from a neighbour. I expected to store it for a year or two before Chloë was ready to use it, but she said she wanted to try it straight away, and look what happened:

Bringing down the house

2007-05-30T20:57:00.000-05:00

We always read a book or two at bedtime. Some evenings are more raucous than others. Tonight's selection was Bringing Down the Moon by Jonathan Emmett.

From Publisher's Weekly via Amazon.com: "Hot diggety!" exclaims plump Mole when he sees the full moon for what is apparently the first time. And indeed, the moon is at its most fetching, glowing in the cobalt-blue night sky "like a bright silver coin." Mole spends the balance of the book engaged in sweetly comic attempts to pry the moon out of the sky. His woodland pals try to warn him off the plan, each one pointing out, "It's not as close as it looks." But that doesn't stop Mole from trying to leap for it, poke it, knock it down with acorns or simply grab it from a high tree branch. Finally, it dawns on him: the moon's beauty lies in the fact that everyone can enjoy it (and besides, Mole now notes sagely, "It's NOT as close as it looks!").

So what tickles Chloë's funny bone? It's poking the moon with a stick.

Memorial Day parade

2007-05-30T20:47:00.000-05:00

Watching the parade on Monday with Emma.

Do you like my hat?

2007-05-21T09:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we went downtown to see Chicago Children's Theatre's production of Go, Dog. Go!, based on the book by P. D. Eastman. Here you can see Chloë wearing her souvenir hat.

Of course, sometimes things don't go quite as planned.

Down the slide

2007-04-26T16:06:00.000-05:00

The Big Slide

2007-04-26T16:05:00.000-05:00

First time up, in Marion for spring break last month.

The joy of Easter...

2007-04-26T16:03:00.000-05:00

... is chocolate, of course.

Four girls in a plastic house

2007-04-26T16:01:00.000-05:00

At Emma's birthday party earlier this month