Smirnoff the Chinese baby

Chloe and Miles

2010-11-30T19:46:00.001-06:00

Just Chloë

2010-10-01T18:01:00.000-05:00

Second grade class picture

2010-10-01T17:59:00.000-05:00

Welcome to our annual update.

Swiss vuvuzela

2010-06-27T12:27:00.000-05:00

At the Wheaton Municipal Band kids' concert, Chloë shows her enthusiasm for the World Cup by playing this unusual Swiss vuvuzela.

Daddy-daughter dance 2010

2010-03-06T09:06:00.001-06:00

This year's theme was a sock hop, which had to be explained to me. I then had to go and buy jeans for the first time in 25 years, but I still didn't quite manage the "Fonz" look.

Paging the tooth fairy

2010-03-05T15:39:00.001-06:00

After a long and difficult gestation, and much wiggling by finger and tongue, Chloë finally delivered her first baby tooth a few days ago. Metamorphosis into legal tender took place shortly afterwards, by means shrouded in mystery.

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

I'll have my girl call your girl

2007-04-26T15:55:00.000-05:00

At dinner with Emma a couple of weeks ago.

A big day

2007-03-17T12:34:00.000-05:00

Today I installed Chloë's first Big Girl bed - actually an antique from Stacy's family.

Reading the paper

2006-12-30T10:11:00.000-06:00

Relaxing with the grandpas and the daily newspaper.

I've got my guitar

2006-12-27T10:30:00.000-06:00

As the Wiggles would say: "I've got my guitar".

Acting lessons

2006-12-21T23:23:00.000-06:00

Chloë was a shepherd in her pre-school nativitiy play. Here you see her practicing her acting skills: happy face and sad face.

Two trees

2006-12-21T23:21:00.000-06:00

This is the closest we got to a decent picture of Chloë in front of the tree this year, after more than 100 attempts.

An encounter with the man himself

2006-12-21T23:12:00.000-06:00

Santa came to my office to deliver some early gifts.

Incredible hulk?

2006-12-09T08:13:00.000-06:00

2007: A Spacious Odyssey

2006-12-04T08:38:00.000-06:00

Chloë and Emma express their disdain for our uncool new minivan.

Star Trek?

2006-11-07T12:03:00.000-06:00

Trying on hairbands in Target. Perhaps she's an admirer of Geordi La Forge?

Strolling with Emma

2006-10-20T23:26:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we went to the Morton Arboretum with several friends. A good time was had by all, and shoulder pain by some.

Trying on shoes

2006-10-20T23:22:00.000-05:00

Chloë enjoys trying on our shoes. She found these in our closet. Amazingly, we have another pair just like this.

Modesty prevails

2006-10-14T08:11:00.000-05:00

This "party dress" made of bubbles enables us to publish a picture in the bath.

Q: How do you get four Chinese girls in a pretend car?

2006-09-22T21:08:00.000-05:00

A: Two in the front and two in the back. Here the girls from Chloë's travel group are playing in Tate's ice-cream shop.

Lotion

2006-09-08T20:03:00.000-05:00

After Chloë has her bath, she applies lotion to her body to keep her skin soft.

You can only begin to imagine the mess.

Balancing act

2006-09-04T21:54:00.000-05:00

You couldn't make this up. She really did this, all by herself.

Birthday party

2006-09-01T21:18:00.000-05:00

August 1st was Chloë's 3rd birthday. We celebrated on the following Sunday afternoon with a party featuring Chloë's chosen theme of "blue", and here at last are some pictures. About 10 of her friends were in attendance (drinking apple juice), along with their adult hangers-on (drinking Pimm's). I reached the conclusion that the collective noun for a group of toddlers is a "racket".

Here you see Chloë and some of her friends playing "Ring around the rosie", or "Ring-a-ring o' roses" as I was taught in England. I looked into the difference in words, and I was surprised to learn that the popular belief about the song describing the symptoms of bubonic plague is complete nonsense. Husher! Husher! Cuckoo!

Don't get me started on the complete mess they make of the Hokey Cokey over here. Here's the real thing: Knees bent, arms stretched, ra ra ra!

Cake, blue, toddlers for the consumption of:

No birthday party in our house would be complete without a mandatory literacy program.

BFF

2006-08-28T21:07:00.000-05:00

Emma and Chloë share a laugh after going out for dinner on Friday night.

Kiddieland

2006-08-20T23:18:00.000-05:00

Today we visited Kiddieland with some members of our travel group. Kiddieland is a theme park in the Chicago suburbs that caters specifically to toddlers. Chloë rode the log flume and the "little dipper" roller coaster as well as some of the more sedate rides such as you see her on here with Mei Mei.

Waiting for the coaster to start:

Shoebox

2006-08-19T16:43:00.000-05:00

In Chloë's hand is the box lid from her new Buster Brown shoes. I decided that getting her to hug Gomer for a closer match was too hard.

Making use of every minute

2006-08-19T16:37:00.000-05:00

When Chloë falls asleep in the car on the way home, it's an opportunity to catch up on email.

Barefoot

2006-08-18T10:15:00.000-05:00

Chloë was inspired to pose with the logos on the Barefoot Cellars wine cases at Trader Joe's.

Leaning tower of creamer

2006-08-16T18:07:00.000-05:00

It took her ages to get it to balance like that.

Good manners al fresco

2006-06-07T10:49:00.000-05:00

Chloë started at a new home-based daycare about a month ago. She gets to play with about 10 other children during the day, rather than being alone with a babysitter. She is thriving on the socialisation. The director of the facility, Miss Sue, emphasizes good manners. Here you can see Chloë dining on the deck, sitting at the table eating her dinner, and repeatedly declaring "I'm having good manners".

Kangaroo

2006-06-07T10:45:00.000-05:00

We were informed by Chloë that the object in front of her is a kangaroo.

Your table is ready, sir

2006-06-01T06:50:00.000-05:00

The purchase of a new package of dishcloths (sorry, I mean placemats) inspired the creation of a full table setting.

Lego brooch

2006-05-21T10:44:00.000-05:00

Plastic bricks as a fashion accessory. Who would have thought of that?

Pink wings

2006-05-21T10:42:00.000-05:00

We're long overdue for an update. I have an lot of pictures to post. I would also like to tell you what Chloë's been up to, but finding the time to do that is a challenge. So here are a couple of pictures for now.

Cosmonaut

2006-05-21T10:40:00.000-05:00

Actually in China they're called Taikonauts. But she does look like those pictures of Russian cosmonauts from the 1960s with their funny little hats.

Easter bunny

2006-04-14T18:09:00.000-05:00

The Feydeau of Play-doh

2006-04-03T08:54:00.000-05:00

Static

2006-04-03T08:51:00.000-05:00

Hello! I'm on a train!

2006-04-03T08:49:00.000-05:00

Spring break: Grandpa Bob

2006-04-03T08:47:00.000-05:00

hair-lego

2006-02-15T20:53:00.000-06:00

chav

2006-02-15T20:52:00.000-06:00

baby

2006-02-15T20:50:00.000-06:00

2006-02-15T17:17:00.000-06:00

A book at bedtime

2006-02-10T10:38:00.000-06:00

Tonight we're reading "Rhymes for Annie Rose" by Shirley Hughes. And later, as always, "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown, which Stacy and I can both recite from memory, which we frequently do in the dark.

Bathtime again

2006-02-04T20:37:00.000-06:00

It turns out that the parent supervising the bath can get even wetter than the toddler in the bathtub.

Santa Who?

2006-01-29T21:18:00.000-06:00

Chloë is not yet a fan of the red-suited gift-bearing one.

Grandpa

2006-01-29T21:16:00.000-06:00

A nice picture with Edwin. There is some dispute about which one of them looks more like Wallace (as in Gromit):

A comfortable chair in front of the TV

2006-01-29T21:10:00.000-06:00

The search is on for a nine-foot giant for Stacy to lie on in order to enjoy the same experience.

Fashion victim

2006-01-29T21:07:00.000-06:00

I am told the couture houses of Paris keep a close eye on the pictures here. Pink puppy slippers will be the Ugg boots of the next season. Note the supermodel moody pout and rumpled hair.

Happy Chinese New Year

2006-01-29T21:00:00.000-06:00

It is a long time since the last update. We were in England for Christmas, returning to the USA on New Year's Eve. Since then life has been hectic and it has been hard to find time to post updates here. Here are a few pictures from the backlog.

Chloë and a friend from her music class at our local Chinese New Year celebration. This was organized by Sunny Ridge and took place at our local community college.

Chloë seems unfamiliar with the concept of cuddling, although I can assure you she gets plenty of it at home.

Elvis has left the building. (He's actually the lower half of the lion performing in the traditional Chinese lion dance).

Ladies and gentlemen - Mr. Elton John!

2005-12-14T12:29:00.000-06:00

But I'll bet Elton's specs don't do this:

I see soda bread

2005-12-11T10:31:00.000-06:00

We are often asked whether Chloë is talking yet. The answer is yes, although we can't always tell what she is talking about. She says a lot of individual words, but she isn't regularly attempting sentences yet.

However, there is one sentence she says a lot, and it's a total mystery to us what it means. It sounds something like "I see soda bread". When we fail to understand it, she repeats it with embellishments so that we get "I see soda bread," "I see six soda bread," "I see six sad soda bread". Someimes it's shorter: "I teeter by" or just "I soda bread".

For the record, we have never fed her soda bread or made any reference to it. If anyone knows what this means, please post a comment.

Christmas outtakes

2005-12-07T21:43:00.000-06:00

Last night we inveigled Chloë into a nice dress so that we could take a picture in front of our Christmas tree. Several hundred shots later we finally had what we wanted to accompany our Christmas cards this year. Here are some of the images that didn't make it. (As always, click on the picture for a bigger version).

Cups

2005-12-07T20:42:00.000-06:00

Some days it's just easier to give her what she asks for.

Tug

2005-12-07T20:34:00.000-06:00

Gomer's favorite game in the whole world is "tug", preferably played with his double-handled rubber tug toy so that he can get a good grip. It's very simple: both parties pull and shake the toy as hard as possible until the other side lets go. Gomer always wins, upon which he immediately wants to play again, like a compulsive gambler. (Addicted? Call 1-800-TUG-GAME).

A pair of Cinderellas

2005-11-20T22:03:00.000-06:00

Just as a light bulb or a religious argument generate more heat than light, so Chloë generates more dirt than cleanliness, even when "helping" to sweep the floor with her mini-me broom.

A night at the theatre

2005-11-20T22:02:00.000-06:00

We thought that Chloë should be introduced early to the performing arts (says her mother with a theatre degree). So off we trooped, in our best patent leather shoes, to the middle school where Stacy teaches. (That's ages 12-14 for you non-Americans).

As you can imagine, waiting for the show to begin was no fun, and even playing with the program, printed on nice toddler-friendly bright green paper, was insufficient distraction. But once the show got under way, she enjoyed herself thoroughly and danced in the aisle to "Girls just want to have fun", sung by a 12-year-old dressed as Cyndi Lauper.

A typical breakfast scene

2005-10-10T13:37:00.000-05:00

As Murray Walker, erstwhile motor racing commentator, supposedly wrote: go to work on an egg. Note the emergency backup Cheerios on the table, just in case.

Sandals, British style

2005-10-10T13:35:00.000-05:00

Grandma sent these labybird socks from England. Straight away, Chloë acknowledged the British connection by wearing them with sandals. Those of you who are not easily frightened can see more evidence of this peculiarly British habit (from which I disassociate myself completely).

Little fleas have lesser fleas...

2005-10-10T12:32:00.000-05:00

...and so ad infinitum. The doll's name, by the way, is "Baby".

Dressy Bessy is added as another layer in the baby hierarchy.

Nothing amusing here, move along

2005-10-10T12:29:00.000-05:00

Photos of all three of us are quite rare. A friend took this picture at the Sunny Ridge annual picnic last month.

Gomer's new collar

2005-10-10T12:14:00.000-05:00

At the school where Stacy teaches, the children raised money for hurricane relief by selling strings of beads, New Orleans style. Chloë, ever the "what not to wear" advisor, decided they looked better on Gomer.

It is not reported whether the beads had the same effect on the girls at school as is traditional in the Big Easy. Anyhow, Gomer shows no inclination to remove the upper half of his fur, so it must be strictly a Louisiana phenomenon. (And no, I'm not linking to any pictures to illustrate my point).

What have we been up to?

2005-09-12T23:31:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since the last post with much narration: I've given priority to pictures with the meagre amount of time I've spent updating the blog. So perhaps it's time to take a few minutes and bring everyone up to date.

- In early August my parents visited again from England. It's strange how they now seem keen to visit more often than they have in previous years. I wonder what can have changed to cause this?

- While they were here, Chloë turned 2 years old on August 1st. We celebrated by inviting friends and neighbours to a dessert party in the evening. The theme was "hatty birthday": guests were encouraged to wear their silliest hats. This was inspired by the picture I posted on June 11th. Pictures of the party are yet to be posted...

- The other excuse for my parents' visit was Stacy's family reunion in Marion, Ohio on August 6th. We all piled into a rented minivan for the road trip. There are pictures of the reunion party on my computer too...

- Stacy went back to teach full-time at the beginning of the new school year in late August. She is making good use of her shiny new master's degree by working as a literacy specialist. The best part of this is not having to grade 120 language arts papers every weekend. Chloë spends her days with a home-based daycare provider about a mile away, and she loves it.

- Chloë's development continues apace. She had tubes (a.k.a. grommets) inserted in her eardrums a couple of weeks ago, which is a fairly common procedure. She had a chronic middle ear infection that wasn't bothering her but was affecting her hearing, the doctors told us. The tubes will help relieve the pressure and reduce the incidence of infections in future. They will grow out in a year or two. Already her speech has improved as a direct result of improved hearing. She has a vocabulary of about 50 words, most of which are intelligible and some of which are printable.

- Last Saturday we went to Brookfield Zoo, where Chloë got to know a calf quite well in the petting zoo. Here's the obligatory picture:

Boyfriend repellent

2005-09-12T23:15:00.000-05:00

We'll be keeping this picture safe for future use. I predict it will attain its maximum embarrassment factor in about 13 years.

Moustache fun

2005-08-23T21:58:00.000-05:00

Chloë has a new party piece. As you can see, she likes to use not one but two spoons when eating, and is quite capable of inserting both in her mouth at once.

At first I thought she resembled Salvador Dali...

... but on closer inspection I think "Professor" Jimmy Edwards is a closer resemblance.

While digging out the pictures of Dali and the late trombone-playing star of "Whack-O!", I came across two amusing web sites which I present here for your pleasure: the Handlebar Club, founded by Edwards, and the truly hilarious World Beard and Moustache Championships. Be careful, or you'll get coffee up your nose.

Routine activities

2005-07-27T10:44:00.001-05:00

Rearranging the CD collection in various ways, as in High Fidelity. Today's list is "best 5 CDs for drooling on". (Actually I haven't seen the film, but that's what happens in the book).

Taking a walk. It's a slow and methodical activity for Chloë: each ant on the sidewalk must be greeted by name.

Wet face

2005-07-27T10:35:00.001-05:00

Now this is funny to watch. Chloë has taken to playing with a squirt bottle full of water, but she hasn't figured out that it should be operated with the nozzle facing away from the user.

She seems to appreciate the direct causal relationship between squeezing the trigger and water hitting her face. At least I think she said "direct causal relationship": it's hard to be sure sometimes.

The end result is a happy girl with a wet face and shirt.

Cinderella trial and error

2005-07-26T22:16:00.000-05:00

Nice look, but if the shoe don't fit you must acquit.

Now here's one that fits. You shall go to the ball.

This end up

2005-07-25T20:21:00.000-05:00

She can't decide whether she prefers head up...

...or head down. Note that Stacy is modelling "head up" behaviour in both pictures.

Independence Day

2005-07-12T09:42:00.001-05:00

For the Fourth of July (Independence Day, sometimes referred to as Thanksgiving in Britain), we visited our friends Chris and Gillian and their two sons in Evanston. Chris's parents were also visiting from England. In the afternoon we went to Evanston's parade to celebrate the day. Note that Chloë hasn't quite got the hang of facing the interesting side of the street.

This is quite the oddest thing I have ever seen in a parade: an old iron lung being towed along the street. Rotary International (which happens to be based in Evanston) is proud of the work it is doing to eradicate polio. I looked for a hand waving from one of the little windows, but it seemed to be empty, which quite frankly spoiled it for me.

Don't rain on my parade... but sadly it did. Fortunately we had a shop doorway to shelter in.

Our friend Gillian is the managing director of Redmoon Theater. Their Bug Brigade spectacle was in the parade.

Finally, exhausted and slightly damp, we made our way back to Chris and Gillian's house for a slap-up feed.

Balloons

2005-07-02T19:54:00.000-05:00

This morning we all got up insanely early. I have never seen a hot air balloon take off, and for years I have had good intentions to visit the "Eyes to the skies" festival in nearby Lisle, which features massed balloon launches at dawn and dusk. This year we finally did it.

Some of the balloons going up. There were about 14 of them, all launched between 5.50 and 6.15am. There was a surprisingly large crowd of insomniacs like us watching them inflate and go.

Later in the morning we went for our usual walk. During the week when I'm at work, Stacy somehow wrangles both dog and child. Normally there are no witnesses, but here is her heroic struggle recreated for the camera on a Saturday. Having risen at 4.30am, we had seen the balloons, come home for breakfast and completed our walk all before 9am.

Chloë has decided that it's no longer satisfactory to ride in the shopping cart: she must push it herself (while being carried, of course).

A quick trip to Ohio

2005-06-21T13:24:00.001-05:00

Stacy's Aunt Ruth died last week, so we traveled to Ohio at the weekend to pay our respects. We made the best of a solemn day by taking some family photos in our Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes.

With Bob.

Hats, music and watersports

2005-06-11T09:39:00.000-05:00

Once again the sands of time plummet through the hourglass of childhood development, and I'm behind with my updates. Here are a few pictures of Chloë enjoying the early summer. It's been unusually hot this week, with several 90 degree days. The typical high at this time of year is 78.

We got together with our travel group last night for ice cream at an Oberweis in Bolingbrook. Our travelmates from Atlanta were visiting Chicago for a few days so we enjoyed catching up with them and meeting their daughter Mei Mei from their first trip to China a couple of years ago. No pictures because Muggins here forgot the camera.

Last week Chloë endured her first real haircut, so she looks much neater now. It was a traumatic 10 minutes for her. I can sympathise: I've always hated getting my hair cut, mostly because I have to remove my glasses so I can't see what's going on.

First up: here are Stacy and Chloë in matching multipurpose hats/makeup bags.

We'd like to think Chloë is the next Mozart, but her piano technique sounds more like Schoenberg at the moment.

Several years ago we found a paddling pool on sale at Menards for $3, so we bought it for Gomer. He hated it. Perhaps it was the Barbie logo that put him off. Now we have an enthusiastic user, although Barbie has faded to green.

Old definition of toy: item purchased at a toy shop. New definition of toy: anything Chloë decides to play with.

Chloë's first shower.

Baby Einstein

2005-05-11T12:20:00.000-05:00

No, not the brain (as far as we know), just the hair.