I was only gone for four days last week but Maddie totally took the opportunity to make insane advancements in her development. This, I must admit, even as I write this next to my little angel, sort of pissed me off. Here’s why…I have been chilling with this little cutie pie for months, but has she rolled over? Stuck out her tongue? Done calculus? No! None of those things…and then in the four days I am gone she does all of those things with her grandparents! (Except for the calculus…I made that up.)

Anyway, I am totally besotted with Maddie and her tongue sticking out ability and wish I was there to see her do it the first time. It is so cute, and she won’t let me forget it! The following is basically how our days go now:

MADDIE: “Hey, Dad! Check this out! I got a thing in my mouth that I can stick out!”

ME: “Me too, kiddo.”

MADDIE: “Then why don’t you stick it out ALL DAY LONG ENDLESSLY? It is AWESOME!”

Me: “Because I’m too old to find it interesting. “

Maddie: “Oh. That sucks.”

Me: “Even suckier is the fact that I’ve lost interest in just about all of the simple pleasures in life. If it snowed in LA I wouldn’t even make a snow angel.”

Maddie: “What’s a snow angel?”

Me: “A thing you make by lying down in the snow and moving your arms and legs to make it look like an angel was there.”

MADDIE: “OH MY GOD!!! I HAVE TO DO THAT NOW IT SOUNDS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AWESOME!!!!”

ME: “Hopefully you will always feel that way, sweetheart.”

Maddie: “You know what you should do right now, Dad?”

Me: “What’s that, Chicken Muffin Love? (Yes, I call her that…what?)

Maddie: “Try sticking out your tongue. It is AWESOME!!!”

Okay. So she can’t really speak. But if she could the above would totally be our discussion.

Watching your baby discover simple things with such joy is an amazing pleasure. Imagining her tire of those things and becoming obsessed with iPods, cell phones, and snot nosed boys, is not. I want her always to face the world each and every day with the joy of discovery, but I guess that isn’t how things work. It wasn’t how it worked for me, and I’m guessing it wasn’t how it worked for you. In time we all get bored with how beautiful simplicity is.

Sigh.

For now I will appreciate the joy she gets out of being able to stick her tongue out of her mouth, and, just maybe, when no one is looking, I will stick mine out too and laugh.      

                         Not the best photo of Maddie sticking out her tongue, but you get the idea!