Adorable, terrifying, and cute

When uttered by my princess, "Up" means, "Pick me up and hold me in your arms." On average, she says this twenty-five times a day. (Bear in mind that her mom and I carry her around most of the time, voluntarily, happily.) There is no need to communicate up's antithesis, because letting her body go completely slack communicates the same thing a lot more effectively. And I don't just mean slack the way passive-resistance protesters go when they're being hauled off someplace by the police. I mean slack like water is slack. Holding on to Annalee, when she has decided that you are done holding her, at any time and for any reason, means you are going to have do some thinking, fast. You're going to have to think through how to hold a gallon of water in your arms, while, for instance, opening up the minivan door (even if this only involves pushing a button). You're going to have to consider how to control the effect of gravity if, as happens, it turns out that you won't be able to completely stop her downward progress but instead can only shape it. I hope this is not an awkard time to brag, but the way my daughter converts herself into a study in fluid dynamics is genius! And adorable, and terrifying, and cute.