I’m not sure what this is, what neurons she’s got firing with this.

We’ve been picking Brett up from work some (one car family — usually he rides his bike but not in ice and snow) and we go around to the back of his building to get him. His building looks like a generic suburban office building — three or four floors, smoked windows, an entryway with desperate cubicle jockeys sucking on cigarettes. We’ve circled the building tightly in the past, coming around close around the front before parking in the back but we approach it from the back way.

So a couple of days ago we’re off to visit a friend and we pass his building from the very busy (and somewhat distant) street that runs in front. Madison says, “Hey, there’s daddy’s work! That’s where daddy is!”

Now how did she know that? The building looks totally different from far away and from the front.

When we first moved to our neighborhood she was just 18 months old, mind you, but she quickly figured out where the library was. If we took one of the back ways instead of the other, she’d cry when we turned down the street because it meant not passing the purple house she adores. But weirdly, the first time we drove past the front of the library she said, “Yibaye!” (Library in toddler Madison-speak.) Again, how does she recognize buildings from other directions?

Like I’ve said, she can spot cars, too and has since last summer. She’ll point to an Elantra and say it’s our car. She’ll point to a Dodge Caravan and say it’s Aunt Erica’s. It’s not the color — it’s the shape. And what’s weirdest about it is that she can do it in different directions. She recognizes them from the front and back and side.

Here’s another thing I thought was pretty smart for her age. On our way to that playdate (the one where we passed Brett’s office building) she got worried that P’s daddy would be there. P’s daddy is a delight but the big kids like to play tickle monster with him so Madison finds him scary (even though he never ever ever plays tickle monster with kids who don’t want to play tickled

“I hope P’s Daddy isn’t there,” she said as we turned into their long, long, long gravel drive. (They live in the country.) Then she brightened. “I don’t think he will be there because my daddy isn’t home so probably he won’t be home either.”

(Sadly she was wrong because P’s Daddy is on a sabbatical and she got hysterical when he came up the stairs because the big kids began to scream with fake terror. But she got over it because he really is a nice guy.)

That’s my baby book smart Madison entry. I’m going to hound Paige (when she gets internet again) to tell me what kind of smartness she’s displaying when she figures out cars and buildings. Maybe it means she’ll be good at math!

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