Max And Merritt

We were visited last night by Max's godfather, Mike, and his wife and new baby. It was interesting (and cute) to see Max's reaction to a person who is much smaller than himself, a new experience in his life. Max was curious about baby Merritt in much the same way that he is curious about the cats, and he had to be restrained from poking Merritt in much the same way that he has to be restrained from poking the cats. You can see my hand in this photo, hovering at the ready in case Max's tender caress takes a turn for the claw-ish.

Max has long considered this chair an obvious and unpleasant attempt to restrain him when the energy required for chasing him becomes too much, and has argued against sitting in it accordingly. Apparently when Merritt sits in it, however, its appeal renews itself. Max showed off the various features of the chair to Merritt, including the hanging rattles and eye-catching cow print arch. Merritt was somewhat impressed at first, but eventually discerned that the real purpose of the chair was to distract him while his mom and dad ate. It is, of course, against the Baby Code to allow these sorts of ruses to succeed, and Merritt ultimately was forced to protest on principle.