We have entered a new and dangerous phase in Iris’s development: she has just learned to ask questions. A couple of days ago, Laurie and Iris were playing with fennel seeds in Iris’s kitchen. Iris wouldn’t stop eating the seeds, so Laurie went to put them away, but the little spice jar they came in was nowhere to be seen. “Maybe Dada knows where it is,” said Laurie.

So Iris ran over to my chair and said, “Where’s the fennel seed jar?” Only she didn’t say it like that. She said, “WHERE’S THE FENNEL SEED JAR?” like you might say, “YOU SPENT A HUNDRED DOLLARS ON *WHAT?*”

Today Iris invented a game where we put two chairs in the hallway and they represent Grandma’s car (the only car Iris ever rides in, since we don’t own a car). Iris drove around to a restaurant and a store picking up and dropping off various things. First she went to the Chinese restaurant and got some pancakes. Then she came over to me and held out her hands. “Iris need some bagels and pork,” she said.

Which means Iris has the same approach to Judaism as I do: she’s in it for the jokes.