More on writing frankly about one's children: I always, always, always look forward to Catherine Newman's weekly column about life with Birdy, her two-year-old daughter, and her five-year-old son Ben. Bringing Up Ben & Birdy is published every Monday on the commercial site ParentCenter and in my opinion it's the very best feature that site has to offer. Newman seems to hit just the right note between telling it sweet and telling it straight. This week she writes about Birdy's startling transformation from a baby with a sunny disposition into an extremely strong-willed toddler -- on the very day she turns two.

And that reminds me -- I've been meaning to pick up Newman's memoir, Waiting for Birdy: A Year of Frantic Tedium, Neurotic Angst, and the Wild Magic of Growing a Family, for some time now. Must add it to the list.