I'm confused why your analogy is a paradox. "Big" and "small" are always in reference to something else. In the first instance where you are establishing that the "thing" is big, you are referencing something unstated (perhaps the size of the observer). In the second instance, you are referencing the old size of the "thing" when you are establishing that it is smaller. Because the reference has changed, there is no paradox to it being both big and smaller at the same time.