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Journal Key:

Green = Steve | George = navy | Janet = Purple | Evelyn = Black

10/13/11 (Thursday)

It was foggy and drizzly today, and Karen and I are both sort of daffily optimistic, so we had PT at Donaldson Park. Owen and I got there first and went exploring. Karen and Shanda got there within about five minutes, and I had some exciting things to report. I had realized, as I held him, waiting for them to get out of their cars, that he had a bloody lip. He seemed to have already recovered, so we all decided that was ok. He'd probably gotten it during one of the two times he'd slipped on the ramps that had just gotten slippery in a passing shower. Before that, though, we'd been sitting at the top of a slide and I'd shown Owen some little pools of water. I'd put up my index finger, showing and telling him "one," and then I'd done some finger painting. Owen, saying "one!" had also put his index finger into the water! He'd pulled the other fingers back all by himself. I'd actually been ready to text Karen in all caps when that little shower had led to our other adventures.

Actually, being at the park turned out to be great. It didn't rain anymore, and nothing was wet enough to cause problems. Karen had a towel for the slides, too. We got Owen to walk up the stairs, which he did better than last week. He went down a slide and then back up it a few times, but he often got distracted. He barked at all of the dogs, but he also said "doggy." He really liked the squirrels, and we were also somewhat distracted because there was a black one. The wind blew a lot of little yellow leaves onto the slide, and Owen collected them. He said "leaf," and he counted them several times. There were one. He would not let anyone hold them for him and ended up carrying around at least five clutched in his hands.

After therapy, we took a little walk. Owen found a very small puddle and had what I think was his first puddle-stomping experience. He loved it. It was a very little puddle, just the right size, and he'd go stomping across it with little staccatto steps. It took us a while to leave, because he kept going back to the puddle. Eventually, of course, he sat down at the edge of it. One up-side is that I don't think he liked it. His pants didn't seem too wet, but they were very filthy and I was very glad to get him home and changed.

Owen has been coming out with more and more little sentences. The other night, when I offered to load his fork for him, he told me, "Mommy, no--Daddy!" Tonight, halfway through dinner, he was eating some meatloaf and broccoli. He looked at me and said what I could only interpret as "broccoli out." He had something in his mouth, so I reached in and pulled out a little chunk of cucumber, which had been one of the first things he ate. Apparently he hadn't managed to chew it up or swallow it, and he'd gotten tired of having it in his mouth. I think it's the first time, too, that we've pulled anything out of there without him screaming.

10/15/11 (Saturday)

Back at gymnastics again today! The most impressive thing that I thought Owen did, which probably wouldn't have looked impressive to most other people, was the way he climbed up the steps of the slide. He held the sides and walked up the steps, one foot on each step. This is really great because on normal-sized steps he still crawls up.

Our other adventure was trying to do a "wheelbarrow." I held him by his upper legs and he was supposed to walk on his hands. I did my part, but Owen was not interested in doing his part. "Go!" I said, holding him up. "Go!" he agreed, but didn't move his hands. It was pretty funny. Also for the first time this week, Owen was supposed to hang on a bar by his hands. The teacher supported him, but he didn't understand that he was supposed to hang on. We'll work on that one. It's always fun doing this with him: he loves climbing around and sliding, and he understands that it's fun now, so the new things aren't nearly as scary.

This afternoon, after Grandpapa picked Cara up and took her away for a sleep-over, we took Owen to the park. He had a good time running around on the raised walkways at Donaldson Park. He wasn't particularly interested in sliding or climbing, but he did like running around and having us follow him. He went on the swings at one point, but only for a few seconds before he was ready to get out again. The most exciting part for him was probably when he ran over to see three dogs that a woman was walking. There was one very tiny dog that he got to pet, and for some reason he decided not to whack it like he usually does with the cats.

10/16/11 (Sunday)

Poor Owen was stuck with just me and Steve this morning, and it was not particularly thrilling for him. He survived, though. He was very excited when we asked him whether he wanted to go to Grandmama and Grandpapa's house and see GiGi. "GiGi! GiGi!" he said. Then he cried because we were not leaving immediately. We had to, like, put his shoes on and pick up the diaper bag. Ridiculous.

He was, of course, delighted to be back in Middletown and to see everyone again. Up in what was my room and then Claire's room and now is Cara's weekend room, Owen noticed the cd player on the floor. "On," he said to Grandmama. Grandmama turned it on for him, and it started to play Cara's bedtime music (ahh, the luxuries of a sleep-over!). Cara came in and turned it off. Owen wanted it back on. Eventually, Cara unplugged it and took it into Grandmama's room. A few minutes later, after she had movedon, Owen wandered in and found it again. "On?" he asked Grandmama.

This afternoon I walked the kids down the block to the Loefflers'. Owen toddled into the kitchen, and Em told me to quickly make my escape, while I could. I wasn't fast enough. Owen came back out as I was opening the door. He looked up at me. "Bye-bye," I told him. I didn't hear screaming as I left. I actually had to call Em a few minutes later with a question, and she told me that no one cared that I had left.

Owen has a bath almost every night, and he enjoys it very much. Last night, he took to holding his two rhinos (one Playmobil and a smaller one in more realistic molded plastic) up above his head, saying "ready" and then throwing them into the water. Tonight he held them above his head. "Ready? Ready?" Apparently they weren't, because nothing ever happened. He stays in the tub until the water is all gone. This time, he turned his back to the drain and scooched backwards until he was sitting on it, effectively blocking the water. His hippo toy got behind him. "Hippo? Hippo?" he asked. He stuck his rhinos back there, too. "Rhino? Rhino? Hippo?" He likes to play peek-a-boo.

10/17/11 (Monday)

One source of contention between the kids is Puma. Sometimes it's ok with Cara if Owen plays with Puma, but often it isn't. He has his own lion. This afternoon he came toddling into the kitchen, holding his lion by the tail and Puma by a leg. He walked over to Cara, who was busy drawing. He held Puma out to her. "There go," he said.

Poor Owen really didn't want to go upstairs after dinner, but when I went down the hall to turn on his bath the lure of the water was too strong: he abandoned his plan to vanture back down to the living room. He took advantage of every moment of bath time that he could get. He was in the tub when there was only an inch or so of water, and he protested when I took him out, even though the water was all gone. He loves holding his shape-sorter pieces under the running water, and when I opened the drain he scooted over and put his feet over it.

I just found out yesterday that Owen can make a light saber noise, "whee-whee." It became funnier this evening when I saw him referring to his light saber as "whee-whee!"

10/18/11 (Tuesday)

It's generally dark in Owen's room when I go in in the morning to get him, and I have to sort of find him by sound and touch to get him out of the crib. He's nice and snuggly in his footie pajamas, and I could tell this morning that he had brought his lion out with him. The first thing I noticed when I could see him was that he had some serious hair issues. There was this part slightly to one side of the top of his head that was sticking straight up. I got to it eventually with a brush and with Cara's taming spray, but I could do nothing, no matter which way I attacked it. Naturally, it was picture day at YBR!

Miss Carol reported, when I picked Owen up, that they had attempted to control the hair. The photographer had asked whether they could do anything with it, and she had even tried licking her fingers and smoothing it down, but it had just popped right back up. At the end of the day, it had evolved from the ridge or cresting wave of the morning to a tidy upright curl.

When I got Owen into the bath, I dumped a quart of water over his head. There he was, with a very wet curl sticking straight up. The shampooing did defeat it, but the hair got wild again when I toweled him. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Speaking of what tomorrow brings, it'll bring a challenge of a sort to YBR. Owen started to fuss as soon as we put him into his chair for dinner. He wanted something very much. It turned out (it took us a while!) to be that he wanted corn. He spent most of dinner working on corn. He's got enough containers of corn to last him the next three lunches. He likes to eat it with a spoon. I'm sure the teachers can handle it.

10/19/11 (Wednesday)

I read a book to Owen this afternoon, and then he stood up and said "bye!" He sat down on his red car, sideways, and began scooting away, sideways. He only got a few inches before the front of the car got caught on a table, but it was a fun trip. A few minutes later, after I had freed the car, he was busily walking back and forth bringing his little toy helicopters into the playroom. He brought a third one in and neatly put it into the line he was forming on the seat of the red car. Then he turned around and sat on them.

It is wonderful how devoted Owen is to his bath. This morning he was up early and we were in his room when Steve started the shower. "Wah-duh!" said Owen, and he got off my lap and went off, doubtless ready to get right in. Fortunately, he was not too disappointed. This evening he was in the living room eating popcorn with Cara when it was time for him to come upstairs. I went and started his bath, and when he heard the water running he came right over to the steps.

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