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Journal Key:

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

3/15/12 (Thursday)

I had a professional day and could get to work a little later than usual, so I took Owen to YBR in the morning. He was very invested in carrying his lunch box to the car, and then he carried it across the yard and up the stairs and into school. We took it over and put it in the fridge. I took his coat off and hung it up, suggesting that he go show Miss Mona his shirt. He went running over to her and climbed into her lap happily. Then I walked towards the door, and the poor little guy burst into tears, reaching for me, apparently having not realized until that moment that I would leave him there.

I did, though, and he had a great day. He was playing with a baby potato head when I arrived in the afternoon, sticking a crab claw attachment into one of its face holes.

I'm not terribly fond of Owen's lunch box, and I had the pleasant realization that he will probably wear it out eventually because it sort of drags on the ground when he carries it. He's really proud of himself for carrying it.

We got to read some books before dinner, one of which was a Richard Scarry. There were some animals in it, and I asked him to identify them. He got all the easy ones, and then I got to a scene where an octopus was sitting at a table, reaching to the other end to grab food with all of his legs. What's that, I asked Owen. He thought about it. He pointed. "Potato."

3/16/12 (Friday)

Owen was sitting in the glider this evening and we were reading a book, when Shelby walked into the room. "No, Hebby, you don't do that to Owen," he told her. Well, she did. I had quite a time extracting her from the crib drawer.

3/17/12 (Saturday)

This afternoon I went to take the kids to Holmdel Park to see the animals with Claire and my parents. I believe that everyone was impressed by how very slowly Owen walks. The first animals we saw were sheep; I knelt down by the fence to look through at Owen's level, and Owen knelt down to look through lower, too. He got to hear a sheep "baaaa."

As we walked down the path towards the barns, we could see three cows eating in a field. "Another sheep!" cried Owen. We explained. After that, he was able to identify them correctly for the rest of the day: "moo-cows."

Cara and Grandmama had run ahead and found some roosters and, oddly, peacocks in a shed. We went and looked, too. "I saw birds," said Owen afterwards. By that time they had gone ahead to the pigpen, and we started after them. There were piglets! We were all excited about seeing the babies, but Owen, I think, was awed and astounded by the "big pigs." Later, those were what he wanted to go back to see.

We took a long walk to a playground, where Owen eventually decided that the most exciting thing to do was to run around on the sidewalks with me chasing him. After several circuits Claire came with us when he tried off-roading and we struck out across the big lawns. The whole family headed after us and we had a long hike around the duck pond, during which we sometimes went very slowly and sometimes I carried Owen. He was smart enough to decide, once in a while, that it was time to be carried. He wanted to go back and see the big pigs. The farm, though, was closed, we knew. The sheep were out where we'd be able to see them.

Claire: I love sheep.

Me: I do, too. I hope we can see sheep.

Owen: I love sheep, too!

We got to see sheep. We did see a big pig, from a distance.

After dinner we all went to Barnes and Noble for dessert and books. While I was ordering coffee and Cara and the grandparents had gone to find seats, Owen discovered the ramp hidden in a nook off to the side. He took off and Claire went with him; they came back, and then he took her away again. They ended up wandering around the store at random. He likes to lead people by the thumb. We had dessert, we had some books, and Owen got into pajamas for the trip home.

3/18/12 (Sunday)

Today my parents came to visit. Owen, as he seems to do when this happens, was on his best and cutest behavior. We had a lovely time, but there just didn't seem to be a good place to fit in Owen's nap, so for the first time ever, he went napless. I wouldn't want to purposefully do it again any time soon, but it went well enough. He was perhaps a bit more sensitive when he fell over--but then again he's always pretty upset when that happens.

In the evening PJ and Casey came over to be babysat. Owen uncharacteristically sat/stood in front of the TV completely unmoving and actually watched what was on. It really made me realize how very little he does that usually, and it was an obvious measure of how tired he was getting.

At dinner Casey was sitting across from Owen and was being silly. She made funny faces that made him laugh hysterically. Afterwards he had some yogurt and was sort of staring off into space. It was kind of like he was drunk. He was still awake enough to soak me in the tub, though.

3/19/12 (Monday)

Owen and I left YBR today with Audrey and her mommy. Audrey explained to her mommy that I was Owen's mommy. Owen carried his lunch box. He and I struck out into the parking lot. As Audrey and her mommy walked past their car to go walk on the little concrete thingies at the heads of the parking places, Owen and I stopped to look at a cheese-it that someone had dropped. As they came back to their car, we turned around halfway to our car to go back and pick up the lunch box, which Owen had put down while he showed me the cheese-it.

We got home with time to play outside. Owen was very happy to go and "ride the bike!" He made sure to tell me not to touch the handle, but halfway up the driveway he admitted that he needed help. Once I got him up to the sidewalk, he was fine. He took himself up Juliana's driveway and then turned to head up her front walk to where she was sitting on the steps. I'm very proud of his steering! So is he.

Later he sat next to Juliana on the wall in our yard.

Juliana: Can you say "Juliana"?

Owen: No.

Me: Owen, you can say "Juliana"!

Owen: No, I am Owen!

He seemed pretty sure that we were trying to brainwash him.

3/20/12 (Tuesday)

This morning Owen kept saying what sounded to me like, "I want Mrs. The Mouse!" Eventually he gave me enough clues to tell me that he was talking about that movie with the yellow brick road and the scarecrow in it.

Tonight Owen's latest phrase was "I'm just doing something right now!" He used it to express the fact that he was busy and didn't want us bothering him.

3/21/12 (Wednesday)

Carrying your own lunch box is pretty exciting. Today, though, Owen noticed the shoulder strap of my lunch box. When I told him what it was, he expressed interest in carrying it. I gave him a shot, putting him on the sidewalk and showing him the little handle. The shoulder strap, though, was too much for him. He ended up stepping into it and getting tangled up, even though I tried draping it over his shoulders to get it out of the way. I brought him his own lunch box and offered to trade. Instead, he wanted to carry both. "Two!" That would have worked if he had let me just hold the stupid strap out of the way, but that wasn't acceptable. Finally, we decided we'd each just carry our own.

Over on the other side of the street for playdate tonight, Owen got to play with a big green balloon. We played catch a little, but it was really too big for his little arms. He carried it around pressed up against his face, and he was delighted when he pressed it up against my face on the other side and we could see each other green.

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