| Previous Week | Back Home | Next Week |

Journal Key:

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

Claire came up and she and I parked the car on this end of Highland Park and took the stroller to pick up Owen. I was delighted because it meant that we didn't have to run back and forth on the lawn at YBR or stop for moments on end to look at a rocky patch of sidewalk. Owen was delighted because he was in his stroller. He was so delighted that when we stopped at the car, he had a mild meltdown because he wanted to keep riding. We promised him more strolling.

We drove to the neighborhood of Lindeneau and parked so that Owen could ride a few more blocks. Cara's class was coming down the hill from the playground as we came down the hill towards the school from the other direction, and they didn't recognize us at first with our stroller.

We might have been in trouble when we tried to put Owen back into the car, but Cara was hot and thirsty, so Owen was also hot and thirsty. We had to go home to get a cold drink.

When Steve got home we all went out to eat. We've probably reached the end of putting Owen into a high chair, but it's sad to see it go. Instead, Owen stood on the seat of the boothnext to Steve and danced. He sang. He stomped. He sort of ate. Late in the meal he found some crumbs on Steve's shoulder. Where could those have come from? Owen wiped them off with a wipe.

Somehow, at home, we (well, I) spent a lot of time reciting The Circus Ship. Owen can recite several lines: "I am the circus owner, my ship sank in the murk. I've come to find my amamals and put them back to work!" He really has to concentrate to get "amamals" out. Later in the book, he impressed me. When Mr. Paine was tuckered out, "his heavy chest was heaving," Little Red stepped up and said, "I think your boat is leaving."

6/1/12 (Friday)

Grandmama came up and picked up both kids for a Friday night sleepover. Here are some notes on Owen's experience:

He now knows the cat's name (and pronounces it pretty well). He happily fed himself strawberry yogurt; this operation deserves a bib. I think I have some of those in the basement. He enjoyed trying on hats from the dress-up basket. The gold high-heels, however, are "Cara's shoes." He still likes the "neigh-neighs" but his most frequent invitation was "Let's play with guys." After several bedtime stories, he went nicely to bed without any fuss
whatsoever.

6/2/12 (Saturday)

In the morning we went to the farm at Holmdel Park, where Owen was afraid of the horses; safely in my arms, he leaned away and said "I don't like them." Cows were OK, however. Outside, we found a very friendly cat who loved to be petted. Owen kept circling back to pet him some more, which he did carefully and gently. (This was a remarkably tolerant cat, who let Owen touch the pads of his paws and did not protest when the child played briefly with his ears.) We also saw the piglets, chickens and fuzzy chicks. Later, at lunch, I was sure Owen would say his favorite animal (or amamal) had been the cat, but he named the cows.

Steve and I met the gang at Monmouth Museum, where Cara and Grandmama went off to have adventures and do crafts while Owen played in the kids' room. He loved it. He got a little (but not very) damp playing with the plastic sea creatures they have in a big trough of water. He dumped all of the plastic plates in the sink of the galley of the pirate ship onto the floor. He got a kick out of running through dark tunnels that we couldn't fit in. He ran in circles through the "seaweed," ribbons of fabric hanging from the ceiling.

He picked out a toy frying pan from the galley and a plastic wheel of cheese with one quarter cut out. When he stood the cheese up on his head, he was a pirate king. He would declare himself a pirate king, run through the seaweed with his hat on and frying pan in hand, make a circuit around the big rubber dinghy, then charge at the big mats on the floor, which are shaped sort of like chairs and make a big pit. He'd run directly at them; the back of the mat would catch him right below the waist, and he'd topple headfirst into the mats, feet flying into the air behind him. With his cheese. Laughing uproariously. Soon he'd stand up and start again.

When the four of us got into the car, Steve and I were astonished because Owen immediately began asking for tic tacs. I keep some wintergreen ones in the car for myself; the kids hadn't ever tried them with me. I'd never thought they'd like something really minty, and they seemed too grown-up for Owen. Also, they were mine. However, when Grandmama had the car (we trade because of car seats), things had been different. Owen, Cara reported, had had four! She had had two. (No wonder, said Steve, he had thought Owen smelled good earlier.) I had to give each kid another. Within a few minutes, Owen was asking for another. Was he swallowing them like pills? I told him no.

He kept asking. Finally, he worked his way up to the very epitome of nice asking: "Mommy, please yes, can I have another tic tac?" It was hard to explain that even though he was asking very nicely he still couldn't have one. Steve got me out of my conundrum by suggesting that I give him a very specifically "last" one. That worked.

6/3/12 (Sunday)

Owen and I went for a long walk with his stroller this morning. We hit Rite Aid, where he made me wheel him in circles while we waited for his prescription (not for long, fortunetely!), and the farmer's market, and then we went to the park.

I don't think he ever really liked it much before, but the swing is starting to grow on Owen. Somehow, something we were talking about reminded me of One Fish, Two Fish, so I recited a few pages. Owen really knows his stuff--he joined right in! Then, though, he started requesting something that I couldn't understand. He insisted and repeated until I realized he wanted "those dogs" from Go Dogs Go. Well, that's a different kind of book! I sort of vaguely said a few things about "a blue dog on a red tree," and "a green dog on a yellow tree," and then I moved on to other things.

We ran around on the playground, too. We took one joint trip down the slide, and then we ran around (and around and around) on the mulch. Owen got a kick out of the fact that he could run all the way under the equipment and come out on the other side, while I had to go around. I'd pretend to be astonished to find him sitting on the little boundary at the edge of the mulch, with his hands folded in his lap. He's still mimicking a lot, but once, in the middle of a big parroting session, I said, "I'm too big," and he thought about it for a moment and said, "I'm too little!"

I got to give Owen his bath tonight. The toys he picked were a mermaid and a big blue plastic shell, into which he immediately stuck the mermaid's head. She called for help for a while, and I got out another mermaid. Owen took over and managed both mermaids and the shell. They very politely took turns; I swear he was doing different voices for the different mermaids! Apparently they liked sticking their heads into the shell, which they were referring to as some sort of hat.

He brought both mermaids with him when I got him out of the tub, but he started shrieking when I picked him and them up in the towel. It turned out that he needed to clean up. I put him down. He shed his towel. He opened the cabinet and put the mermaids back into their drawer. Then he ran off, naked, with his towel, giggling.

6/4/12 (Monday)

Owen seems to be growing to enjoy the art of conversation. On the way from YBR to ABC, we talk about his day. I can understand . . . some of what he's saying. I can generally get who he played with and what toys they used. Today, he started to tell me about feeding the horses. I think that he played with animals today and that reminded him of it. He fed the horses; he threw them apples. At some point in the story he cried "like a baby." Then he was feeding cows and feeding "the baa-baa sheep." In fact, the baa-baa sheep really appreciated it. "The baa-baa sheep said thank you. To me."

Today was a chilly day, the kind of day where you appreciate wearing pants and a jacket. Owen, of course, began to unzip his sweatshirt while we went to get Cara. I told Cara, in the car, that she was allowed to put The Muppets on when we got home, but instead, while I was unpacking the car, both kids decided to play outside. Owen took his sweatshirt off and threw it on the ground; he immediately fell on it. He really likes falling on the grass. He was falling all over the lawn! Cara was doing cartwheels on the wet grass.

Both kids went running all over. Owen would put his hands up by his eyes and growl; then he was a monster, and he was going to "get" Cara. Cara is considerably taller and faster, though, and she's trickier. She'd wait by the fence for him to get close, and then she'd climb over. Owen recognized that he couldn't climb the fence, so he decided to go under. I found him, working away, sitting on the ground by the driveway with his legs out straight under the lowest fence rail. His pants were dirty all the way around: his tush was being rubbed in the dirt, and his lap was full of whatever was rubbing off the fence. Fortunately, he didn't object when I pulled him out.

6/5/12 (Tuesday)

It was Cara's last regular dance class! Owen and I shared a celebratory carton of cherry tomatoes while we read for 45 minutes. We read some old favorites; I wonder whether Owen will remember the Bugs Bunny at Noddington Castle story next year! At the end of the class, we put away our books. Owen found a wonderful new book: it was a Thomas board book. The five pages each introduced an individual from the Thomas universe. Gordon has bright red paint. Somebody else helps all of the big engines. At the end, don't forget Thomas! Peep peep! Why is Thomas "peeping"? I am astonished. Unfortunately, class ran a little late and I had to read this book about eight times in a row. It was fascinating.

Today was a little rainy, and Owen was delighted to get wet on the way from the car to the house. "Look!" he cried, pointing at the mulberries on the driveway, "the berries get wet, too!"

6/6/12 (Wednesday)

Steve generally does most of the "playing with guys" around here, but this morning I took a turn. Many of the Hee-Man guys have lost legs, and Steve and Owen have begun to play by holding legs onto the legless torsos. (Yesterday Owen was very distressed because he couldn't get Merman's arms off, and Steve didn't see why I thought this was in any way remarkable.) Today Owen had Skeletor's torso and I had Man-at-Arms'. Skeletor wore matching legs, probably his own, but I felt that Man-at-Arms would prefer an assortment. He wore one He-Man leg and one Man-e-Faces leg, which were different lengths. That made things more interesting. Skeletor had a power sword, so when he threatened Man-at-Arms Man-at-Arms picked up another leg and they fought. It was very satisfying every time Man-at-Arms collapsed into a pile of dismembered legs. It wasn't all fighting, though. Sometimes Skeletor and Man-at-Arms just hopped together.

This afternoon I took Cara for her dress rehearsal. It was great to see her number; she did beautifully, and I'm looking forward to the recital. However, the rehearsal ran a little late, and someone was missing from Cara's class. After her number, they announced that they were going to wait to take her class picture "because Molly is almost here." I called YBR to let them know. I stalked around for a little bit, and then they decided to do the number again now that Molly was here. Fortunately, the class picture only took a moment, and Cara and I were in the car by 5:48. We made it to Highland Park in 12 minutes, and we found Owen and Miss Vina sitting on a bench on the porch. He was very happy. He likes benches. He likes Miss Vina.

While we ride in the car, Owen likes to point out the interesting things he sees. Many are dogs. Some are people on bicycles. Today, it was (after several dogs) someone running.

Owen: He's running!

Me: Yep.

Cara: Who is?

Me: That guy.

Cara: The one running?

| Previous Week | Back Home | Next Week |