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Journal Key:

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

4/25/13 (Thursday)

As soon as I arrived to pick him up today, Owen borrowed my sunglasses. Fortunately, I found two pairs of Spider Man ones in his mailbox. He was quite willing to make a trade. When we'd left the back yard, before we could go to the car, though, he had to sit down on a bench and put on both pairs at once. This is not a good idea. He did have to carry one pair to the car, but, as I drove home, he kept lamenting, "My sunglasses are slipping!" Tragic.

Owen was up last night around two. I read him one of my favorites among the library books we have: Excuse Me, Are You a Witch? I think I like it because the protagonist is such a nice little black cat but also because Owen sounds so polite when he asks for it.

I got those books on Monday. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, Owen has asked us whether they are still here. He seems to have gotten pretty confident that his new bed isn't going anywhere, though!

4/26/13 (Friday)

I picked up Owen from YBR today. He was happy to see me when I arrived in the back yard; he came out of his little play house, where the teacher told me he had been making "cakes" all day. He was covered in bits of mulch. Pants, shoes, shirt, hands, face, hair--you name it. They wiped his face and hands and I did a lot of brushing off, but when we got home there was nothing for it but an early bath. I explained to him that Cara was at dance and that Mommy was going to pick her up and get dinner. He correctly predicted that he would have apple juice and chicken nuggets.

4/27/13 (Saturday)

It was a beautiful day out, so we ended up outside. I played some tee-ball with Owen. I tried to convince him to just hit the ball instead of going in low and taking out the tee as well, but that was too much fun to give up. He also likes to give me a turn, always instructing me to use "both hands." Around lunch time, both Grandmama and Grandpapa arrived to take the kids for a sleepover. "Watch me!" said Cara, and rolled end over end down our hill. "Watch me!" said Owen; not really knowing what to do to show off, he ended up sprawled on the ground, making a squealing noise. The kids swapped back and forth, trying to show what they could do. Owen eventually worked up to a sort of sideways roll on the grass.

The grandparents took the kids to Holmdel Park and the farm there, where the big attraction for Owen was the pigs.

4/28/13 (Sunday)

Another lovely day. The kids returned in the morning and it wasn't long before Grandpop (my dad) arrived. For part of the day we played with guys in the house. Grandpop and Owen came up with a game. Owen stuck all the guys under an inverted tub, and then sat on it. The guys were supposed to be asleep and were not supposed to get up. Grandpop would shake and lift the tub while Owen was sitting on it, simulating the rowdy super heroes underneath. Owen laughed so hard he could hardly catch his breath.

We went out to lunch at our local barbecue place, where the promise of further potato chips was enough to motivate Owen to actually eat some of the meal we got for him. Then we all rode over to our local park, which does not have a farm but does have its share of animals. We got to see a fox and some few goats, a couple of rabbits, and we still had a few carrots left from lunch that we were able to throw to some big old pigs. Owen would say, "I see some more animals!" "Let's go see them!" Evelyn would reply. "Okay! Ptchewww!!!" and he would dash off. This happened about eighteen times.

4/29/13 (Monday)

Today at YBR, Miss Nancy and Owen were in the side room with a couple of little girls when a dollhouse fell over.

"Owen," cried Miss Nancy, "I need help to pick that up!"

Owen's eyes widened. "Superman is not so strong!" he said.

Miss Nancy asked the girls to help. With them lifting and Miss Nancy holding the house down, they maintained the status quo. "Owen!" said Miss Nancy, "we need one more Munchkin to help!"

With trepidation, Owen applied his mighty strength. Somehow, they were then able to lift the house.

In the refrigerator, there is a basket that has random snacks tossed into it. Among them is a package of graham crackers. Owen got to have one to take home today! "Can I have a graham cracker to take home?" he asked. He took it home. It was in his hand, whole, when I put him into the car. It was in his hand, whole, when we got out to get Cara. It was in his hand, whole, when he got into the house. I don't know whether he felt obligated to do that.

Aunt Claire came! Owen got her to read to him again, with great hilarity. She just doesn't seem able to figure the characters out.

4/30/13 (Tuesday)

Owen is "testing" us! Or rather he's trying to see what he can get away with. He had to go out in the living room and scream a lot tonight before he would finally agree to eat some broccoli on his plate. We tried to not acknowledge his screams but they actually sounded pretty funny--sort of a whooping sound. Mommy also had to put her foot down to get him washed in the bath...after some angry splashing. We have the consolation of knowing that we parents got our way in the end, and so are, for the time being, still in charge.

I think we have mentioned before now that Owen has really taken to saying "coolaka," or something that sounds like that (kalaka?), a lot. The other day he gave us a clue to its origin, perhaps, when he said it was Spanish. I have not yet tried to figure out whether there is an actual Spanish word like this. I took some Spanish in high school and college but I don't recall any common word that sounds like coolaka.

5/1/13 (Wednesday)

And the testing continues! At the end of playdate, Owen and Steve went up to the bathroom with the Nook to finish an episode of something on the potty. It ended, and Steve started to take Owen's shirt off of him so that he could get into the bath. "Nooooo," screamed Owen, "I want to do pee-pee! I want to do pee-pee!" This went on, as we took his shirt off by force. Steve put him into the bath, where he refused every good thing that was offered to him. It went on after the bath, where he lay on the floor and screamed about not having gotten all of the things he had said no to a few minutes earlier. Then he rejected me and insisted that Steve read to him. After some more screaming, Steve did.

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