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Journal Key:

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

4/24/14 (Thursday)

Cara and Owen and I went out for pizza this evening, just the three of us. Owen had been coloring a picture when we'd gotten to YBR, and we'd brought it with us. He brought it in to the pizza place, and I had to ask whether they had crayons. They did, in a nice paper cup. Thank goodness he was able to continue his important work! He did eat all of the pizza I cut up for him, and he also tackled a hot wing for the first time, probably because Cara was eating them. We had a tough time convincing him not to start from the ends.

I finished my dinner. Cara finished her dinner. Owen finished the pizza I had cut up, and eventually he gave up on his chicken. However, he wanted to eat the rest of his piece of pizza. I'd left a few inches uncut. I folded it and he picked it up to eat. He took an interesting approach. He ate it from almost all sides, including taking bites of the crust. I think it was a very experimental experience.

It was a bit of a relief when he was finished.

Cara had asked, so we walked down the sidewalk to the Bubble Yogurt place, where she had been with her ABC group one day. It is a self-serve yogurt bar. I got some chocolate for Owen; he also wanted some m&ms on it. He and Cara, who had cookies n cream yogurt with more cookie pieces on it, sat up on big spinny chairs. They got to each pick what color plastic spoon to use. Owen was surprised and delighted when he found an m&m in his "ice cream." He had asked for them separate; I think this was an alien concept, for some reason. This time he finished before Cara and went to lounge on the welcome mat by the door while he waited. It kept him amused.

4/28/14 (Monday)

Owen is pretty excited about Steve's birthday. He's been making pictures for him, as birthday gifts. Most of them are just pieces of paper with a lot of stickers on them. "I love Daddy so much! He can sleep like a bat! He can meow like a dog," he told me. I have never seen evidence of either.

4/29/14 (Tuesday)

Today was rainy and cold, and so I heated up some soup for the kids and me. They both like to have theirs in mugs. Owen did a good job on his; he says that one day he will ask Daddy to send him soup for lunch.

Owen is drawing a lot these days. He's mainly working symmetrically, creating bizarre, geometric multicolored shapes that are generally the heads of superheroes or monsters. It takes up a lot of his time. He does like to have other people draw things for him to color. One day, he says, Daddy will draw a Wolverine triceratops for him. Not today, I said.

Last night, when I took Owen out of the bath, I perched him upside-down on my shoulder. He saw himself in the mirror, upside-down. I carried him down the hall. "Wait, Mommy!" he cried. "I didn't get to see myself with my eyes closed!" I tried explaining that that is completely impossible anyway; I'm not sure that it worked. I spent an enjoyable evening with They Might Be Giants lyrics in my head.

We've been having a lot of Mommy Nights. Grumble, grumble. It's nice to be wanted, but it's also nice to get some time on the couch. I've conned Steve into doing the toothbrushing, anyway.

4/30/14 (Wednesday)

Owen woke up around 5:30 this morning, when I was getting ready to shower. He wanted a book. I offered Scooby Doo as an alternative. No, he wanted a book. Was he going to go back to sleep afterwards? No, he wanted a book and then Scooby Doo. We had to go through this pretense of attempting to get him back to sleep.

As usual, Owen was drawing when I got to YBR to get him. He finished (eventually) and put away his drawing toy. Miss Vina complimented him and asked me whether he was so wonderful at home, putting everything away. No, he isn't.

He got pretty wet on the way to the car; it was pouring outside. When we went down the street to the Loefflers' for our first playdate since March, I carried him, shoeless, with his legs inside my raincoat.

Cara had brought her rubber-band-bracelet stuff, which was popular with the bigger kids but not really good for Owen. I asked PJ whether he could find something Owen could play with. He went and brought down a big box of cars and motorcycles. The two boys actually ended up playing together, driving vehicles around on the floor, lining them up, gathering them together. It was very loud and violent, but they were both engaged and happy. I'm glad that PJ finally has a boy to play with, and I'm very glad that Owen has PJ.

Owen ate a lot of dinner. He had pork, which he dipped in apple sauce. He had more pork and apple sauce. He had two helpings of cantaloupe. He was still hungry and had two hard boiled eggs when we got home. Then he got a piece of candy, and then he got a small bowl of goldfish, even though it was really time to get into the bath. He brought his goldfish upstairs. He put them on Steve's nightstand and went to get a book. Bowing to inevitability, I tucked myself into our bed with him and read him The Three Little Javelinas while he snacked before his bath.

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