Owen, aka THE SAILFISH

Owen is a man of many diverse interests. We move quickly from topic to topic - outerspace, snakes...and now, sea creatures, specifically sailfish. (I don't even think I even knew there was a fish called a sailfish, and I'm not sure where Owen learned about it - so if you know, tell me.) He was obsessed wtih making a sailfish costume. He made one all by himself out of regular printer paper but was frustrated because it wasn't the right color and it wasn't strong enough so it kept ripping and the nose kept falling off his face. So, as Owen does - he made a plan. He asked Nana to buy him blue and white posterboard (he knows who to go to)! He drew a reminder and had me put it on our calendar - that we would make his sailfish costume during QPT on X day (he knows how to get things done - when both girls are asleep)! 

He drew on a small piece of paper what each shape should look like and then he showed me with his hands how big. Then I drew each piece on the poster board (careful to get the color right!) and we took turns cutting them out. He has "played" sailfish several times - this essentially means he puts the costume on (with tape) and he walks around the house a few times and then takes it off. I think the fun was in the designing and creating...

In other fun news...the Murray's house is under construction! Yippee!!! (These are our dear friends who are building around the corner from us.) Yippee, I say again! Owen and their oldest boy Nathan and I went for POURING DAY a few weeks ago - and by the looks of things it's catching up with our house!

 For 2 dirt-loving boys, it doesn't get much better than this.

In other Owen news:

• I sort of already mentioned this but Owen draws reminders for just about everything these days - mind you - these are reminders for me! I'll tell him we're going to go to the lake tomorrow to feed the ducks since we don't have school and he'll draw a picture of a stroller and a bunch of ducks and a loaf of bread and write the first letters of the words We're Going To Lake Feed Ducks. Bring Bread. Othewise known as: WGTLFD.BB. And he'll draw a clock face to show the time we're supposed to go (not always accurate). It is both totally patronizing and totally adorable. 
• Like Rebecca, he's into setting booby traps to protect things - like Halloween candy. He doesn't realize he could just hide it from me...
• A few weeks ago he was describing something to me (I don't remember what) and he used the phrase - "it blows my mind out" to describe his amazement. Love it! 
• Talking about the difference between the seasons - "I think about that pool all the time - I'm thinking about it RIGHT NOW!"
• New favorite song ("because of the echo") - California Dreaming (Mamas & Papas, 1965) - the first few weeks were rough...but he sang it roughly 144 times/day so now he's got the lyrics down pat. Including the echo. I'm outlawed it in my presence until further notice.
• Obsessed with keeping the legos from different kits separate because those "are the rules" - good luck with that sonny.
• Our netflix died (well, our DVD player) so we've been watching some kid channels that unfortunately have commercials - Owen likes to discuss them - what the "advertisements" are selling and why and who they're targeting (yep). He tells Rebecca things like - "that's just an advertisement, Rebecca - we don't need that."

A couple of pics from his actual birthday - donut breakfast and muffin at school. Still can't believe this kiddo is five.