Bye-Bye Bling

There was a momentous event in our home last week.

Owen's little bracelet came off.

I was peeling him out of his getting-snugger-by-the-minute footie pj's when the bracelet popped right off and rolled across the floor.

Uh-oh, I gulped. We're not sure about the bracelet's origin, but he had it on in every photo and video we received of Owen, starting with the photos taken within days of his arrival at the Ham Tan orphanage. (You can see it in this photo that we received in March.) We believe his birthmother put it on him, and we hadn't intended to take it off until we had to cut it off.

And the only time he's bitten me in anger was when I once tried to close the hinge, and he thought I was trying to take it off.

So I quickly picked it up and slipped it back on his hand. But then he started fussing and trying to push it off. I took it off and left it on the floor within easy reach, in case he wanted to put it back on later. But he hasn't gone near it, he's shown no interest in it, he seems to have forgotten all about it.

I guess that means he's home.

Don't Fear the Reaper

Owen at the fabulous 10th Annual Pumpkin Hunt, hosted by my aunt, uncle, and cousin. He had a great time!

Song For Owen

There once was a boy

There once was a boy

Who liked to push his cart

Who liked to push his cart

Around and round

Around and round

Around and round

Around and round

This is a song Owen likes at night in various styles. He'll join in quitely as he settles down.

Say Hello to My Little Friend

Owen has been a pill lately. He has a cold, which is disrupting his sleep, so it has been challenging to keep up with his antics. He seems to be into everything, with an appetite for destruction.

Yesterday, the only way I could check my email without him banging on my laptop was to let him rip open packets of Sweet 'n Low. White powder rained down on us while I typed.

"My dining room table looks like a scene from 'Scarface,'" I wrote to a friend. "Thank goodness it's almost naptime."

What happened next is reprinted below, verbatim. Or at least how my friend imagined it.

Bonnie: "Owen, time for your nap."

Owen/Tony Montana: "You know what? F*ck you. How about that?"

Bonnie: "You are just out of sorts today, little man."

Owen/Tony: "Hey, you don't give the orders around here. The only thing in this world that gives orders... is balls."

Bonnie: "Enough. You are taking a nap, and you don't get your bottle."

Owen/Tony: "You wanna waste my time? Okay. I call my lawyer. He's the best lawyer in Miami. He's such a good lawyer, that by tomorrow morning, you gonna be working in Alaska. So dress warm."

Bonnie (Picking Owen up and putting him to bed): "Have a nice nap."

Owen/Tony: " You think you can take me? You need a f*cking army if you gonna take me!"

Road Trip to NC

Last weekend, Owen and I tagged along with my parents on a road trip to North Carolina to visit my sister. Owen did pretty well on the long car rides. He fussed a lot on the trip back, but on the way down, he was just great, watching all the big trucks on 95.

We didn't have any barbecue on this trip, but Owen did have his first visit to Sonic. He also had his first taste of smores, sitting around Aunt Gail's fire pit.

We went to two festivals, in Cameron and in Southern Pines, and we had lunch at the restaurant where Gail works, where he downed a coffee-mug-sized cup of Brunswick Stew. It was the "modern" kind -- no rabbit or squirrel in it. (I think he would have enjoyed it even more with squirrel. The other day, a squirrel was hanging on the tree in our yard at about the six-foot level. Owen saw him, ran to the backyard for a golf club, then ran back to me at the foot of the tree and said, "Up! Up!")

Owen picked up a few more words on the trip, and he got to finally meet Uncle Dennis and Uncle Tony. But the best part was having so much quality time with his grandparents.

On the drive back, he would not allow my mom to sleep. Every time he saw her head start to nod, he'd shriek, "Ga-GAAA!" As if to say, "Stay awake! I might do something cute!"