THE LITTLE CLOWN

Last Night, Mrs. Moose and I got to baby-sit Owen at his house. His mom and dad had an awards banquet to go to and we thought it would be better for Owen if he was home. If he got tired he could go to bed in his own crib. When we arrived he was delighted to see us both and his little face just lit up with joy. I'm sure ours did too.

Mark and Kristin have a small dog and they keep a kennel for him on the main level for when they go out. Owen seems to think that it is also for him. He loves to crawl inside, pull the door closed behind him and sit there grinning at you. He sits for maybe thirty seconds and then pushes the door open and out he comes. The funny thing is, he closes the door behind him when he comes out. I think he likes the kennel because it becomes his own little space.

He also likes to show off how to use all his toys. Some you turn to make go. Some you twist and some you push a button. He has every one of them down pat. He especially likes the ones that play music. He dances to whatever music is playing and wiggles his wee little bum and moves his hands. He is very good and keeps time to the different beats.

Most of his toys are in the basement and when we went down there, he just walked away and played by himself. He doesn't need to be held or played with ALL the time. Of course- I do. Last night he would bend over so that his head was on the floor and he could look at the world upside down through his legs.I would look back at him and he would reach for me with both hands through his legs. He was in a three-point stance with just his head and feet on the floor. He would laugh and laugh. After a seven or eight times of this, he tried to walk away. I think the blood must have gone to his head because he moved like he had had too much to drink.

He loves to be chased and he lets you know when it is time. He stands in the middle of the room and looks at you with this sly little expression on his face. Then he grins and runs. If you do not chase him, he stops to look at you and takes a couple of steps toward you. But the whole time he is ready to run. As soon as you move, he is GONE.

We had to discipline him last night. He likes to bang his hands on the television. Mark and Kristin have a little rocking chair that they sit him in for a time out when he does this. Sort of like the one Dennis the Menace had. He has to sit there for about thirty seconds. Last night , we had to put him in THE CHAIR. He was heartbroken. It wasn't just a fake cry but a real hurt cry that Grandpa had done that to him. He didn't bang the television again though.

He drinks from a cup very well and wants whatever you are drinking. We were having Ginger Ale and he would drink from my glass. He had a bottle of milk that he was supposed to have before bed. Last night he decided he wanted the milk in the glass. When I wouldn't pour it in for him , he took the bottle and put it in the glass. Then he would try to drink from the bottle in the glass. He got so mad when I wouldn't let him carry the glass around. If it had been a plastic glass,okay. But not a glass glass

His uncle, Jim and Craig came over to see him and watch the UFC . Owen loves them both and basically went from one to the other most of the night. The really great thing is, they both love him with all their heart. They actually compete, in a friendly way, to outdo each other in amusing him.

Last night ,it was about 0 Celsius here(32 Fahrenheit) so we went in the hot tub. He loves the hot tub and played with the controls for the jets. Of course, he wore a diaper and when he came out the diaper has absorbed so much water it must have weighed about ten pounds.

He is getting his bottom molars in right now so his little cheeks are red, red, red, A lot of kids get really cranky when they are teething. He is not too bad. You would never know that he was getting new teeth. He was so busy amusing us and having a good time , he didn't really want to go to bed. When Mrs. Moose took him upstairs, he ran around the main level while she waited for him on the stairs to go to the second floor. Usually he loves climbing those stairs. But last night, he went every where but those stairs. Mrs. Moose eventually had to carry him up. He was not a happy camper.

He is a real little clown and kept us amused for hours. I could do this babysitting thing full time with him.