"Auntie Crickett had a Farm...."

This video tells you multiple things.

#1: The Dude has been singing a lot of "Old MacDonald"... but in his case, it's either "Uncle Donald had a farm..." or "Auntie Crickett had a farm...E-E-E-E-O!"

#2: He has figured out on our new video camera that if we rotate the lens towards him, he can see himself in the LCD screen. (It's hard for Mama to keep the lens on him though... so pardon the moving around)

#3: You witness, at the end, his "mad face". When The Dude is not liking something he will pout his lips out and express his upset-ness. We've been seeing this a lot more lately, as he is starting discover that he can express himself when he doesn't like something. Or if things aren't going his way. Or if he is mad. (We try to respect his feelings, but can't help from smirking because it's so darn CUTE!)

A Fish Called Blue

On Saturday we walked down the street to our neighbors garage sale. Mama had a couple dollar bills burning a hole in her pocket, and the sale was mostly kid stuff ("Sophie's Stuff" to be exact - one of the little girls on our street that The Dude has a big crush on) so we knew we would walk away with something good.

After perusing the Hello Kitty selection and the My Little Ponies, Owen headed up the steps into the "grown up" section where we found plates, various kitchen knick-knacks and picture frames. He headed right for a crusty, old fish bowl (years empty, we're sure) with neon turquoise rocks. Of course, The Dude new exactly what it was for...

"FISH!" he exclaimed loudly (which he does often these days...). He tried to pick it up, but Mama stopped him and got down on his level.

(M)"Do you want to take this home Owen?"
(O)"Yes."
(M)"We'll have to go to the fish store and get you a fish to put in it..."
(O)"OK!!"

And down the stairs to the sidewalk he went, running towards our house.
It had been decided.

As Mama was searching her pockets for the two bucks that they were asking for the thing, a woman approached us and told us that she had a free fish for us. She just lived on the next block, and we could come over that moment and get it. Really? A free fish? To put in our new fish bowl? It must have been fate....

About fifteen minutes later, we carefully walked down the block - being careful not to spill the fresh water and our new, beautiful fish onto the sidewalk - back to our house to introduce our newest pet to our home.

His name is Blue. He's a beta fish. And he fits in quite nicely.
And Owen LOVES him.



*Parent's note: We don't normally let Owen climb onto the table. This was a one time thing so that we were able to capture the moment of his excitement. The fish now lives in his room, safely out of reach - but definitely within view for short people...

Singing in the bath...

Ok, so you've heard The Dude sing his ABC's, and his second favorite song is "Happy Birthday". We've had a lot of birthdays lately, so he is getting lots of practice...AND the kid just likes to sing, so the following video* demonstrates what we hear pretty much all day long.



*This video was shot with our new, fancy Sony WEBBIE HD camera that was so graciously gifted to us this last weekend!! HOORAY! It works fabulously, and we are getting some good footage which we will undoubtedly share (whether you like it or not!). Thank You, Thank You, Great Uncle T!!

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Yes, Summer has arrived here in P-Town! Hooray!

Last weekend at a MEGA garage sale, Mama scored an awesome summertime accessory to add to the pile of outdoor patio toys.

Meet MR. TURTLE:



He will gladly cool off our toes and add many hours of water refreshment this summer...and we couldn't be happier!!

Farm Boy

Last weekend we headed out of the city to get some much needed breathing room. We ended up on our favorite little island, with no real plan or agenda.

Perfect scenario for an almost two year old adventurer.





The local U-pick farm boasted that raspberries were aplenty, but we only found a few that were ripe, and they didn't quite make it back to the store to be weighed....



Welcome Summer. We're glad you're here...