Friends!

My head is spinning! In fact, it may have just exploded. I actually heard Natalie utter these words yesterday: "Owen is my best friend, Mommy." Never mind the fact that she was growling at him (literally) not too many minutes later. Growling is actually kind of effective with Owen, it appears. He picks up a toy she doesn't want him to touch...she goes "grrrrr" and gives him the stink-eye...and he drops the toy and moves on. So maybe they have figured out a way to coexist now. Or maybe the Circle of Death helped them have some fun together and desensitized Natalie. Or maybe now that six months has passed (could it really be true?!) they are settling in. Or maybe the moon was aligned with the stars and the sun for just a couple of days and it will all fall apart soon. In any case, the last few days these two have been truly playing together. Really playing together. Yes, this basically means that Natalie is telling Owen what to do and he does it. But I think that is the way it is supposed to work at this age. It works something like this:

N: Owen, put these animals in this cart and follow me. (He nods, and follows.)

N: Owen, which princess outfit do you want? How about Cinderella? Here, let me help you put this on. Do you want shoes? (Owen nods vigorously, and they go on a hunt for shoes together).

I'm lovin' it!