Owen got to stay up late to join in our church small group meeting for the first time last night. It was Joy's birthday, and the lucky boy was invited to help blow out the candles, a big treat. A bigger treat for Owen was spending time with the Ahearn's perfectly behaved golden retriever Caleb. I don't know if Owen has ever been as deeply happy as he was with that dog last night. It made me feel awfully guilty for not wanting to have a dog right now, in addition to soon-to-be 2 kids. I don't want the work of caring for the dog, but on the other hand, I wonder if Owen would enjoy having a friend so much that Owen's care wouldn't get easier! Well, I still don't want a dog right now ;)

Owen basically followed Caleb around the house like a magnet, giving him bear hugs, petting him, talking to him, patting his paws, stroking his tail, more bear hugs, laying on top of him and just never getting enough. It's interesting that he had absolutely NO fear of a dog quite a bit taller than himself! When we put Owen to bed Caleb came up with us and joined in our routine for a while, which Owen thought was fantastic. Joy has trained that dog so well it's amazing...he is a sweetheart of a dog. Interestingly, Caleb didn't want to leave our house at the end of the evening (not normal for him), so we think he bonded with Owen a little bit too.

Alas, the staying-up-late experiment had the feared results (will we have to keep a strict schedule forever with Owen?). Asleep at 9pm, up at 4:20am screaming bloody murder, then quiet in his crib, but too awake to fall asleep again until about 5:45am. Ugh. Even though I tried to go back to sleep I was awake pretty much the whole time he was. Well, it was a fun evening anyway.