Remember your dragon castle?

Do you remember your Imaginext Dragon World Fortress Castle? It was among your favorite toys as a preschooler. I think you played with it just about every day.

It had this dragon head on it that could reach down and grab attacking knights with its jaws. Pressing a button also opened windows to the sound of a thunderclap so that the castle appeared to be "alive"!

We mainly used it for big battles between knights and dragons (Usually the ones we picked up at McDonalds). You also would place Disney princesses in it and have them fight off the dragons!

Our Star Wars and sueprhero action figures also had many goes at attacking/defending the castle!

Our last morning together...

One year ago today I took you to school on a Monday morning as you'd spent the weekend with Jane and me at our condo in Palmdale. It was the last morning we spent together for a year now...

While I got breakfast ready for us, you played with your toys in the living room and saw that one of the DVDs I had were the cartoon "Return to the Planet of the Apes". You got all excited and asked if you could watch it, so I put it in - It was one of my favorite cartoons as a little boy!

You were mesmerized by the opening scene and couldn't stop watching it! When Jane joined us for breakfast, I put the DVD on pause so we eat together as a family, and you told her all about the cartoon!

Afterward, I drove you to preschool where we played a little with some of the dinosaur toys there! They had some of the dinosaur play action sets that we did.

Early morning drive to your preschool

A year ago today you woke up in a hotel room in Santa Clarita! You'd spent the weekend with Jane and me (We were staying in Santa Clarita so we could visit sights in L.A.), and we had to get you to preschool because Monday had arrived!

While I went down to get us all breakfast, Jane woke you up. I came back and got you all washed up, and we enjoyed some muffins and juice (well, I enjoyed coffee) while Jane got ready. While I loaded up the car, she dressed you for school. You looked like the coolest kid that day in preschool!

On the drive to Lancaster, you fell asleep in the car. We had to get up really early because your school was an hour's drive away! When we left, the sun was just beginning to come up.

After dropping you off at school, Jane told me what a great little boy you were and how much fun she had with you. I think she felt like the luckiest woman in the world that morning.

I know I certainly felt like the luckiest man, for I had a great girl friend and the best son one could ever wish for!

What’s your favorite color?

More than three months have now passed since your mother has let me see or speak with you. I find myself wondering how you've changed during that time - Are you taller? Have you lost your first tooth? What new books have you read? What is your favorite color?

When you were a toddler and during most of your preschool years, green was your favorite color. I'm not certain why. Perhaps since we lived in the desert, green was a rare color and so the novelty excited you or the prettiness of some places we visited where green was omnipresent (like the mountains or ocean coast) left an impression. But if given a choice of clothing, Matchbox cars or some other item, you inevitably picked the green one!

Once you turned four and started attending preschool, blue because your favorite color. Again, not certain why, though I'd agree with your taste for blue is my favorite color, too! And perhaps not as much with green, if given a choice of clothing or toy, you inevitably picked the blue one!

What is your favorite today?