Monster-y Alien

Yesterday he brought home the book "Draw 50 Aliens" from his school library.

He flipped through it some and then said, "Do the monster-y one."

"Okay," I said flipping through the book myself. Of course the one he picked was just about the most complex one in the book! Up for the challenge, I got started with a good deal of focus this time.

I had just begun when he walked around the table and saw the outline of the head with just its eyes. "Aw, that's really cute," he said.

Hmm, I thought, 'cute' isn't what I was going after! I shot him a look of disapproval.

"The first part looks so cute. Then it's going to look really weird, right?" he said catching my drift.

"I guess. We'll see."

When he saw the finished drawing, he compared mine to the reference and exclaimed, "Oh my god!" He liked it. I could tell. But then he added observantly, "This one looks nicer than the other one."

I welcomed the the lack of criticism with a smile, then realized he meant it didn't look as mean.

"Over here he looks a little bit mean," he said pointing to the reference. "Look at the difference. The tongue is longer."

"It is," I agreed with a sigh.

"I like it Daddy!"

"How do you like your name?"

"I like it. It's kind of monster-y."

Yes, I thought, 'monster-y' is what I was going after!