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Wednesday, February 19, 2014

It's All About the Cheese

When we first brought Ari home, Izzy showed her maternal instincts. She paced outside his door when he cried. She did not sleep at all in his first six weeks of life. Seriously, her eyes were bloodshot. Finally, one night, when my husband got up to get our crying son, she looked at us, sighed,and slept. She finally figured out that our "puppy" was going to be okay. It was like she trusted us as parents for the first time.

Izzy was one of Ari's first words, after Daddy and Mama.  He started with "Eeeeee," moved to "Izzzizzzy," and now has "Izzy" down, even as far as "Izzy, no," when she jumps up on him. I think she's a bit peeved that he's moved so quickly from "puppy" to just another one of the humans, telling her what she can't do. Or she doesn't get why he hasn't left yet. She moved out of her parents' house at eight weeks old. How come the human puppy is still living with us?

Despite sheer energy and noise of the tiny human, the protectiveness continues on Izzy's part. Each morning, I ask Izzy if she wants to go get our boy. She jumps down from whatever cozy spot she inhabits and runs, claws clicking on the hard wood floors, to wait outside of his door.

He greets her, "Izzy!!" She licks his fingers as he exclaims, "Dingles! Dingles!"

Once he's no longer contained in his crib, she's over it. He runs. He chases. He throws her ball, but never far enough for her taste, and she drops the ball at the feet of adults, with a pleading look.

Still, when Mommy Shorts began promoting the Team Cuddle photo contest (I can't resist a good photo contest), I thought maybe, just maybe, I could catch a sweet moment between my two babies.  The photos I took, though, showed me that, at this point in his development, Izzy loves Ari for one main reason: food. 

I may not have captured a sweet, "awwww" inducing photo of Izzy and Ari cuddling, but I did capture them in their reality. 

He always has some kind of interesting smell on him, whether it be other kids, dirt, bananas, or the all important, cheese.

That dog will put up with anything in the hopes that Ari will offer him the cheese. She won't take it unless it's offered.  At least my dog has manners, aside from the fact that she will hump any dog bigger than her, because, clearly, at 15 pounds, she's the alpha. Okay, at least my dog has manners with humans.  Well, she does leap onto laps and lick faces. Fine, at least my dog has manners with my kid.

This well-mannered dog will put up with just about anything to get food, including sitting in the lap of a toddler and putting up with his "gentle" pats (pats so gentle they about pop her eyes out of her head).  


He pays for the honor of petting her. The currency? The promise of cheese.

And even though that food never materializes (if the adults are watching, the food never leaves Ari's hands), tomorrow she'll still leap down off the down comforter to lick him and help wish him good morning.  Maybe she does love him.


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