A boy and his dog

Sometimes, when I take the time to stop and watch closely, I get a glimpse into a little relationship that is really quite remarkable.

A relationship that has taken a year to develop...

where a dog would lay beside this baby boy, and never move, each and every time that we put him down on his play mat.

*Carter at 4months

And where she now still never moves as this little boy climbs all over her...every single day.

It's as if she just knows that he's little and means no harm...so she is so incredibly careful with him and so incredibly patient with him. It's like it's an instinctual thing. A love thing. A protector thing. Just like she was (and still is) with Mya, when she was just as little *which I wrote about here, not so long ago.

And although we are careful to be right there with them when they're together, it's really quite remarkable how this little boy can really do no wrong in Meika's eyes. She is patient, loving and protective of him, regardless of the fact that I have to save her on a daily basis from Carter's overly-loving embraces.

So with early morning bottle sharing...

where Carter sits on the floor and pushes his bottle to the ground so that milk droplets come out for Meika to drink up...

and where food is purposely and sometimes secretly tossed overboard at meal time...

Meika takes care of him and he takes care of her.

And yes, there are days when having a dog can drive me nuts.

When she barks outside, wanting to be let in, as I'm in the middle of changing a diaper or feeding a hungry baby.

When she pukes all over my floors in the middle of the night. Or digs in mud outside.

When she welcomes people at our front door as if they're royalty or, bare minimum, the most famous celebrity you've ever met. *Note to self Meika---not everyone loves to be bombarded by your love and excitement. But we do appreciate your good intentions nonetheless.

Or when I'm exhausted--and then I look over at her and I know that she wants to go for a walk. And it's winter. And that means wrangling two kids into mini snowsuits, boots, hats, mitts and pushing a stroller through the snow...but I do it anyways. Most times.

But in the end, when I see her with our kids, I couldn't ask for a better dog. She is quite possibly the most gentle, loving, patient dog that I have ever met.

And when I see how a little relationship between a boy and a dog can become so strong, in such a short period of time, it makes me smile and makes me grateful that our kids are growing up with such a loving, caring friend to call their own.

So to our first baby--our furry, excited, loving, caring pooch...thank you for caring for our kids the same way that we do. And I forgive you for the days when you drive me nuts--because you let our kids crawl on you and love on you without even batting an eyelash. And I couldn't ask for anything more.

Erica xo