No, you can't tongue-kiss the dog.

I was really worried about how Makena would take to our dog, Tiger. I didn't know if she would be scared of him, or allergic to him and I was worried about how Tiger would take to her, too. See, Tiger is a lover. He is a rescued dog with boundless energy, who can easily knock toddlers over with his ever-wagging tale. He is everyone's dog and he means to spread his devotion to anyone who wants it.

Well he finally found someone eager to accept all that he has to give. And she is a sixteen pound four-legged crawler from China. And, sadly, I find myself having to separate Makena from her newfound love.

It's been a couple of days and the dog is our daughter's greatest distraction. She can't get enough of him. She will see him and crawl toward him with her eyes as big as saucers and her mouth open in the hope that Tiger will lick her. It's gross, it's funny, and when we have our first visit with our pediatrician, I'll make sure to have her de-wormed while we are there. What's a little ring worm when you probably have giardhia and a whole slew of parasites? I'm also not a hundred percent sure that she isn't trying to eat him...She really is Daddy's little girl.

In any case, her crawling is progressing at warp speed thanks to our four-legged friend and her two-legged brother who likes to tease her by having her chase his remote-control car.

It's quite brilliant, actually.


Isabelle

Sifting through fifty pounds of mail at 3 AM...