Mom: Oscar and Susan

Oscar is our dog and first child. He is a 16-pound Border Terrier who plays like a big dog and occasionally has small dog syndrome. And by occasionally, I mean every time he sees other dogs. He is super friendly and very playful. And we have spoiled him ROTTEN. He knows how to sit and down. Chris also taught him to shake and "leave it." He graduated twice from puppy school but it didn't really take. And it is all our fault.

Seriously, how can you get mad at that face?

He has the sweetest face, so whenever he does something wrong, he just looks at us and he is instantly forgiven. Now he doesn't chew on anything that isn't his and he doesn't have any terrible habits, but he is obsessed with going outside. For the first 3.5 years of his life, going outside always included the leash. He had a daily walk, but we didn't have a fenced-in backyard. When we bought our house in November 2010, we promised him that the first thing we would do is fence in the yard, which we did. Since then, he has never looked back. He loves it. He runs at the door and starts barking and jumping like he might explode if you don't let him out that minute. It's really his only bad habit and we don't really know how/don't feel like correcting it.

All the pregnancy books said that the baby could hear voices and other outside sounds during the pregnancy. Well this is definitely true in our case. Oscar barks several times throughout the day. When he sees the wayward squirrel who is visiting the backyard, when he sees real (and cartoon) animals on TV, and when the doorbell rings. He also sings. Some border terriers sing. Oscar is one of them. He will be snoozing on the bed, and then all of the sudden lift up and just release the most "beautiful" song. And Susan heard all of this when she was in my uterus. So that first day when we brought her home and he literally barked in her ear (the same way he barks at the vacuum), and she didn't flinch, I knew it was true. 

Since their first meeting, Susan and Oscar's relationship has really improved. He licks and kisses her and sits by her. Well, about three weeks ago, she started really seeing him. And now he is her absolute favorite thing to look at. Forget us, her parents who feed, clothe and bathe her. Not to mention wiping her butt. If Oscar is around, he gets all of her attention. She smiles at him, coos at him and has even started reaching for him. The other day, she was playing on the floor. She would grab his leg and each time, he would reach down and kiss her. And according to Chris, last week, she reached up and grabbed a fistful of fur. He looked at her like he couldn't believe she had done that and walked away. She immediately stopped cooing and look confused as if to say "where did he go." The attention she gives him could make a lesser person jealous, but I am a big girl. Sort of.

Playing

He looks like a big stuffed animal...

We make her smile like that too.  Sometimes.

 The girl isn't crawling yet, but when she does, I bet it will be after him. And I fully expect "Oscar" will be her first word, considering how often we say it. But they are already best buds. Oscar sits by her, runs to us when she cries and always comes upstairs with us in the morning when it's time to get her up. And if he thinks she is awesome now, just wait until she is tossing him Cheerios from her highchair. They will definitely give Chris and I a run for our money.

Sometimes, Oscar doesn't feel like sharing the spotlight.  So he takes it over.

Kisses.