After watching 7 month old Graham cuddle with his bumper all night, we knew it was time for him to upgrade to a real "lovey."
So that next night we introduced Graham to Puppy and right then and there, their lifelong friendship would begin. Two peas in a pod, best friends forever. "Pup" would go on vacations with us, take naps and sleep with Graham at night, and most importantly help soothe Graham through all of a one year olds toughest moments, i.e. teething, gaining some siblings, professional photographs, etc.
Until one day, Puppy Dog was left at home, alone. I dreaded this day ever happening, but knew it was inevitable. So here's how it went down. We spent most of our weekends this summer away at the lake. It was nice to get away from the house for awhile and my parents would help watch the babies during the day so we could spend some quality time with Graham. We had been so many weekends in a row, that I could pack with my eyes closed. "Puppy Dog", "Pillow", and all the blankets were always one of the last things packed on top of Graham's bag. As Graham saw Brian carrying the bag through the kitchen and out to the car, he quickly grabbed "Puppy Dog" and Brian even said to him, "Leave him in there. You don't want him to get left behind."
Fast forward a couple hours later as I was unpacking all our belongings only to find that Puppy Dog was no where to be found. Panic was beginning to set in. I was counting down the hours until bedtime when Graham would realize his BFF didn't make the trip with us. I had Brian put him to bed that night and stood nearby so I could hear how he would handle the news. It went pretty much as expected. I ran in to tell him he could sleep with a train, a boat, a truck. It was his choice. I could tell that wasn't going to replace his furry friend.
My dad, not completely understanding that he wasn't going to sleep with just any puppy, tried to make the situation better by reminding me that Coco, my parents dog, used to carry around a stuffed puppy dog and it was somewhere in the living area. This didn't seem helpful at the time, but desperate times call for desperate measures so I found that little puppy dog, marched it right into Graham's bedroom and came up with one of my most elaborate stories yet. It went something like this:
Me: Graham, look who came to visit!
Graham: Eww, Gross! (his latest phrase at the time)
Me: That's not very nice! This is Pup's VERY best friend!! Puppy is so excited that you are getting to hang out with his BEST friend this weekend! Ruff Ruff.
Graham: speechless but warming up to the idea.
Me: Sleep tight! I know Pup is going to be so happy that you and his BEST friend are going to sleep together tonight!
The Next Morning: Brian went to get Graham out of bed and he said the first words out of Graham's mouth were, "Pup's friend."
I'm sure a scene from Toy Story was taking place at our house and Puppy was doing everything he could to come meet up with us at the lake. I would hate for him to know how easily he was replaced.
But, nonetheless, what I thought was going to be a disastrous weekend, turned out great and now I know if we ever leave "Puppy Dog" behind, there's always an easy fix.
So that next night we introduced Graham to Puppy and right then and there, their lifelong friendship would begin. Two peas in a pod, best friends forever. "Pup" would go on vacations with us, take naps and sleep with Graham at night, and most importantly help soothe Graham through all of a one year olds toughest moments, i.e. teething, gaining some siblings, professional photographs, etc.
Until one day, Puppy Dog was left at home, alone. I dreaded this day ever happening, but knew it was inevitable. So here's how it went down. We spent most of our weekends this summer away at the lake. It was nice to get away from the house for awhile and my parents would help watch the babies during the day so we could spend some quality time with Graham. We had been so many weekends in a row, that I could pack with my eyes closed. "Puppy Dog", "Pillow", and all the blankets were always one of the last things packed on top of Graham's bag. As Graham saw Brian carrying the bag through the kitchen and out to the car, he quickly grabbed "Puppy Dog" and Brian even said to him, "Leave him in there. You don't want him to get left behind."
Fast forward a couple hours later as I was unpacking all our belongings only to find that Puppy Dog was no where to be found. Panic was beginning to set in. I was counting down the hours until bedtime when Graham would realize his BFF didn't make the trip with us. I had Brian put him to bed that night and stood nearby so I could hear how he would handle the news. It went pretty much as expected. I ran in to tell him he could sleep with a train, a boat, a truck. It was his choice. I could tell that wasn't going to replace his furry friend.
My dad, not completely understanding that he wasn't going to sleep with just any puppy, tried to make the situation better by reminding me that Coco, my parents dog, used to carry around a stuffed puppy dog and it was somewhere in the living area. This didn't seem helpful at the time, but desperate times call for desperate measures so I found that little puppy dog, marched it right into Graham's bedroom and came up with one of my most elaborate stories yet. It went something like this:
Me: Graham, look who came to visit!
Graham: Eww, Gross! (his latest phrase at the time)
Me: That's not very nice! This is Pup's VERY best friend!! Puppy is so excited that you are getting to hang out with his BEST friend this weekend! Ruff Ruff.
Graham: speechless but warming up to the idea.
Me: Sleep tight! I know Pup is going to be so happy that you and his BEST friend are going to sleep together tonight!
The Next Morning: Brian went to get Graham out of bed and he said the first words out of Graham's mouth were, "Pup's friend."
I'm sure a scene from Toy Story was taking place at our house and Puppy was doing everything he could to come meet up with us at the lake. I would hate for him to know how easily he was replaced.
But, nonetheless, what I thought was going to be a disastrous weekend, turned out great and now I know if we ever leave "Puppy Dog" behind, there's always an easy fix.
This last picture was taken as we were packing up the car and Brian told Graham he couldn't bring "Pup's friend" with us. He had to stay at the lake. Graham sneakily tried to hide him behind his back as he walked out the door. It wasn't until he realized he got caught by mom that he walked him back inside. I know Graham couldn't wait to tell the real Puppy Dog what a great time he had with his friend.
I just used a similar trick to get Graham in his bed this afternoon for a nap after school. He wasn't fond of the idea of going straight to bed, but when I said, Pup wanted to hear all about his day, he was quick to go see him and fill him in with all the details, "Pup, saw a brown liz."
I'm sure Graham will have plenty of his own little white lies to share with me during the high school days so I'll have my own fun while I can.
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