Hallie And Other Hallies

I don't love dogs. They are really not my favorite. When I was little I was completely terrified of them. I can control myself now and I don't jump into the arms of random strangers everytime I see one, but they are still not my favorite. So is it surprising that my child is in love with dogs? Tyler absolutely loves them. He loves to pet them and play with them and feed them and give them toys. He loves to talk about them and look at them. He has three stuffed animal puppies that he has loved for most of his life. He always sleeps with them and often brings at least one around the house and sometimes in the car with him. But this week he has turned a new corner into pet ownership. On Sunday he brought one in the car to church and he named her Hallie. We have some friends with a dog named Hallie, and Tyler loves that dog. The next day he named his other two puppies Other Hallie. I am so used to just calling them his puppies that he is continuously correcting me. "No, Mommy. Hallie."

For the last few days Tyler has been becoming an expert in taking care of his Hallies. I'm pretty sure he would take better care of a dog than I would. He's a pretty fantastic little dog owner.

He combs their hair, he gets Kleenex and blows their noses and he puts them in the sink to wash them. He is constantly going to the cabinets and stealing boxes of crackers or other snacks to feed them. And once we were all in the kitchen and he pulled a step up to the stove. Carl and I both raced across the kitchen telling him to get down and that he should never play by the stove. He very calmly said, "Hallie. Breakfast."

He flosses and brushes her teeth.

He has also been taking Hallie for lots of walks around the house. I had to make him a leash because he was walking all bent over trying to walk her everywhere.

 Tyler with all three of his Hallies.