the boy and his dog

Well, Allie is technically not Elijah's dog, but I am sure he wishes she were. She is definitely his favorite, and not just among dogs. Many mornings the first sound he makes when he wakes up is "Awoo, awoo, awoo" - his very own imitation of the dog sound. When we come out of the bedroom to say Good Morning to Grandma and Grandpa, he completely ignores them, looks for the dog, and does more barking imitations and "dog" signs. He also likes to pet her, but he is not allowed to. The problem is, the child is allergic to the dog. Claritin is keeping most of the problems at bay, but we still don't want to push our luck. He tests the boundaries, and Grandma once caught him rubbing Allie's back with both hands while no one was looking. But most of the time, he is content to just sit next to her, especially outside. Allie has a spot under a tree with a good view of the road, and Elijah comes over and sits nearby on the grass. It's rather adorable.

When Allie was away this weekend, he kept looking for her everywhere. They had a happy reunion. Allie sniffed Elijah, and Elijah giggled with delight. Then he brought her a friendship offering: a dry leaf. The thing is, Allie likes to chew on leaves, and Elijah is happy to keep a steady supply coming (below). The picture above is from a time when Allie got a new toy, and Elijah was pretty jealous. He followed her everywhere and kept wanting to take the toy when she wasn't looking. But we told him it was the doggie's toy, and he seemed to understand that that meant he couldn't play with it, just like the doggie was not allowed to play with his toys.