Best Friends

Hadley LOVES her dog, Bella. She simply cannot get enough of her. When Hadley sees or hears Bella enter a room, Hadley's whole face brightens and she squeals with delight. Then, she screams, "Bella!!!," and tears off in her direction as if she hasn't seen her in days. And, those two together are hilarious. Hadley tries to "pet" Bella by grabbing her fur and holding onto handfuls at a time. Bella tries to play with Hadley by crouching in front of her or by dangling a toy near her face. And, the kisses. That dog gets more kisses in a day than I get in a week. Bella gives her fair share of kisses to the baby, too.

If Hadley is within ten feet of Bella, Hadley will lean in with a big open mouth to kiss Bella on the top of her head or on her cheek or nose. And, in typical Bella fashion, Bella responds with great big licks to Hadley's face. Hadley could not be happier. I, on the other hand, would prefer that the licks not come into contact with Hadley's face or open mouth. We're working on that one.

For all of the fur pulling that Bella endures in Hadley's presence, she seems to genuinely love Hadley and enjoy being around her. Bella typically seeks Hadley out in the house and routinely joins me when I retrieve Hadley from her crib after naptime. I'm sure the treats that rain down from Hadley's highchair have a lot to do with Bella's continued and saint-like patience with Hadley. The fact that Hadley typcially offers to share her Cheerio's and dinner with Bella probably helps, too.