Dogs and 2 Year Olds

Phoebe...she belongs to my parents and is in my opinion just a great freakin' dog. She is with Bella and I today and it has been quite an interesting morning watching the interaction between the 2 of them. They are actually alike in more ways than one, which feels odd saying about my daughter and a dog, but again I am a big Phoebe fan. They both have great big brown eyes, they both are very runt-like and they are both quite sneaky little creatures.

As I opened Bella's door this morning (after she had slept in until 9:45...what a great kid!!) the squeal that was let out of my tiny little woman was unreal when she saw Phoebe dart across her floor. Bella was obviously under the impression that Phoebe had come over for a play date. Today I have learned that as smart as I think my daughter is, she however has no idea that Phoebe is indeed a dog.

After many attempts to get Phoebe to stack blocks, have a tea party, put on a diaper (and then straight onto putting on panties) Bella had a decision on her hands. Phoebe was not cooperating. Bella, being the problem solver that she is, decided that Phoebe's way of doing things was perfectly acceptable. The activity in the Tilly house since that decision has consisted of the following: Bella is refusing to walk...crawling like Phoebe is the transportation of choice. I am not entirely sure if I should be concerned or not being as I am not positive of the actual amount of dog food that Bella ate before I caught her on her hands and knees eating out of Phoebe's bowl. And the last 2 times that the sensation to pee-pee has come around, Bella has begged to go take care of it out in the yard and get a treat for it just like the dog does. After both of them barking, both of them sniffing me over and over again and both of them eating some unknown amount of dog food, things are calm. But it seems now that Phoebe has decided to do a few things Bella's way. Monster's Inc. is now on the big screen TV, Cheerios (not Purina) are being eaten and "the girls" are snuggled together watching Sully and Mike chase boo around the factory. One thing has remained on Phoebe's terms however. They are both tightly cuddled up in Phoebe's dog bed that Bella has named "Phoebe's Potty" as it slightly resembles a tiny toilet.