I'm going to go ahead and brag about this one

It's no secret that Dodger is probably the best dog on earth.
But he's also a bit needy and jealous. So I hoped and prayed that he and Ben would be good buddies, but I wasn't always positive it would happen.

I'm here to tell you it has.

Since Day 1, Dodger has always gotten up with me to feed Ben in the middle of the night. When it was the 3rd or 4th time in one night, I'd think for sure he'd stay in bed. But without exception, he would drag himself up off his bed, literally roll his eyes, drag himself into the nursery and flop on the floor. Once we were done, I'd call him back into our room and he'd reluctantly leave Ben's room to come back to bed.

I loved that, but I wasn't sure if it was about being close to me or the baby.

Now Dodger anxiously waits outside Ben's door on the mornings when Ben sleeps in. He's even gone so far as to barge in to wake him up (I nipped that one in the bud real quick). He's genuinely excited to see Ben every morning. And vice versa. And I love it.

Dodger's always understood that Ben's toys aren't for him. Recently, Ben's learned that Dodger's toys aren't for him. But he's also caught on to the fact that if he throws Dodger's toy, Dodger will bring it back. And that there is no game Dodger loves more than Keep-away.

Last weekend, our friends returned Ben's bassinette after borrowing it for their son. Ben thought it was a great jungle gym. Watch how well he moves these days!



He played in it for long enough that Dodger finally decided to get in on the action and brought a toy. Watch how they play together. I love how both of them slip into careful slow motion when they're close, and then get serious for the chase. This went on for quite some time. Dodger always brought "Flea" back for Ben to throw. And Ben always made Dodger wait for his inevitable throw.




I'm so happy that Dodger's a dog worthy of Ben's first word!