we seem to have added to our family...

My kids have a definite love/hate relationship with pets. Cats and dogs, mostly. They don't seem to mind cats too much, but they still keep their distance. Dogs however, are a different story. They love the idea of a dog, but they do not trust them. They feel like the dog secretly wants to "eat them for dinner" as Rachel says. 
My Mom was here for 3 weeks in July and she brought her small puppy, Scooter. Took Ethan only a few days before he was in love with Scooter. Took Rachel about 2 weeks and Kara never came around. 
They loved to play with Scooter and they loved when they could tell Scooter was enjoying play-time with them. 
Now my sister is living with us and her dog, Napa, is much bigger than Scooter. I am getting the biggest kick out of watching them try to adjust to the bigger sized dog. Napa is a bit crazy, compared to Scooter. She has a ton of energy and she likes to run after things, grab them with her mouth and bring them back to you - catch is her favorite game. She loves when Ethan throws the tennis ball with her. Ethan has completely warmed up to her, but the girls have not. 
I wonder how our neighbors feel about all the screeching sounds that come from our backyard now. 
Rachel pretends to be brave; she'll even call out the dog's name and act like she wants her attention. Then when Napa comes running, Rachel's body begins to shake and her eye lids begin to flutter and she runs, frantically, for the house. 
Kara never tries to get Napa's attention. Like most things that bother Kara, she's decided if she pretends Napa isn't there, then Napa won't notice her. Then when Napa does notice her, Kara gets very angry and says "GO Napa, GO!" and she acts very offended that the dog wants her attention, when she herself isn't giving the dog her attention. Its all quite comical to watch, actually. 


And Jason and I sit back and laugh, because we've always sworn we'd never have pets and here, in the past month, we've had two different dogs living in our home. Scooter was allowed in the house, Napa is not. Thankfully she seems quite pleased with the outdoors here in Washington. 

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I thought I'd share some funny quotes from the kids, on this very topic of dogs. 


E: "Napa! What words should I used for you to listen, since you seem to NOT understand my English words?!"


R: "When Napa comes running at me and barks, I want to jump inside my body and hide." 


E: "I told Napa go to get the ball after I threw it and instead, she ATE Kara's cupcake! Now I think I know how you feel when me and Rache don't obey you." 


R: "Why do dogs lick my face?" 
me: "its their way of saying hi to you and seeing if they like you." 
R: "well, I think Napa needs to start school so we can just teach her how to say 'hello, I'm Napa, nice to meet you!' "


E: "I think once Emmie and Napa move out, I will be fine with just going to the Zoo to visit all the dogs." 


R: "Kara's afraid of Napa. I'm not though. Kara is. She screams when Napa comes to her. I don't scream, just Kara does. I'm not afraid too much, but Kara is really afraid. I'm afraid a little bit and Kara's afraid a lot. I scream only a tiny bit and Kara screams WAY more than me. Because she's more afraid of Napa than me. But, actually... I think I am very afraid of Napa too." 


E: "I didn't know dogs have toe nails!" 
R: "Napa does?" 
E: "yeah, they're even long ones too." 
R: "Mommy! Can we paint Napa's toe nails pink, so she can be a pretty girl like me and Kara?"


during her bedtime prayer Rachel said... "and thank you that Napa lives with us now. If she goes and gets lost outside and can't find her way back to where we live... its probably okay."