determination!

(sorry if this story is a repeat, but there is an addition to the cuteness!)

Every morning Brady helps me put Oliver in his kennel just before we put our shoes on and head out the door. We have done this since Brady was a baby, and the first time he did it by himself he knew just what to do and he was so proud of himself! I say "Ollie, kennel", and Both Brady and Ollie run to the fridge and wait for me to get a treat, like a little peice of hotdog or meat. I give Brady the treat, and before B would try to eat the treat- so I would say "uucckkk" and shake my head. Now, when I had B the treat he says "uck" and shakes his head- so cute!

Anyway- on normal mornings- they both take off running to the kennel, and Oliver runs right in and Brady gives him the treat and closes the door, I have to latch it. Brady claps and says yay.

This morning Oliver would not go to the kennel- he laid on the rug by the entry and would not get up. I had a few extra minutes so I just watched to see what Brady would do. He kept saying Ollie, next to his kennel, and running back and forth from the dog to the kennel. Then he walked up to me and said so clearly- "mommy, where's Ollie?" (these days his phrase is What is that? and he says it about a million times a day, so to hear him put together a new sentance melted my heart!). So I said, he is right there, help him go to his kennel. Brady set down the treat, and grabbed oliver's face with both hands and tried pulling him to the kennel! It was so cute, he was trying so hard. He pulled a few more times, then kneeled next to him and put his forehead on Olivers to take a break. Then got up and tried pulling him again.

I knew Brady wasnt going to win this battle and we had to get going, so I gave Oliver a little nudge from the back and that made him run to the kennel so Brady could Finally give him a treat and clap!

Chris and I both feel one of our most important jobs as parents is to make our children independant and ready to face the world on thier own as adults. Bottom line, to be good adults. So watching Brady being so determined to accomplish his task of getting Oliver in his kennel makes me feel so proud.

This photo of Brady with his Oliver is 2 months old, you can really see the love these 2 boys share. Oliver did not like Brady until he was about 13 months old, before that we thought we were going to need to find Oliver a new home because he was having some behavior problems.