I have spent the last 20 months talking to them about how lovely Chase is, how much he loves them and how much better things will be when he can communicate with words instead of cries and screams. They often look at me seemingly unconvinced. I will admit that this has caused me much guilt over the past 20 months.
Chase clearly loves them. He constantly wants to be petting them, licking them (yes, really), feeding them, climbing on them, hugging them and giving them open-mouthed kisses. I'm pretty sure he also thinks he's part dog -- on more than one occasion, I have found him lying flat on his belly lapping water out of their water bowls. When he gets home from school, the first thing he says is "Wee-wee" (Wrigley) or "Weh-ie" (Winnie) and then he jumps up and down and points when he sees them come out the door. His complete infatuation with them makes their apparent fear of him almost heartbreaking. And then Winston surprises me.
Winston has been somewhat obsessed with Chase's things practically from the first moment he came home from the hospital. I'd come home from work to find one of Chase's super soft blankets in odd places. He'd steal his soft toys and then proudly march around the house with the toys in his mouth. At night, Winston would take his time coming up to bed, and just the sound of his paws hitting the steps took on a different tone. He'd then appear in our room with either a blanket or soft toy in his mouth, climb into bed, lay down and rest his head on top of the blanket or toy. I was convinced that he just liked how soft they were and how good they smelled.
Recently, however, his obsession with Chase's things has really ratcheted up a notch. One night Casey and I were watching TV after the kids went to bed and heard a loud crash from somewhere close by. About 10 seconds later, Winston walks into the family room with Chase's bib in his mouth, clearly very proud of himself. The crash? The sound of a place setting which had fallen off the dining room table while Winston was retrieving the bib. This is not the only bib incident. The bib has turned up in our bed, on the floor of Chase's room and in other odd places. The weirdest thing is that he doesn't lick the bib or try to get the food off of it. He just likes to lay with his head resting on top of it. I think it's his way of saying that he really does love the noise-maker an awful lot.
What about Wrigley, you might wonder? Well, she is more discreet about her fondness. If you come home unexpectedly in the middle of the day, you will almost always find her sleeping on the floor at the side of Chase's crib. She also thinks she is his mother and will lick food off his face, herd him if he's attempting to venture too far off without adult supervision and will almost attack his face with relentless licks in the morning when she first sees him. Her favorite thing, no doubt, is sitting at the foot of Chase's chair during meals. I think she just likes the closeness to him. Surely it has nothing to do with the extreme amount of food that winds up on the floor.
Winston has been somewhat obsessed with Chase's things practically from the first moment he came home from the hospital. I'd come home from work to find one of Chase's super soft blankets in odd places. He'd steal his soft toys and then proudly march around the house with the toys in his mouth. At night, Winston would take his time coming up to bed, and just the sound of his paws hitting the steps took on a different tone. He'd then appear in our room with either a blanket or soft toy in his mouth, climb into bed, lay down and rest his head on top of the blanket or toy. I was convinced that he just liked how soft they were and how good they smelled.
Recently, however, his obsession with Chase's things has really ratcheted up a notch. One night Casey and I were watching TV after the kids went to bed and heard a loud crash from somewhere close by. About 10 seconds later, Winston walks into the family room with Chase's bib in his mouth, clearly very proud of himself. The crash? The sound of a place setting which had fallen off the dining room table while Winston was retrieving the bib. This is not the only bib incident. The bib has turned up in our bed, on the floor of Chase's room and in other odd places. The weirdest thing is that he doesn't lick the bib or try to get the food off of it. He just likes to lay with his head resting on top of it. I think it's his way of saying that he really does love the noise-maker an awful lot.
What about Wrigley, you might wonder? Well, she is more discreet about her fondness. If you come home unexpectedly in the middle of the day, you will almost always find her sleeping on the floor at the side of Chase's crib. She also thinks she is his mother and will lick food off his face, herd him if he's attempting to venture too far off without adult supervision and will almost attack his face with relentless licks in the morning when she first sees him. Her favorite thing, no doubt, is sitting at the foot of Chase's chair during meals. I think she just likes the closeness to him. Surely it has nothing to do with the extreme amount of food that winds up on the floor.
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