Providing Endless Entertainment

What did I ever do for entertainment before The Kids? The Baby got new tennis balls this week. She luvs luvs luvs her balls. Squeaky balls are best for inside, but outside we need tennis balls. I got the can of balls at the Commissary and brought it home and pulled it out of the bag with her at my feet: "Look what Mommy got you!" And she danced and pranced in delight. "New tennis balls!" She carries one around, constantly, and proudly, like it is her most prized possession. [We go through a lot of tennis balls. Where do they go?!? They are not under the couches, the bed, bureaus or in the toy box. And no, they are not buried in the back yard, either. She takes it outside with her and makes sure that she has it before coming back in. If it gets left out on the patio, accidentally, she will sit and cry at the sliding glass doors until she one of us lets her go out to retrieve it. A tennis ball CANNOT spend the night outside on the patio. No way.]

So, yesterday afternoon, I said, "Come on Kids! Who wants to go outside and play?" Both of them came running - The Baby with her new tennis ball and The Boy with his dinosaur. I told The Boy to go get his squirrel instead and he dropped the dinosaur and raced back to the toy box to bring me the squirrel. Amazing. He really does know his toys! Out we went. I give myself a little credit for being so talented that I can play tug and pull with The Boy and his flying squirrel with one hand and play toss the tennis ball for The Baby with the other. [Oh yeah. That is talent.]

The tennis ball ended up bouncing into the pool several times. The Baby won't get it. Ut uh. No way. She has absolutely NO idea that she is a water "dog." [I'm pretty sure neither of my two Kids know that they are actually members of the canine family. I'm not gonna tell them.] Standard Poodles were bred to be swimmers. That is how the "Poodle clip" haircut came to be. It isn't just some foo-foo style that someone decided would look beautiful on Poodles. No. It was a clip that left their hair long over their joints for swimming in cold water while they were retrieving ducks or other fowl for their hunter-masters. The Baby won't even retrieve her own tennis ball! She has The Boy do it for her and he dutifully does. Patiently. Time and time and time again. Awww. What a good big brother!