So we spent a total of 2 whole days visiting my family, which now includes a new baby. I feel like I was there for a week. My nephew likes having an auntie who can run fast and appreciates every episode of Clifford the Big Red Dog and lets him stay up however the hell late that was to see them all. I dunno what time it was. I fell asleep. My family all likes dogs. Which is a good thing because I always bring a whole selection to add on to theirs when I visit. This trip just included Otterpop, Gustavo, and Ruby. Which is like bringing a tiny little furiously shedding hurricane of howling and trampling. But, compared to a new baby and a toddler, is totally nothing. You just sort of make sure no one is going to get run over and keep the baby off low surfaces that dogs may be using as launch pads to speed.

We repeat the phrase a lot, Otterpop is mean, and just save her for throwing balls at. Gustavo and Ruby, totally bombproof to and ok to poke eyes of, pull tails of, chase around with flying firetrucks full of robots. He was sad Timmy didn’t come though because he has an invisible dog named Timmy.

What we found though, was that Gustavo was weirdly fond of the baby. Ruby, she likes babies because they taste nice. Otterpop, let’s repeat again, kids, Otterpop is mean. But Gustavo was obsessed with the baby.

At first I was worried maybe it was because he wanted to eat the baby. My sister didn’t seem that worried but I was thinking, what if he thinks the baby is just a nice chubby hairless squirrel?

Or maybe sort of like Ruby, who likes babies and little kids because they eat a lot and their food sticks to them and they are nice to lick.

But what it was was just he wanted to sit next to the baby and maybe throw a tiny little paw over a tiny little leg and then lay there quietly together.