06/06/11 - Lori

Middle Child

My poor baby Dixie - she is a middle child just like her Mama. I used to say if I had 3 kids, I'd sell one or buy another to round out the number. 

Dixie was a very well planned addition to our family, she joined us one month before I got pregnant. (I remember Paul warning me not to get a second dog right before a baby, and have remembered that warning on several specific instances when it felt like we had 8 dogs in the house instead of 2). I have endless photos of Cooper, him being our first baby. Unfortunately I stopped taking photos through much of my pregnancy and of course Cassie took the camera spotlight afterward.

Despite the lack of photos, Dixie is an important and loved member of the DeLude clan. Dixie was born happy and has never stopped being happy. She is the happiest being I've ever known - she has never been mad or sad in her life. All she asks for in return are cuddles, love, and chewies. (not even food, she blissfully does not beg)

I truly believe she was put on this earth to cuddle with me. Cooper puts up with about 5 minutes (or less) of cuddles before going to find his own space, Jim puts up with about 1 minute of cuddles before finding his own space or falling asleep, and Cassie - well, I love my wiggle monkey however I have to steal cuddles while she is sick or sleeping. But Dixie -- she's my cuddle bug. She has a way of molding into you wherever you are. She even cuddles with Jim, and he lets her. He has always had a "no dogs on the bed" rule - which I've bent by letting Cooper up before Jim goes to bed and kicks him off. Somehow, Dixie has managed to sleep on the bed with us - when Jim grumbles, I tell her to lick his ear. When she does, he giggles (yes, I said 'giggles') and tells her to at least stay off his side of the bed. He calls her "The Rat" because sometimes she looks like Templeton from Charlotte's Web with her long nose. Dixie's always near us, so when she's absent, Jim'll ask, "where's the rat?" --- it's just a reminder of how much he loves her, that he notices when she's not around.


She's 10 pounds of love and cuddles, she's a middle child, and that makes her as special as her Mama. I took this pic from the dinner table on the deck - in the evening the sun sets across the street and only a small patch of direct light falls on our very back wall ... Dixie sits out there, looking tiny against the big wall, soaking in the final rays of the day. I used my zoom on the P&S so it's not as crisp as I'd like it to be, but clearly this post is not about photographic technique :)

(Dixie celebrates her 2nd birthday on June 14th by the way!)