Vinnie wags his tail every time I look at him. It is such a good feeling. Dogs are always so happy to see us.

Whoops. Vinnie was playing too rough with a bee & accidentally killed it. Poor little guy didn't know what hit him.

Wow! How did the weekend fill up so quickly?! Party, dog parade, coffee date, party, Lily Tomlin live, Canada, ice cream date.

"Vinnie, lie down!" does not mean "Come over and start licking my face." But, somehow, it does...

And in non-Vinnie news, tomorrow is SO Friday. Can't wait. Anyone have any fun weekend plans?

Tonight Vinnie played with a dog named Riley. My neighbor's dog is also "Riley." Soon, Vinnie will think "Riley" = "dog". E;cP

Sequence of events: 1) I'm upset with Vinnie. 2) Vinnie licks my face. 3) I start laughing. No wonder the kid is confused.

What a crazy time to be awake! Vinnie was SO confused when my alarm went off at 5:30 this morning.

Fun walk. Vinnie tried, unsuccessfully, to get a large, winged bug to play with him. Then he got freaked out by a slug. E;cP

Vinnie, I love you, but you're just so WEIRD.

Vinnie was SO GOOD this weekend. Golnar & I stayed up til 3am last night watching the Twilight movies & he was so calm & quiet the whole time. E;cP

I love it when Vinnie sticks his head out the car window & bites the air... teeth gnashing, tail wagging... what a funny guy.

About once a week or so, I'll let Vinnie sleep at my feet. He gets super excited & he paws at my face for the first few moments. Ouch.

Vinnie is a cartoon character, a complete caricature of himself. He is so adorable and funny-looking at the same time.

Great, sunny weekend! 1 day at the lake w/ friends & family, & another day swimming w/ Vin at the dog park E;cP. Church & ice cream topped it off.

Ha! Vinnie just had a very vocal dream. What a cutie. I started laughing and accidentally woke him up.

When Vinnie is scared about something, he grunts and breathes out of his nose like a dragon. It's so cute, probably opposite of the effect he's going for.

You know you have a dog when you find spare poop bags everywhere. In your pockets, car, freezer. I almost used one to pick blackberries with yesterday.

To Laugh or Not to Laugh?

I laugh at Vinnie a lot. At his clumsiness, his quirks, his mischief... When I feel a laugh coming on, I try to cover it up with a cough instead, because I'm essentially laughing AT him and that's not nice. When I cough or laugh, he does look at me pretty suspiciously... I wonder if he buys my cover up?

In any case, whenever I am laughing or coughing or something inbetween, it is inevitable that Vinnie will look up at me. Suspiciously glance at me? Maybe. Or maybe just protectively, making sure I'm not choking on something or need help. Not sure what type of help he would give me, but... it's the thought that counts.

I get so much joy out of watching Vinnie, observing his actions and imagining his thought patterns, interacting with him, teasing him, giving him affection... I don't have any kids and the closest thing I have ever been to having a kid was feeling like a 2nd mother to my kid sister, who is almost 15 years younger than I am. And with both Allison and Vinnie, their mere existence is cause for a joyful celebration. Each little thing that my sister did growing up was a new step of progress for her, as she was learning more and more each day than I could even imagine. She was learning so fast that at any moment, she was infinitely smarter than the day before. It was such a joy and a gift to be able to witness that. When it came time for me to move out of my parents' house and go to college, I was excited but also worried that I would miss out on these moments with my sister. I would miss her first day of school, her first report card, her first organized sport.

A similar thing happens in my relationship with Vinnie. At each 1st (the 1st time he saw a vacuum--he was terrified even though it was OFF, the first time he tried ice cream--delicious!, the 1st time he got attacked by a much bigger dog--not pretty), I was so happy to be there to coach him or reassure him along the way. And with all the times that I was there, I still missed some moments. Last year, I left for Europe with some friends, and it snowed the day after we left. My parents were watching Vinnie while I was gone, and I missed his first interactions with snow. I guess I can't be there for everything.

I'll probably keep on laughing at Vinnie. This kid loves me and looks up to me, protects me and knows that in turn I will protect him, and my response is to laugh. Sure, I'm laughing out of the sheer happiness of having him in my life, but still! I guess that's motherhood.

I'm working on training Vinnie to kiss on demand. It's slow going; he's a teenage boy and I'm sure kissing his mother is embarrassing.

I'm working on training Vinnie to kiss on demand. It's slow going; he's a teenage boy.

I'm working on training Vinnie to kiss on demand. It's slow going; he's a teenage boy.

I was driving stick for the 1st time today, & Vinnie was in the backseat. He was so scared he kept licking my face & trying to climb in the front.

I love how Vinnie holds a stick in his mouth like it's a cigar. It goes with his Vinnie Barbarino/mafia-scowl look perfectly.