The Dog Duo

A day does not go by in this house when a child of mine (or both) doesn't pretend to be a dog. It happens every. single. day. First is was mostly Jackson, but Belle has really picked up on this gig lately.

• They are typically Molly and Malcom (named for my parent's and brother's dogs, respectively) though Jackson will sometime be a Dalmatian. 
• While in dog-mode, it is imperative that I communicate with them using their dog names lest I be barked at and corrected.
• The kids dogs play fetch with each other. 
• The last time we visited my parent's house, Belle put on the leash that's outside by the tree and crawled around barking like a dog. I didn't take a picture as I could only imagine what the internet would say about me tying my child up to a tree. 

• On multiple occasions, I have had to remind my kids that they are pretend dogs and that it's not okay to lick me. Gross!!
• Lately, Belle is "Molly" more often than Belle. Tonight, she could be found crawling around with a dog bone (play french fry) in her mouth. She requests that I refer to her food as dog food, regardless of what I've cooked. She's become so clever as to not participate in clean-up, because she's a dog.
• I may have capitalized on Belle's instance on being a dog to explain that Molly doesn't wear a diaper. It hasn't seemed to make much difference, but if wanting to be like a dog, instead of just a big girl, is the motivation for potty training... I'm on board!
• Sometimes Jackson will lick the milk from his leftover cereal as a dog would drink water from a dish. 

There are many people (my brother included) who treat their dogs as little human babies. Me, on the other hand, continually have to treat my human babies as little dogs!! At least while they're dogs, they aren't whining to watch TV, so it's not so bad. And no one's asking to get a puppy... because we've already got two!