This dog can't hold his licker

I know a lot of you have asked why I haven't posted in a while. Well, here's our schedule -
Kieran sleeps from 8pm until 12am and then 7am until 9am. It leaves me with about 2 hours of sleep since I have a lot of catching up to do once he falls asleep and then I cannot fall back asleep in the morning despite being exhausted. I guess I'm now a morning person (minus the smile that accompanies most of those perky morning people.)

Kieran does fall asleep at some point during the afternoon and then it is nearly impossible to wake him. Poor guy is having a really tough time adjusting. He has a bottle every 3 hours (and if we get to 3 hours and 1 minute, Kieran makes it very clear he thinks I'm slacking off.)

So we've had a lot of waking hours to bond. He's a lot of fun and usually pretty giggly from midnight to 7am or so. Since I'm still at my parent's house in NY, I go through my closets and take some trips down memory lane late at night after we've played for a fwe hours. At 33, I think this is the first time I've been sent to my room and of course there's no TV in there so I'm always searching for things to occupy me after Kieran and I have played with the toys and he's moved on to something on his own. Lately, he likes to stand outside his crib and hold the railings. He'll stay like that for 15-20 minutes. It's just about the only time he stays still all day so I just sit behind him and read since he really wants his alone time during this activity.

The other night, Kieran and I went through my high school yearbook. Boy, those angry bangs will haunt me forever. My mom told me that. It's hard not having one photo from my teenage years where I don't look like I'm caught in a windstorm. We also sorted through mix tapes and my 80's cassette tapes (Yes - I will now fess up to owning the soundtrack to Flashdance.)

So Kieran giggles rather often but not always at times I would predict. Funny faces or noises don't necessarily put him in a good mood. My mom's singing elicits quite a giggle from Kieran but since Durban really cannot stand music, he has to leave the room. It's not as though I thought Kieran was going to be laughing with me while watching an episode of The Office but I thought it would be easier to predict what would make him laugh. I guess that will come in time.

Kieran and Durban are getting along really well. We had to rush Durban to the vet last night after he ate the tip of his tail. Just another manifestation of his severe allergies. Last month it was ear infections and the month prior - it was him eating his paws. Luckily Kieran isn't grabbing Durban too much. Kieran is definitely the instigator though. We thought Durban would be a good dog with babies but worried he might get too excited. He has really been great. He can't pass up the opportunity to give a walk by lick - especially if Kieran is in his exersaucer. I guess that's what makes Durban so cute. There's a sign to put on your car that says, "This dog cannot hold his licker." Santosh and I really think it's perfect for Durban.

Kieran also encourages Durban though and he doesn't seem to mind being wet all the time from doggy kisses. Durban is on steroids now for his allergies so that makes him a bit sluggish. He's supposed to wear the Elisabethan collar to keep him from biting to his tail but of course we feel too guilty so we just keep him with us so we can prevent him from doing that. When he was neutered, I tethered him to my belt loops with his leash so he didn't have to have that huge collar on. I wonder if he knows how hard it was to go 14 days after he was neutered without letting him out of my sight for a minute. In the end, he did pull out his stitches but it was already healed. I did this out of love but also out of guilt.

The only issue with Durban is of course the toy stealing. He's used to all the toys being his and as Kieran tosses a toy to the floor, Durban scoops it up. He is very aware of what Kieran leaves behind. When we all leave the room, he sneaks back in to get whatever was left behind.
Too bad for him that everyone knows the sound of the prance he does when he has some contraband. It makes it tough for him to get away with much. Yesterday, we caught Durban with Kieran's little stuffed puppy. Durban had moved aside the little cape on the stuffed dog and was trying to get as much "quality time" with the puppy as he could. For a long time after we took it away, Durban stayed close by the stuffed puppy to see if there would be another opportunity to, well, have his way with him. My mom has been great in helping with Durban so we can focus on Kieran and trying to get into a routine.

I have to go print some photos for the party we're having tomorrow (to welcome Kieran home.) I think we have a few hundreed photos of him and about 4 of Vietnam. Oh well, he was too cute not to photograph all the time.

I'll post some photos from the party tomorrow night or Sunday.