The All Night Long Dog

Noah's two year old brain works in the funniest ways! I love that you never know what he is going to ask. It might be a conversation from three weeks ago or a question asked and answered ten seconds ago. I wanted to record this particular story just to remember this little stage in Noah's life.

It is really hot. (Did you know that pregnant women can feel up to ten degrees hotter than others? This without hot flashes occasionally experienced. So 105 degrees feels like 115 degrees to me.) So I usually don't go outside unless the sun is setting or set. But Brooke showed up at the door with two Popsicles. How can I say no to that? Jennifer and I sat on the front porch while Noah and Brooke ate the Popsicles and discussed a dead bird that had been in our flower bed two weeks ago.

Our other next door neighbor's dog began barking and I made a comment to Jennifer how that dog had barked ALL. NIGHT. LONG. I was so frustrated. Third trimester sleep is hard enough without a dog barking outside my bedroom window. It isn't a new thing. He barks all the time day and night. Jennifer said that she has yelled at the dog to be quiet from her back porch in the middle of the night from two doors down.

An hour later we were in the car with Adam to go to the grocery store and get something to eat for dinner. And we briefly mentioned the dog and the barking. Noah asked, "The dog barked all night long mom?" I answered, " Yes, I couldn't sleep because he was barking." End of conversation.

Two hours later we were coming home from dinner and G-store. It had started raining. And out of the blue Noah says, "The all night long dog is not our dog. He's behind the fence. He barked all night long, mom?" I answered yes and said that since it was raining maybe he wouldn't be outside to bark all night.

Later in the bathtub Adam said they had a five minute conversation about the all night long dog. Noah asked a one hundred question. From "where does the all night long dog live?" to "does Charlie play with all night long dog?" Then he told Adam, "All night long dog makes me sad. Mommy couldn't sleep. I'm sad." Isn't that sweet.

As I was putting him down for the night Noah asked me another twenty questions about all night long dog. He was really concerned. He also told me that Charlie doesn't bark much just at boys on bikes. Which is true. As I was closing the door Noah said, "All night long dog not bark in the rain mom. You can sleep."

And do you know what the first thing he mentioned this morning was? All night long dog. I just think his little mind is adorable. It has been so amazing to watch it grow, work and click.