1 Mother 2 Another

While visiting relatives recently, Maddie had her first encounter with a friendly animal.
 
And big surprise, it wasn’t a cat.
 
Maddie met her aunt and uncle’s black lab Amy, and I’m not sure who walked away from the situation more smitten.  Amy’s still a bit of a puppy herself at around two years old, and she was more than ready to join a Mutual Admiration Society.



Maddie, being the clever girl she is, learned quickly from her encounter with Eli on how to approach a potential friend.  She made her way over to Amy, held out a small toy, and bonked Amy on the head with it.  Fortunately, the dog seemed pretty unfazed by this nontraditional greeting and let it pass.  A few hesitant pats of her chubby hand later, and Madeleine could restrain herself no longer, abandoning restraint and grabbing great big ecstatic fistfuls of doggie.  Puppy was surprised but charmingly blasé about the excessive show of emotion, which won her a fan for life.
 
Being the smitten parents that we are, Brian and I couldn’t help but wonder how adorable our daughter would look on Amy’s back.  And so Madeleine had her first pony ride.  Amy good-naturedly let Maddie sit astride, digging in with both hands, and the dog walked back and forth several times while Maddie (safely held by Daddy) shrieked in exultation, kicking her legs excitedly.
 
For the rest of the weekend, Madeleine was constantly searching the floor for the dog, and every time Maddie would whimper or cry, Amy’d look up worriedly and try to find her.  It’s a little match made in heaven.
 
And fortunately for me, Maddie’s too young to turn to me and say, “Can we get one?”