Jazzy, Big Sister

Jazzy is our firstborn and always will be considered our first child.  I have a special place in my heart for her and I love her even more after seeing how much love she gives Archer and Lyla.  I'm sure bringing two babies into her once calm, quiet home has rocked her little world.  But Jazzy truly has taken everything in stride.

One of my favorite things Jazzy does is greet her babies after I take them somewhere.  Whenever I come home, she's waiting by the garage door.  She even bypasses me and starts to look for her babies before telling me how much she missed me.  She'll even try to go out into the garage to look for them if I don't bring them inside in a timely manner.  Once their car seats are inside, she kisses each one of them.  Archer and Lyla both love when she does this.  And it almost makes me cry.  Every.Single.Time.

Here is Jazzy in action:

Jazzy also tries to give me a hand when the babies get all riled up.  If Archer or Lyla start to get upset, she'll usually come to check on her babies after awhile.  Lyla and Archer both adore Jazzy, so 9 times out of 10 they'll calm down when they see Jazzy.  They'll look at her, smile and try to have a chat with her.  Once they're not upset, Jazzy will leave and go back to whatever she was doing prior.  I am quite happy Jazzy helps me out with the babies. 

Jazzy is also kind enough to help me keep the floor under their high chairs clean.  If anyone has babies who are into feeding themselves, I highly recommend getting a dog, if only for the simple fact that you'll never have to pick food up off the floor.  Jazzy saves me a lot of time in the floor-cleaning department.  Thanks for taking one for the team, Jazzy.

One other adorable thing Jazzy tries to do with Archer and Lyla is play with them.  She'll get down on her front paws in front of them with her little butt up in the air and her tail wagging.  Then she'll playfully jump towards them, as if saying, "Hey!  Come play with me!"  Of course Lyla and Archer aren't quite sure what "playing" with Jazzy entails at the moment.  They just grab for her fur, which Jazzy doesn't appreciate.  So Jazzy runs off.  I think eventually they will figure out how to play with each other. 

As much as Jazzy loves her babies, they can certainly annoy her.  When they are hollering, sometimes she'll just leave the room.  She gives me a look as if to say, "good luck," and then casually saunters out of the room.  Lucky dog.  Then there's the whole grabbing at her, which she does not care for.  I can't say I blame her.  They don't really have the whole "gentle" concept down.  When they try to reach for her, I take their sweet little hands and help them pet her gently.  I figure one of these days they'll catch on.  And now with them crawling, Jazzy has to be a little more on guard.  She's still quicker than them, which is a good thing. 

I am still amazed at how the transition of bringing the babies home has gone for Jazzy.  There has been very little jealousy.  She did chew up one of their toys and one of their baby spoons, which was uncharacteristic of her.  To be fair, the toy was one that would vibrate if you pulled the top part of it.  I think maybe she thought it was a live creature since it moved.  And we all know what Jazzy does with live creatures...  And the kids do chew on their spoons, so maybe she was just mimicking what the babies do?  Anyways, a toy and a spoon are a small price to pay. 

I'm sure there will be a rough period ahead of us when the babies start walking and climbing up on the couch to get to Jazzy.  But we'll figure it out when we get there.  Jazzy certainly isn't going anywhere.