Harvey

Harvey brings so much love and joy into my life. At times I was concerned that my animal person relationship with him was over the top. I mean he is our baby. I like him more than I like most people. Seriously! He is so sweet. He senses my mood and supports me through the day. I have an open dialogue with him and we always have. We speak to him like he's a human. I'm not sure what he understands but it's something we have always done. When he's scared I reassure him, I tell him about my day and ask about his. Obviously he doesn't respond in English, but his eyes and face speak volumes!

Some of my favorite things about harvey:

He is the best napping/sleeping in partner. This boy can sleep and LOVES snuggling. He is never the first out of bed. He always waits and I make it a point to provide cuddle time for him in the morning. I wake up and talk to him. I rest beside him and sometimes look at my phone. He hates this! He is such an exaggerator! He sighs loudly and tries to push my phone from my hand. He knows when I'm trying to split my focus and he wants it all!!!!

Whether I am gone 30 minutes or 6 weeks he is beyond excited when he sees me again. The feeling in my body when I walk through the door to a smiling face and thumping tail are unexplainable. We have a routine where he goes and waits for me on the couch. Once I put my stuff down I immediately go sit beside him and hug him, pet and kiss him. He stretches his paws out over my lap and leans into me. Sometimes he's happy with .30 seconds, others he needs a few minutes. He alerts me if I'm trying to escape too soon by trying to sit on me so I can't leave! Talk about smart!

He makes me walk and enjoy it. Sometimes in life we walk to exercise, it's purposeful walking and we often do it in a hurry. I mean exercising isn't something we want to spend time soaking in often. Well on the flip side when Harvey and I walk we carry a great pace. We get vitamin d, fresh air and we take all of the sights in. Harvey stops to smell a few things and go potty. For the most part he's a fabulous walking partner. If he ever lags behind me, which he sometimes does on hot days I say lets see if daddy's home and he practically drags me to the finish.

He loves to shower and have his teeth brushed. Honest. He opens the shower door at the house and usually just walks right in. Other times we invite him and he eagerly joins us. His teeth are his special time with Matt. Since Harvey was 3 months old Matt's been brushing his teeth nightly. Yes nightly. We all come upstairs together and we all get ready for bed together. Matt brushes Harvey's teeth. When he sees his special tooth brush, which is the same as ours except it has his name clearly written in bold letters on the side, he licks his lips again and again! He loves it!! When Matt's at work I don't brush his teeth and Matt always tells me how he can tell by his bad breath! Haha

Harvey has a huge Oedipus complex when it comes to me. He cannot stand Matt touching me. When Matt and I hug too long Harvey gets angry! He jumps up at me. He then sits and hits me with his paw and groans at me or whimpers. Sometimes he barks at us. I try not to indulge him because Matt and I need this time together but it's so hilarious we often break into laughter and pull apart. Such a baby!

He's great with kids and people. He loves most kids. Some are too much for him and he will avoid them like the plague, others he adores. He loves all of my brothers and has a blast when they visit. He adores Mila and Ava. When Megan visits she greets Harvey as I do on the couch in a calm fashion to help calm him. Then he runs to see where Mila is. He wants to see her and smell her. It's so cute! He's gentle for the most part but he often forgets his size and he has a very strong tail. He swept little Ava off her feet while she was standing with his tail force. No need for baby wipes with this guy he will clean your face and chair up kids! Can that go on a resume?! Haha he isn't aggressive when it comes to his food at all. He will just wait to eat. We love this about him! We want our kids and friends kids to be able to touch him while he eats and not have him growl or be possessive. He knows its his food and its always there. Matt and I made it a point to talk, touch and stop him during meals as training for his future.

If I haven't illustrated well enough for you, take my word he's the BEST!!! He makes every single day brighter simply by being in it. I love him.