Scout

Andrew and his best friend, Scout.

Andrew giving Scout a kiss.

This is the real Scout and our puppy's name sake. She lives with her family Paul and Amy in Florida. Sadly we haven't seen them in several years, and we aren't sure how much Andrew remembers them, but the memory of Scout lives on!

Andrew received this little puppy, which he has named Scout, for Christmas from his Sunday School teachers. This is his most prized possession and most loved toy. We don't do anything without Scout, especially sleep. Scout has a voice - a rather high-pitched squeaky voice. He also whimpers quite frequently and takes a lot of the blame for naughty behavior and consequently spends almost as much time in Time-Out as Andrew.

Me: "Andrew! Please be quiet. That is too loud and hurts my ears."
Andrew: "Oh, it's not me. It's just Scout."

I can not begin to tell you how many times a day we have this conversation.

Me: "Andrew, please stop running around and spinning. You are going to make yourself sick or step on your brother."

Andrew: "But Scout wants to run in circles. He likes it."

What is a mother to do with an animal that isn't alive but still has so much personality?!