Annie gets weird ideas in her head. A couple of weeks ago she started asking me for a “practice dog.” In Annie-Speak, practice means pretend. So when she asked me for a practice dog I responded, “What on earth do you need a pretend dog for? You have a real dog.” Then my friend Lissa came over this past weekend, and she coincidentally brought Annie this:
That’s Archie. Do not make the mistake of asking Annabel if Archie is a boy or a girl because she will murder you with her eyes. Archie is girl dog. As you can see, Archie looks a lot like another dog we know and love:
Rigby is lukewarm on Archie (Rigby is lukewarm on most things). Annabel loooooves both of her dogs.
The problem with Archie is that she looks exactly like Rigby from above:
To add to this, Annie leaves Archie all over the place, which is an accident waiting to happen. Archie has been in my path more times than I can count. I always see her out of my peripheral vision, and then I usually jump or contort my body to make sure I don’t step on what I think is Rigby. I have several Archie-related injuries from avoiding the stuffed dog. One of these days I’ll remember that Rigby gets out of the way; Archie does not.
The other night, I woke up to feed James. I left Mike and Rigby in bed, and when I walked into the hallway, this greeted me:
One of my Archie-related injuries is a heart attack, because OMG TOY INEXPLICABLY ALONE IN A DARK HALLWAY AFTER MIDNIGHT. I might never recover.
Johanna says:
That would have totally freaked me out.
Lisa says:
I once found a 6″ Fred Flintstone doll hog-tied and in the freezer. I’ve never fully recovered.
Susan says:
This made me laugh so hard!
Lisa F. says:
Love it!
Ruth D says:
This made me properly laugh out loud, so funny! We once had some Finding Nemo bath toys (from McDonalds) that spoke and used to make sinister comments in the middle of the night, they used to scare the bejesus out of me.
Brandy says:
I would have just DIED of a heart attack right there in the hallway. ARGH!!
Shelly says:
This is hysterical Heather. The way you write your posts cracks me up. Thanks for another laugh in the middle of the work day (whoops!) and for sharing more of Annie’s personality. She seems like the funniest kid!
Leah says:
Yup, that’s heart attack material right there. My kids just had their joint birthday party and one thing that always freaks me out when I’m up late working with the ceiling fan on is that the various blown-up (non-helium) balloons in our living room will, every so often, randomly drift a little bit, and I catch the movement out of the corner of my eye so I don’t know what it is.
Heather R says:
Maybe Archie needs a giant pink bow…
giselle says:
I think perhaps Archie needs a BIG ribbon bow or maybe a dress! Something so it’s easy to quickly recognize its not Rigby. That was funny though.
Nicole says:
OMG I’m laughing SO HARD I’m crying!!
Oh man. gigglesnort!
Annalisa says:
Awww, he was just lonely and wanted to play… But I hear you on the injuries. I have a cat. Avoiding to step on him has been how life works for the past six years. What’s lovely is when I’m so pregnant I can no longer see my feet and step on him, and he acts all insulted.
Jolene says:
It is SUPER creepy when one of the sound making baby toys randomly starts making sounds in the middle of the night in the middle of the picked up and empty living room! GAH! Freaks me the hell out. I have started removing all the batteries.
Annalisa says:
I hear you. We had that problem with one of my daughter’s toys, one of those obnoxious activity tables. It would start up without being touched. We figured out it was more prone to “possession” when the batteries were dying, so from that point on, I’d religiously replace the batteries as soon as it came to life.
MG says:
So funny…..that thing is crazily life-like. That totally would be confusing!
Glenda says:
I can’t believe how much Archie looks like Rigby…except bigger lol… that is so funny! Love Annie’s personality!!!
Jeanie says:
I thought the picture of Annie holding Archie was actually Rigby. Amazing how much alike they look. And that picture of James cracks me up. He is either really pi$$ed or practicing his Jack Nicholson imitation.
Tami says:
I have to agree I think Archie needs a big bow.
Jackie says:
This post CRACKED. Me. Up! I just had to show it to my husband because he wanted to know what I was laughing at! The picture with the dog at the end of the hall is horrifying! Has there been a repeat of the incident? Archie would go missing for sure…
Meg says:
Several years ago, we stayed with one of my mother’s sisters for a night while on a road trip. My aunt, also having a dog, has several of those fake-but-look-realistic squirrel & chipmunk squeaky stuffed toys. She would set them in the corners of the rooms. When we walked into a room, we’d scream, because out of the corner of one’s eye OF COURSE it looks like a real animal snuck into the house and is hiding.
Britt says:
This post made me giggle like a little kid.
Lisa says:
Someone has a great sense of humor. Excellent, Annie or Mike?
Paula says:
I think you have a Chuckie dog instead of a Chuckie doll.