"Puppy" comes for a sleep-over

     One thing you should know about parenting in Cambodia (and in many parts of Asia) is that you DO NOT make/let your children cry...especially in public.  If they see something they want - they get it.  If you don't give it to them and they cry, then most likely someone else is going to give it to them on your behalf so that they will stop crying.  

     This can be quite frustrating at times, especially if you want to teach your children that crying and throwing a fit will not get them what they want.  Its also rather embarrassing when the entire group of people you are around stop what they are doing to watch the drama unfold as your child kicks and screams because you didn't let them have that balloon, or snack...or whatever it might be.

     There have been a number of occasions where we have come home from church, or the mall, or any other outing with little 'extras' in tow because Aiden SO enjoyed playing with whatever it was and then cried when he needed to give it back so that we could go home (as if the sweet little guy doesn't already have a TON of things to play with already!).

     For the most part we have learned to avoid certain shops in the mall that cause us stress and we try our darndest when he is out playing with neighbor kids to distract him from the toys before we try and make our exit.   

     However the other evening Chris took Aiden to our landlord's house to talk about a bill we needed to pay and a few other things.  Our landlord has an absolutely adorable little girl, she is just about a year old now and is the most peaceful little thing ever (I have NEVER seen her cry nor hardly heard a peep from her cute little lips).  Anyways, they had recently purchased a new toy for her.  I'm not sure exactly how to describe these things, except that they are large rubber animals that you can sit on and then bounce yourself around the room on???  Aiden LOVES them.  Every time we see in them in the mall or in various stores he cries to play with them.  SO, needless to say Aiden attached himself to this lovely green, rubber dog...hugging it and kissing it and calling it his puppy gog!

    I'm sure that you can imagine the fit he pitched as daddy tried to pull him away so that he could come home and take a bath and go to bed.  Our landlord and his wife were quite shocked at the burst of energy that came forth from Aiden and of course took pity on the poor child........and yes, the puppy dog came home with Aiden (just for a couple of nights they said, as their daughter didn't seem to appreciate it as much as Aiden obviously did!).

     My sweet child spent the next hour running circles in our living room hugging, kissing, and dragging this green dog around, all the while saying "puppy gog.....puppy gog...puppy gog!"  He was thrilled and they had made his day by letting us bring the silly thing home for a sleep over.

     How we will handle these situations as he gets older, I'm not quite sure.  It's really like having hundreds of grandparents around spoiling your children rotten all the time...and you end up being the old fuddy duddy who always says "No".    Oh the joys of parenting!