Fancy

Fancy Face Bennett Dillier

This is our new dog's name.  John insisted that we keep the name his mom gave her and just slap "Dillier" on the end.  I suggested hyphenating Bennett-Dillier, but he was vehemently against that for reasons unknown.

Something I'm not sure I wrote about here, but I certainly talked about a lot, was the fact that Diane spoiled Alex beyond all reason. I'm not kidding.  In the three years Alex has been alive PLUS the nine months he lived in my womb, we never saw Diane without her bearing armfulls (and all too often CARFULLS) of gifts for her grandson.  And yes, she brought twice as many gifts once there were two grandsons to spoil.  She took her role as the spoiling grandma very seriously, and it gave her untold amounts of joy.  Needless to say, Alex was always very excited to see Granmda Diane.  Not only did she spoil him with gifts, but she spoiled him with love.  Never once did she refer to Alex as "wild" or "unruly" or "holy terror on wheels".  To her, he was her boy.  "How's my boy!" she'd say to him when she came in the house, holding her arms wide for Alex to run into them.  She'd lift him up and swing him around in a big hug. 

I write this because I think it is all too fitting that Diane managed to spoil Alex rotten one last time.  In leaving behind a dog, a beautiful, sweet, great-with-kids chocolate lab who needed a home, Diane gave Alex a living, loving gift of a best friend, a partner in crime and a warm, furry, every day reminder of his Grandma.