My parents are very patient people. They’ve never been ones to hint about grandchildren, even though they love kids and anyone who knows them know that they will be really great grandparents. Even now that I’m married, there’s never been a hint of pressure. I think I’ve gotten more questions about whether Julia and I plan on having kids from single guy friends than my mom and dad. 

That said, their patience is finally being rewarded this year. No, Julia isn’t pregnant; my sister Beth is expecting her first child in August, and of course there is great excitement in our family. While we all try to stay calm and bide our time for the little bundle of joy’s arrival, I think the addition of Chauncey to our family in February served as a nice warm-up. With the pending arrival of an actual human being, I was actually surprised and touched by how excited everyone was about Chauncey. My parents couldn’t wait to meet their “grand dog”, as they refer to him, and Beth sent him a new outfit shortly after his arrival. It was great to hear their excitement over the phone, but then in April my parents visited from Michigan and finally got to meet him in person. 

On the day of their arrival I helped a freshly-groomed Chauncey into his very stylish argyle vest so he’d look his best. When my parents entered our apartment, I think their reaction was pretty similar to how most people react to seeing him for the first time: quiet, disbelieving laughter. It’s something about his long legs and floppy ears and total weight of 7.25 pounds. They scooped him up and he dutifully submitted to their cuddles. We settled into the living room and within about 10 minutes, Chauncey was asleep on my mom’s lap.  I woke up one day to see him on the back of our couch keeping my dad company while he read a book. He spent the rest of the weekend being passed around and fawned over. It was a great weekend all around.  

We now look forward Chauncey’s first visit to Michigan when we go there for a family wedding in June. I’ll get to see how big my sister’s baby bump has gotten, she’ll get to meet our boy, and maybe we’ll start taking bets on whether the newest Vanderhoff human will weigh more than Chauncey does now when he arrives.