Toy Dog

5th February 2016

Kingsley has some very generous and thoughtful aunties here in Dubai. Even when I jump up and down asking that they not buy him gifts, they take pains to make him feel special by giving him unique presents that, indeed, he wears and plays with, a lot.

Take for instance this grey knitted hoodie: Rio’s first birthday gift to the boy, which gets used on a weekly basis, and has traveled with us to Australia and the United States over the past 13 months. Even here in Dubai’s winter it gets worn. You see that there novelty dog on wheels? That was from Camilla. I insisted (and threatened) she only give Kingsley a preloved item from her two girls’ toy collection. I was adamant not to add to landfill. The dog is simply divine: sturdy timber frame, plush woolen pelt, sweet doggy face…and every boy’s necessary toy feature: wheels. And it will always be a gift from her two daughters!

As Kingsley progresses past his second birthday, his rate of growth will slow down. He will therefore get to play with and wear all the lovely items that bulge out of our wardrobes and fall off every surface of our apartment. Oh, and the dog stays; our son is definitely a dog person…

Little Dutch boy with his Finnish dog

Little Dutch boy with his Finnish dog