When Eli sees a dog he (1) gets very excited, and then (2) starts waving his arm in a wide circle while saying, “Ba, ba, ba,” which translates to “Back, back, back,” in adult language.

This all started in Jeffrey’s Bay. When Gogo and Gramps leave or arrive in the car, one of them generally tells the dogs, “Back!” which is part of the training they had to learn to stay inside when the gate is open. Eli picked up on this and now calls dogs, “backs.” You always know if he has seen a dog, because he shouts at the top of his voice, “Ba, ba, ba!” while waving his arm.

He seems to really love dogs and is very excited to go and give them a hug. Unfortunately he is not quite as gentle as Grace and likes to grab on tight and lean into the dog with his head, and tries to lie on top of them.