I get up in the morning and take my shower while Kody stays under the covers and sleeps. I get dressed and make my way to the computer to check my email. Shortly thereafter, Kody will come out expecting "good morning hugs and kisses". He comes out and as soon as I see him I jump to the floor. Then we play for about five minutes, a game which largely involves Kody trying to give me kisses while rolling onto his back. Then we move to the butt scratching portion briefly, and then I get up and Kody goes back to bed.
If you try to play the kissing game, you have to know the secret, which is just that you should stop playing and stand up if they nip you in any way. After a few seconds you can start playing again. They'll catch on pretty quick that nipping ends the game. Kody rarely does this, because I know the secret, but sometimes he gets so excited he accidentally catches my nose or my lip, so it's good to know the protocol. No need to be angry, they're not being bad, they just forgot the rules of the game for a second.
I don't know exactly how this ritual developed, but I think it's a case of Kody training me. He would come out every morning, and I would say good morning and be happy to see him. I guess at some point I got down to play one day, and Kody rewarded that behavior. It's interesting how Kody just goes back to bed.
I'm getting more and more tuned into Kody. This idea of short games seems to be the way he likes to work. When he needs to play, he needs to play, and it's best if I just play with him for five minutes then he'll be done with it and go back to whatever else he's working on. But in the morning, it just works out so well, what a great start to the day.