stella is 1!

on august 1, 2009 on the way home from jen & jake’s wedding in asheville we stopped at a farm to meet ‘big sis.’ the awkward little pooch with big white paws and blue eyes stole our hearts right away. we couldn’t help but giggle with happiness as i put all 17 pounds of squirmy pup in my lap and we drove off scrambling with the phone to get a pic to share with the world! stella’s first portrait:

then we freaked out.

we immediately decided that everything we’d ever read could go wrong in great danes (or just puppies in general) was already wrong with her- she might be blind, she might be deaf, she might have mites, is she limping? her hips!, she’s bloated!, she must be crawling with heartworms! oh my gosh! turns out, after all the tears, after putting everything in our cart back at petco and deciding we had to return her right away- we just needed to take her to the vet to get checked out. we should probably never have kids…

she was perfect. absolutely healthy- just overwhelmed with her new environment, new food, her own big puffy bed and also just recovering her energy after we cleaned the fleas off of her. she just needed to rest. by the next day we had our perfect little pup!

also, she winces (winks?) when we’re doing something to her she doesn’t like- i guess first baths and birthday crowns fall in the same category:

and today, she turns one year old! happy first birthday stella bella altmix! (that middle name isn’t totally official…;)) congratulations on gaining 100 pounds in the last year and also learning to sit, come, bow & eat on command. thanks for putting up with your birthday crown turned birthday necklace long enough for a few images; you’re the best!

birthday treats!

we love you big baby!