Another birthday: Birthday Girl.

December 19th was Miss Bella Kaleigh Jones' first birthday. WOW, it blows me away that she grew up so fast. I mean, she is definitely still a puppy, don't get me wrong, but I just can't believe how fast we went from those crazy puppy days of playing playing playing, then having accidents, then learning and training and playing some more to the crazy puppy nights of waking up a million times, going potty but still crying. Then seeing people and jumping all over them and going NUTS because SHE WAS A PUPPY and had to just LOVE EVERYBODY.

Oh and the trials and tribulations of the first year, not only in training, growing, and filling her big girl shoes but trying to figure out her health issues. UGH. Poor thing has been through so much in just a year.

Now we have a big girl, still a puppy, but a big girl. She's now 45-ish pounds, full grown except for some filling out she still needs to do. She doesn't jump on anyone anymore (well, not like she used to), she listens, she understands, she knows what is right/wrong. Her health issues are figured out...most of the time. And they don't cost us $500 a week anymore in millions of tests, vet visits, changes in food. She doesn't have accidents at OUR house. Why do I emphasize our house? OH, only because while she was staying at our neighbors house over Thankgiving, she peed FOUR TIMES in their house. Apparently they keep a GIANT bowl of water out and yes, still a puppy, Bella drinks for fun. And doesn't know how to hold THAT amount of water. Yikes. Our friends have subsequently learned to control her water intake. Oh and in honor of her birthday on the actual day of? I flew to Kansas City on December 17 and Tim worked the 18th so she had to stay with the neighbors. Tim picked her up the morning of her birthday at their house.... about 2.5 minutes after she had apparently jumped the living room/carpet barriers to POOP ON THEIR CARPET (I guess it has more of the consistency of grass than the hardwood floor does....) ARE YOU KIDDING ME. She has not done that since last MARCH when we got her. As in the very. first. day. As the neighbor is trying not to gag, and Tim is trying not to die of mortification, he picks up the poop as Bella prances around like, "what? It's my birthday...I can do whatever I want."

Happy first birthday, Bella. You are definitely a princess but next year, you really don't need to poop on anyone's floor to prove it. We love you little Bell bells.


Our little girl with her birthday lobster. She loved it so much she immediately ripped the hat off of him.