Lucy Mae turns 1! -

Today was Lucy Mae's 1st birthday!!!! :D So sweet. :) Now wasn't the best time to have a birthday party for her, but never fear, we will have it in November sometime. ;) Since we didn't know about her, or have her until she was 7.5 weeks, it doesn't quite seem like her birthday, because it hasn't been a year since we met her! So when Dec. 18th rolls around, I'll do a full 1 year post of pictures. :) Today, though, we spent about an hour doing Lucy Mae things. :)

Dear Lucy Mae -

Today you are 1 year old!! You are growing up little by little, but you are definitely still a puppy! Which is just fine with me. :) Here's some top things about you, being 1 yr. old.

Lucy Mae at 1 year old -

1. You are the Apple of my Eye, incase you might have missed that. ;)

2. Apparently Daddy and Kimberly have been giving you some people food tidbits without me knowing. Uh oh! Well, at least it was after 10 months. ;)

3. You are beginning to understand the word "Treat".

4. You are very obedient, and you come when I call you.

5. You were potty-trained at 6 months and since you were 9 months, you ring the bell when you want to go outside. If we really aren't paying attention, you will bark and lay down at the door. Sometimes you will just sit there and hit the bells over and over and your leash will be all draped around your head, and you will look at us, all eating dinner. It cracks us up!! :D

6. You are scared out of your mind by motorcycles!!

7. You are ALSO scared out of your mind by the car windows going up and down. HAH!

8. You hate going anywhere in the car, but you instantly know where we are when we pull into Buttercup's driveway. You KNOW where she is. ;)

9. Buttercup is your best doggie friend! She can also completely tackle you like a pro football player and leave you sprawled out on the carpet. I know. Mama wishes we had a fence so that you could run around in the backyard. But I'm trying to give you more exercise!

10. You do NOT understand why the cows and sheep at the end of our road won't run when you go up to them. That really confuses you.

11. You don't understand size estimation.

12. You adore everyone. You haven't found anyone you don't like ... yet.

13. You eat sticks and bugs and acorns and seeds and anything crunchy.

14. You LOVE chasing squirrels and anything that runs on the ground.

15. This week you have treed 3 Squirrels. Mama was SO proud. Git 'em, babe.

16. You are fearless of man - unless they have something loud with them.

17. You LOVE playing on the porch, but are much more content if someone is with you out there. Thankfully, you haven't caught any lizards yet. Mama hates them.

18. You respond to "No." almost instantly. If you are chewing on your bed, you freeze, and move your eyes to find mine, and if I look away, you resume to chew, Mama has peripheral, baby. If I say "no!" again, you will open your mouth and sigh and go to sleep. ;)

19. You do not understand where the sounds are in the computer, and you always want to look behind the MAC to see where the dog or cat is that you hear. ;) We love watching Simons Cat together.

20. You LOVE to play with your toys and chase around the house.

21. You only bark when you want or need something, or when there is something outside that shouldn't be there. Unfortunately, you have deemed lizards something to bark at. Oy vey.

22. You always stay close to me when you have rawhide, in case you need me to rescue you.

23. You run into my room every morning and lay down and sleep with me. You get up before Mama does, and figure I need a cuddle buddy. Which I always do. :)

24. You give me morning kisses, and daytime kisses, and kisses whenever you want.

25. You stopped growing at 10 months, and I love the size you are. Perfect. :)

26. This week I let you know that it was okay for you to put your paws on the screen ledge. Now everytime you do it, you look at me for approval and praise.

27. You come and get whoever is at home when someone is at the door, or when you think something is wrong. You are sensitive to the tea kettle boiling, a timer going off, and loud cars.

28. Sometimes you sleep in my desk chair, and sometimes you sleep in the rocking chair. :)

29. You make all of us laugh - every day. You are our sunshine. :)

30. You love laying on your back, all sprawled out. When you first started doing this, we would go "aww", so now when you do it, you look at us for praise! hahaha!

31. You are very used to the camera, but when we are playing, you like to lick the lens. ;)

32. Your favorite people besides our family are - Mr. and Mrs. D., Laurie, and the Fosters. When you see or smell Drobnick perfume on me, you look at me like "where ARE they?". Same goes for Buttercup. If I come home smelling like her, you sniff EVERY PIECE OF CLOTHING you CAN GET TO. HAhaha!

33. You love it when anyone comes home, and you love running to the door to meet them!

34. You LOVE visits to play with Butter. You love racing around the yard with her. :)

35. You LOVE giving kisses, and sometimes if you are in my lap, and I'm not paying attention, you will stand up and put your paws on my cheeks, lips, face, and pat me to give you a kiss. It absolutely melts my heart every single time.

36. You don't like the sound of me crying. It scares you.

37. You love laying on my shoulder like a baby, it's your favorite position to be held in.

38. Your ears can flip in and out and in half and over and are almost never the same. ;)

39. You sleep next to my desk at night, as I sit at the Mac, and Mama sometimes just stops and watches you sleep. Watching your little chest go up and down and listen to you puppy dream.

40. You weigh 12lbs, and you are fullgrown. You hate it whenever I take your collar off.

41. You heave huge sighs when you sleep sometimes. It's so precious!

42. You still tear the stuffing out of every toy you have, and your main aim is to destroy them all as much as possible. You love playing fetch, and I never taught you to bring it back.

43. You love stealing our napkins at dinner and shredding them up.

44. You get freaked out over the silliest things, like something out of place. A bowl set on a box had you barking for 5 minutes, a chair moved in front of the door, your bed moved ....

45. You don't like baths, and water freaks you out, but after I dry you off with a towel, you want to play with that towel and growl at it, and prance off with it like a supercape. haha!

46. Mama could go on and on for hundreds of numbers about the things I love about you. :)

47. You are the fulfillment of my prayers that I begged God for in those 5 months before you came. You are so cute and perfect and just what I dreamed about since I was a kid.

48. I love being with you, and being best friends with such a cute, sweet dog like you. :)

49. God gave me you - for the ups and downs!! I thank God EVERY DAY for you.

50. You fill every day with something special and good. Even if its the worst day ever.

I love you baby!! God blessed me more than I could have dreamed after such heartache.

Happy 1st birthday! :)

~ Mama ~

and your birthday video - you cocked your head at yourself. ;) Hahahaha.

We watched it as a family, and you kissed my cheek as I cuddled you close to my heart.