Rest in Peace, Bella Blue

It is with a heavy heart that we tell those of you reading this blog that our sweet Bella crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on September 4, 2012, less than a month after her 5th birthday.  We and our vet suspect Wobbler's, but she got so sick so quickly that she wouldn't recover enough to proceed with any kind of surgery to correct it.  I'll spare everyone the details, but it happened very quickly, and now she's a doggie angel in Heaven, and is happy, well, and hopefully watching over her family and friends.  We hope that she knows how much we love her and miss her.  She was an amazing companion, friend, "big sister" to a little girl who's now 3 and a little boy who's 1, and our first baby. 

Surprise!

Remember in my last post, on Monday June 15th, that we'd been busy gearing up for the arrival of our new little girl in 10 days? Well, it turns out that she had other ideas and decided to arrive the very next day on Tuesday, June 16th! We've been a little busy & sleep-deprived, but I wanted let everyone know that Bella loves her new little sister! Here's a picture of Bella and Samantha Grace:



We have lots more like this - Bella is a very protective big sister and takes her job of holding Sam very seriously.

We're still here!

I'm so sorry for the looooong absence. I'm getting ready to have a baby in 10 days (yikes!) and we've been busy doing projects around the house and preparing Bella for her new human baby sister. Here's a little bit of what Bella has been up to:

Giving Dad smooshy-face

Enjoying the new toy that the Easter bunny brought her

Catching some rays

Relaxing on, um, I mean with, Moo-Cow

Playing with my friend Malu

Helping Dad with a big backhard project

And enjoying the fruits of our labor (hey, supervising is hard work!)

My favorite things

Wow - it's been a busy holiday season this year! We had lots of places to go and people to see, but my favorite place of all has been right here:

This is where I hang out when mom and dad are watching TV, eating dinner, or doing anything that does not directly involve playing with me. (How dare they!). Sometimes they worry that I get too close, but I've tried to tell them I'm smart enough to move if I get too hot. Hhmmph.

So anyway, onto what else I've been up to. Christmas came and went, and I was a good girl again this year! Santa Paws brought me some goodies:

Christmas Card Photo Shoot

First, I am SO sorry for such a long hiatus - 2 months with no posts is entirely too long! I'll blame it on me - but I think I have a good excuse. We found out right around the last post that Bella is going to be a big sister - to the 2-legged variety! She seems to know that something is up - she is glued to my side all the time, and is always right there making sure I'm okay. I've been super-tired, and haven't been able to stay up past 8 in the evening most nights, so the blog has fallen by the wayside. I'm getting my energy back now, so you'll all get to see more of Bella again.

Here are some pics from our Christmas Card photo shoot last weekend...she was a good sport about the whole thing, and we got some good shots.

We hope you and yor families are having a great holiday season!

It's Fall!

Mom and dad took me to a fall festival this past weekend! I'd never been to a place like this before - there were lots of kids playing games, riding rides, and there was even a petting zoo! I had so much fun and met so many people that day - it was great!

When we got there, I posed in front of pumpkins.

Then mom, dad and I all posed for a family portrait. Cheese! Or, should I say, Pumpkins!

There was a booth with some of those horse-things like I saw on vacation! My little cousin wanted to ride one, so I stood guard to make sure they were nice to her. They were - I think it was because of me.

I had to get a closer look just to make sure...

Oh yeah - I even had a doggie cookie shaped like a ghost, but I ate it before mom could get a picture. Let me just tell you - it was good! What a fun day!

Vacation Wrap-up

Here are some of my favorite memories from the rest of my vacation. I can't wait to go back again!

I got sandy...

I played...

And I napped - with Jackson...

and without...

I loved going on vacation so much - I can't wait to do it again!