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Stella Turns 1!

Stella turns one-year old this week on April 17th - our little girl is all grown up!

It's hard to remember how little she was at 9 weeks old when we brought her home one weekend in late June. We do remember that summer weekend was an unusually hot and sticky one and Mindy fell asleep with her on the floor of the bathroom's cool tiles to make sure she was OK and didn't overheat. We don't have any pictures or video of that moment but we have several others throughout the last several months -- here's some highlights:

PICTURES
9 Weeks Old
10 Weeks Old
3 Months Old
6 Months Old
8 Months Old
10-11 Months Old

VIDEOS FROM PUPPY DAYCARE
Stella and Friend on Chair - 3 months old
Stella Takes a Drink - 4 months old
Everybody Loves Stella - 4.5 months old
Stella Takes a Break - 8 months old
Stella and Her Best Friend, Turley - 8 months old
Stella and An Old Friend From Puppy Class, Jack - 9 months old

STELLA FACTS
- 50 pounds of pure muscle
- she is scared of trash bags
- she gets initially wigged out when big items are added to a room or are out of place (e.g. moving furniture around and bringing in a Christmas tree); she'll bark and tiptoe around the item until she gets used to it
- when we are out for a walk and someone looks at her adoringly, she plops down on the sidewalk, stares them down, and won't budge until she is showered with coos and pats on the head by that person (works like a charm every time)
- everyone in the neighborhood knows Stella (but doesn't know who we are); we are stopped all the time by people who know her by name, will call her from across the street, or even shout her name from their car
- has an ardent admirer as far away as Tulsa, OK
- she can retrieve a ball but won't drop it for you to throw again
- loves to play tug-o-war and has jaws of steel
- shreds fabric toys in one day flat
- has one black toenail on her back left paw
- kisses Jack gently on the head and feet and likes to smell his diaper
- loves it when Tom gets on the floor to play rough and encourages her to give him puppy kisses
- is Daddy's girl
- is loveable, squishable, and spoiled

She is all heart and will pin you down with kisses if you let her. She'll always be our #1 spoiled little puppy.

Big Smiles

Click the video below to watch Jack smile! His smiles were fleeting a couple of weeks ago, but he smiles alot now responsively.

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Waaaaahhhhh!

Jack MeetUp

Jack had more visitors this past weekend which was fun because we always enjoy having friends over and catching up.

We went to India a couple of years ago for the wedding of our friends, Saurabh and Rashi. CLICK HERE for pictures of our amazing trip to India and their wonderful wedding. Saurabh and Rashi now have an 8-month old of their own, Sristi, and the whole family dropped by to visit Jack. It was fun to compare notes and get a preview of what's in store for us as Jack gets older.

Two friends who we travelled with in India, Chris and Sylvia, also dropped by. Chris stopped in before he was off to play baseball with his league this season, the Dirt Bags (no reflection, of course, on Chris). This is Sylvia's second visit with Jack and she commented that he is a much more expressive and alert 6 week old than he was at 1.5 weeks when she saw him last (see her pictured here with Jack).

Our friends, Sarah and her husband Tim, also visited. This was Tim's first intro to Jack and they seemed to take to each other naturally. Sarah sweetly made a huge pan of spanokopita (spinach pie) that was much appreciated and has already supplied two days worth of delicious lunch - many thanks again Sarah!

CLICK HERE to meet our friends.

Week 4 recap -- Grandma Pat arrives

Tom's Mom, Pat, flew down from Portland, OR and was the last in our succession of visitors. We were all looking forward to her visit and introducing her to her first grandchild.

Pat's specialty dish is spaghetti which is a Blossom tradition that we look forward to each Christmas Eve. Pat prepared a double batch of her secret recipe at our request so we had enough delicious sauce to freeze.

Pat lived in San Francisco for several years and was a teacher in Marin before she got married. She has several friends in the Bay Area and a good friend of hers, Bessie, dropped by to visit Pat and Jack while Pat was in town. Bessie is a former librarian at the same high school where Pat once taught, Redwood High School in Larkspur California. The school's library is named after Bessie (the Bessie Chin Library) who served the community from 1967-1993.

Jack shared his 5 week birthday with Pat whose birthday was March 19th. Pat, Tom, Jack, and I met with Tom's cousins who live in Sacramento for a visit and a celebratory birthday dinner.

It was a great visit!

CLICK HERE for more pictures of Pat's stay with us.