Name: Stellaluna Gidley
Date of birth: October 9, 2015
Age: 6 months
Weight: 15 pounds
Best feature: Ears
Aliases: Miss Puppy, French, French Fry, Stellie Bellie, Stella Bella, Stella Bella Boo, Stellie Bells, El Toro Loco (The Crazy Bull)
Likes: Napping, bull pizzle, snuggling, chicken poop, playing, doing laps around the couch, chasing the boys, licking the water off our legs when we get out of the shower, ice cubes, walks
Dislikes: the vacuum cleaner, the baby gate, the 15 minutes that she's alone in the kitchen every night while we put the boys to bed
Vices: eating copious amounts of "chicken candy," stealing laundry out of laundry baskets, farting when she's super relaxed, chasing Matchbox cars
Bringing Stella into our family was a GIANT leap of faith. I considered whether we should do it for weeks and weeks. On one hand, I felt like there would never be a perfect time to get a puppy, and she was soooooo cute. On the other hand, I already had my hands full with the boys, my long commute, full time job, and a million house projects at any given time. After we lost our German Shepherd to cancer in November, I thought it would be years before I was ready to take on the commitment of another dog. I was surprised when I felt the emptiness of our house so acutely after a few months without a wet nose in my face or a wiggling backside when we came home. But if we were going to bring home a new furry family member, I definitely wanted something less intense than our Shepherd, whom I jokingly referred to as my hemorrhoid, because he was up my rear all the livelong day. I had dreamed of getting a Frenchie since falling in love with my fur nephew Thor the French Bulldog a year before, and it seemed like the perfect fit: small to medium in size, easy care coat, quiet, lazy, not in need of intense exercise, an ideal family companion. And so Stella has been - the source of much laughter and play, her antics know no bounds. She loves to play with us and the boys, but she's equally happy to be my TV buddy or trot along behind me while I round up everyone's laundry, though this is most likely because she's waiting for her chance to nab a dirty sock ;)
I knew having a puppy would add to the long list of things already on my plate, and in many ways, it has. What I didn't expect was the way Stella would force me to slow down and enjoy my days more...enjoy the outdoors more, play with my kids more. Before her, I was feeling like my days were full of mostly work. It's not that having a dog equals less work, but she has added a new element of playfulness and fun to our days, and for that, we are all grateful.
I mean really, how can this face NOT make you laugh?
What was once a tiny puppy is blossoming into a little lady with a thick bully neck, full belly and big girl haunches.
EARS!
Fear the crazy eye.
We affectionately refer to Stella as our little old lady...here she is, complete with chin hair ;)
OMG being so cute is exhausting.
The snoring...oh, the snoring! Love.
