lupita turns one.

today our little lupe girl is one year old. she still seems like a little baby to me most of the time, but we have also seen her grow, calm down & figure out the ways of a dog's life. she was twelve little pounds of black hair & ears when we rescued her nine months ago- today she is 51 pounds of muscle, with plenty of hair & still those big floppy ears. for a girl who never wanted a dog, i sure do love miss lupita. she warms my heart with every little wiggle, nuzzle, sprint or trick. together, we sleep, we bike, we walk, we climb mountains, and we play with friends. lu gets me outside more often, makes me laugh, and cheers me up. i look forward to getting home each day for her full body wag, thumping tail and excited little whimpers. cliche as it sounds, i can't imagine life without her now that we have her. all of those things people say about unconditional love, dogs being man's best friend... it turns out they are pretty darn true. i have said to brett that i now wish that people had tails, so that you could clearly see how excited they were to see you. lu's little "thump thump thump" when she sees me is so heartwarming, and her love is evident. people can be too good at masking their enthusiasm. if my friends had tails, my heart would be warm all of the time! here are some pics of lu's first year, and here's hoping for many, many years with this sweet girl.