Exactly One Point Five

Today, Cabana is exactly 1.5 years old. When I started this blog record of Cabana's life, I thought it would be for her future partner's benefit. Now I'm so glad I have it for ME so I can see how she has matured in the past year. Here's her 6 month old post. I am amazed at how different she looks now!

Here's my list of 6 things about Cabana at 6 months, written a year ago, with updates on how she's changed.


1. She goes around puddles instead of through them. Not anymore! As seen in the photo above, big puddles are her favorite, and she doesn't mind muddy or wet feet. However, along one of our walking trails, there is a place that's always muddy and sloshy. I tell her to "stay with me" while we pick through the narrow muddy area and try to keep our feet out of the muckiest parts. Cabana seems to think I need her help at this point and acts like she's guiding me, while I walk with cautious and unsteady deliberation. She's very careful to walk slowly, directly in front of me, and she does a great job of avoiding the mud puddles then.


2. She likes to snuggle when we watch TV. Thankfully, this hasn't changed. More thankfully, our ottoman has become Cabana's bed most of the time. After months of keeping an old blanket on the ottoman (which didn't match and always looked messy) I made some "fitted sheets" out of fleece fabric that blend better with our decor. After a year of sitting on the floor with Cabana, we can both attest that snuggling on the couch is much more comfortable.


3. She still does her happy dance when it's feeding time. Rats, no more happy dance. Unfortunately, Cabana stopped doing that a long time ago, at maybe around 8 or 9 months old. Now, she sits with quiet anticipation. In general, mornings especially are much calmer for Cabana. She used to dance and prance around all morning, barely able to contain herself until we took her for a walk. Now, she lays calmly at my feet while I drink my coffee and check my email. It's a pleasant change!

4. She never makes a peep in her crate. Cabana doesn't sleep in her crate anymore. We do have a pop-up crate for traveling, but at home, we never use it. Cabana sleeps loose in the house (still without a peep, other than snoring), and when we leave her at home by herself during the day, she is 100% trustworthy. We can leave food on the counter, pencils on the floor, and socks on the couch. She never even chews the Wii remotes, which is amazing, because I'd sometimes like to chew on those squishy silicone remote jackets myself (admit it, you know you kind of want to, too).

5. She patiently lets me wipe the goopies out of her eyes. Cabana has gotten quite used to this little ritual, especially in the past month. It's been windy, plus Cabana runs through tall grass a lot, making for lots of debris in the air. She knows what's coming when I grab a tissue and come toward her face with it.

6. She doesn't mess with snails on the sidewalk (blecch, nothing would upset me more). Not only does Cabana not mess with snails, she has become fabulous about not picking up anything on the sidewalk. With the exception of when we recently passed a chocolate cupcake that someone had dropped. She snatched up half of it before I even knew it was there. When I saw the other half on the ground, I quickly crammed my hand in her mouth and extricated it before too much was ingested. The other exception is cat poop--I don't think she'll EVER outgrow that tendency.