This past
Sunday marked one whole month since we said goodbye to our sweet girl. I’ve been wanting to do a tribute to her on
the blog ever since, but it took me quite some time to get everything together
as I had 15 years’ worth of pictures to go through. I didn’t go through every single one (it
would have taken weeks), but I did get a really good sample of pictures from
every stage of her life, and I thought I would share them all with you today,
along with a few stories about her.
I grew up
having a dog in the house, and after Brian and I moved into our forever home on
October 16, 2009, I started thinking that it would be awesome to have a dog in
the house again since I’d been living without once since I’d moved out of my
parents’ home almost four years prior.
Brian didn’t grow up with pets in the house, so he didn’t seem to be
100% on board, but I just knew he’d love having one and I begged him to consider
it.
On December 4,
2009, Brian and I went to our city’s annual Christmas parade downtown with a
bunch of friends as we always do, and one of our local shelters was there with
a few dogs that they had available for adoption. I fell head over heels for a little blonde
terrier mix, and I was convinced that she was the one. On my lunch break on Monday, I went straight
to the shelter to find that she had already been adopted.
I. was.
crushed.
Little did I
know, our sweet little Maui had just been born on December 2, 2009, just two
days prior to us falling in love with that other dog… she was already out
there, just waiting for us to find her.
God knew exactly who we needed, and soon enough, she would be ours. <3
After I
wallowed for a couple of days, I decided to make it my mission to find a sweet
little baby for us to love. I frequented
our local shelters, searched ads online, and pored over social media for weeks
hoping to find exactly what I was looking for (something small and in the
terrier family) with no luck.
In early
January, my friend Lauren came across a YouTube video of three of the tiniest,
cutest Yorkipoos rolling around and playing with each other, and it turned out
that those babies were up for adoption just 45 minutes from us. I contacted the owner, and the rest is
history.
On January 16,
2010, we met up with the owner at a random Sonic Drive-in because it was a central
location for both of us. She had those
three sweet babies all snuggled up in a pink and white striped blanket in a
laundry basket, and they couldn’t have been cuter. All three of them were still available, so we
were able to choose the one we wanted… there were two girls and one boy from
the same litter… their dad was a poodle, and their mom was a Yorkie.
Maui was the
runt of the litter… twice as small as her brother and sister, and I knew
immediately that she was the one. I
didn’t even have to think about it.
This is the
first picture we ever took of her…
And this was my
very first picture with her… it was truly love at first sight.
We weren’t able
to take her home that day as she was still being weaned from her mother, but we
set a date – January 22, 2010 – to pick her up and take her home for good. We met the owner again on January 22, this
time in a Walmart parking lot (LOL), and we took our baby home for the first
time.
She clocked in
at just 0.9 lbs. when we took her home and she could literally fit in the palm
of your hand because she was so tiny. I
could not have been more in love. This was her first night at home.
Brian and I
took forever to name her because we couldn’t agree on anything. I loved the name Nugget along with a couple
of others that I can’t remember now, but Brian wasn’t crazy about them. Then one night as I was trying to fall
asleep, Maui popped in my head as that’s where Brian and I had gone for our
honeymoon. It was actually a disaster of
a honeymoon (you can read that story here), but for some reason, naming her
Maui just felt right, and Brian agreed.
And so, our
very first little baby had a name… Maui.
<3
Maui was the
best girl anyone could ever ask for. She
was the absolute sweetest thing, she was gentle, she never knew a stranger, she
loved to snuggle, and she literally NEVER barked. We probably heard her bark, like, five whole
times in her 15 years of life, and every single time she did it, it always
surprised us and made us laugh because every time she barked, she surprised
herself, too… it was like she had no idea where the noise had come from and it
startled her every time. It reminds me
of the scene from Lion King where baby Simba is learning to roar and Mufasa
comes up behind him and roars and it startles him. Haha.
My favorite
thing about her was that she smelled EXACTLY like my childhood dog, Bill, who
we had just lost one year prior to when Maui was born... almost to the day. After he died, I thought I would never smell
that scent again, and I couldn’t believe it when Maui smelled exactly like
him. It was such a blessing and a comfort to
me because I still missed him so much.
Sometimes I swear Bill trained her in heaven before she was born and
then he sent her from heaven straight to our arms.
She had some of
his same weird quirks, one of which was getting into trashcans in the bathroom to
eat everyone’s old, snotty tissues. It
was disgusting, but it was so funny and random that both of my dogs
loved to do that.
She LOVED to
run, and she was so dang fast, y’all.
You wouldn’t think a girl as tiny as her would not be able to run that
fast, but boy, could she fly. She
maxed out at 4 lbs. and was officially the tiniest dog at our whole
veterinarian’s office for the extent of her life, and they all loved her so much. When we got her, we had no idea that she was going to end up being that tiny... I thought for sure she'd max out at 9-10 lbs., but, nope, she never made it past 4!
She loved to chase birds, so when our back
yard was full of them, we would fling open the door and she would run after
them as fast as her little legs could go.
She never caught one (thank goodness), but it was one of her favorite
hobbies.
The funniest
thing was that she had the most crooked little run and walk. I don’t even know how her body did that, but
it was like she would move forward while her body was walking sideways. We have videos of it, and they make me laugh
every single time. I loved her crooked
little walk.
She also loved
to chase tennis balls when she was a puppy (we had to buy mini ones because she
couldn’t fit a real one in her tiny mouth), but she would never bring them
back. Instead, she would take them
somewhere away from us and attempt to eat the fuzz off of them. Haha.
She loved to
play with her toys. Her first love was
her giraffe (Raffles, as we called it), and she also loved her squid,
Squidly. She loved to play tug of war
with Squidly! Her time with her
stuffies was short, though, because she inevitably would tear them open and try
to eat the stuffing out of them.
We had a
whoooole issue one time with some of the stuffing passing through her digestive
system – and I won’t get into too much detail – but let’s just say that it
ended with us literally pulling stuffing out of her after it had already
passed through her digestive system.
Lol. She was totally fine, but it
was so gross, and needless to say, after that, we took all of her stuffies away
and she wasn’t allowed to have them again.
Haha.
She was always
cold, so she had a massive collection of sweaters that she adored, but once she
hit age 14, she decided that she didn’t want to wear them anymore. It was so bizarre. I loved every single one of them, though, and
they are all still sitting in her cabinet in the kitchen where I’m sure they’ll
remain for a long time.
She was crate
trained from night one (with the crate door open) and she looooved her “bedroom.” She had her own little bed and fuzzy blanket
in her crate, and we kept her crate in our guest bathroom downstairs. During the day, she had free reign of the
house, but she always stayed in her room while we were gone. And at night, we would leave the bathroom
door open along with her crate door, and we would put up a baby gate in the
bathroom door so she couldn’t get out of the room… not that she would have
tried anyway. That gave me peace of mind
because it allowed her to be open to the rest of the house without being able
to escape. That worked beautifully every
single night of her life and I can’t even think of a time when things didn’t
work out.
Several people
asked me why we never let her sleep with us and the main reason was because she
was just too tiny. We have a massive bed
and it sits really high off the ground, so she was never able to get up and
down from the bed on her own and it would have been too dangerous for her. I probably would have been willing to buy her
a little set of stairs to get up and down on the bed, but Brian drew the line
with sleeping with a dog and I was okay with that.
Besides, she
looooved her room and she always loved when it was bedtime. We rarely ever had to carry her in there
because we would just say, “Maui, are you ready to go night-night?” and she
would hop up and go snuggle up in her bed in her crate. She loved it.
That bathroom has
always been known as “Maui’s bedroom,” and since she hung out in there whenever
we weren’t home, that light has been on every second of every day (aside from
nighttime when she slept) for the last 15 years. It’s been over a month since we lost her, and
we are still accidentally leaving the light on in there for her.
I did worry
sometimes about her being cold in there during the winter (even though I’m sure
she was perfectly warm), so a couple of weeks after we brought her home, we bought a little
stuffed animal that had a bag of rice inside.
You could warm the bag of rice in the microwave, seal it in the Velcro
pouch of the belly of the stuffed animal, and then we could put it in her bed
with her and it would keep her warm.
One night, she
must have gotten curious about her “Warmies” as we called it, because the next
morning we came downstairs to find that she had ripped Warmies open, eaten half
of the stuff inside, and left the rest for dead. Haha.
And that was
the last time she was able to use Warmies.
Hahahaha.
That girl!
Later in life, she discovered my electric blanket as I used to use it at my desk during the winter. One day, I put her in my lap while I was using it, and when she realized that it was emitting heat, she always wanted to be in my lap after that. Eventually, she started standing by my office chair and looking at me longingly like she was trying to tell me that she wanted the electric blanket in her bed, and eventually I caved and it officially became her electric blanket. She completely took it over in her last few years of life while I sat at my desk, cold, wrapped up in a random non-electric blanket. Hahahaha. I wouldn't have had it any other way, though.
She was my
constant companion, and she was truly the best girl. She was right by my side after my miscarriage
with our first baby, she was at the door to greet her baby brother, Jacob, when
he came home from the hospital in 2011, and then again to greet her baby
sister, Olivia, when she came home from the hospital in 2014. Every big life event from the last 15 years,
Maui was there, and Jacob and Olivia never knew life without her until just one
month ago.
We took her
everywhere with us that we could – to friend’s houses when she was a pup, to my
parents’ house for every Sunday dinner and every family gathering, and to every
Sunday lunch and family gathering at my mother-in-law’s and
step-father-in-law’s house. Her
grandparents often took care of her when we were out of town, so we didn’t have
to board her, and they always treated her like their own. I was always so grateful for that because
that meant that we knew she was cozy and happy and with people she loved rather
than being stuck in a cold, hard kennel somewhere.
When I quit my
corporate job to stay home in 2017, I bought a bed for her that stayed in my
office, and she was always in there while I was working. My constant companion. Wherever I went, there she was. And she was always in my lap when she could
be. I went fifteen years with nightly
lap snuggles (even when we had newborns in the house) and I miss those snuggles
so much that some nights I can’t even sit downstairs and watch TV now. I miss her so dang much.
She almost
always laid on her right side, and I have literally hundreds of pictures of her
snuggled up on her right side in my lap. Although, in her earlier years, there were times when she actually preferred Brian's lap... we think because his body temperature was always so much warmer than mine.
But when we would come home from vacations, she would shun me for a day or two (I think to punish me for leaving her – LOL) and she would either lay on the couch next to me or she would go lay in Brian's lap. She would refuse to lay in my lap. She was a spiteful little thing!! Haha.
She loved her Pork
Chomps treats, and later Dentastix. She loved
cheese. She loved blankets, and sweaters,
and being cozy. She loved finding a good patch of sunlight and laying down to take a nap. She loved going outside in the sunlight and lifting her head to the sun, closing her eyes, and sniffing the air.
She never ran away from us... she would always stay in the yard and she never tried to sneak out the door. Although, we did lose her twice... once in the house when she was a puppy she got stuck behind our entertainment center and we couldn't find her for hours. We frantically searched the whole neighborhood only to finally realize where she was after we tore the whole house apart. She didn't make a peep the entire time, though. Bless. After that, we put a bell on her so we couldn't lose her again. Haha. She was also left outside at my parents' house one time just a few months ago, and when I realized she was missing, we found her just strolling up and down the streets.
She would scratch a thousand times to go outside when it was sunny but cold during the winter only to ask to come right back in because the sunshine made it look warm outside. She hated being held like a baby (much to my dismay) until her last couple of months of life. I think letting me hold her like a baby was her last gift to me. <3 And her favorite pastime
(aside from chasing birds) was standing under the table waiting for someone to
drop a morsel.
As I said
before, I went through 15 years’ worth of pictures for this post, and I was
able to narrow it down to 196 for this post.
Is that a ridiculous amount of pictures to put in one blog post? Probably. Is that the most pictures I’ve ever included
in a blog post? By far. But I think that’s pretty low considering
that we have thousands upon thousands of her, and I have no regrets.
Without further
ado, here’s a timeline of our wonderful life with our sweet girl…
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| 1/23/2010 - her first full day at home |
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| 1/24/2010 - one of my favorite pictures of her of all-time |
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| 1/24/2010 |
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| 1/24/2010 - so sweet! |
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| 1/28/2010 - the first picture I have of one of our lap snuggles |
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| 1/28/2010 - more lap snuggles with Maui and Raffles |
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| 1/30/2010 - holding her before we left for the annual ball we attend every year |
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| 2/1/2010 - hanging out in her bed with Raffles |
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| 2/1/2010 - can you even handle that sweet face?! |
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| 2/7/2010 - Her little pink collar |
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| 2/9/2010 - Brian and Maui tugging on a popsicle stick... one of my faves |
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| 2/12/2010 - her first snow... one of the rare snows for us! |
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| 2/12/2010 - all tucked in Mommy's jacket to stay warm |
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| 2/14/2010 - her first sweater. OMG. |
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| 2/14/2010 - she used to love to eat my hair when she was a puppy. Lol. |
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| 2/14/2010 - my verrrry favorite picture of these two. OMG. |
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| 2/14/2010 - Maui with her new Warmies... the one she eventually ate. Haha. |
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| 2/15/2010 - laying in her patch of sunlight with her new bell because we lost her in the house one day. It was not funny at the time, but it is hilarious looking back. |
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| 2/21/2010 - in my brother's boot... so tiny! |
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| 3/25/2010 - guilty of digging in our fake tree in the house. Haha. |
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| 4/4/2010 - her first Easter... and not amused that we put her in the Easter basket |
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| 5/16/2010 - looking less and less like a puppy :o( |
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| 9/18/2010 - trying on her first Halloween costume |
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| 10/10/2010 - I had way too much fun having photo shoots with her, haha |
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| 10/10/2010 - her 1st football season! Brian & I found a tiny UGA shirt for her in Athens! |
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| 11/13/2010 - our family Christmas card picture for 2010 |
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| 11/13/2010 - I loved this little sweater of hers |
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| 12/2/2010 - her first birthday! Yes, we went all out with gifts and a treat ;o) |
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| 12/4/2010 - napping with me on the couch when I was in my 1st trimester with Jacob |
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| 12/24/2010 - her first Christmas with us! |
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| 12/31/2010 - her first New Year's Eve with us |
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| 2/23/2011 - one of my favorite pictures of her |
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| 3/25/2011 - Trying to convince Daddy not to go out of town by laying in his suitcase |
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| Easter 2011 - not amused at all by the bunny ears |
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| 5/13/2011 - lounging on our back porch |
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| 6/4/2011 - with one of her beloved Pork Chomps |
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| 6/13/2011 - maternity photo shoot for Jacob |
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| 8/3/2011 - snuggling next to an 11-day old Jacob |
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| 8/8/2011 - my lap was always big enough for her, even with a baby |
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| 8/14/2011 - & sometimes she had my lap all to herself even when the babies were there |
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| 8/14/2011 - trying to figure out what this new tiny thing is in the house |
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| 9/4/2011 - our first family picture together |
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| 9/11/2011 - another family picture together |
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| 9/15/2011 - guarding her new tiny human |
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| 9/15/2011 - couldn't resist the cozy blanket and she fell asleep |
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| 10/31/2011 - her first Halloween with her little brother |
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| 10/31/2011 - Jacob's first Halloween |
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| 12/3/2011 |
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| Spring 2012 |
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5/14/2012
 | 10/21/2012
|
|
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| Christmas 2012 |
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2/10/2013 - Snuggling with Jacob
|
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| 3/12/2013 - in Jacob's bedroom |
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| 5/1/2013 - Snuggling with a sick Jacob and Mommy on the couch |
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| 9/1/2013 |
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| 10/31/2013 - themed Halloween costumes - Elmo and Cookie Monster ;o) |
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| 11/10/2013 - Family Christmas card picture... with Olivia in my belly |
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| 3/13/2014 - Hanging out with yet another new human... Olivia at 16 days old |
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| 5/4/2014 - Laying in Mommy's lap in the car |
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| 10/31/2014 - Themed Halloween costumes - Super Man, Bat Girl, and Wonder Woman ;o) |
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| 10/31/2014 - Olivia getting some Maui kisses... she has been obsesseed with Maui her whole life |
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| 10/31/2014 - See? Look at that joyful baby Olivia!! |
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11/16/2014 - Jacob loved her, too... they had lots of couch cuddle time on Saturday mornings
 | 12/7/2014
|
|
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| 12/24/2014 - Maui and my parents' dog, Lily... Lily was like a momma to Maui |
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| 2/22/2015 - She always hated the bows they put in her hair after she was groomed. Haha. |
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| 3/31/2016 - Olivia used to LOVE it when we would put Maui in her crib <3 |
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| 8/27/2016 |
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| 10/9/2016 |
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| 10/15/2016 |
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| 2/3/2017 |
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| 2/19/2017 |
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| 4/2/2017 |
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| 9/4/2017 |
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| 9/4/2017 |
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| 10/31/2017 |
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| 10/31/2017 |
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| 12/3/2017 |
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| 12/23/2017 |
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| 12/23/2017 |
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| 12/25/2017 - Christmas naps with Mommy |
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| 1/17/2018 - As small as a cup of coffee |
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| 1/20/2018 |
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| 2/2/2018 - Always begging for a morsel |
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| 2/4/2018 |
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| 7/29/2018 |
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| 11/21/2018 |
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| 1/10/2019 - One of my favorite pictures of her ever |
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| 6/12/2019 |
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| 7/28/2019 |
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| 7/28/2019 |
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| 7/28/2019 |
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| 8/16/2019 |
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| 9/14/2019 |
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| 12/2/2019 - Her 10th birthday |
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| 12/2/2019 - Her 10th birthday |
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| 12/2/2019 - Her 10th birthday |
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| March 2020 - Social distancing during Covid |
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| 5/24/2020 |
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| 6/17/2020 |
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| 6/16/2020 |
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| 6/26/2020 |
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| 7/17/2020 |
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| 8/24/2020 - My friend, Amanda, painted her... I'll treasure this forever |
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| 10/27/2020 |
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| 11/20/2020 - Snuggling with me in my electric blanket |
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| 12/2/2020 - Her 11th birthday |
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| 12/18/2020 |
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| 12/19/2020 - A rare moment sleeping in Daddy's lap |
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| 1/17/2021 |
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| January 2021 |
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| 2/13/2021 |
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| 4/2/2021 - Putting her face in the sunshine and sniffing the air <3 |
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| April 2021 - A selfie with her Pop |
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| 4/27/2021 |
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| 8/18/2021 |
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| August 2021 |
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| 9/11/2021 |
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| 10/31/2021 - Fall family photos |
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| 10/31/2021 - Fall family photos |
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| 10/31/2021 - Fall family photos |
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| 2/4/2022 |
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| 2/26/2022 |
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| 3/23/2022 |
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| 4/21/2022 - Watching her brother play baseball |
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| 5/27/2022 |
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| 5/28/2022 |
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| Summer 2022 |
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| 10/31/2022 - The perfect Toto to Olivia's Dorothy |
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| 11/27/2022 |
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| 12/17/2022 |
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| 2/26/2023 |
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| 4/16/2023 |
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| 8/22/2023 |
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| 9/8/2023 - Begging for food yet again |
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| 9/8/2023 - Trying to figure out where the popcorn went |
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| 12/2/2023 - Her 14th birthday... I Facetimed them from New York City so I wouldn't miss it |
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| 12/24/2023 |
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| 1/2/2024 |
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| 1/29/2024 - That time she got stuck in her sweater LOL |
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| 4/22/2024 - Uncanny! |
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| 5/12/2024 |
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| Summer 2024 - We took her to the local brewery |
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| 6/29/2024 |
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| 7/2/2024 |
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| 7/31/2024 |
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| 8/4/2024 - Always with me... even when I'm trying to lay in the sun. Haha. |
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| 8/27/2024 - Happily hanging out in her bed |
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| 9/6/2024 - Trying the "Hands In" trend with her... she was not amused. Hahahaha. |
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| 9/27/2024 - Couldn't hang for a long walk anymore so Olivia was happy to carry her <3 |
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| 10/23/2024 |
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| 11/8/2024 - This was when she started showing signs of her age... she wasn't well this weekend |
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| 11/8/2024 |
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| 11/9/2024 - Lots of snuggles for the baby girl |
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| 11/9/2024 - In her favorite place... her mom's lap <3 |
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| 11/9/2024 - I miss those Baby Yoda ears |
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| 11/10/2024 - Giving Daddy her best ignore face |
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| 11/10/2024 |
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| 11/25/2024 - Our last family pictures together and our Christmas card picture for 2024 |
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| 11/25/2024 - I will cherish these pictures forever... her little tongue! |
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| 11/25/2024 |
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| 11/30/2024 - Probably my favorite picture of her EVER. |
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| 12/2/2024 - Her 15th and last birthday ever |
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| 12/22/2024 |
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| 12/27/2024 - I will miss the Christmastime snuggles more than anything |
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| 12/28/2024 |
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| 12/30/2024 - The beginning of the end... this was when her eating really slowed down |
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| 12/31/2024 - Put me in your lap, Mom! |
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| 12/31/2024 - Her last New Year's Eve and starting the year where she would eventually leave us |
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| 1/5/2025 |
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| 1/21/2025 - Her last snow day... what a treat to be able to have this with her one last time |
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| 1/21/2025 |
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| 1/21/2025 |
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| 1/28/2025 - Finally letting me hold her like a baby |
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| 1/28/2025 |
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| 1/30/2025 |
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| 2/14/2025 - I took full advantage of it |
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| 2/16/2025 - Our last OOTD picture together |
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| 2/16/2025 |
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| 2/19/2025 - Spending every single second with her because I knew it wouldn't be long |
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| 2/21/2025 - Our last couple of days together... she slept all day and had to be carried everywhere |
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| 2/21/2025 - I will cherish every single one of these moments I spent with her |
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| 2/21/2025 - We snuggled all night |
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| 2/21/2025 - 1st time sleeping in our room since she was a baby... I didn't want her to be alone |
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| 2/22/2025 - I carried her literally everywhere with me on her last day here on earth |
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| 2/23/2025 (just after midnight) - Our last lap snuggles ever |
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| 2/23/2025 (just after midnight) - Her last picture... she was gone when we woke the next morning |
I already posted this on Instagram and Facebook the day she passed away, but I wanted to add it here for her tribute post, too:
Brian and I lost our first baby in the wee hours of the morning February 23, 2025. Her health had been deteriorating for a few weeks, and on February 21 we knew in our hearts that it was time to say goodbye to her. We scheduled an appointment for February 24 as that was the earliest they could accommodate us, and then we spent all of February 21 and 22 snuggling her and loving on her. We made sure she was never alone for a single second.
I just knew before bed on February 22 that she was not going to make it through the night, so for the first time in her life, we let her sleep in our bed, and she passed peacefully nestled between Brian and me… her two favorite people.
Maui was the best girl in every way. She was well behaved, she had the most gentle spirit, and she loved EVERYONE. And everyone loved her. She brought me so much joy. She was my constant companion, and I am going to miss her so dang much. We are all grieving her loss - the kids have never known life without her - but we are so grateful for the 15 years we had with her. We are also grateful that God took her peacefully so we didn’t have to.
I have a million pictures of her that I could share, but I thought that this one from November summed her up the best - snuggled in a blanket in her favorite place (my lap) looking super cute. My gosh, am I going to miss the lap snuggles every night. Our evenings will never be the same.
Rest easy, my sweet girl.
I hope you all
enjoyed reminiscing with me… thank you for indulging me one last time for our
girl. She will always be in our hearts. There will never be another one like her.
