Happy Birthday, Bella! (a Couple of Days Early)

Wow, our big girl will be 5 Saturday!  In honor of her birthday, here are some fun facts about Bella:
~  Her favorite food is strawberry yogurt followed closely by popcorn and cheese (not together).
~  Her height, measured to the top of her shoulder, is 32 inches.
~  At 120 pounds, she weighs almost exactly 100 pounds more than Rufus.
~  Her favorite place to sit is on someone's lap.
~  She likes to "sit" on furniture while keeping all four legs on the ground.
~  She loves little dogs, although she normally doesn't get to play with them because I'm afraid she'll step on them.
~  Bella hardly ever barks (as in she will go days without barking once) and when she does it's a beautiful, deep bark.  
~  Although she doesn't bark, Bella will "talk" to us when she wants something.  It's hard to describe how she talks in words, but it's kind of a gurgle in her throat similar to how Scooby Doo (another Great Dane) talks. 
~  She doesn't lick often, instead she puts her nose to your cheek.
~  Bella LOVES hugs!  We call it a "Bella hug" when she rests her head on your leg or shoulder. :)
~  Bella HATES getting dirty!  She will go out of her way to walk around mud puddles.  In fact, we have to force her to go outside when it's raining. 
~  9:30 is her bedtime, every night around this time she gets up from the living room floor and goes to bed unprompted.
~  Like all giant breeds, Bella tends to lean on stuff, especially people.
~  Bella's favorite people are me, Sam, Aaron VanDolah and her Aunt Moo.
~  She doesn't like to take pictures.  When I pull out the camera her normally perky ears get laid flat against her head.
~  Bella also dislikes guns.  I don't know how she knows what they are, but she always barks at them, even if Sam just has one lying on the table while cleaning it.  

One of the first pictures we have of Bella, taken when she was about 3 months old.

I tried to get Sam to recreate this picture, but he declined.  It's hard to believe she was once small enough to lay on us.

Look at those ears!!!  I'm so glad we didn't get them cropped.

 This is my favorite puppy picture of Bella.

Bella's 1st birthday!

Her favorite place to lay in the living room.

Even though she's normally very docile, Bella does have a playful side.

And there you have it,  more information than you ever cared to know about our sweet Isabella.