Payton has a WHALE of a birthday

Somehow Payton has made it to four years old. Over four years, he has only managed ONE emergency vet visit (for a ruptured ear drum, probably started by an allergic reaction of some kind), he has NOT broken any bones, torn any muscles, needed any surgeries, and I believe I have only had to induce vomiting on him one time… and that was just a few weeks ago. Compared to Auggie, and compared to the kamikaze dog Payton actually is, this is really a bloody miracle.

We’ve had a lot of ups and downs and I pictured Payton at four very differently, but here we are, and although I would much prefer things to be in a very different place, we still manage to have a lot of fun together. He is an excellent running and hiking buddy. He learned how to do a foot stall, which I never thought he would be able to do. He is very good at cuddling. And he’s pretty cute, too.
I guess I’ll keep him another year.

Group photo! And yes I made these hats. I’m starting to think I have very few reasons to ever get store-bought hats again.

I wasn’t going to make him wear the glasses, I was only joking, but my mom said I had to get them. This is Grandma’s fault then, Payton, not mine.

Want cake. Wait for cake.

Really really want cake.

I took a photo of them together BEFORE Auggie got cake on his face but Payton wasn’t wearing his hat, so I had to do it again after Auggie got his cake.

Thaaank you Auggie.

Auggie is somehow always the star of the show, even when it isn’t his birthday. Because Auggie.

Brother and sister!

Georgie hates having to sit and wait. HATES. What you don’t see is there is cake on the floor in every one of these photos and they are each having to wait for their photo before getting released to the cake. Georgie says this is LITERALLY THE WORST.

Birthday whale toy!! and an icing face.

Posing with his new whale toy… and really wishing I would give him some more cake.