Payton is six!
Hard to believe it has been six years since my little guy was born.
I love my Payton so much. We have had six years of struggles and I anticipate those struggles will probably continue – at some point, maybe he will become an easy dog to own; maybe he will become a dreamily simple agility dog; but more than likely, he will challenge me every step of the way. If difficult dogs make great dog trainers, he will transform me into a master.
As my journey with Auggie was summed up by the Garth Brooks song “The Dance,” my life with Payton can be described with “The River.”
Each day a constant battle just to stay between the shores.
None of it matters, because the beauty is that we get to sail our vessel together.
Blue cupcakes for my big boy. The frosting came with these fish sprinkles, so why not? I went ahead and put them on.
The cupcake papers are that same sheep design that is hidden on the plate.
Here are three dogs who are very aware there are cupcakes sitting up there on the railing.
Rizzo wearing a hat… yep. That’s a good thing.
A verrrry good thing.
KK has this down now. He knows cake is coming and he’s totally on board.
Okay, so, back to the birthday boy. Happy birthday my big man. Time for your cake.
Do you think he was anticipating this release to his cupcake at all?
Aaaaand he tried to eat the whole thing in one bite.
Licking crumbs and icing and fish sprinkles.
You should try to find someone in your life who looks at you like Kaner is looking at his cupcake.
Kane had a bit more sense to chew his cupcake rather than inhale it whole but it was still intense for a minute there.
Yeah I eated it.
Rizzo has no idea what’s happening but he wants to eat his hat thing on his head and also the other dogs seem happy so okay.
Waiting for cupcake… waaaaaaiting for cupcake.
NOM.
Eating cupcakes is easier to figure out than hunting Easter Eggs.
Happy birthday my awesome little P. I love you very, very much.
Happy 1st Birthday, Kane!
Well, he made it – Kane turned a full year old!
I decided to go ahead and enter an agility trial over his birthday. This would have also marked one year since Auggie was diagnosed with CHF (and I was told “maybe a year…”) so it was going to be a bit of a difficult day. I could have stayed home and cried and felt sorry for myself and missed my dog, OR I could go and do agility and make it a big Kaner party.
I chose the latter.
First, I found some great 1 year old party supplies at Party City (50% off!) so I bought those to decorate the crate.
Then, I ordered a cake, some cupcakes, and a Blackhawks hockey puck to put on top of the cake.
And we partied.
All the goodies!
Another shot of the decorations set up on the crate.
Yellow cupcakes with red frosting, and chocolate cupcakes with white frosting. Both got red and white sprinkles. I picked whipped topping instead of buttercream, because it’s ridiculously good.
Mmmmmmmm. Somebody brought some kind of fancy gourmet cupcakes to the trial, also, but mine were gone first. Because delicious.
The cake! They did an awesome job. I asked for red lettering and they did it with a black base to match the icing job on the cake and it really popped. Super super happy with it. It was a white cake with, again, whipped topping (because the dogs really care what their frosting tastes like.)
Baby dog!!
Looking super cute with his birthday hat on. He got a SPECIAL “Look Who’s 1” birthday hat.
Posing with his cake… trying to figure out how he could just eat the whole thing.
Mmmm slice of cake.
He’s a pretty good cake-eater.
Payton next! Even though Payton was being horrible at the trial, he still was allowed to eat cake. Notice how his hat is not the special hat; these are the regular hats for the non-birthday boy.
Caaaake?
Yes cake.
Georgie has no time for your shenanigans, make with the cake immediately.
Yep that’s what I wanted.
Georgie got red icing all over her muzzle. I have no possible idea how.
Happy birthday my baby boy. I’m so glad you’re here with us.
AND THEN HE GOT A NEW BATMAN TOY
Georgie Turns FIVE
Our little miss Georgie turned FIVE this year! At last minute, my mom and I went to Party City to pick out some party goods for her. I located the sparkley tiny cowboy hats… for 99 cents… and couldn’t really pass that up.
Also this awesome sequined bow.
Yes. Yes this is good.
Although I’m not positive Georgie agrees.
Payton got a lovely black sparkley cowboy hat (because they were out of the blue.)
And Kane got a silver one to set off his Tiny Black Dog-ness.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEORGIE
Also, this happened… yep. Payton knows some kind of secret.
This is the face of a dog who is ready for her birthday cupcakes.
Ohhhhh yaaaaaas.
A very good wait, even on her birthday.
The carnage happened after this. The photos are all blurry and there are cake crumbs everywhere. It’s terrible.
Then Payton got his cuppycake.
He is really rather good at the cake eating.
…sort of.
This one is still learning about cake. We gave him his on a plate because we weren’t positive he was going to know what to do, exactly. (He’s only done the birthday thing once so far!)
A good wait for a little baby dog! (Also, behold the adorable monkey plates.)
Aaaaaand he knows how to eat cupcakes.
Happy birthday my little Georgie, my good girl!
Payton’s Fifth Birthday
FIVE is a pretty big birthday, I think. Especially with Auggie being 10 and P rolling to 5, it makes my OCD happy.
Happy FIFTH birthday to my most wonderful Payton. Our sports story has not gone as I had dreamed, but he is my very good dog. Despite the tears, the battles, the long list of struggles, and the many chomp wounds, I love him very much and am glad he is here with me. Happiest of birthdays yet and all the belly rubs to my middle child.
Shoutout to the woman at Meijer who wrote on my cake and didn’t ask me if Payton was my son.
I actually drove all over town trying to find a proper Payton-esque cake…
Perfect Auggie in perfect birthday hats.
HI I’M A PUPPY WEARING A HAT
fffffff
Not sure what Payton is doing here but this was literally the best we got. This might as well be the 25 week family photo, by the way.
NOT SURE WHAT IS CAKE BUT WANT
Make with the birthday, lady.
WHAT BIRTHDAY
Hi in case you haven’t met me I’m Auggie and I’m the best.
Do I HAVE to wait??
TIME FOR BIRTHDAY
Listen, I know I’m supposed to wait, but let’s be honest, my heart disease. If I wait I might not live to eat this cake.
So I’m not waiting. (Yeah okay that’s fine.)
Meanwhile Payton.
What a good puppy!! Then I wanted to fix his hat and he moved back some to make it easier NOT to steal cake.
Are you for real? Is this actually a thing that is happening in my life??
Okay yay this is a thing and I want it!
Auggie demolished his cake in about half the time Payton was taking with his. Which makes sense as he’s had about twice as much cake eating practice.
Meanwhile the baby is trying to figure out how to actually eat this.
Whoops! He dropped it.
Payton be like IT’S MY BIRTHDAY AND YOU DROPPED YOUR CAKE SO THIS OTHER HALF IS MINE (Auggie in the corner ahahahaha)
Yup that was some birthday.
This is what I look like after I eat cake, too.
Birthday is the best.
THEN A PRESENT WHEEEEE
Auggie Turns 10
Auggie’s birthday is here, and it’s the big 1-0! We’re in to double digits. I decided to throw him a big party and ask friends to come over (especially since hardly anybody had been over to see my house since I renovated almost the entire thing.)
Birthday boys! Georgie came over for the party, too, but she was not involved in this little family photo. I only have two arms.
Auggie got a nice big pirate cake, with a skull centerpiece and ten candles.
Blow out the candles!
But the cake going into his belly is all he really cares about.
NOM THAT CAKE
NOM ALL OF IT
Even the little crumbies left behind.
Some of them are tiny crumbies and you have to lick them up.
Payton gets cake next.
NOM
Halfway through his nom he realized that was impolite and changed to a slightly less impolite nom.
Then he licked his crumbies too.
Georgie next. I broke her cake into pieces so she wouldn’t simply swallow the entire piece whole, as she tends to do.
A nom nom nom nom.
Nom crumbies too. Who licks??
Next, Auggie got his presents.
Reach in that bag old man, see what you get!
Fishing around…
IT’S A TINY SHEEP IT IS THE BEST TINY SHEEP TOY IN THE WORLD
Mom please throw tiny sheep.
No take, only throw.
Payton says “hey wait, there’s something else in here.”
Oh! There is more.
It’s Swabby Shark! Swabby Shark has been waiting since springtime for Auggie’s birthday. A nice big red pirate shark β I don’t think there’s many toys that are more quintessential for Auggie.
Please throw Swabby too mom.
Thank you to all my friends for coming to Auggie’s big birthday party. He is my very special guy and having so many people over to pat him and love on him is a great way for him to spend his birthday. Everybody even sang him the Happy Birthday song.
Happiest of happy birthdays, my very best Auggie.
Georgie’s 4th Birthday!
Payton made it to four and so, too, did Miss Georgie. My mom got some cupcakes and brought them over so we could have a little party for her.
Georgie first. Oh Georgie. Always with the hat malfunctions.
Cuppycaaaaaake.
NOM.
Auggie next who is always so good.
Auggie nom!
Payton isn’t too bad either.
YAS CUPCAKE YAS
Apparently Georgie has “enough” toys already, so no presents for Georgie. What a rip off!
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.
Auggie is 9
Auggie turned 9 on Saturday.
I’m not sure how it happened.
I somehow forgot it was his birthday when I entered the puppies. Had I been thinking, I would have entered him too, just for fun to run on his birthday. But the trial was closed by the time I realized it was his birthday. No way was I leaving him behind though, so away he went with us to the trial. I didn’t want to have to worry about bringing a cake or cupcakes with us, so I stopped at the Wal-Mart near the trial site between runs and oh did I hit the jackpot.
This lovely cake was “best by” that day so it only cost a whopping $4.50. Um, yes please! And it had orange and blue balloons on it – Illini colors for my little Augustine. The lady behind the counter was happy to write on it for me and I was happy to NOT mention it was for my dog…
We had a party in the hotel room.
Oh it is the cake.
Everybody got their own little slices…
Must wait for cakies.
Auggie first since he is the birthday boy.
Payton was really unsure if he was actually allowed to get on the table and eat his cake or not. Which is funny because when we got to the hotel Friday night, the first thing he did was jump up on the table…
Finally I convinced him it was totally allowed.
Georgie, by the way, immediately grabbed her entire piece of cake and jumped onto the floor to try and swallow it whole.
Auggie’s hat never stays in place haha.
Georgie’s empty plate while she tried to eat the cake on the floor hahaha.
Birthday boy!
Then it was present time. I didn’t go all out or anything this year, we have tons and tons of toys anyway, but I decided to order this green squishy ball since I know a few dogs on this forum really love it. (Payton is getting one for Christmas too.)
Oh a squishy.
Squishy tastes like cake.
We then proceeded to play a game of “push the ball off the couch, make mom throw it back on the couch, push the ball of the couch again.”
Aaaand then Drizzy got some cake when we got home.
Nom!
Behold the Payton sitting there like “I want more cake…” (They did actually get some more afterward.)
Happy birthday my Auggie. <3
Pepper’s Sixth Birthday
My Peppy-drizzle turned SIX years old today! Holy wow! She’s a for real big girl now. In one more year I can actually start calling her “old lady.”
Middle-child got her VERY OWN trip to the pet store so we could try to pick out a toy. Pepper isn’t hugely into toys anyway so I wasn’t sure if we would find anything. She was horrified by the sliding door when we got there, had no clue what to make of the piles of dog food surrounding her, was slightly interested in the “self-serve” bar of treats, and kept jumping on me to remind me she was there in case I might accidentally leave her behind. We did actually find a nice little toy I thought would be okay, so we bought it, the cashier gave me a piece of chicken jerky to give her (I told him I doubt he would take it directly from him), and then when we left, she tried to make a mad dash out of the store and ran head-first into the sliding glass door before it opened.
*facepalm*
ANYWAY.
Pepper told me she did not want another princess party, did not want a Disney Princess party (not even Frozen which is all the rage right now), did not want a hot pink zebra-stripe party, but she DID want a unicorn party. OMG why is it so hard to find unicorn horns for kids to put on their heads? So once again I bought scrapbook paper and had to DIY.
Payton’s opinion on this whole unicorn party thing.
JK JK he’s actually okay with it so long as we make with the cupcakes. (Meanwhile now Georgie is giving me a bit of a stink-eye because she tried to lay down and I was like “no we are sitting right now.”)
Happy birthday Pepper!!
Yeah she totally did not wait long enough and nommed her cupcake before I was actually ready. She is my worst behaved little girl…
Then she got frosting on her whiskers.
Then I put more on her nose and made her pose that way because.
Auggie next since he is the oldest non-birthday child. He has cake on his eyebrow here because I had to reposition his unicorn horn. Also FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON’T LOOK AT HIS FEET I SWEAR I GROOM MY DOGS. LOOK AT THE OTHER THREE. SEE? I SWEAR.
Unicorn horns don’t stay on very well for excited cupcake eating.
P next. I unfortunately missed the long string of drool that dripped down from his chin as soon as I set his cupcake down. (You’re welcome.) He’s got a little bit of crazy eye goin’ on here. CAN WAITS.
So he REALLY wanted that cupcake guys. But he made a really good decision to wait for it. Paytons DO have self-control (sometimes.)
Cupcake nommin’!
Miss Georgie did a very nice wait too.
And I actually, for once, got a GOOD photo of her eating a cupcake!
Peppy present!! It’s… A CUPCAKE. I thought it was appropriate, hahaha, and it’s about tennis ball shaped so I thought she might actually play with it.
She likes it when it tastes like cupcake frosting, that’s for sure.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS PEPPER!! Sorry I made you go out in public to a pet store and freaked you out for your birthday.
But the cupcakes were good.
Payton’s Third Birthday
My little baby dog is no longer little, nor a baby. But he is still a dog. That’s about it. Today he turned three years old. The ideal would have been a nice long hike, just the two of us, and then a swim in the lake, but being Illinois is May, it’s currently about 43 degrees outside and raining, so that is not a thing that was going to happen today. Instead we went out to Pet Supplies Plus to redeem his birthday coupon on a bag of treats, then drove around town for a bit together, came back home where I made chicken thighs and gave him the cartilage and joints I cut off them, then we had PARTY.
But first. Yesterday I went to a few stores in town looking for some suitable party hats. I wanted football ones but couldn’t find any. I continued searching today, even willing to take plain blue ones (P’s colour) or green (I could paint them with some white and make it look like a football field.) NO SUCH LUCK. In my desperation I googled “DIY party hats.”
And this is what the crazy dog lady does for her dog’s birthday.
Not exactly orange and navy blue for perfect Bears colours, but it works.
Huzzah, group photo!
I made the football cupcake pick too, because I was going to buy some at the party store but the line was almost to the door… and I went there twice. WHAT. NO. WHAT ARE YOU ALL BUYING PARTY SUPPLIES FOR. MY DOG IS THREE AND HIS BIRTHDAY IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING. GET OUT OF MY WAY. So I left the cupcake picks at the store and just made that.
My mom took a bunch of blurry photos from a weird angle so I told her “Get down at his level.” This is apparently what she thought I meant. *facepalm* I’m going to have to start hiring a photographer for my dog’s birthdays because I can’t maneuver dogs AND take photos at the same time.
Cuppycakey for the birthday boy!!
Auggie is seriously the best boy. He wore his hat patiently, sat nicely, then happily devoured his cupcake.
I had half the cupcake in my hand to give to Pepper… and she chose to first eat the half still in the paper instead of just taking the half I had RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER NOSE. Ohhhh Pepper.
Georgie. My mom says to her “Georgie don’t be a shark. Or a gator. Or a pig. Or whatever.” It all fell on deaf ears.
Frosting face!
I don’t know WHAT happened to Pepper’s hat, it got crushed somehow while still attached to her head. But she looks happy, so!
And then we have Auggie. Oh Auggie. <3
P got a little blue sheep as his present, on top of the treats and the chicken parts and the cupcakes. Because we need more sheep toys in this house.
The end. Happy birthday baby Pay. Here's some baby Payton's in case you forgot:
That’s the bowl I later taught him to pivot on. Yep.
Auggie Is Eight
Mom asked if he could show her on his paws “how many” he was.
“I’m this many if you count my nubby toes!”
The very bestest boy.
I told him I’d blow out the candle for him… and asked him if he wished all the other dogs would go away.
]
NOM CAKE
All the party people!!
Pepper got cake second since she is the second oldest. Pepper LIKES cake.
“I think birthdays are my new favorite.”
Payton isn’t sure about the hat.
But he IS sure about the cupcake.
“Oh I do like birthday.”
Georgie was rotten and almost lost her turn for cake. She just could NOT keep her feet on the floor. I have a blurry photo of Auggie eating cake and there’s a blurry Georgie jumping up and down vertically in the background…
One day I’m going to video her eating cake so you can HEAR what accompanies this.
This basketball toy pleases the Auggie.
Best Auggie ever.
Every year I try to do a whole “what does Auggie mean to me?” thing and there are no words for it. Words alone do not express what he means. I am thrilled to have him in my life and to have spent the last eight years with him, even if they often contained tears, frustration, and heartbreak. I would never trade Auggie for anything. And even though Payton is technically a better agility dog than Auggie, if I could only have one dog over and over for the rest of my life, it would be Auggie.
Happy birthday my little old man.
And many more.
Happy Birthday Pepper!!
It’s Pepper’s FIFTH birthday today, but her first birthday with me – so of course I wanted to have a nice party for her. I asked her months ago if she wanted a Princess Party and she wagged her tail.
Princess Party it is.
First we had a good time outside. Payton has finally decided she is no longer in season enough to warrant harassment so they were all able to be out together!
Of course it didn’t matter much because Payton was doing this.
“YAY BIRTHDAY!”
My girly <3
My girl and her brudder Auggie. She loves her Auggie.
And then there’s this one. Her real brother. Who… well she doesn’t really want to be touching him right now or anything if that’s okay.
But you can totally tell they’re related.
Then more of this happened.
Pepper with her niecelette <3
And later we were all back inside for PRINCESS PARTY!!!
Pepper got her own special birthday princess hat and everybody else had to wear tiaras.
Including the boys.
TIARAS.
Auggie is very pretty.
Geeeeeorgie. Georgie got a pink tiara, I put purple ones on the boys. Because purple is slightly more manly.
Birthday Princess!!
Oh LOLOL Payton.
Cupcake time!! (I made my mom hold the dogs while I took photos this time, after Payton’s sad birthday photos.)
Mmmmm… pink cuppycake.
“Oh I will just lick it…”
“Until I NOM.”
My dad wanted to give Payton his cupcake because Payton is so gentle and delicate.
Om nom nom.
I also decided to break Auggie’s cupcake into pieces after he swallowed his cupcake whole on Payton’s birthday.
…aaaaaand off goes Auggie’s tiara.
Georgie is super cute in her tiara.
I don’t even have to share any of Georgie’s other cupcake eating photos because this one is the best.
Pepper got a little pink bunny-ball for her birthday. For a while she didn’t play with it at all and the other dogs grabbed it… THEN she wanted to play with it. Because I think it then tasted like cupcake. Ohhhh Pepper.
Even I wore a tiara! So did my mom but she wouldn’t appreciate me sharing her photo I don’t think. My dad bailed before this happened or I would probably have made him wear a tiara too…
Happy happy birthday my best and only girl. <3
Georgie’s Second Birthday
Yesterday, I learned that one of the most amazing dogs I have ever had the pleasure to know had left this world. A great dog who touched the heart of everyone who knew her, and gave me such wonderful partners in life like Auggie and Pepper, had me determined to bring Payton home because I did not WANT to find any other puppy but a dog that had her genes in him, and inspired us to name her little great grand-daughter Georgette, or “Georgie” for short – in honor of the wonderful Georgia.
Today Georgie is two years old.
How do you reconcile pain, grief, and loss of something so great it leaves holes in the hearts of many – against the joy and happiness of a birthday of a great little puppy, one who was named for her, one who is given the great challenge of measuring up to her namesake, or at least giving us a clear reminder us of her lineage?
This is the path we walk in life, especially when we choose to open our hearts to dogs. Loss and pain hand in hand – or hand in paw? – with joy and hope for the future.
Happy Second Birthday Georgie. And run free Georgia, forever in our hearts, and in the blood of all my wonderful dogs. Thank you for everything.
So her birthday was a slightly subdued affair. Challenging for my heart, and yet she is a great little dog who deserves a birthday. Not for me to hug her and cry and miss what we no longer have, but to hug her and laugh and celebrate what we DO have.
And what we have is an ice cream cone.
My mom didn’t buy her any presents because my dad says she has too many toys already, but he can’t stop ME, so I bought her a small Chunky the Monkey Kong stuffed toy. No photos of her getting the monkey because my camera batteries were dead unfortunately, but I can tell you that she has already chewed off his tail, so clearly she likes him.
Happy birthday best baby girly.
You have so much to live up to.
Happy Second Birthday Payton
First I tried to get some nice photos out in the yard at lunch. This is the best he wanted to give me.
Seriously?
They threatened it might rain today and for a good while it looked like it would, but I promised Payton if it didn’t rain we would take a special birthday trip to the forest…
…so he could play in the lake.
Ugh seriously don’t drink that.
He fell off the ledge where people slide their boats in and went plop into the lake. Then he kept going over to the ledge and falling off. Like six times. I think he was enjoying it.
There were some people here fishing so we stayed away from the dock except to get this one photo. He didn’t want to jump off it anyway.
Watching some people go by. Lots of folks came out to fish.
More romping in the water.
Happy puppy!
Then we went for a hike so he could dry off. He was supremely distracted and un-photogenic.
These were all taken on my cellphone anyway so it’s not like anything miraculous was going to happen.
Last shot as the sun was setting. He was a super good boy. Saw lots of runners and bikers, and I would pulled him off to the side and asked him to sit and stay while they went past, and three bikers and two runners were like “wow your dog is super well behaved. Thanks.”
Then we came home and it was time for PARTY!
Tiny cupcake for my boy who is TWO.
Photos are taken by my mom who has apparently never taken a photo before in her life. Sigh.
OMG OMG BIRTHDAY I LOVE BIRTHDAY
I nom nom nom!
Yesssss birthday is THE BEST
Pepper’s turn to get a cupcake. I love how this is the only photo where you can tell Payton is wearing his bowtie for his party.
This is seriously the best photo I have of Pepper – and it’s hysterical because of Payton’s face in the background.
Auggie would like to nom his cupcake in one bite please (and he totally did. Yikes.)
Girly Georgie actually wore her hat this year therefore she got cupcakes this year.
No photos of her eating her cupcake because it was seriously a sight to behold and one that photographs cannot convey. She was making noises like AHAUM HAUM HAUM HAUM and just ate through it like she was trying to bite her way through a paper bag.
Presents!! This is a new bottle sheep. He also got a stuffed sheep my sister bought him but that photo didn’t turn out.
A new gator toy, this one crackles AND squeaks.
And another gator for his crate – they say this has a double layer of fabric so it’s supposed to be a tough toy. We shall see…
“Oh I had the very bestest birthday ever!”
Happy birthday my little puppy baby. <3
Auggie is seven
So I am a major idiot and completely forgot what day Auggie’s birthday ACTUALLY was. You would think it would be easy. Auggie 15th, Payton 16th, Pepper 17th. But NO… somehow I thought it was 11/11 instead of 11/15.
So these first few are from Sunday when we had Auggie’s party.
I gets cakey?
Yes you get cakey! These are based off a recipe I make for myself… just a mashed ripe banana, one egg, and some peanut butter, and I microwaved them until they were like a moist cake.
Birthday boy gets to sit at the table.
Okay, since I was originally planning on giving Auggie a caramel apple I got free at work and then I opened the caramel apple to discover it was moldy, I had to hurry up and make the cake in a rush. So I took them out and they were hot so I was blowing on it to cool it off, LOL. Auggie was like DON’T CARE WANT CAKEY.
NOM
Everybody else got theirs out of their bowls.
Pepper… took a bite and I’m not sure if she was surprised it was soft or that it was warm, because she then dropped it on the kitchen floor and ran off.
Don’t worry, Payton will clean it up. (Don’t feel bad he got two, Auggie got two also actually. I gave Auggie one, gave the other dogs one, then Auggie had another while I sat at the table with him and ate one too LOL.)
Georgie!
Happy birthday boy!
Then once I realized TODAY was actually Auggie’s birthday, I knew I needed something better. Payton and I shopped for a present at PetSmart but I didn’t see a toy I thought Auggie would like, so we agreed that a bully stick was the best Auggie Present.
Auggie also agrees.
He also got ALL OTHER DOGS shut out into other rooms while he had a blissful hour+ to just chew his bully stick. He was quite happy with this.
Happy birthday little old man. I hope you stick around for many many more birthdays.
Georgie’s First Birthday Party
Her birthday is actually the 25th, but schedules got crazy. My mom celebrated with her and I took some birthday pictures, but we didn’t get to “party” until the weekend!
The princess.
Auggie, always the good sport.
And Payton, who still hates when you put things on his head and only wants to wear a hat when HE is getting all the birthday.
We made a doggy cake, but I also brought home a small slice of REAL white cake, just for her.
NOM MY CAKE
Mmmm…
This one hahahaha
Icing alllll over her whiskers. Hurray!
Payton and Auggie both got some of the doggy cake (no real cake for them.)
Then Georgie had another birthday party hat malfunction…
…and Payton chimed in with a birthday party hat malfunction of his own.
Then Georgie got her presents! Not very nicely wrapped, I just left them in the PetSmart bag, haha.
She doesn’t care anyway.
My mom’s gift to her (she also gave her a new harness and lead, plus an ice cream cone, on her actual birthday) – it’s a Nylabone peanut butter flavoured “stick.” I bought one for the boys and she loved it, so Mom decided to buy Georgie one of her own.
And my gift to her… her very own amphibious bumper. She LOVES the one I bought for the boys (noticing a theme?) and fetched it non-stop one day, so now she has her very own bumper to fetch!
Guess who’s having a birthday?
What’s a birthday??
Is THIS a birthday?
I think I like birthdays.
OMG… I think my birthday is gone already.
Auggie got his piece of cupcake on the deck instead of on the table, LOL. Poor Auggie. But it’s not your birthday.
Is there more birthday?
Mommy… I want more birthday. Make more birthday.
OMG Auggie I seriously cannot stop laughing at this picture. Like I’m in tears every time I see it.
Auggie: Birthdays are super fun!! I LIKE CAKE.
Payton: You smell like birthday.
Payton: No, seriously. I think you have some birthday in your mouth.
I think this may be the best photo I’ve ever taken. Ever.
Payton: I think you stashed some of my birthday here.
Payton: Mmmmm… brothers are delicious and taste like birthday.
I was waiting for Auggie to be like “I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU TRYING TO GET ALL THE CAKE OUT OF MY MANE” and kick his butt, but it never happened. Birthdays put everybody in a good mood I guess! They wanted to stay outside and look for crumbs when I ate my lunch, and when I came outside later, Auggie’s mane was all drooled on from Payton licking and trying to get crumbs and frosting off him.
Later Payton will get his presents, but I just happened to have his cake now, so I gave him that already. Also Georgie wouldn’t behave (read: wouldn’t sit still and wear the hat) so she didn’t get any cake. >=| NO BIRTHDAY HAT, NO BIRTHDAY CAKE.
Auggie turns six.
And so we celebrated Auggie’s sixth birthday with a photo of Payton.
Just kidding. Auggie was off eating grass like normal so I took a few pics of Payton first.
Then I took some Auggie photos too.
OH MAH GAH THIS LEAF IS AS BIG AS MAH HEAD
Payton has been quite delighted with all of the enourmous leaves that are falling off the tree in the back of our yard.
And I don’t mind handing him one as big as his head because he looks about like how children look when they come downstairs on Christmas and see a bike in their living room…
Back to Auggie.
Snork. Slopping around some remaining grass bits in his mouth.
That’s my boy.
kinda wonky focus but whatever.
then later…. “it’s MY birthday??”
Payton froze immediately once I put the hat on his head. LOL poor Payton…
Even Georgie wore a hat!
“Why you put things on my head Mommy? I hates it.”
I’m pretty sure Payton did not move his head from the previous photo to this one…
then Georgie had a birthday hat malfunction…
They all got some of Auggie’s birthday cake (no pics because we were juggling dogs and cake) and then Auggie got his presents! I got him this nice squeaky tuggy skull ball and also yet another Kong squeaky tennis ball – I found a “happy birthday” one in the toy box at the most recent trial we were at so I snagged it as our entry prize and saved it for his birthday.
The end!! Happy birthday, my bestest Auggie.
five year old auggie
now, on the day I was born
the nurses all gathered ’round
and they gazed in wild wonder
at the joy they had found
the head nurse spoke up
said leave this one alone
she could tell right away
that I was bad to the bone
bad to the bone
bad to the bone
b-b-b-b-bad
b-b-b-b-bad
b-b-b-b-bad
bad to the bone
I broke a thousand hearts
before I met you
I’ll break a thousand more baby
before I am through
I wanna be yours pretty baby
yours and yours alone
I’m here to tell ya honey
that I’m bad to the bone
bad to the bone
b-b-b-b-bad
b-b-b-b-bad
b-b-b-b-bad
bad to the bone
I make a rich woman beg
and I’ll make a good woman steal
I’ll make an old woman blush
and I’ll make a young girl squeal
I wanna be yours pretty baby
yours and yours alone
I’m here to tell ya honey
that I’m bad to the bone
b-b-b-b-bad
b-b-b-b-bad
b-b-b-b-bad
bad to the bone
now when I walk the streets
kings and queens step aside
every woman I meet
they all stay satisfied
I wanna tell ya pretty baby
what I see I make my own
and I’m here to tell you honey
that I’m bad to the bone
bad to the bone
b-b-b-b-bad
b-b-b-b-bad
b-b-b-b-bad
whoo, BAD TO THE BONE.
Auggie is five years old today, still a huge brat, and tells me he’s nowhere near being done yet. Happy birthday little monster.
Four year old birthday boy!
I keep telling myself I need to stop calling him “puppy” and “baby dog” all the time now. ;P
Birthday dinner – chicken, a “peanut butter cup” from a local dog bakery here, and some other cookies. His present is three Kong squeaker tennis balls from PetSmart (I kid you not, I saw those on the website and was like OMGOMG I KNOW WHAT AUGGIE’S GETTING FOR HIS BIRTHDAY.) And… a hat.
That I put on his head. And he did not enjoy.
NOM CHICKENS
NOM COOKIES
Yes, I am terrible to make him eat his dinner with that hat on, LOL.
Checking out one of his toys.
Playing fetch. With the hat on. Yes.
LOL the hat kept falling to one side, I’d fix it, it would fall to the other side, I’d fix it, it would fall again..
Okay, okay, we took the hat off finally.
Yaaaay birthday puppy!
Little guy – not so little
My baby dog hasn’t been a baby dog for quite some time, really. I just forget. Friday I took him to a Lia Sophia party and everybody asked me how old he was. I said “He’ll be four on – oh my God. On Sunday.”
Auggie is four years old today.
I’m pretty sure Auggie is in the top right corner…
That’s Auggie down in front there! You can tell by the obvious zig-zag mane, and the lightning bolt on his forehead.
That’s my chunky puppy, haha – ruining the shot of his cute bro!
I of course had no idea at the time. I had to go pick my pup out first.
This was the one I liked.
Bringing him home several weeks later…
He was tiny.
And I loved him.
He got bigger.
But his personality was the same from day one.
He got more hair…
…and more!
We’ve done a lot together…
…and we’ve learned a lot together.
But at the end of every day, it doesn’t matter what letters are on the end of his name. It doesn’t matter how many Qs we have in what events.
At the end of the day, he’s my little guy.
And I wouldn’t have him any other way.
I don’t know what made me pick Auggie over his brother that day, but I am so, so glad I did. My life was not the same before he came into my life and it has never been the same since.
Happy fourth birthday, little guy.
Best Birthday Ever – In Photos
Our day started out pretty good.
Then it became the Best Day Of Auggie’s Life:
OMG, I get french fries?! REALLY???
Yes, really.
Then I made a cake.
It looks really good.
I was going to try it, but then I remembered the peanut butter jar I used is the one specifically marked “DOG.” The one I put a knife in, scoop up peanut butter, stick inside of Auggie’s nasty slobbery goopy Kong, and then plunge back into the jar. Yeah, I don’t think I want to try it.
He’s THREE. So I lit three candles.
Ta-daaaaa!
MMMMMM!!!
Blow out the candles, Auggie!
Cutting him a piece…
I made him wait for it. ON HIS BIRTHDAY. I’m horrible.
NOM CAKE
ALL GONE!
I put half in the freezer and the remainder of the other half into the fridge for him to snack on throughout the week. THAT’S A LOT OF CAKE.
Happy third birthday, my little guy.
Auggie’s second birthday!
Auggie turned TWO YEARS OLD!!! Or, as we say – he lived to be two! He didn’t die!
I only got a few pics, because I gave the camera to my mom – big mistake. Everything came out blurry except for the photos of his “cake” I took before we gave it to him.
His “cake” was puppy brownies, but I couldn’t get the candles in the brownie (they are hard and chewy) so I had to top it with peanut butter!
Mmmmm!! Caaaaake!!!
Happy birthday Auggie!! We’re so glad you lived to be two years old!!
