Shop This Post:
Shirt: Rails (these shirts are my absolute favorite – they are so flattering and soooo soft!)
Cake Platter: Williams Sonoma (we use it all the time!!)
Almost four years ago now… (holy lawwddd where does the time go?)… when Joe and I really started to get serious, we always talked about what we wanted our life to be like in the future – happy and simple… with a house, a dog, kids… and in that order.
At the time we were living in Joe’s house in the historic, Old Southwest area of our city. The house was built in the 1920’s, so what it lacked in design, it made up for in charm. The neighborhood was incredible as well. We walked everywhere. All of our favorite bars and restaurants were close, and everything had a very young and hipster vibe. It was perfect for that time in our lives, but it wasn’t long before we decided that the house wasn’t the most ideal place to start our life together. It didn’t have a backyard, the stairs were steep, and the floor plan was very choppy.
We decided that an open-concept floor plan home, located in a more suburban area was exactly what we needed. So in the spring of 2012 we bought our first home together. After moving everything and getting settled, we then decided that it was time to start the second part of our life together, and that part was Henry.
Growing up, my neighbors had a beautiful and kind Golden Retriever. Because of how sweet he was, I had always wanted one of my own. After some convincing, Joe was on board and we set out looking for the perfect breeder. We found what we were looking for in Florence – here is her website. She is amazing!!!
After she reviewed our application, it was decided that we would get one of the “Spring 2012” puppies. We were ecstatic! Finally we would be expanding our little family and we’d be welcoming home a sweet, little, blond bundle of fur! The puppies were born on May 30th, 2012 and 6 weeks later we received photos of them so we could tell her which ones were our favorites.
We knew we wanted a male dog – and upon reviewing the photos, I was in love with “Green Swirl Boy” and “Red Collar Boy” (she labeled them by the designs on their collars), and Joe was in love with “Giraffe Collar Boy”.
So we himmed and haaaed over which puppy it would be. “Green Swirl Boy” and “Red Collar Boy” were both beautiful puppies and from their photos, they looked to be well behaved. Giraffe Collar boy on the other hand, was this fat, little, rollie pollie of a puppy and you couldn’t really tell what he looked like from his photos because they were blurry from him squirming so much.
So I told Joe to let Florence know that any of the three would be wonderful – but in the end it was up to her.
The next week we got a message from Florence saying that “Giraffe Collar Boy” would be ours. I was kind of disappointed. He looked pretty fat and unruly from his photos. But little did I know that Joe had specifically asked for him. Somehow Joe knew that “Giraffe Collar Boy” would be perfect for us, and I thank God that he made that decision!
But… still to this day when Henry is being a mama’s boy, Joe always tells him, “I feed you, I walk you, and mama didn’t even want you in the beginning!” We kid… we kid… but seriously….
Anyhow – a week later our little “Giraffe Collar Boy” arrived at our house and we both fell in love with him immediately. How could you not?
 |
| The day he arrived at our house |
Ever since, Henry has been the light of our lives. He’s not a dog to us… he is a family member. He taught us how to be parents, and now he is the most loving older brother to William. Even though he is still sometimes the unruly pup from his initial photos – we wouldn’t have it any other way.
As for the cake, some people might say it’s going overboard… but he really is our first child. As such, we make it a point to celebrate his birthday every year to remind him just how much he means to us — just in case the daily walks, fetch sessions, and incessant belly rubs don’t do the trick. 🙂
Happy 3rd Birthday to our sweet, sweet Henry boy – we all love you more than you know!
Doggie Birthday Cake Recipe:
Ingredients:
2 bananas
5 tbs. honey
1 egg
2 cups water
3 cups wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 tbs baking powder
Peanut Butter – for the frosting
Milk Bones for decoration
Directions:
– Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
– Grease a 9in. round cake pan.
– In a large bowl, mash the bananas, add in the honey, the egg, and the water
– Now add in the wheat flour and the oats
– Pour mixture into the greased cake pan and bake for 1 hour – test with a toothpick. Bake longer if needed.
– Let the cake cool, and when cool frost the top and sides with smooth peanut butter
– Line the sides of the cake with medium sized Milkbones – or whatever treat your pup loves
– I personally think it’s fun to serve the cake on a cake platter – Henry literally goes crazy every time he sees ours 🙂
– FYI we don’t give Henry the whole cake – he gets a slice each night of his birthday week – after plenty of exercise!
***Original recipe found here
