Brutus Turns One!

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. 

 ~Roger Caras

I know that it has been quite some time since I have posted anything new on my blog, but let me tell you it has been a BUSY past few months. (Wow! It has been a long time.)  One special event that occurred during this busy period of time was our little, well big now, boy's birthday.  Brutus Norman Weir turned 1 year old on March 18, 2012.  I cannot believe he is already ONE!

In celebration of his birthday, we took him out to lunch with us to a dog-friendly restaurant on Main Street, St. Charles.  He had a wonderful time, but ate a little too much ice...needless to say we were ready to walk down to the dog bakery to pick up his cake and special birthday treats.  It was very fun to have him with us out to lunch with us.  He was adorable and got lots of compliments.

On the actual day of his birthday he got a very special birthday present from his Daddy.

Some super strength tug rings!

Brutus wanted to play with them immediately.  I think Daddy knows his boy:)

He loved them.  Although he has chewed them up quite a bit, they are still fully-functional as a tug toy.

This is what Brutus does when you tell him he gets to go "bye-bye to Grammy and Papa's house."

Cutest face in the world.

It was quite a birthday party at my parent's house.  I made a photo album of his first year, got two cakes, and had a present and a card.  My parents also got him a special surprise to play with at their house.

I don't know of anyone else who gets a card for their dog's birthday.  Yes, I am a crazy dog-mom, but I wanted to capture the memory of his First Birthday with us.  He is our first "child" you know:)

Grammy and Papa know Brutus well, they got him a new tug toy too.  Daddy was his tug partner again.

He did let Gram have a turn...well, right before Marley got in on the action.

Auntie Cassie celebrated with us too.

Penny didn't want to be part of the party.  She would rather beg for table scraps from my Dad.

The local grocery store thought I was crazy when I ordered this birthday cake.  I couldn't have a pup cake without a people cake too.  They did a wonderful job!  I love the paw print after Brutus' name.

This is Brutus' pup cake from the Dog Bakery.  He LOVED it.  It actually smelled pretty yummy.

Brutus' birthday card.  Apparently Marley was jealous of all Brutus' attention because that is his tooth on the bottom of the card.

The other toy from Grammy, Papa, and Auntie Cassie.  A huge tug rope.  All three dogs wanted to get in on this "tug action."

The best friends.  They love to play.

Opening Brutus' present was also a group event.

He got a tire ball with a bell inside it.  That was destroyed in five seconds.  Yeah, he's a boxer alright.

Marley wants to know why he is trying to eat the rubber tire part of the toy.  

Right before Brutus ate his cake.  Daddy was trying to calm him down.  He wanted it so bad.

Chomping:)

All done!  I will definitely be ordering another for next year's birthday.

Playing with Auntie Cassie.

His favorite friends and puppy-sitters came to wish him Happy Birthday and had cake with us.  He loved seeing so many people on his birthday.  At the end of the party, the birthday boy was all tuckered out.

It was a wonderful celebration.  I know our love for Brutus may seem a little overboard to most people, but it was what he deserved.  He is a wonderful dog.  He truly does light up our lives.  We are so lucky to have gotten a perfect little boy.  I had to take this last picture.  It was so funny how they matched.  Son-in-law and Mother-in-Law.  We are so blessed with a wonderful family!