There is nothing quite like having your very first dog- and for us that became plural when we fell in love with 2 puppies on the same day! My son has always wanted a Golden Retriever, but allergies kept us from being able to have one. As much as he loves them, he was allergic to them! And so, I began researching Golden Doodles- the most adorable combination of Golden Retriever and Poodle! We found exactly what we were hoping for and more! More, as in a “typical” Golden Doodle and then a Golden Doodle that looked just like a Golden Retriever- my son’s wish come true!

We literally begged my husband to agree to getting two dogs- he had grown up with dogs and knew 2 puppies would be a handful. But, we persevered and convinced him that we could do it! Coming from a girl who had never had a dog…my husband was right- 2 puppies at one time is a handful, but we survived the beginning, most transitional days and everyone adjusted well! Surviving the first year of two puppies was definitely worthy of a celebration in our house. We, literally, spent about two years learning about the best dogs for allergies, the best temperaments, the way they shed, etc. etc. We researched dog breeders, made our choice(s), and survived the funny and slightly exhausting first year of having two puppies join the family!

I couldn’t resist the urge to have look-alike puppy cakes made for our family to enjoy as a fun way to celebrate our puppies’ first birthdays. The pups were born a week a part, but we celebrated them both in the middle of that week with these fun cakes for us and Puppy Parfaits for the doggies. I had cute gold and white mini party hats from Crated and so we put those on Tuck and Blue (and their cakes) for a puppy cuteness. For their cakes, I wanted to have a little bit of color, and so I added ribbon to each of the hats on the cakes.

We laughed when we saw the cakes and how closely they resembled our dogs! I ordered the cakes from The Bee’s Knees Bakery in Athens, GA and gave them a photo of each pup. I thought they did a great job of making Tuck and Blue in cake form.

The more retriever-looking dog is Blue, and Blue is a little timid about strangers. His cake must have really looked like another dog to him because he barked and barked at it. He kept giving it the side-eye and then he would move away from it. Lol His nose eventually got the best of him, and he couldn’t resist getting a little closer to sniff. Needless to say, our social butterfly, Tuck, didn’t have any problems with the idea of a cake dog in the room with him! He looked at his cake (and Blue’s cake) with dreamy eyes and a goofy grin. The same way he looks at his doggie treats. He was a good boy to sit, wear a hat, and let us take photos of him!

While we humans enjoyed the birthday cake, we served the Birthday Boys a puppy parfait each. We made it with their favorite treats- pumpkin, greek yogurt, apples, and peanut butter. That sounds crazy, right? They loved it so much. I never knew dogs would love canned pumpkin (great for their tummies)- and I really had no idea that Greek yogurt was so good to them and for them! Did you? I have learned so much this past year with these pups! Of course, we did not give them any of the birthday cakes- those were totally for us! They did get a new chew toy each, though!

I always love taking photos of Blue in front of our blue door at our house. It just seems right. You can tell it is April in the south by the amount of pollen that is on the steps- and that is after I swept! I will never forget the time one of my neighbors/friends who had moved to Georgia from Australia called the company who built her back deck on her house and told them the wood was rotting or something was going on- because the whole thing had turned yellow! She had never seen pollen before (lucky lady), and had no idea what it was! They all had a good laugh, and now I think of her every spring when the pollen paints everything yellow!

I think Blue’s big smile sums up all of our thoughts on our first year together. We couldn’t be more in love with Tuck and Blue- and we loved celebrating their very first birthdays!! We are so glad we added them to our family and we all wonder what we did with ourselves before we had them!

I would love to know about your dogs! Tell me about them in the comments below! What kind do you have and tell me if you celebrate them? I never realized how crazy I would be over these 2 puppies, but I am so thrilled to have the happiness that they bring! You can read more about Tuck and Blue here- and you can follow them over on Instagram!

Xo,

Lydia