While we were at Whole Foods earlier tonight, we went to the butcher counter to buy some steak tips for him. The butcher asked us what we were deciding on and if he could help, so we told him we wanted to treat our dog to something yummy for his birthday. Instead, he went into the back and came back with a huge soup bone that still had marrow in it! No doubt Gryff will love this!

But when I got home, I decided to bake him some organic dog cookies. I found this recipe from Dog Treat Kitchen and it was seriously an idiot-proof recipe.

Here’s what you need:
•2 cups whole wheat flour (or any kind of flour your dog is OK to have)
•1 cup rolled oats
•1/3 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy. We used organic, crunchy pb because Gryff likes the crunchy peanuts!)
•1 1/4 cup hot water

Start by preheating your oven to 350°F
Then mix your dry ingredients in a bowl. Then add in the peanut butter and hot water. You might need to add more flour if it gets sticky. Honestly though, the dough came together quite nicely and was super easy to work with.

Roll out the dough until it’s about 1/4 inch thick. You can use a tiny bit of flour on your counter or board before you roll out the dough. Then cut out shapes! We used the bone cookie cutter we got from Sam and Finn from the Corgi Exchange this year!

Place the cut-out cookies onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 40 minutes or until hard. You really want to make sure these cook all the way through!

We only made one round of cut outs and then put the rest of the dough in the freezer. These cookies will keep fresh in an air tight container for a week, or you can freeze them for up to 6 months! I think he knew we were baking him some treats because he kept pacing around the living room wiggling his nose in the air.

I have never made any homemade treats for Gryff but these were relatively healthy and organic. He seemed to really enjoy them too. Happy birthday buddy! We love you!

Have you ever made homemade treats for your pet? Do you have a fool-proof recipe you rely on? Please share below if you do!

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Hooray!

A gift for me?! Too considerate. Looks like Gryff is getting some cute-looking treats for his birthday in January!

Wonder what it could be..??

Beautiful card! Thank you Sam and Finn!

He wasn't feeling it at first...

Then he realized they were yummy bones to chew on...

We swear it's a bone. To help your teeth!

Still not 100%...

"...I'll allow it..."

He also got this adorable slingshot-piggy-type toy. It's so cute! It's been near his bed in our bedroom since he saw it ;)

Thank you again to Sam and Finn!! We are so grateful for the gifts and appreciate it so much! I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and you all have a wonderful new year!!

There were three bags of flavor: lamb, chicken and salmon. Gryff instantly knew this package was for him because he wouldn’t leave its side. I think he could smell the delicious kibble.

I told Gryff all about his new food. How it’s all organic, 100% grain free, and even the bag is Eco-friendly!

Believe me, he’s more excited than he looks. I don’t think he cared too much for all the facts and would have preferred to just eat the stuff. We’ll be able to mix it in his with current food to see how he likes it! But it’s food. And it’s meat flavored. So I’m going to assume there won’t be any problems ;)

I know he’ll love it! And his parents love the fact that both his food and the bag it came in help him and the planet. Thanks again Kelly and Gibson!

This year, I became an avid follower of Corgi Butts, a site administered by the lovely Kelly and her Corgi, Gibson. Naturally, I love the site and Gibson! Corgis are cute and I was very happy to find other people out there who loved their Corgis as much as we love Gryff.

Kelly started a secret Santa gift exchange through Elfster and I decided to take part in it! Something I hope we can do every year, or ever other year or something.

We got the package a few days and since it’s Christmas, we let the four legged one open his gift a little after midnight.

We tried to get Gryff to come sniff the card and the packages inside the box, but he was kind of skeptical of the whole thing and kept his distance.

YAY! Thank you Emily and Wrigley! By the way, this card was so gorgeous! <3 <3 Gryff sniffed at it and seemed to approve too ;)

SUCCESS!! He was super curious and excited to open his gifts!!

…Or maybe not…

WOW!! Thank you SO much, Emily and Wrigley!! Doggles and a Nylabone. Perfect!!

Of course as soon as it was out of the packaging, Gryff got super interested…

Wait! Come back! You have to try on the Doggles!

Can I just say how awesome our dog looks? Because he looks like the coolest dog ever! A lot of people think Doggles are silly, but it’s actually a safe way for dogs to have their heads out the window in a car and not get doggy pink eye ;) The more you knoooow!!! Gryff is prone to allergies in his eyes every Spring and getting dust in his eyes when he sticks his little nose out the window of the car on our way to the dog park. He also likes to swim in the river, and well, this way his eyes are protected. Best. gift. ever!

He. Is. SO. Cool!

He wasn’t a fan at first, but I think they grew on him. He started chasing the laser pointer around the house with them on. He’s special :)

Thank you so much Emily and Wrigley. You guys are the best! I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

He’s stoked. Can you tell? I should get him a Santa hat…

This past weekend was just like that. After sleeping in (ah, glorious sleep) on Saturday and then watching our football games (GO GREEN!), our friends invited us downtown to enjoy Homegrown Fest. It’s basically a festival downtown where local farmers and restaurants share their food (veggies, fruits, sandwiches, coffee, pastries, etc.). There was live music, wine tasting and a beer tent, too. I absolutely love living here! It’s especially more fun in the company of good friends who hear about these types of events since they live within walking distance to downtown (a perk, for sure!).

Sunday was the probably the cutest though. My friend brought her Corgi down so she could play with Gryff. She got her Corgi a few months ago and we’ve been trying to set up a day for them to play since Gryff loves playing with other dogs (listen to us, we’re like parents with our kids :P). It just didn’t work out with our hectic schedules. We finally worked it out this weekend and I got to meet Mayhem, who is the cutest, littlest, most fluffy little girl ever! She and Gryff became fast friends and they looked so cute together.

She’s so teeny and cute!

Can you tell which is which? Fact: there were times we couldn’t, especially when we were at the dog park with them. Whoops.

All in all, a very fun weekend. I live for weekends! Why can’t they last longer…??

I like how sped Hank looks. I like how Gryff ripped his eye to make him look even more that way (o_O;
My favorites are special.

Humphrey is more than a friend to him though. He was Gryff’s companion, compadre, his bestie.

We decided to see what it would be like if Humphrey and Gryff were reunited after months of separation.

Gryff was pretty stoked to his pal back in his life. After taking this picture, something happened.

I started to cry. Well, almost. OK, I was tearing up and didn’t want REB to see, so I hid it.

I know I shouldn’t be upset that he’s grown up into the best dog ever (seriously), but I always think of him as that little bean we got over a year ago.

if you observe on the left, Gryff used to be the size of Humphrey. He couldn’t even pick him up. All he could really do was gnaw on his tail with his puppy teeth. On the right, is today. Over a year later.

sniff sniff…as he’s all…sniff…grown up…sob..

Humphrey has seen some better days. To be real honest, I think he was used more as a teething toy than a companion.

It’s so dirty and chewed up! It’s pretty gross to think his mouth was kind of gross and made things dirty. Yuck!

He not only nommed all over Humphrey, but he also pulled out the stuffing. I think that’s the reason he got put back into the Gryffy toy box. Not joking.

Another reason why we probably put Humphrey BACK into his toy box was because of how filthy he is… This can’t be sanitary. o_O

I don’t want to get rid of the hippo. Like Mr. Bear to me, I want Gryff to always have the first toy he ever had. This toy used to spend many nights with him in his crate, helping him through his first night away from his birth mommy -tear-, helping him cope with spending a few hours alone each day while REB and I were at work, and helping him teeth comfortably. He’s an important part of his life!

Who am I kidding? He’s part our of lives too. Call that lame, but whatever.

They’ve both mellowed out over the months, but they’ll always be best friends. That much is true.

Together, these two can conquer the world! …or the living room at least.

He is already wise beyond his ears. I have incredibly deep conversations with him and he offers the best advice to me.

Those ears can hear into the future and listen into your soul. No lie. I’m also pretty sure he helps NASA with those satellite ears. My little astronaut!

So, what does the 1-year-old boy get for his birthday?

A Frosty Paw of course! Nothing like a beef-flavored ice cream cup to celebrate your birthday….yum…(o_O)

“Really? You can’t wait until I’m done eating to take my picture? I’m eating here!”

*oink*

Mmmk…no need to gnaw on the cup

I think that’s enough. No need to turn him into one of those chubbier Corgis (sad, btw). I like how concerned he looks that FOOD is being taken away from him. Oinker.

Now that’s good eatin’

Yup. I’m a proud mama. He might really be a dog now, but that little image of him as the bean he used to be, is always going to be implanted in my head. *tear* Happy Birthday, buddy!