I’m that dog mom and l own it.

While people have failed me, my dogs have always been there.

They don’t judge, they don’t hold grudges, in fact, they don’t talk at all.  They just offer unconditional, truly devoted, love.

So when my sweet pup turned 1, I planned a sweet & simple family birthday party and photo shoot to commemorate her first birthday.  And the results were absolutely adorable!

For your convenience, this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from these links I may make a small commission at no cost to you.  Additionally, I was provided a complimentary birthday kit from Giant Dog Paws for this post.  However, all opinions and experiences are my own.

Dogs = Furry Family

My husband and I have had dogs most of our relationship.  We got our first pup after dating for a year.  We adopted her sister a year later.    They saw us through several moves, job changes, and many tough times.  When we struggled to get pregnant, they were as close to children as we feared we’d ever get.

They gave us 12 amazing years and losing them (two weeks apart) was one of the most painful experiences of my life.  I truly lost my best friends.

Our first pups together in a memorial sign – tutorial available for sign linked at bottom of the post.

It took awhile before we were ready to adopt again. We had another baby soon after their deaths, and life just kind of got in the way.  But there was a hole in our family that only 4 paws could fill.

Lilly Heart Sparkle

Last August, we finally adopted a sweet speckled mix breed pup.  My oldest named her “Lilly Heart Sparkle” but we agreed on Lilly for short.

The past 9 months with Lilly have been a whirlwind.  We’ve lost more shoes to her teething than I can count.  She also has an affinity for kids toys, which is both a blessing and a curse.   She’s very sneaky, and loves to dig in the trash for treasures or surf for snacks on the counters.  And man, oh, man, she was one tough pup to potty train.

When we got her at 3 months old, we were told she’d probably stop growing around 50 lbs.  She however, decided her life’s aspiration was to be a mini-horse and is 72 lbs and growing still.

But still, we wouldn’t change her for the world.  Because for all her annoying attributes she’s still one pretty awesome dog.

She’s truly one of the snuggliest dogs you’ll ever meet.  She’d literally crawl into your skin if she could.    She’s amazingly gentle and patient with my crazy and wild young children.  She loves my girls more than her huge wiggly butt can contain.  I have no doubt she’d protect them in an instant.

She’s completed our family and made our home seem like a home again.  So of course she deserves a birthday party right?

Lilly’s Birthday Paw-tay

Ok….so we didn’t go passing out invites.  I didn’t go quite that overboard.   But I did bake her a cake, and decorate a little set for her to take pics a la a smash cake session.  We also splurged on some cupcakes for her human sisters so they wouldn’t feel left out.

I was able to whip up a quick and simple set for her party pics.

I mostly used decorations we had laying around, and some treats we scooped up at the store to give her as birthday gifts.  I also set out a picture from one of her first days at home with us.  She’s had quite the growth spurt since then.

I did spend a little time designing her a chalkboard sign.  I do them for all my human kid’s parties, so I figured my fur kid deserved one too.  Her favorite foods were guided by real-life incidents.  She has eaten an entire Papa John’s pizza and over 1/2 a red velvet birthday cake y’all.  She believes with her whole heart that if it’s on the counter it’s fair game.

I even threw together a little outfit for her.  I used one of my girls dress up tutus, a bandanna from the birthday kit we got from Giant Dog Paws, and this party hat.

She wasn’t a fan of the hat, but she tolerated it for the duration of the pics.  She posed like a champ.  This pup will do anything for a treat!  She even smiled in quite a few of them!

And this…. this was my absolute favorite shot of the day.  She looks so excited about her little birthday party!  The smile on her face says it all!

We also baked her a cake, which we got in this amazing birthday kit from Giant Dog Paws.  They were gracious enough to send us a complimentary kit for the purposes of this post but we will for sure be buying one next year!

This kit contained everything we needed to make her cake, including a cake mix, silicone dog bone shaped cake mold, 6 adorable paw print balloons, 3 Kong tennis balls (her favorite!), and the cutest little pink bandana that says “birthday girl.”

The cake was super simple to make and only required oil and water.  It baked beautifully, which is impressive because I’m a horrible baker!  The icing was a bit thicker than traditional icing, so I decided to just use it to decorate the top and give it more of an iced cookie appearance.

She loved it and quickly devoured it!   She would’ve eaten the whole thing in one sitting, but we made her save some for later!

That face you make when you’re caught trying to lick icing off your nose

During her cake smash, my girls begged for their own cupcakes.  I’d told them were doing a little birthday celebration for Lilly, and they convinced me to grab some cupcakes for them at the store.   By the end of the party, I had a messy pup and two messy little girls, but just like our sweet Lilly – all the trouble was worth it!

Want to throw your pup a paw-tay?

If you’ve got a pet birthday coming up, be sure to check out the birthday kits from Giant Dog Paws on Amazon!  They are an amazing value, packed full of goodies for your pup or other fur baby!  And be sure to check them out on Facebook!  They post all kinds of cute dog memes and videos that are sure to brighten your day!

If you’re interested in my little DIY featured earlier in the post, you can find that here.  Be sure to check out the tons of other crafts I’ve shared and follow me on Pinterest to see all the cute party ideas and fun DIYs I’m pinning!