Basil's 5th Birthday

This time last month we celebrated Basil's 5th birthday. He donned his favorite bow tie collar for the occasion and was rightfully spoiled with extra walks and special treats throughout the day. Just look at this guy.

In the past we've made homemade dog treats to celebrate, or you may even remember last year's homemade dog cake in honor of Basil's birthday. This year Tim made a special trip to Three Dog Bakery to pick up a "pupcake," which as you can see below is in the shape of a cupcake, made with dog-friendly, 100% natural ingredients:

 

How cute are these?

August, Basil's birthday month is always a favorite time of ours to look back at the pics from the day we brought him home and read back through the story here on the blog. While born in the late summer, we brought Basil home with us when he was 12 weeks old, closer to Thanksgiving. It took everything in us not to bring 2 two pups home that day, and still like to think about where his brother, who we refer to as "sage" may be celebrating. Just look at these two peas in a pod from the day we brought Basil home:

Read much more about that day with more pics in Basil's 1st birthday post — and for those curious, you can see how we've celebrated our favorite "ham" over the past several years in Basil's 2nd, 3rd and 4th birthday posts as well.

In true-to-us fashion, we love to share a roundup of our favorite memories and snaps with Basil over the past year as a way to look back in honor of his birthday and all the joy he continues to bring into our lives. So without further ado, we hope you'll enjoy a look through the seasons with us —

In the autumn, we're usually on the go — be it to a local market, the riverside or cleaning up the backyard. Basil is happiest when he's around people, so you will usually find him close by and just chillin' out with whatever it is we've got going on.

Speaking of a happy Basil, he has his favorite people — we love how he knows Brandon and Stephanie, audibly crying to welcome them when they come home to visit:

He continues to be our chief taste tester of all homemade dog cookies...

...and keeps a close eye on everything that goes on around the house — mostly from the comfort of his bed in the front office where we spent the majority of our time at home:

The inflatable Halloween cat on Hanover Avenue continues to be Basil's greatest October nemesis:

And I'm not sure there's a cuter little Christmas elf just happy to be around family during the holidays:

Much to Basil's delight, he added a handful of new collars to his growing collection, including the few we had made from Scottish tartan patterned ribbons and the fancier bow tie pictured at the top of this post:

He's quite the snow dog now, not missing a beat when it's time to go out and play in the falling "white stuff:"

And Basil remains our biggest "inspector" when it comes to new projects around the house.

He wasn't quite sure about getting rid of the rug in our front office, but was the first to welcome to new replacement:

He helped us pick out the lumber for the custom shelves Tim built in our front office:

...and approved the massive job of exposing the brick chimney up in Brandon's room, along with smaller projects like the entry bench we made for Stephanie's new apartment:

As the weather began to thaw the ground, you know who was right there with us to pick the early spring asparagus and romp around the river:

...and never misses an opportunity to get festive:

...or to make new friends:

Most of all, we love how Basil seems to relax to a whole new degree. Every morning we enjoy watching how he's snuggled down or rearranged his bed to suit his mood:

Oh Basil, how you keep us our toes — here's to the many more seasons and years we hope to spend together!

Discover More:

How to Make a Dog Birthday Cake | All Basil Posts