Photo Roundup: Happy 3rd Birthday, Basil!

Today's post is all about our big guy. He turned 3 on August 11th and while we celebrated with many of his favorite things (a trip to the river, lots of play time and a special bone), we wanted to put up a post celebrating all the milestones and new adventures we've had with our favorite pup over the past year.

We've done similar roundup birthday posts for his 1st and 2nd birthdays so thought we'd keep with the tradition this year, even if it's a couple weeks overdue. Last year we joked that he was actually turning 14 since they say 1 dog year is the equivalent of 7 people years. If that's the case, then this year our big guy is officially 21 — just like Stephanie:

For those curious, you can read up on the story of how Basil came into our lives and how I was never really a dog person before him in his 1st birthday post. Just be warned there are adorable puppy shots that might suck you in! In his 2nd birthday post we shared a bigger roundup of memories, firsts and accomplishments (like overcoming separation anxiety in our new house) — and of course tons of photos from the year.

We will be the first to admit the photos in today's post are beyond a bit excessive, but we can't help ourselves when it comes to our big guy. We've made so many fun new memories over the past year and even if just for our own benefit, wanted to recap them in a single post to be able to look back on and enjoy.

A few highlights from the past year with Basil include but are not limited to us being able to take him along with us on our honeymoon, our new ability to leave him alone on occasion without any major bouts of separation anxiety or destruction, and his ultimate excitement and happiness at having daddy home full time now instead of leaving for the office job each morning. He's remained our official project supervisor and taste tester of all things treat related — he even had his first official full feature in a magazine!

More on the above and much more in the photo roundup below:

We made it through all the holidays, complete with seasonal collars and silly photos — remember Halloween?

And how scary our Halloween walk down Hanover Avenue was?

Little does he know we bought a skunk costume for him on sale after Halloween last year...shhhh.

Basil was in his element over Thanksgiving when we spent time down at the river with family:

He helped us all the way through our 2nd official Christmas in this house:

That is, before sacking out on Brandon in the middle of opening presents and getting pranked later that evening:

He was just as excited to see the snow return as we were:

He made a card for his favorite person's birthday and was so brave in the face of the most scary balloons he's ever come in contact with prior:

Easter was a close second to Thanksgiving for Basil — anything involving a basket of people food is good in his book:

Basil was our number one fan throughout the craziness of the wedding planning and events over the past year — he even took part in our engagement shots:

And was a strict supervisor over Gran, who so graciously assembled every last wedding invitation:

He even joined us on the honeymoon:

Basil continued to get spoiled by all of his grandparents:

 

And makes new friends of all sorts everywhere we go:

He's continued to supervise most all of our home projects, big and small:

And has for the most part left the grapevines alone since this little incident:

Basil overcame some fears, like stepping in a baby pool:

And discovered new ones, like the panic that sets in when mommy and/or daddy disappear into the hole in the ceiling (us humans call it the attic):

He became more cultured by participating in events like brew day and mushroom foraging:

Speaking of culture, he was the subject of some of favorite pieces of art:

Remember when he caught his first big break in a full feature by Pawsh Magazine?

He also conducted his first official blog review for Best Bully Sticks:

He's settled into several favorite spots around the house, taken over the couch in our front room, keeps a careful watch for the UPS truck to protect us from it and discovered every last sliver of sunny places to lounge:

He's been watching and maintaining his weight like a champ:

And became well acquainted with our local doggie daycare:

He explored the neighborhood with us:

The cats of the fan were his favorite:

And he's always the first to hop in the car and go along for the ride — wherever it might be:

Our favorite 2 shots from the past year are actually both from separate trips we took to the Wetlands down near our old house:

This one also steals our hearts:

If you made it this far, you must love dogs! Ha, we mean, you can probably gather we're pretty smitten with this big guy — you could call us his biggest fans. He just wants to go and do whatever it is we are going and doing — no matter how hot it is or how tired he gets:

Oh Basil, how did we ever get along without you?

Basil, you bring us so much joy and have changed us both for the better. We hope to spend many more years together and continue to look after one another.