It’s a completely normal thing to throw a beach birthday party for your puppy, right? (please say yes…)
That said, I will gladly come up with any and every reason to get friends together, eat homemade treats and hang out at the beach on a beautiful day! Sydney turned one on May 22 and we invited all of her dog friends from the park to the dog beach, baked oatmeal banana muffins for the humans and carrot peanut butter pupcakes for the pups. One of our friends even made bandanas for little party favors. So cute! (PS. she does sell them… and they’re reversible!) The challenge of the day was getting all the dogs to sit, stay and look at the camera for a picture!
The Chicago “Bark for the Park” 5K walk for dogs also happened to be on her birthday weekend so we of course signed up to walk off those pupcake calories! We were fortunate to have another perfect day in the city to walk along the lake with hundreds of other dogs. The race finish area had free treats, paw print art and even free dog massages!
So many firsts for this little one- first birthday, first beach party, and first 5K… and no, she isn’t spoiled at all.
Here is a quick look back when she was 4-8 months old. This is her signature diva pose. Weighing in at about 35 pounds, she’s an active, smart dog that loves going on runs with me, catching a frisbee and loves peanut butter almost as much as I do.
And lastly, our most recent family pic with the big birthday girl! 
Eat, Lift & Be Married 