Fifth Birthday

Remember when this entire blog was basically about my dog and running?

Ahem. Cough. Ahem.

What? Have things changed around here?

Because I promise you that on Monday morning, October 18, I glanced at the calendar on my way out the door to work and nearly scraped my jaw off the ground. It was Henry's fifth birthday and I seriously almost forgot about my first born!! What have I become?

My how times have changed. I remember his first birthday involving an actual party with other dogs and gourmet treats and what not. His second birthday was when I started the tradition with the birthday hat. We had just moved to Wisconsin and I think we might have taken him swimming in Lake Michigan for the first time as a treat.

His third birthday is chronicled here and his fourth birthday chronicled here ; both posts make me smile. Ah, little Henry. Remember when you had a voice on the internet? Not so much anymore, huh?

I'm still his mom, no matter how distracted I've become, and I still have the right to embarrass him in photo shoots:)
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I still love my little fluff ball even if my attention is slightly diverted towards my human son these days. Sometimes I feel bad for Henry because of how much his life has changed in the past year....going from the king of the castle on every piece of furniture, sleeping in bed with us, endless photo shoots and attention....to being second place to Truman, never on furniture, and lucky if he gets a walk around the block. Sometimes I'll look down at my feet and see every single dog toy laying there as if to say, 'Mom, do you like any of these enough to throw them around with me?' So sad.

But then again, he still has a pretty sweet life and he knows we love him to death. I really do think he's better adjusted and more settled now compared to last year before his training and he really does love Truman, too. He got his peanut butter plate again this year and therefore he forgave me of all my sins. :)

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We love you Henry. I know this last year has been a challenging one for you at times but you've handled it fabulously (well, except for our first night home from the hospital but we'll forget about that night). You are the best little doggie in the world bud. And don't worry, you still have 62 posts on this blog with your name on it and so far Truman is only at 54. You win for now! Let's go for a long walk today, okay? Just as soon as I change Truman's diaper...

Anyone else have a major shift in priorities when it comes to the family pet and a new baby? I don't think it's a bad thing, necessarily, because Henry is still happy and healthy and loved. But he just doesn't rule the roost anymore, that's all. :)

11 comments:

  1. I think it's normal. Marley, my dog is pretty spoiled, and is especially spoiled at my in-laws home, who give him people food treats constantly. Once we have our baby, I'm sure he'll be wondering what the heck happened to all the goodies, now that the attention has been moved from him to our new addition. On the plus side we all love to hike and Marley always goes with us, so hopefully we can keep that up post-baby and he wont feel too neglected.

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  2. Happy Birthday, Henry!

    I worry about this happening when we have kids, but luckily my kitties don't need tons of attention. :) It's one more reason we won't be getting a dog anytime soon, though!

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  3. I know! We've forgotten about our first born pup a lot since the birth of our baby. But believe me, once Truman starts dropping food from his high chair, they'll be BFFs.

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  4. I love the peanut butter plate idea! My dog would love that. :)

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  5. I obviously can't speak from experience, but I would imagine that first year has to be the toughest for the dog. They are adjusting to all the things you mentioned and the baby can't really interact with the dog very much. But in time, Truman will be another person who will love Henry and play with him and sneak him food:) What is sweeter than a boy and his dog? They will be best friends in time.

    Happy birthday to Henry!

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  6. Happy Birthday sweet Henry!!

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  7. When we finally get around to having kids, our poor doggies are going to be in for a rude awakening. They currently rule the roost, sleep in bed under the covers/share our pillows and are basically our children. It's going to be tough to make sure they feel like they aren't being replaced!

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  8. Such a doll! I'm sure all was forgiven!

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  9. We're in a similar boat with you. Our little girl is 9 1/2 months old and our first two fur-babies are 7 and 4! We've had a shift in priorities, but definitely try to give them some special time, too. I'll take them on walks or my husband will take them to the park while the other stays with the baby. Now that she's eating table food and crawling they're constantly right underneath her to get droppings or play with her!

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