Happy birthday, little guy

From Hasbro…

Hasbro 250

to Riley…

puppies! 010 Riley 019 Riley settles in 009 Riley settles in 006 Riley settles in 019 Riley 4 life 043 first bath 004 Riley cuddling Giraffey 003 crazy snow! 016 March Riley-ness 001 Riley Says Hi Cincinnati Pt 2 069 Riley misses Andy 004 Riley and Andy at Winton 007 costume testing 002 artsy goofy Riley 006

Today my pupperoni turned 1. :)

.

We’ve been through a lot together. Nights of endless crying (you, not me) and days of endless playing. Potty training and party tricks. Your first bath. Your first (and only) induced vomiting. Dozens of Dog Whisperer episodes. About ten zillion chew toys.

I’ve learned patience. I’ve grown stronger and more responsible. I’ve come to realize what’s truly important to me, and I’ve taken big steps, big risks, to follow through on those priorities. I’ve apparently joined a club of twenty-somethings who treat their puppies like kids. And I’m okay with that.

I hope you know how much I love you. I think you do. I imagine the constant hugging and kissing is a giveaway, but dogs don’t do that to each other so I can’t be sure. Regardless, I hope I’m not the only one who’s grown and changed for the better in this past year. And I hope we both make even greater strides in the years to come.

10 responses to “Happy birthday, little guy”

  1. phhhst Avatar
    phhhst

    What a great photo journal of Riley. I agree that dog ownership teaches us a lot of wonderful life lessons.

  2. Alex Avatar
    Alex

    I LOVE THE HOT DOG. All of those pictures are so cute. :-D

  3. Kristan Avatar
    Kristan

    Thanks!

    And yeah, that’s Riley’s Halloween costume. We just wanted to test it out. (Actually I’ll need to shrink the chest straps a little… It kept rolling onto his side!)

  4. Twenty Four At Heart Avatar
    Twenty Four At Heart

    I just fell in love with Riley. What an adorable dog!

  5. Terry Avatar
    Terry

    Happy Birthday Riley. It seems I have joined the legions who now have dogs as grandchildren, but I’m okay with that,too.

  6. Kristan Avatar
    Kristan

    TFAH-
    Thanks! We certainly think so. :)

    Terry-
    Haha, well he loves you to death. I’m sure he’d be dying for Thanksgiving if he could understand enough English to know he was going to see you.

  7. Karen Avatar
    Karen

    SO CUTE! Fantastic pics. I LOVE the Hi Mom and Hi Dad shots.

  8. Kristan Avatar
    Kristan

    Hehe, thanks. :) I have to give Andy credit for that, since I stole his idea.

  9. carie Avatar
    carie

    saw your link in Dooce….so cute! I love this photo montage. so adorable. and your sweet words at the end…thanks for sharing the link! :-)

  10. Kristan Avatar
    Kristan

    Thanks, Carie! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.