Happy Birthday Duke!!

Yesterday was Duke's 1st Birthday! I made a birthday cake and we went over to Peeka & Boo's house (Duke's best friends) to celebrate. I'm a little embarrassed of how my cake decorating skills turned out... I didn't realize you're supposed to buy tip attachments to go on the icing tubes, AND some of the icing stuck to the lid of my cake pan. Logan's lucky we have Duke to practice on!!

Here's a record of a few things Duke ate in his first year of life:

• The hibiscus plant
• Lionel the Lion
• Logan's Baby Book
• Many, many pairs of Mark's shoes
• Several Kleenex boxes
• Silk Sunflowers
• Family Guy DVDs
• The OC DVDs
• The Longest Yard DVD
• The White Pages
• a 2X4 he found in our basement
• The pump for my mom's pond
• His Ikea blanket
• The carpet on the front stairs
• Countless tennis balls
• ALL of his puppy toys

That's just what I can remember, I'm sure there was WAY more! For the first couple months that we had Duke we kept him locked in his kennel... but soon he outgrew that and we kept him locked in our bedroom. But he kept tipping over the garbage can and sleeping on the bed - so then we gave him the whole house... thats when the DVDs and carpet got eaten. Man, we must love this dog! But now he's settled down a lot - only occasionally do we come home to a disaster zone. (You can immediately tell when Duke's been bad because the moment you walk in the door he books it outside and tries to run away - where as if he's been good he goes outside but then comes right back inside once you call him.)

Looking over the list above you're probably wondering why we still have Duke.. here are some good things about him:

• He's ALWAYS happy to see you when you come home
• He cries when you leave (which makes you feel loved!)
• He sleeps on your feet, keeping them nice and toasty
• He eats all the leftovers you no longer want
• He's the pre-rinse cycle for our dishwasher
• He cleans Logan's face for us
• If you're not careful he tries to join you in the shower (come on, thats cute!!)
• He's a great listener (although he doesn't always obey)
• He thinks he's a lap dog
• When you cry he licks up your tears
• He pulls you up steep hills
• He's soft and cuddly
• He eats any bugs that find their way into your house

Hmmm... maybe you really need to know Duke in order to love him!!! Happy Birthday Duke!!