Mabel turned ONE last weekend and we celebrated with a birthday pawty! If you’re a longtime reader, I know you aren’t surprised — we’ve been throwing pawties since 2012! I love any excuse to throw a party with a theme, and celebrating our animals is always one of my favorites.
Even though we’ve only had her for 9 months, it feels like Mabel has been part of our family forever.
She is such a good little dog and has been one of the greatest blessings for our family. Like most doodles, Mabel is made up of pure sugar and is unbelievably friendly — she wants to love and be loved on at all times. You can find her glued to me all day every day, following me around the house, sitting behind me in my office chair, and hanging out my passenger seat window.
Life with her has been so fun and I could have never predicted just how much happiness she would bring to our home. So yeah, she’s pretty easy to celebrate…
We invited Mabel’s best friends Deacon, Ollie, Archie, and Otter (plus their humans) to her pawty and I cannot even begin to describe the level of happiness it brought Mabel as her besties showed up one by one in the backyard.
Over the past year our bus stop crew has grown with new puppies and it’s been really fun watching all 5 of these dogs grow up together. They LOVE running around in the mornings and afternoons while waiting on the bus and all have the same boundless puppy energy. It’s so adorable to watch them tire each other out (and then take a long morning nap)!
The pawty was super easy to throw together. A few days beforehand I ordered my groceries from Walmart and some decorations from Target. I couldn’t believe how many cute dog party supplies they carry! Everything was only a few bucks each and absolutely adorable!
Birthday Pawty Supplies
For the adults, I made a pitcher of one of my favorite summer poolside cocktails — Lavender Lemonade. The secret to this cocktail…is using Chick-fil-A lemonade. And then I take it to the next level by marinating it with fresh lavender buds for 24 hours…and then give it a boozy twist by spiking it with vodka. IT IS SO GOOD. Everyone LOVED it.
And the kids had their own pitcher of Chick-fil-A lemonade.
We kept the snacks simple — just a few dips, and Caroline made the cutest Walking Banana Pudding treats for all the kids.
Walking Banana Pudding
INGREDIENTS
- Mini Vanilla Wafers (Individual Bags)
- Snack Pack Vanilla Pudding Cups
- Bananas, sliced
- Whipped Cream
TO ASSEMBLE: Cut the top of each bag and fold the opening down to form to make the packet sturdier to eat out of (we forgot to do this). Remove a few of the vanilla wafers and set aside for a garnish. Add a few scoops of vanilla pudding on top of the wafers inside the bag. Add banana slices on top of pudding. Then top with whipped cream and garnish with extra vanilla wafers. Serve immediately.
Just when Mabel thought life couldn’t get any better, we surprised her with a delicious birthday cake that Caroline made from scratch!
Mini Dog Birthday Pawty Cake Recipe
Recipe from The Dish Next Door
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 banana, mashed
- ½ cup milk
For the Frosting
- ½ cup nonfat greek yogurt or any plain yogurt of your choice
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350℉
- Combine the flour and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
- In another bowl, mix together the oil, peanut butter, and banana until creamy. Mix in the egg. Add the flour mixture until well combined. Slowly pour and mix in the milk.
- Pour into an 6-inch or 8-inch round pan or muffin pan. Bake 25-30 minutes or until cooked through. Let cool for 10 minutes.
- For the frosting, mix the ingredients yogurt and peanut butter together until well combine and fluffy.
- Once the cake is cooled, cover with frosting.
The pawty was a huge hit across all the puppies, kids, and adults.
As Mabel’s friends left, we handed them little party favors — bags filled with dog treats!
And that was a wrap on our first pawty for Mabel! Here’s to many more!
