Happy Birthday, Chester!

Today is Chester's 3rd birthday. In dog years, he turns 21, which is a pretty big deal. So naturally, we were compelled to commemorate this momentous occasion with some birthday festivities. We had a small celebration with our college friends, Jay and Amy, last night. However, it was not nearly as extravagant as his First Birthday Party (which Jay and Amy also attended). We had a much smaller cake and no streamers, balloons, or party favors. But after all, he is 21 now, and much too mature for such childish parties.

To honor his age, we ordered some pizza - what else would a 21-year-old prefer? (Or his 25-year-old parents?... wait a minute, I just realized that we are nearly the same age! Wow, your "children" really do grow up fast!) Since it's close to Valentine's Day, Papa John's is offering heart-shaped pizzas. Could there be anything more awesome?? Nope. We totally ordered two, and loved them. You may notice that they are uncut. Daddy John didn't want to damage the integrity of the love shape, so he graciously allowed us to do our own slicing - after a few pictures, of course!

Well, you can't turn 21 without the alcoholic rite of passage. As you can see from our Birthday Card remarks, we encouraged him to be responsible. He took heed (as well as took after his parents), and snubbed the beer altogether. Actually, he even ignored the giant cupcake, as well. All he cared about were those doggy bones! He got a package of six different bones of different shapes and sizes. We dumped them out for him on the floor, allowing him to choose which particular bone he preferred. At first, he was only interested in the baggie they came in. Honestly, why do we buy kids (aka, dogs) gifts, when all they want is the packaging? We let him attack the plastic for a while, before we decided that might not be such a great idea. With the bag our of sight and out of mind, he proceeded to "test" each bone, painstakingly scrutinizing them individually before he settled on the doughnut-shaped one. Brad said that his uncle, Officer Mehaffey, should be very proud that Chester wants to become a Cop, too. (Just for clarification, Matthew, Brad said that, not Mindy.) He chewed on that doughnut bone all night long. I do believe that he was sufficiently satisfied with his birthday gifts.I can't believe my baby is 21, or even 3, for that matter. My how time flies. Happy Birthday, Chester!

Complete Chester's Birthday Album