I'm a Big Boy Now!

Look at that beautiful corgi! I tell him how handsome he is every day. But look how skinny his torso is! See his little hips and ribs with a teeny tummy! He is probably the most interesting corgi in the world. He doesn't eat every gulp of food. Seriously! Sammy has been known to skip meals. AND, he has food stashes. Sammy gets usual treats: for being a good dog outside (started with potty treats, and now just gets them for being a good walker), getting the mail (and NOT running away), baths/ears cleaned, etc; he gets treats for being extra sweet, cuddly during a movie, or something else sweet; and some training rewards treats: right now we are working on "no bark" when other dogs walk by. He finds all these treats very yummy, but he just isn't always hungry. Weird, right? He stashes these treats, sometimes, other times he just sets them down and comes back to them later when he is hungry. Sammy is very good at stashing bones. He loves rawhides, and gets quite a variety (love the petco treat bar!). Sammy is always very excited about his bones, happy to take them. One day after just giving him one, I started cleaning. I pulled out the couch and chairs, etc, and he had like 4 bones back there. As well as the 2 in his toybox, 1 under the bed, 1 on the bed, 2 in the car AND one in fron of the window! Can you believe that! Since then I have watched him. If he gets a peanut butter filled treat (I got one of the hollow bones out of the petco bone aisle and fill it with peanut butter. Then I freeze it for our long days away. Like a peanut butter popsicle.), he takes it and hides it for a later time when he is more hungry. One day he hadn't eaten his breakfast until 5 pm, so I didn't give him his 7'oclock dinner. At 830, he pulled out a bone, finished it off, then out came the peanut butter popsicle from behind the couch! So he got his dinner! Haha.
My point is, that isn't normal for a corgi, but it's normal for him. Sammy always has food. I have stuff on how much he is supposed to eat a day, so I try to follow it. We have the ScienceDiet Small Bites for Sammy. He is supposed to get just more than 2 cups per day. With his extra intake of treats, bones and some table scraps (yes we are working on that) plus 2 tablespoons of canned food at dinner time, he gets 1 cup of kibble every breakfast and every dinner (plus canned food). Sammy often sees his breakfast, but comes back to it, or just skips it. I make sure he can have that much food (sometimes a little more on active days if he hasn't been eating as much on previous days) every day, but not pressure him into eating that much. Dogs know their own stomachs, so I trust that he is ok. I don't want him to eat more than he should since we have his joint/hip problems.
So the other day, I borrowed my grandparents scale (we don't own one) to find out just how much he weighs. Due to his eating tendencies and our walks and dogpark trips, I thought he would be 26 or 27 lbs. Sammy is stocky compared to other corgis at the dogpark, but way more muscular. The books I have say that corgis are around 23-28 lbs so that's how I arrived at my conclusion. But no, Sammy weighs 31 POUNDS!! I can't believe it! I was completely shocked! How did he get so big? Does he have more growing to do? Wowzers!! I keep telling him he is a big boy now, and singing him that song from the pull-ups commercial! One thing is for sure though, he has helped me gain some arm definition. We hafta pick him up alot, onto the bed, in the car, to catch him at the dogpark, and he wants to be held right when I come home everyday! So his 31 lbs have definately made a difference in my arms! Lol.

The Eagle Has Landed

As somewhat stated and alluded to in previous blogs, we have been preparing for a new fish tank to arrive home. It has arrived. Sammy looked so confused! He looked like, we already have a tank with fisheys, why a bigger one? Poor Sammy doesn't realize that Erik will be spending lots of time setting it up rather than playing with him! :( Sammy liked our previous set up. A modest size tank with 3 fish in it. He likes to jump up and look at them. I think he is the only dog that looks at the fish at Petco/Petsmart/Petland. I ask him if he wants to help me feed the fish, and he comes right over, so he knows his fishey siblings, I guess siblings. Anyway, it should be interesting to see how he reacts to this large and in charge tank!




Can you believe it? It's as big as Sammy's kennel!

Sammy's Birthday Revisited (With Pictures)

Woot woot, we got the camera back! I can't believe I made it 2 weeks without the camera! As promised, here are the pictures from Sammy's first birthday, from 2 weeks ago!

Sammy recieving his presents:








This is us at the dogpark. Unfortunately we came when there was a dauchsand meet up, so it was overwhelmed by dauchsands. Sammy doesn't mind them too much, but has too much energy and strength for them. He is always sweet to them, but just gets bored with them. They were nice and gave Sammy a bag of a new kind of healthy treats, and they are liver flavored. A flavor, I would never have picked out on my own because it doesn't sound good to me, but he really loves them!





Next we went to my grandparents' house. We brought both of our cakes to share with the family. My grandparents got Runzas for everyone. Runza is a Nebraska thing, super yummy! Then we took our birthday photos!




and ate cake! Sammy watched every step along the way to his yummy cake! He knew it was his! Then he had a little siesta while the people ate their cake! Us people had to wait until after Sammy was served his peice to get theirs. After all, the birthday boy gets his first!




And more presents! He got a moose sweater from my aunt, and a set of tennis balls from my grandparents! Sammy just loves his birthday!







My grandma pulled out the newspaper to tell Sammy who he shares his birthday with as well as important things that have happened on his birthday in history. We learned that Sammy shares his birthday with: Mandy Moore, Haley Joel Osment, Steven Seagal, John Madden and Commodore Matthew Perry. Then we talked about celebrities we knew of on our own birthdays. After our little party, we hit the road. We drove back to Axtell so Erik could work on his aquarium. Sammy brought back some of both of his birthday cakes to share. He got to run around with his buddies all day long. They had a wonderful time. It was a nice day and we all were outside all day long. I was able to suntan a little bit and take some photos when I wasn't helping Erik with his aquarium stuff.










Then Sammy and Sneezy had to "play." They really enjoy tormenting each other! Haha. Sammy has recieved the name Samantha for the way he squeals around cats. But he always goes back for more. It's his Oodie stage!



Next came the aquarium test. Fill it with water and make sure it doesn't leak. And test the filter. Sammy doesn't like to be far away so he came into the barn to help. Plus it was nice and cool for him. He loved frog dogging on the cement floor!





Then, Sammy and I got bored, so we went and took some pictures of flowers and him. And played a little. Here are some of the best. (I took alot!)











I think Sammy had a pretty good birthday. Erik's birthday was this past weekend, and whenever anyone told him Happy Birthday, Sammy looked at them with a pleased look on his face. It made me think he thought it was still his birthday. I froze some of his birthday cake so he could have cake again with us for Erik's birthday. Sammy was quite happy and remembered what cake was! Everyone came over to our place for Erik's cake and Sammy took up his spot in the middle of the circle of people and just looked around and ate his cake. He definately liked the birthday thing! Haha. It was very sweet! Neither one of us can wait til his next birthday! In just 50 weeks! Lol.

Corgis, Corgis! Corgi's everywhere!

To my amazement, this morning when I opened my internet browser, and looked at the headlines and links I found this link the what they called, "The Cutest Website." All I can say is, Duh, they have a corgi on it!!! haha.

Anyway, this made me smile, and I thought I would pass it along!


see more

http://dailysquee.com/?utm_source=aolnet&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=a&utm_campaign=aolxp

***note, still not as cute as my little Sammy-pants!****

Walking the Kids

Over the winter, we met a few of our neighbors. We had a couple notable mentions. Aside from our 3rd floor best buddy, Stella, a jack russell terrier and her parents, we met a little girl who lives up one floor. We have quite a few kids in our apartment building, which I was somewhat surprised about. What is really nice is they all love running around and playing, like I would imagine if we had a house in a nice little family neighborhood. There are also quite a few dogs in the building. Sammy met Jasmine, our next door Bischon Frise-ish dog, right away. Right away he took to her, and she liked him til she realized how big he is! He has won her heart, slowly, and now they play a little bit here and there. Sammy also met 3 other dogs in the building before meeting Stella.
Stella is about a year older than Sammy, and they both have the same "Over the Hedge" dog temperment....."PLAY?!?!!?!" Both of them make liars out us mommys. We hype them up, talk about how well behaved and sweet, and smart they are. Then...once we are in public, WOOSH everything just flies through those big ears of his. Every word in the human language as well as every word in the corgi language translates to, "play" or a version of "love me!"
Stella's mom is very nice, and we enjoyed talking about our silly puppies. One day, we met our little girl neighbor. She was going to be starting a dogwalking business. All winter Stella's mom and I felt terrible for telling her no, but it was just too cold and slippery, etc. to begin dog walks. Spring came, and I knew she would be back at our door. I was just worried as could be about Sammy yanking her arm off. The first couple times she would happen to come right after we went to the dogpark or went for a walk or papa-sat or just about to leave. It gave me some easy outs. I guess I was hoping that she would phase out. Sammy loves kids, and lovs saying hi to her in the yard, but he just gets so ADD on walks! The beginning of spring especially, with all the new scents, sights, feelings, temperatures, all of it. New (to him) animals were my biggest fear. What if one of those darn squirrels came to tease him! Stella's mom was also worried because Stella has a little zing to her as well.
One day, I saw the little girl walking Stella. She was with her brother and all seemed great. I was the creepy neighbor watching from the corner of the window. I was just so darn curious. Stella is around 20 lbs, and Sammy is well nearer 26ish, although he seems to be slimming down. The next day Sammy and I ran into Stella and her mom and she sounded happy about the whole thing. That week, the little girl came to our door. I got brave and said for her to come back Thursday (as long as there is no rain) and we will walk with her to make sure she can handle it.
Thursday came, she came just as Erik was leaving for school. I had a test the next day and was overwhelmed with studying. Erik got super brave and told her to go ahead and give it a shot.
She and her brother were going to take Sammy to the park to meet their other friends. We are lucky to have a nice little park at the end of the parking lot of our apartment, not even any streets to cross. There is tennis courts, a swim pool, a jungle gym, baseball field and lots of little picnic areas around the green half. I have to say, I was a nervous wreck. I assume it is the same as when parents leave their baby home for the first time with a baby sitter. I paced a little. I peeked at the park a couple times. 45 minutes later, Sammy was dropped off by 7 kids! He was in Sammy heaven. He stolled right in got a drink and looked back like, "well, aren't my new friends coming in for for party?" Each one said goodbye to him and the little girl sounded like she had tons of fun. Sammy had the biggest corgi smile ever! Just glowing and ear to ear! And I was very happy for him.
We made plans for her to come back on Thursdays for now, until we have a summer schedule, and as long as it's not raining, she can take him for a walk. I know how happy it will make Sammy to get to play with kids once a week. It will probably be good for his independence and whatnot, too. But I gotta tell you, she is up to 4 dogs she takes for walks! I think all of them are weekly appointments, too. She has quite the little business. I wish I had thought of something like that when I was her age!
Well, today was week number two! She came by about 4:15 and they were going to the park, again. They came back about 5:45ish and it was so cute. He bounded in and was so happy to be back home, and energized! The little girl looked exhausted. She was gasping for air as Sammy was doing circles! Haha. Corgi energy til the end. I have a feeling he did most of the walking. I have a feeling the new walker bliss wore off, and he got a little comfy with her. Sammy has some kind of inner voice that tells him that it's a kid, elder, or puppy, and he needs to be gentler so I have every confindence he did alright. But, I bet he tested her a little bit today. About 10 minutes after she left, he curled up by the window and took a long happy nap. For the time he was gone, I felt a little lonely. It's so weird how much his little body fills the apartment. He has such a personality. I am sure happy for him, though! And having him come home to me is an interesting spin! Overall, it's been a pretty fun experience. I will have to update if he has any new fun experiences with his new friend!

Guard Duty

Sammy takes his guard duty very seriously. He likes to keep all "unidentified visitors" off the premise. He knows Erik's car, and especially that little "beep beep" from the automatic lock. He knows my car, not really sure how though. I don't have any of those fancy do-hickies on my car (not even power locks, windows or cruise control!). He also knows my mom's van. He can hear the squeak of her tires from afar, and doesn't think to bark. Sammy has begun to know some of the kids that run around in the evening, and has lessened his growls and barks to a bare minimum.
However, he knows very well the dog that lives at the end of the building. Samamy does not like this dog too well. It's probably partially from our stress, the dog lives in 2 apartments and goes back and forth. Neither household picks up his "waste" and it's a big dog! It barks at everything. And the kicker, it always gets away from it's owners. Never runs away, but runs around our "yard." The dog has gotten loose while Sammy is on his stake and rope, and runs toward Sammy, but will stay just a foot out of his reach. I think it's because she is scared of Sammy, but Sammy probably sees it as the meanest thing any dog could do to him. That and the pottys left in HIS YARD!!
****Sammy doesn't potty (1 or 2) in his yard. Nope, we hafta walk around the building. So before going on his rope, we make a trip around the building. And after a while, we hafta put him back on his leash and walk around the building again. Silly puppy. He does not get upset at our next door neighbor dog for pottying in the yard, because it's in front of her door, and she and her parents are nice to Sammy.****
Sammy however can freak out at squirrels, birds, leaves, other people, other dogs that are in his view out of the sliding glass door. I know he is much more protective when it is just me and him than the three of us. Is as though he sleeps with an eye and ear open. I imagine he has an imaginary guard badge he hands over when Erik comes home. "Well, I got those leaves good. Here's the badge, I'm gonna catch a nap and a yum-yum. Let me know if you need some back up, or dishwashing." This leaves me curious as to how he does while we are both gone. He says goodbye to us at the door. And when we come home, there he is. Same spot. If I leave him a bone or treat, we leave it for him at the door. He never eats on the job. Seriously, it's Sammy's form of the sit-in. As soon as we come home and give him the proper hello, it's the first thing he does. On long days, I leave him a little blanket to one side of the window, so he is comfy cozy, but it never looks slept on. Toys always in his box, doesn't get them out. He used to get into the bathroom trash (only trash can corgi height) so we shut the door when we are gone now. He will eat a water bottle or highlighter if it's at his height, so we pick those up. Nothing else though.
I suspect his alone times are something like this. Say goodbye. Wait at the door a good 20 minutes or so to make sure we are really gone. A sniff to his treat, see what he gets later. Then a quick paremeter check. Probably a drink to keep him good and alert at the door. Then back to the door. Check outside. After a while, relax with nose to the door and ears up! Then, just wait for arrivals!
Something like this little guy:

(http://cheezburger.com/View/3151299840)
Honestly, I have no idea. But I am very, very curious about his day.

Bravery

Bravery is relative. Bravery comes in all different shapes and sizes. Sammy is small, relatively. Sammy's bravery is small....but fierce.
Sammy, though he loves snow, dispises rain. I have said it before, and I bet I will have many more blogs on this topic. To Sammy, falling water droplets are the devil's handywork (as well as birds, squirrels, rabbits, LEAVES, hair dryers, and good byes, but those are different topics).
Erik & I brought home Sammy last August to our other apartment. There is not typically much rain in August in Nebraska. And when there is, it's overnight. Sammy could sleep through any rainstorm, as long as a neighbor's dog didn't bark. (Barking dogs are like Sammy's alarm clocks from hell. Aside from me getting up, it's the only thing he pops out of bed for.) Sammy's exposure to rain was limited. He would ever so slightly, tippy paw into the grass if it was wet. Just one claw at a time. And, if you picked him up and set him in it, all 4 paws went as outward as they could. Though not much for our little dwarf dog, it was quite funny. Then would just stand there stunned.
There was only one rainstorm that consisted of any thunder. And it was only a few claps. Those were more than enough. At that apartment, we were on the third floor (yes, that was the time period he was still too short and too scared to do stairs by himself. it was WAY fun to carry his little bladder up and down those flights 14 million times a day.) I worked nights and evenings then and was able to be home with him during this mid morning storm. Sammy was so freaked out he paced up and down the apartment. When there was a clap (thank goodness no lightning for us to see) he looked at the ceiling and barked at mother nature! He was not having this!
Summer faded into our short Fall. Fall smashed into the Infamous Winter of 2009-10. Snow came for the first time on his half birthday, October 10. He was immediately a fan. No need to tippy paw or pace or bark. Just bounded in like his lineage traced back to the sledding dogs of the Arctic. Winter proceeded to dump snow on Omaha, Sammy continued to smile.
Eventually Winter stumbled, unwillingly, into Spring. Spring has been good to us so far. Little rain. No storms. Today, that has changed.
For the last week, the meteorologists (or weather gamblers) have been calling for rain yesterday, today and tomorrow. I have been on the fence about this. I have a big scary test tomorrow (Historical Geology. All of the geology and life of the entire Paleozoic and Mesozoic.) and rain for 3 days could help eliminate distractions. Or ...create more. I have been hoping and hoping that at least one of us would be with Sammy for his first Spring storm to reassure him it's natural.
Yesterday, barley anything. And he slept through it! Today that changed! We got some hard rain. We were both home and in the living room with him. He seemed a little anxious, but not bad anxious. Sammy even looked a little curious. We had the screen door open so he could sniff all the fun smells and feel the breeze. Maybe it was the deciding factor because his curiousity grew! We were lucky and the rain came from the Southwest, and our patio is on the North side of the building. I grabbed his collar and put Sammy on his stake and rope. He inched forward. I went out to the porch and he came with me. He started to go out in the yard, felt rain and backed back up. Went a coupld of inches down and tried to go back out to the yard, felt rain and backed back up. He looked at me and I told him it was all ok (I think he understands, probably not, but it worked). He went to the gutter draining and watched the little corgi size river. Sammy put his nose to it, and backed right up. Back to the yard. This time he went into the rain! It was a soft rain by this point, but he was in the falling water! When he would look back, his eyes were barely open. When it picked up, he darted back to the patio with his eyes closed. Really, I don't blame him. I cover my eyes in the rain, too.
He continued his back and forth in the rain. Only going out when it was a soft rain. When it really picked up, Sammy just laid down on the cement and watched. I was so proud of him. We also had a clap of thunder. He acted as though he didn't hear it. So either he is super brave and it's all ok now, or he was too busy watching me make tacos to be bothered by Mother Nature. Only time will tell. But I was so proud of my little brave dog!
Today when I was checking The Daily Corgi's website (www.thedailycorgi.blogspot.com) there is a video posted where a corgi, Chloe, is testing out the IPad. Chloe's reaction is much like our first experience with rain and thunder last Summer. If you have/know a corgi, love corgis, know Sammy, or really, just love dogs with personality, you'll love this video.
http://thedailycorgi.blogspot.com/2010/04/video-biscuit-chloe-meets-ipad.html
OR follow this link to the YouTube video of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3xdcx2WUcU&feature=player_embedded#!
I've watched it like 6 times and it still makes me laugh, and think of my little Sammy!

FOUND!!!

We have found the camera! Yay!! .......Except, it was left in Axtell. I'm glad we have located it, and I have not lost the photos. But, I really wanted to have them now to look at! Erik's birthday is in a week and a half, so his parents will be coming that Saturday. They will bring us the camera then. Ugh.
We do have my camera, which is a little bit older, not as nice of pictures, but at least we will still be able to capture the moments while the other camera is on leave.

Once we get the other camera back, I will post his birthday photos!

Corgi Cake

Sammy's birthday was Saturday. We had a great time. We went to the dogpark. Then we went to my grandparents to have a little party. It was lots of fun. Sammy got lots of presents. He got a blue stuffed monkey, "squirrels in a tree" puzzle for dogs (sqeaky squirrels that are inside a stuffed tree trunk with holes for Sammy to try to pull them out), a dog Snuggie (probably to be returned, I'm anti-Snuggie), a canvas sqeaky duck, tennis balls, a moose sweater, and LOTS of treats! He totally enjoyed his cake, too!
After the party, we got on the road back to Axtell for the night so Erik could clean out his aquarium. Sammy had a wonderful time playing outside ALL day! He enjoyed watching everyone doing their chores. I laid out in the sun for about an hour, and Sammy just stayed close by. Sammy was also able to share his birthday cake with his aunt. We had fun, and Sammy was EXHAUSTED!!
He woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Sammy has been grouchy today. Whiney, needy, cuddly, barky, etcc. Really, having a corgi is like having a child! Erik had the day off and had to put up with the whiney pup all day, and I have just gotten home, and Mr. Grouchy Pants is all tuckered out sleeping. Again. Except, not in his usual place, behind the chair in his clubhouse! He is so silly.

Anyway, in all the comotion we have lost the camera! I haven't found it in my purse or bag. It was not in Sammy's bag. We will have to double check the car, but we are wondering if we left it in Axtell! And I had some good pictures, too! I'm very disappointed to not be able to share his pictures, so instead I will share the dogcake recipe if anyone is interested. Sammy just loved it!


Banana Peanut Dog Birthday Party Cake

2/3 cup ripe mashed bananas
1/2 cup softened safflower margarine
3 large eggs
3/4 cup Water
2 cups unbleached white flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped peanuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C)

In mixing bowl, beat together mashed banana and butter until creamy. Add eggs and water. Beat well. Stir in dry ingredients. Beat until smooth. Add nuts. Spoon batter evenly into oiled and floured bundt pan. Bake for about 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack 5 minutes, remove from pan, replace on rack and cool.


**I however did not use chopped peanuts because I don't think dogs really digest them, so I didn't want to mess with "picking" them up later! Also it did raise ALOT, so if I did it again, I might not do as much of the baking powder/soda. Finally, when I cooked it, it took 10 minutes longer than the instructions said. It was very mushy when I first took it out.
**I cooked in a bread pan. Fits just perfectly!
**It smells like banana bread, but it doesn't taste like it! After it was cooked, it wasn't too bad. Still not too appetizing for people! Lol. (I was curious)


Carob Frosting

Combine the following ingredients and blend thoroughly:

12 ounces nonfat cream cheese (room temperature)
3 tsp carob powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp honey

**carob powder was finally found at Whole Foods. In a giant container that is approximately the size of hot cocoa containers! (about $4 here in Nebraska)
**In hindsight, I would just do 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese. I did not use all the frosting. I didn't want to make it too thick and get him sick. So I ended up throwing a bunch of it away.




I got all this from a website: http://www.dog-treat-recipe-exchange.com/dog_birthday_cake_recipes.html#BananaPecan
It has Peanut Butter Delight Dog Cake, Banana Carob Chip Dog Cake, as well as the Banana Peanut Dog Cake. Originally I thought the Banana Carob Chip Cake sounded like fun, but it was too difficult to find the carob powder around here! Also it had 2 other options for frosting: Cinnamon Frosting and Banana Carob Frosting. The recipe I used suggested Banana Carob with the cake I chose, but I decided to be different. All the frosting called for 12 oz cream cheese, but really I wouldn't do that much. And, if you are deciding to make one, and can't find carob powder, the cinnamon frosting does not call for any, so don't stress too much. It was super simple, and Sammy loved it! He still has some in the refridgerator!

Hope to find the camera soon, and share the photos!

Day 364

Day 364 into Sammy's life is all in preparation of Day 365, his birthday! Oh and I am sooo excited! And proud of my little pupper-doo! First we slept in a little, because Sammy was less than pleased about waking up. Then we rode with Erik to UNMC for his TB test. Which, he does not have TB. He may now work in the medical field. Yay. (Sammy & I were on the edge of our seats wondering....haha) Then we went to 2 stores in search of carob powder for Sammy's cake. I finally found it at Whole Foods. I always hate going there because I feel like I stick out like a really swollen, sore thumb! Besides, this is Nebraska. Home of beef and country style, bad for your body, cooking! Although I try to cook healthy for us, I am just not quite comfortable with the parallel universe in Whole Foods. OR their prices! So for the ingredient I needed just 3 teaspoons of, I ended up with a tin the size of Hot Chocolate! I now have enough for all of Sammy's cakes, and 5 more corgis. At least!
It was important. Carob powder, which I have googled, is a healthy version of cocoa. Kind of. Carob beans are similar to cocoa beans. There are more calories, but a net loss of fats. Also, there is NO caffeine! Cocoa beans get lots of sweetners added to it to become chocolate, so although the carob bean is sweeter than the cocoa bean, carob powder vaguely resembles sweet!
After Whole Foods, we had to stop by HyVee to get some raspberries for the people cake. I couldn't believe that Whole Foods didn't have any! Sammy loves running errands, and had the greatest time sticking his head out the window. It got up to 70 something today!
Once back, I began the cooking. I made his cake. I googled dog cakes and found one that has mashed bananas and thought that sounded like a winner. After getting in in the oven I got his frosting ready. It's mainly cream cheese with the carob powder. It also had a tsp of honey and tsp of vanilla in it. It smelled good, but it wasn't! (What can I say, I was really curious!) Then I got started on the people cake. I cheated and used a box for the cake, but I made the cream cheese frosting by hand. The way my grandma used to. SOOOO unhealthy, but absolutely the BEST! The end product was french vanilla cake with cream cheese frosting. A layer of cream cheese frosting and raspberries in the middle! Mmmm....I can't wait to have it tomorrow!
Sammy was a huge help! He likes when I cook because I am clumsy and drop lots of things. Today he was especially happy because I let him lick the beater! We all get to when it's our cake, I felt it was only deserving!! He loved it soo much!




"Whatcha doing, Mom? Whoa, for moi?!?"




"Don't mind me. I'm just here to see what you are up to!"






Check for cakes! Sammy's is all decorated. The 'a' in B-Day didn't really come out. Oh well. I found the glitter gel pens for cake at Walmart and just had to go for it! Thought that would be the easiest thing to decorate with! It was still hard with that little cake! Oh well. It was still fun. And now our refridgerator is full of cake!!!! Yay for Sammy turning ONE!!