Picture a Day - Day 271

We brought the little one home. Got her onto a livable feeding and pooping schedule (we're down to once a night if a small child wears her out beyond belief).

Had our first doctor visit. Broke in all the new toys. Have Daddy wrapped around our little paw. Yep, that just leaves one thing left.

Puppy Shower!I actually tried my hand at making a diaper cake only instead of diapers it's formed out of puppy pads.

Um, yeah . . . Someone must have a class on these things somewhere because I was just guessing the entire time. I tried rolling the things up making two layers but it looked a little blah (and more like someone made a cake by smashing together a bunch of albino twinkies). Then I thought, oh I'll use some fabric to simulate the frosting layer. I had some great stuff stashed away in the closet that was left over from the pillow my MIL made for the wedding (which I am sad to say, my sister took off with. I really hoped to keep them. Oh well).

Then, well, as you can see something happened with the ribbon, there were a few tears, some screaming and that Puppy Pad cake came out.

At least the party favors were a bit easier. Nothing too over the top, just a bandanna, a bone and some treats all wrapped up inside a water bowl.

I also made some puppy chow. Which leads to a universal quandary. It's called puppy chow; yet, one of the main ingredients is chocolate which can kill a dog if ingested. So was someone just being evily ironic in naming it?

Otherwise the rest of the party festivities involved the puppies having a chance to get to know and chase each other around the backyard:This was Essie's first big chance to get to meet dogs much bigger than her that weren't her mother. She wasn't so sure at first, trying to stay out from under his big feet.

But pretty soon her inner boss shown through and she was chasing after Toby, his tail tucked between his legs as he bolted away from her for his daddies arms.Just when she got a good hold on Toby, my friend (who's also Essies Vet) showed up with her big Mastiff/Lab mix who's really a big puppy too (and at 8 months isn't so aware of his brute strength).Once all the guests were there it was time to peel around the backyard like mad men:They were having so much fun they didn't notice when they accidentally tripped up a four year old.As you can tell from the replay screen, it's obvious that Essie cut across the front while Toby attacked from the side. The call on the field stands. Repeat Second Down.

It was a great opportunity to get all my old college buddies together again and get a little socializing for Essie outside of my husband and I and our battered and bruised fingers.

Everyone had a great time watching the Meeting of the Big Black Dog Society commence as they welcomed a new member and all the bigger dogs got to check out a whole new yard and test its poop holding capacity (we passed, apparently).We'll have to do another Puppy Shower the next time someone else gets another little, or even a great big one. (By the way, if anyone out there with mad photoshop skills, I'd love it if that picture above had the sun glare removed. No idea if it's possible but I love all the candid expressions on everyone's face but sadly the sun did his best to ruin the picture. You may even get a free tree out of the deal.)

Has anyone else ever hosted a Doggie Play Date? What is the secret to making the awesome diaper cakes I see in all the Baby Shower pictures? I simply must probe it to understand the full possibilities or forming cake out of something inedible.

What are your secrets to getting a pet socialized?