Ladies' Brunch

On Sunday, some of my friends from work got together for a brunch to celebrate our friend Meg's visit to Indiana. Meg used to work with us, and now she's living it up in Colorado - so anytime she's in town, we have to get our dose of Meg.

Heidi was a fantastic hostess (as always) - she treated us to mini ham and cheese sandwiches, mini quiche, pumpkin whoopie pies, cinnamon rolls, candy corn, fruit salad...
...and MIMOSAS!!!
She even put together a crossword puzzle that was "All About Meg":
And sent us home with bags of kettle corn and candy:
I sadly have no pictures of live people, because once we started snacking and having mimosas, we got carried away in conversation and getting her updated on what's been going on since she was last here. Thanks for hosting Heidi, and thanks for coming to see us Meg!

Sweet Birthday Boy

Happy birthday to our sweet 4 year old boy! Every day you are getting so big, and you like to show us how smart, athletic, adventurous, stubborn, curious, silly, creative, and lovable you are. You definitely aren't a pushover - which constantly keeps us on our toes. As challenging as you can be at times, we couldn't imagine our lives without you.

You are a sweet boy with a good heart, and a tremendous work ethic. I sometimes just like to watch you and try to figure out what's going on in that head of yours...it seems like you are always trying to figure something out. You are such a bright boy and Daddy and I know you are destined to be something great.

No matter how unpredictable the road of Aidan has been, at the end of the day, I thank God for bringing you to us and feel so blessed to be called your Mommy.

We love you big man!

Aidan's 4th Family Party

On Saturday, it was time for more birthday fun - this time with our family. My parents, Sean's parents, and Uncle Ross and Aunt Ashley came over for a nacho bar, cake, and presents.

The 4th birthday in our house is a big one, because it's when the kiddos get their "big boy/girl" bed. This year, my parents kept the kids busy outside, while Ashley and I took down Aidan's toddler bed and Sean and Ross drove out to pick up the mattress.

I made it outside in time to capture the big reveal. Aidan was playing with chalk, when Uncle Ross' work truck came down the road:
He asked, "Is that my pillow?" I don't think he understood exactly what it was until he climbed on the trailer:
In his excitement, Aidan stubbed his toe skipping into the house - Dzia and Ava are trying to comfort him here:
The finished product:
I think he likes it:
But maybe not as much as this "Funkytown" singing card from Uncle Ross and Aunt Ashley:
"Go Ball State" pjs from Uncle Drew:
Putting Pepaw to work with a sticker book:
Modeling his new Spider-Man hat and gloves. I hope he doesn't plan to rob any banks with this get-up:
Obligatory cake pic, part 2:
Want to know what's sweeter than a piece of cake and some ice cream? This face! Forget the cake and ice cream, I want to gobble up this sweet treat!
**Big Boy Bed Update: He LOVED it! I don't think he moved one inch, and I think he got the most restful sleep he's had in a long time - because he actually fit, and could move if he needed to without stuffed animals and/or blankets falling out of bed**

Aidan's 4th Friends Party

On Friday, Aidan's friends helped him celebrate his 4th birthday. The party was at a local business that sells backyard wooden swing sets, trampolines, and basketball goals. They have this huge showroom so customers can check out and - most of all - try them out. As a secondary business, they host birthday parties too. As luck would have it, there were no other parties happening that night, and there were only a few families who came to "pay to play" - so we practically had the place to ourselves!

The superhero themed party room (pre-kiddo takeover). The party favors were Batman and Spider-Man masks, along with Batman and Spider-Man fruit snacks and silly straws:
Layla showing off her back flipping skills:
They also sell Powerwheels. I tried to capture the image of a guy riding his "hog", with his woman riding on the back - I think they nailed it:
Drew and Parker shooting some hoops - this is where lots of the adults were playing too:
Ava and her "boyfriend" Ian:
The Birthday Boy fiercely modeling his Batman mask:
Ava, Emma, and Aidan getting their swing on at the tire swing:
I got this sweet, wild party boy to pause for a couple brief moments:

Logan, Emma, Katie, Delaney, Layla, Drew & Ava stopping long enough to cram in a few bites of pizza:
Sweeties Lilly and Allison:
This is a man with conviction! Parker trying to eat pizza while wearing his Spidey mask. Superheroes need to eat, too:
Obligatory cake pic:
Supergirl made a guest appearance, and helped Batman to defeat the evil candles:
Cute kiddos eating cake:
Can you tell Aidan was mad that we made him stop playing and forced him to eat cake?
Each year, we are always so overcome with happiness as we are reminded of how many special friends we have in our lives, and are so grateful for every last one of them! Thanks to all for making this a special day for our special guy :)

Pickin Out Punkins

This weekend we made our annual pilgrimage to our favorite local pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins and to have some fall fun.

We have a routine that we have been following for the last few years, and this year was no different! The day started with a trip on the jumping pillow. Doing this first was especially a good idea this year because although it was sunny, it was quite windy which made it pretty chilly. Getting the kids' body temps up helped them to make it through with no complaints of the weather:
Our daughter catching some serious air - looks like she got mommy's hops:
This is Aidan doing his "trick". He would say, "MOMMY, DADDY, watch!! I'm going to do my trick!!!!" His trick consisted of jumping up and landing on his bottom, which he thought was pretty awesome:
The next stop was pony rides. Aidan was funny because he threw a fit and said, "I don't want to ride the little horsies - I want to ride the big one". The big one he's referring to is the jousting horse he got to ride a few weeks back at the Ren Faire. He finally settled and decided he would humor us and ride the little guy:
Ava's latest thing is posing during pictures - here, she's perfecting the head cocked slightly to the side to look extra cute and innocent:
After pony rides, it was time for a trip to the straw mountain. Aidan stopped just long enough for a pic, and then he was off trying to push some of the remaining straw bales off the mountain:

Ava preferred jumping from the top into the sea of straw below. And so did other kids - at one point, a boy landed on her face, and of course didn't apologize...and neither did his dad. That would NEVER fly in our family, can't stand when parents just let the kids loose and don't pay attention (sorry, off the soap box now...)
The patch was so busy, we had to wait in line for the hayride - which was a first. But it was well worth it - as it always is. My handsome boys:
My pretty girl:
Um, yes, I think I'll take these pumpkins home...they're PERFECT!
Sean helping the kids find just the right ones:
Our biggest pumpkin posing with her selection:
Like my boots? My birthday gift from Sean - love, love LOVE them!!
Stay tuned to see how we carve these babies (the pumpkins, not the kids...)

Swimming Lessons

We recently started the kids in swimming lessons. Ava had taken lessons about a year and a half ago, and we finally got around to signing both of the kids up. We found a new place, and so far we absolutely love it! The instructors are phenomenal and it's a swim center - so much smaller and less loud than the local high school pool where Ava went before.

Our bathing beauty. This girl is still nervous about putting her face in the water, and is just so stiff - if she actually relaxed, she'd probably be pretty good at it. I am kicking myself for not having the kids start taking lessons when they were babies :(
With this being Aidan's first time taking lessons, we weren't quite sure how he would react to the newness of it all. But, he took it like a champ! He was so at ease and not shy with his teacher - and he tried everything she asked him to do. We really LOVE his instructor because she always has her face right by his ear to reassure him and give instruction. We affectionately call her the toddler whisperer:

Practicing his bubble blowing - he's really good at this, because he practices at dinner with his milk:
After only two lessons, he's already trying a freestyle stroke:
Parents aren't permitted on the swimming deck - which we like, because it helps the kids not realize their parents are there and potentially run screaming towards them if they're sitting right there. So this picture is a bit far away, and I did my best to zoom on the camera phone - but here, he is practicing floating on his back. It's so cute to watch him puff his big chest out and float like a natural: