The Birthday!

In addition to the big family parties, we like to do something unique and special for the kids.  This year we decided to take the boys to the ice castles in the parking lot of IKEA.  Sounds kind of boring, but they were really neat!  

We went to dinner at the Rainforest Cafe before heading over to the ice castles.  The Rainforest was really fun, but kind of overwhelming.  I decided by the end of dinner that I liked the "storms" that went through every 15 to 20 minutes.  It seemed to be at about the points when the boys were getting antsy.  The storms would roll in and Aiden would freeze up with a look like "What is going on"? He never cried, but always moved closer to me.  Then, we would be good until the next storm time.

Back at the ice castles, we were all amazed with how neat and intricate all the icicles were.  There were caves that the kids could crawl through.  Not that I was all too excited about them.  I always have the tendency to think the worse of a situation. I never went out of my way to point out a crawl through space.

Mid-February of 2010 we were in the hospital with Alex for a week while he was recovering from croup.  February of 2011 we had to postpone Aiden's first birthday party because we were all sicker than dogs with the flu.  February of 2012, Aiden is sick on his birthday.  I'm not liking this pattern.

Besides getting sick 6 times on Sunday, Aiden was a pretty happy boy on his 2nd birthday.  Needing to be free of sickness for 24 hours, I was able to stay home with the boys on Monday and we worked in some celebrating for Aiden's birthday.  I made pancakes and eggs for breakfast.  I mean pancakes with whip cream and sprinkles.  I have never made those before.  This boy must be special.  He loved every minute of it. Alex and I (oh, and Aiden, too) sang "Happy Birthday" to Aiden while he blew out his two candles for his birthday.

The rest of the day was spent in our PJs.  We colored, made our Valentine's, watched movies, did a lot of puzzles, and played a few games.  It was the first day that Aiden really played a game.  We played Sequence for Kids and he was playing his own hand.  My two year old is growing up too fast.  The boys both took great naps.  OH! And, I cut their hair for the first time.  Last minute I decided I was going to do it and went for it.  I think they turned out pretty darn good too.  If you ask Alex, he will tell you that I almost cut his ear off.  Well, no.  I almost clipped his ear when he jerked his head while I was cutting his hair.  No blood; everyone's fine.

When Andy got home from work, we had a nice dinner, Aiden opened gifts and we had some ice cream. Another opportunity to light the candles and sing "Happy Birthday".  For his birthday, Alex bought him some small animals.  He was so proud that he spent his own money to buy his brother a gift.  We got him a Little People truck, new sheets and a comforter for his big boy bed.  I know.  Exciting, right?  Whatever, he liked it and was excited for the new items. 

 Happy birthday to my handsome, little man!

The Little One is 2!

Happy Birthday, Aiden!

I can't believe it is time to celebrate Aiden's 2nd birthday already.  In one way it seems so strange that two years has gone by so quickly, but on the other hand I can't imagine my life without this little guy.  

He can be shy in public, but he can also be very loud and boisterous.  He loves his family and close friends so much.  Especially Alex.  Whenever Alex leaves he sadly asks, "Where Alec"?  He loves to cuddle.  I try not to spoil him too much, but I don't care about this part of spoiling.  Every night before bed we rock in the rocking chair ("Wok, Mommy") and sing You Are My Sunshine.  He even sings along, as much as he can.  If it isn't the right word, it he fluctuates his voice in the same tune as me (which isn't easy to do).

My little monkey will be two on Monday.  Until then, he is still my little one year old.  I am in no rush for him to grow up.

There is nothing my little guy loves more than the sight of green and yellow on a tractor! The whole time I was decorating for this party I was thanking God the Packers were not in the Superbowl since his party was Superbowl weekend. We wouldn't want to decorate in green and gold then. At the sight of a tractor he will yell, "Tracker!" and be all smiles.  Tractor was one of his very first words.

   

A lot of people volunteered to help and do something.  I love that.  I will never turn anyone down. A friend I met a few years ago and who has a son 2 months younger than Aiden, brought over a little ride on tractor, a banner she made herself for Aiden's party and an adorable John Deere bib she made for her son last year.  What a thoughtful and generous friend.  I hope to be able to repay her. We had a lot of different food, but Andy made the delicious turkey and ham.  Both my mom and mother-in-law helped with getting everything ready to make my little guy's second birthday so special!

Aiden was having such a good time with his cousins and friend, Emily.  Running around, grabbing food off the tables and playing on the tractors.

It would not be a party without Grandma Guse's delicious cakes. 

I bought some food labels off an online Etsy store.  I tried making them myself, but the ones online were way cuter.  I love having fun with food and playing with words for unique labels.

It was freezing outside, but we were lucky again to be able to count on our garage for extra space.  I made a 2 out of a Styrofoam board, coffee filters and spray paint.  Something from Pinterest, of course. My friend and co-worker, Vanessa, grew up on a farm and her parents let us borrow some hay for the day.  The kids loved it!  They were a little afraid of sitting on it and tipping it over though.

We also had a tractor pinata.  No suckers this time, just hard candy.  You think I would learn.  Whatever.  The kids had a good time with it and luckily this tractor was a little easier to break than the baseball.

As part of the goody bags for the kids, they all received a mustache.  Aiden absolutely did not like it.  Alex was not a big fan either.  The older kids thought it was fun though.  They took a picture with Grandpa who happens to have a real beard. 

The little man had lots of fun presents to open. His family and friends know how to spoil the kid.  He got lots of nice new tractors and fun other toys.  He is starting to get into his presents a little more which is fun to see.  He got a new Elmo guitar and did not want anyone else to play with it. So, he sat on it while he opened his other presents.

Finally...time for cake!  We had been singing "Happy Birthday" all week, but Aiden looked in shock when all thirty people starting singing to him.  But, he did manage to blow the candle out by himself.  In the end, the party was a lot of work but totally worth it.  I would do it all over again. I hope the boys are both able to look back on their birthdays and remember how special we think they are.  Happy birthday, Little one!