Dr. Seuss Party and some one year stats

For Aiden's party I decided to go with a Dr. Seuss theme.  Honestly, I'd had that theme picked out since Patrick turned one but his parties have always turned to cars...I have no idea why. ;)  Aiden isn't really obsessed with one particular thing/kind of thing, so I did whatever I thought would be cute. :)

           Kami tried to photobomb the picture... :)

 Really, my camera abilities are useless and horrible so they don't really do it justice but I thought it turned out well.

See in the above picture how there is a gold fish in a cute little bowl?  Here were my thoughts on the situation: "That will be cute, I can have a real goldfish as the centerpiece and draw some Dr. Seuss like fish on a piece of paper and tape those to the side to make it look Dr. Seuss-y and then the next day the goldfish will die, like all my goldfish have in the past."
How it really went down was this: I bought my $.28 goldfish, we took him home and the next day Jon noticed he was gulping at the top surface of the water.  Me in my not caring manner told him it was normal.  Jon researches and figures out that all my goldfish die because I've basically suffocated them to death and goldfish are meant to live in tanks with filters.  Instead of just letting our $.28 goldfish die, we drive to Idaho Falls and buy a lot more expensive tank than the dang fish is worth, decide he needs friends, which are all more expensive than original $.28 fish, pick out tropical ones by accident, need special heater, need different food for tropical fish vs. goldfish, Jon decides our fish needs little toys to swim around in......are you seeing how this is playing out?  We now have a tank with cool fish in it that all ended up costing more than my original $.28 because I had to have the stinkin' idea that a goldfish would be cool at Aiden's party.  My tender hearted husband cares for animals a lot more than I ever gave him credit for and me, the "animal lover" was just going to let the goldfish suffocate to death.

And, back to the party.  Mainly the food was the biggest portion of the party so after we ate our green eggs and ham, chocolate covered strawberries, cake pops, etc. we opened gifts and then watched Aiden not eat his cake.  Apparently he's not a huge sugar lover, which is just fine by me.  I was just slightly looking forward to watching him dig in but I shouldn't be surprised that his personality is a little more reserved, like mine is, and he just didn't want to get messy while everyone was watching.  Aiden pretty much seemed a little overwhelmed the whole time by all of the attention he was getting and zoned out by the time the gifts were over.

Opening his presents.  Patrick was so good at getting the presents for him and "helping'" him open them.

We tore open the cake for him and this was his look.  I have a video and he's pretty much just crying over the fact that we put frosting on his hands and mouth.  We tried putting a little in his mouth to have him try it but he clamped down as hard as he could so we couldn't get anything inside.

Once we stopped trying to force it, he was a happy camper.  His cheezer face...kills me.  I love it.

Patrick was soo excited by the whole thing that he couldn't fall asleep until 2 in the morning.  I really loved that after being exhausted from the day. :)

I thought the party was a success.  We always appreciate when family comes to support us and show their love for these little kids that mean so much to us.

Sorry, this post is turning out long but while I'm on here, I wanted to add Aiden's stats and some things about him.

Weight-21.12 pds.(24%)
Height-29.75 in.(48.51%)

He's still our little man.  I know I say this a lot but he  seemed like a little baby for a lot longer than Patrick did and I'm grateful for that.  It might not make sense to everyone why I would say that but it really has been a blessing for us.

At one year Aiden:
-is walking everywhere.  goodbye crawling days.
-has 4 teeth
-still loves eating most everything but if he's not in the mood, you know it.  there is no opening that little jaw to get any food in.
-says mama and dada but has recently started trying to imitate more sounds, especially when we say "hi!"
-jabbers with a lot more meaning.  He's constantly trying to tell me what he wants or tell me a story
-points to everything he wants as well
-understands little commands like, "Aiden, come to me"
-he tries singing along with me
-claps his hands
-waves hi or bye
-loves climbing things
-loves going to the park and exploring.  he really loves the slide
-loves riding things like bikes, mater truck, etc.

Hence why we got this little mickey scooter thing.   Probably ranks in the top 10 purchases by mom and dad

-loves being outside

-loves wrestling

-still a mama's boy but there is no doubt that he loves and adores all of his family

-sleeps 10-12 hours at night plus 1 or 2 naps depending on when I lay him down.  I've been transitioning to one but he'll sleep whenever I lay him down.  Seriously, I can't think of an easier baby and I know I've been spoiled which scares me for if/when we have another baby. 

Today at the doctor's office, the nurses were all commenting on how he was the sweetest and cutest baby ever.  I couldn't agree more. I love my little boys. :)  

Our 1 year old

I want to give a recap on the busy day we had today and write about how I think Aiden's birthday party turned out as adorable as I hoped, but I'm tired.  That recap can be tomorrow.  Right now I'm just going to say Happy Birthday to the sweetest one year old I know.  

I can't think of anything Jon or I wouldn't do for this little man in our life...for either of our little men.  I know Aiden won't remember his first birthday but to me it means a lot to celebrate the life of a boy who means so much to us.  Before having kids, I couldn't quite comprehend how much having kids would change my life but I know they have changed me for the good.  I don't know whether or not if Aiden is our last child but I still can't help feeling nostalgic and wishing that time had slowed down just a bit.  

Happy Birthday, cutie.   

Life lately

Anyone else loving the fact that it's starting to feel like spring might be coming soon?  I know it snowed/hailed today but on Saturday, I barely wore a jacket...and that day gives me hope for future weather. A couple weeks ago, we had a few nice days in a row and we took full advantage of those.

 I'm excited to build a house in the future, but I have to admit that it's nice having three parks within a 1-5 minute walking distance.   I keep trying to convince Jon that since we'll have a larger piece of land, we have to include a playground in our landscape designs.  I also want an indoor pool, huge kitchen, sitting area in my bedroom, walk-in closets, the highest materials possible, jacuzzi tub, library, vaulted ceilings, workout room, and an apartment attached.  For some reason, he thinks I'm slightly unrealistic. ;)  Oh yeah, and I want a huge greenhouse that I can turn into my tropical getaway...and a mini house for guests.  I obviously have humble tastes.

Also, Aiden has been to multiple doctors because he failed his hearing test.  Wanna know the answer they all give me?  Earwax.  So what do I do?  Give him baths every day and pour warm water in his ear and take showers at night with him because he can't sleep because his ears are hurting him(and nope, he has no ear infection).  Finally, the last doctor I go to mentions there's this magical little bottle, that's over the counter, that can soften his earwax.  Am I the only person on this planet that didn't know that stuff existed?  I'm really glad I've paid hundreds of dollars for doctors to say, "get his ear wet and come back in a week" and then tell me he still has earwax.   Maybe doctors think something so obvious isn't worth mentioning but believe me...it is.

Good thing Aiden has a great time at the doctor's office.

This last Saturday, we all went to a birthday party for Kami's little boy and the boys were in little kid heaven.  Trampoline, swing set, dart guns, junk food...pretty much everything Patrick could ever want in life right now.

 Aiden really loves the slide.

 Any else have a problem taking group pictures with little kids? ;)  It's like we were yelling, "Hey, no one look at me!  Yep, just keep examining that grass everyone.  Or cry, that works too."

Patrick really loved the trampoline.

That pretty much sums up anything exciting that might have happened lately.  Other than that, we've just been working and trying not to go crazy inside.  I should become one of those crafty moms that has fun crafts for her kids but I'm just not.  And I'm starting to accept that about me and that I can be a fun mom in other ways.  Like, wrestling with my kids and giving them piggy back rides or chasing them around outside.  I love my little boys more than I can say but these winter months make me simultaneously bored yet pushed to my emotional limits.   Numerous times a week, Patrick points to his swimming gear and asks for summer to come.  At least we're on the same page.  I hear ya, bud.