hey cuz!

More party pictures with the cousins!

party people

Aiden's party ended up including nine big kids and four little kids (aren't they all little?! but I guess the 4-5 year olds consider themselves big!)  Some monsters came dressed in their "best party dress!" (check out the purple and pink statement little Hiro was wearing)  Brothers wore matching monster shirts picked out by the birthday boy!  He loved it so much he wanted to wear it to bed after his bath.  They knoshed on the "bestest monster dragon cake ever made by my daddy"while the youngest party animal munched mama's hair. There was a monster march, a hunt for monster worms (thanks to gran color wrapping each worm!), monster bingo, impromptu playdoh, space monster bean bag toss, tickle monster hands (thanks Lizzie for the perfect present!), monster books, and monster puppet shows.

details

It would be impossible to say enough thank yous to my folks for helping arrange Aiden's party!  I would show my mom an idea off pinterest and she would take it and run! My dad took all these photos to record all the memories! Thanks, thanks, and more thanks!  Aiden's favorites include the monster worms, the march, and the "hidden monster" idea I randomly came up with where there were monster eyeballs hiding all over the house.  My mom helped the kids make monster puppets out of funky dust mitts - Did you know monsters eat dust?!  Moms love monsters who help dust ;)

Melon Monsters!

The lemon cupcakes that Aiden helped decorate.  He even helped create some monsters color forms with his Nana out of meringue that were super cute additions to the cupcakes!  

The monster guests stomped on in...

pre party

The big four year old woke up to some chocolate pancakes with candy corn faces!  Then it was time to get his dragon cake ready for the big par-teee!  J had a master plan for two round cakes that he used to create this masterpiece.  Aiden was giddy to help decorate him!

candles

Thanks to everyone that came to celebrate Aiden's 4th with us today!  

Here is a recording of the candles sent to us by one of Aiden's little friend's dad:

More coming soon...

monstrous 4!

Dear the four year old formerly known as Baby AB,

With a monstrous lump in my throat which is simultaneously chocking back some tears and getting ready to giggle, I wish you a happy fourth birthday! This photo of you with a surprised monster face just about sums up my feelings when I realize that I have a four year old little/big bundle of boy! When did you find the time to turn four?!  Really, we've been having so much fun the past four years getting to know you, I hardly know where the time has gone!  

We are getting ready to celebrate this weekend with a monster smash bash where you have picked out which treats and tricks you want... You even pinned some ideas on pinterest (an online inspiration board) of what you liked.  It's been such a blast to see what your preferences are.  You said you wanted pizza for your birfday dinner tonight.  We are definitely not schooled yet on where to get the good stuff and instead we spent a memorable dinner with over 200 8th graders coming off four huge class trip buses.  You were thrilled with the cake sundae bar and the huge glass of fruit punch... you even started dancing when the karaoke machine started whirling.  We saved ourselves by convincing you that you just had to get home to make your new lego sets.

Your school birthday celebration was a traditional Montessori deal where they sing about the earth rotating around the sun as the birthday boy carries the globe around the sun.  They had us bring in one photo for each year of your life which you held up and then described what you were like that year.  You talked about being one and liking to put toys in your mouth and how you had lotsa hair when you were two....  Your teacher then asked the class, "Did Aiden stay one year old?!"  They all said adamently "Noooo!"  And I nearly cried...  Seriously, as they finished singing and clapped four times and one for good luck I was choking back tears.  Then one of his teachers asked what you were looking forward to this year, and you said, "Um, that color work over there!"  It was such a simple answer that made me realize how important it is to live in the moment.  

One word to describe you would be: 

Legoooooo! 

Why do you like being a kid? 

Because I like to play with toys like legos! 

If you could be any animal, which one would you be and why? 

A horse because then I would have more hair! 

Tell about a funny time in your life. 

When my lego space shuttle broke apart at Gran Gran and Pop Pop's house and you just fixed it up! 

What is your favorite thing to do? Why? 

Well, play with my legos because it is fun to do! 

What do you love most about your sibling? 

That he laughs! 

What was the nicest thing you did for someone? 

Getting a ((blank)) for Lizzie for Christmas! 

What do you think you will be doing 10 years from now? 

Playing with my legos 

What is the grossest thing you can think of? 

Stinky cheese is gross! 

What is your happiest memory? 

Halloween when we visited the disco witch and we laughed!

7 months

Dear cuddly guy,

You are an almost hugger now.  You will cuddle close and your wiggly arms will squeeze in a bit.  I can't wait for genuine running hugs... well minus all the bumps of learning to run ;)  You like to watch your brother play running hug games and you get this huge wide smile on that little face.  Your cheeks aren't taking over yet (and I'm not sure they will) so you can really see that side dimple and chinny chin chin pop out.

You like to sit and play and then oh so quietly you will plunk forward on your tummy.  Then you get up on your knees, and I knock you over.... only kidding, I do hold my breath though because once you can move those knees under you we are in B-I-G trouble.  The cable cords are in trouble.  Your brother's legos are doomed.  We already started using a steam cleaner so at least you will have a clean floor to traverse.  But seriously, let's just cuddle and hug and forget about forward movement for another few months...

You have a ferocious appetite for paper towel, napkins, socks, and red wine (none of which we allow).  In the real food department, the first bite of food is usually accompanied by a gross out face even if it is your favorite food.  The favorite is a mushed up pear.  The addition of your very British mashed peas and spinach was eventually welcomed and sometimes it seems like you ask for seconds.  You tried your first air puff which you stuffed in your mouth with the help of your sticky palm.  The straw sippy (which I can squeeze at the bottom to show you how it works) seems to be interesting to you, and you will occasionally bang it around.  When you get it in your mouth it's typically upside down, but you'll get it eventually.

Your brother said the other day as you belly laughed at his skeleton dance, "I didn't know little babies could laugh! They start laughing when their big bros go coochie coochie coo!"  You love a good coochie coo from your brother and it will usually knock you out of a fuss fit.  The other discovery is that you will usually stop fussing in the car if we sing Bingo over and over and over again... If I lose it someday, I will be in the corner humming Bingo.  I wake up with it in my head.  I hum it in the shower.  Oh, the things we do as parents.  But at least I can sing it properly now... keeping in sync and all that.

You love having both hands full of as many toys your tiny hands can hold.  You've started clapping toys together while staring right at your brother.  You are looking to spark some excitement in the most exciting person in your life.  If you can get your brother excited that huge smile of yours expands even more!  It is amazing how much you look up to him already.

You had plenty of loving from grandparents (even those all the way from Arizona!) and family this month.  When you weren't being cuddled, you usually prefer to be plopped on top of a blanket that you occassionally try to eat.  But when you aren't trying to pick it up to get it in your mouth, I noticed you pulling the blanket towards you to get a toy that is too far to reach.  That stroke of brilliance will be followed by a squawk when you push said toy too far down your throat.  I guess you're learning.

You love playing with your hand me down little people barn.  The poor little people usually get a good slobber shower before they go bashing along the roof top.  You love pulling at the barn doors to open them and then trying to stick your head through it.  Yep, your head is a bit bigger than the little people, so that didn't go well.

You decided that you would like to be a 4am rockstar.  The early, early morning squawking was not welcomed by my empty reserves.  Your dad's ball bounce is not quite as effective as it was with your brother.  Sometimes the only solution was a late night play room visit, and you would eventually fall back to sleep.  I blame a growth spurt, teething, digestive flora maturation combination of baby related ick.  Aiden says that you must have tummy butterflies that need to get out.  Once you do fall back asleep, it's a toot alarm clock that wakes you back up again.

We've been visiting play groups and music class just you and me. I feel lucky that we have this one on one time while your brother is at school. It's fun to see you reach out and show interest in other kids.  You  charm the socks of your music teacher by giving her the constant smiley face while trying to lunge at her. Little does she know that you just want to put her ukelele in your mouth.  There is a neighbor in our play group that says you study her lips as she teaches you little guys mandarin words. 

You like to play with your shadows in the bright playroom afternoon sun.  Your brother thought you looked like a spooky ghost and you two giggled about that for the entire afternoon.  You missed some of the halloween fun this year since you like to snooze against your dad in the ergo carrier.  But oooh boy, next year we are in for even more fun!

Our visit to Ohio sans daddy went so smoothly and I think despite your squirmy plane routine, it was much easier this time then it may be the next.  But even though it will be more challenging, it will be more fun at the same time.  There is something to that - more challenge = more fun!

Can't wait for even bigger hugs as we hunker down for winter.  After all this crazy weather and even some October snow in NoVA (!), we deserve a mild winter, right?!  I suppose it doesn't really matter as long as we keep our tootsies warm and we can do that while making sure you don't eat your socks. Oh, the baby days...  But your hair is growing in just enough that you can get some hat hair and a itty bitty case of bed head... maybe those fuzzy locks will keep you warm as they grow over your ears a bit.

We're going to continue to holiday celebrations.  We have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.  Your brother already made his sharing thankful leaf for school.  His third answer, after being thankful for his monster puppet and his cutting work at school, was being thankful for you his brother!  We look forward to this thankful month.

Love, Your thankful mom

trick or treat

Trick or treating is more and more fun each year!  This year Aiden was a very industrious pirate hiking between the houses and crunching the leaves for over an hour and a half.  He insisted on carrying his own bag even when it was getting pretty heavy, but he did let me help with one handle towards the end. 

KC and little buddy Lucas were along for the trip too... although KC slept through most of it.  When he wasn't sleeping he was grunting as if to say, "hey why don't I get any?!"  Lucas on the other hand was bright eyed and carefully nabbed his own pieces a few times ;)

Aiden made out with 106 pieces of candy and much less rosy cheeks compared to last year, so I think NoVA wins against MA in the October fun department!

My favorite was the disco witch who had the kids dance for treats in front of her disco ball.