{bIrThDaY pArTy #2}

Last night was Ayden's birthday party #2 with family!! We had all of our family over to our house for dinner, presents, and cake and ice cream! Ayden had such a blast....I am officially exhausted after this whole weekend....and we are all sickies!! Blah!!! We are looking forward to a quiet week and a relaxing weekend in Big Bear to recover!!

Ayden was so excited for his party! It's almost as if Saturday wasn't his "REAL" birthday because he couldn't wait for everyone to come to HIS house for his party!! On Saturday and Sunday before everyone came, he would go outside, ring the doorbell and wait for us to answer. When we did answer, he would pretend to be one of his cousins and say he was here for Ayden's birthday party! And sometimes, he would come back in after ringing the doorbell, answer the door himself and say "Hi Cooper/Carter are you here for my birthday party?"....and there was of course nobody at the door! Saying he was a little excited would be a huge understatement!!

When it came time to open presents (and it couldn't come soon enough for Ayden), he had a LOT of helpers to help him open his presents! Ayden must have been a good boy (even though we could've argued that one based on how he behaved at church a few hours earlier) because he got some great birthday presents from his Grandmas and Grandpas, Aunts and Uncles and cousins!!

Ayden was so cute after he opened a present...he walked around and said "thank you" and gave everyone hugs and kisses!! Hugs to Crew for his present....

Yah.....Buzz Lightyear!!!!

You can't see Zoe here, but he is giving her hugs and thanking her for getting him "CandyLand"...

Trying out his new baseball thing....

Ayden thought cake time would NEVER arrive!! He had been waiting for his cake since Saturday morning when we finished making it!! He kept wanting us to open the fridge....he would say, "Let's see how my cake is doing"!!! He could hardly wait for the birthday song to be over before he blew out his candles!!

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The cake was a HIT....Ayden sure LOVED it!!!!

{bRiBeRy}

Now that I know that bribing him with a nice tall sippy cup of THIS......



will give me some quiet time and make him do THIS....



even if right before he did that, he did THIS....



he may get lucky and get a refreshing raspberry lemonade EVERY day.....that is of course AFTER he cleans up the mess he made!!! Ahhhh....the beauty of bribery!! Thanks for the peace and quiet this afternoon Ayden!! =)

{ALL about AYDEN}

Just for scrapbooking/journaling purposes, I wanted to do a special post about Ayden and what he is into as he enters his 3rd year!!

Ayden is the most loving, snuggly boy ever....and he hasn't always been this way, so I love every minute of it! He used to be a busy busy boy that didn't have time to stop and snuggle or even give a little hug! But now, he loves to come up to us for no reason, wrap his arms around us, give a big bear hug, a kiss and say "I love you SO much Mommy/Daddy"!! It is the sweetest thing ever and I literally hear "I love you SO much Mommy" at least 30 times a day....no joke!! We have the best bedtime routine because he LOVES to snuggle! We both put him to bed (we do chore chart, read scriptures, say prayers) and then Daddy reads him a story!! Every night, he asks for Mommy to come in and sing him songs!! I love that he wants me to sing to him because I am not a singer!! =) EVERY night, we do the same 2 songs....in the same order!! If we mix up the order, he gets very upset!! We first sing The Tiger Song (which goes to the tune of Itsy Bitsy Spider, but instead goes "Itsy Bitsy Tiger went up the tunnel"....random, I know?!?!?) and then I Am A Child of God! And then it is "nigh night" time!

He has such good manners....most of the time!! If he has a question and we are not paying attention to him, he will say "excuse me"!! Adorable!! Oh and he also says "excuse me" quite often throughout the day when he burps or toots!! Silly boy! And he is pretty quick to say "I'm sorry" when he has done something wrong....except when he hurts his sister...and then we have to tell him to say sorry!!

He is genuinely a very sweet boy. The other day, I went shopping and was trying on things in the dressing room. Every time I tried on a new outfit, he would stop what he was doing and say "Mommy, you look SO pretty"!!! Ahhh....leave it to the 3 year old to make you feel like a million bucks!! And whenever we give him something or say we have a surprise for him, he gets so excited and says "I love it SO much"....even if it is a pair of new underwear!! Ha!!

We have finally reached the questioning stage...which I love!! Ayden asks "why?" about EVERYTHING!! So far it is the cutest thing ever, I love that he is curious and wants to know "why" all the time! It's so fun to teach him and see what he absorbs!!

Here are a few of Ayden's favorites at the moment.....

Favorite cuddle object: of course his lion, his green blankie, Mommy and Daddy
Favorite songs: The Tiger Song (he made this up...it goes to the tune of Itsy Bitsy Spider), Rocky Song (he and Daddy made this up about our racoon friend in Big Bear), I Am A Child of God, Twinkle Twinkle, Woody's Round-up
Favorite TV Shows: Handy Manny, Word World, Phineas and Ferb, Little Einsteins, Diego, Dora, Arthur, Max & Ruby, Thomas
Favorite Movies: Toy Story, Cars, Spirit, Finding Nemo, Number/Letter Factory
Favorite Toys: GEO Trax, Little Einsteins Rocket, Buzz Lightyear
Favorite Things To Do: ride bike, collect Rolly Polly's, watch "shows", eat snacks, read books, go swimming
Favorite Animal: Horses, Racoons, Bears
Favorite Food: anything that is a snack, pizza, chicken dinos, McDonald's, popsicles, juice
Favorite Sayings: "To Infity and Beyond", "Finn, Noggin, Dude", "This is Serious", "I'm Mad at You" (not one of my favorites)
Favorite Things He's Learned: Counting from 1-11, the ABC song, recognizing a few numbers and letters, knowing his left and right, shapes, colors (green is his favorite), almost spelling his name, his birthday, his favorite songs

Now, if we could JUST figure out how to make him a better listener, less stubborn and control his tempers, he just might be the MOST PERFECT BOY THERE IS!!!!

{hApPy 3rD BiRtHdAy AyDeN}

Happy Birthday To You!!

Happy Birthday To You!!
Happy Birthday Dear Aydee Boy!!
Happy Birthday To You!!!

Today was Ayden's birthday and I can't believe that he is already 3!! Woohoo....the terrible twos are behind us, but I hear the 3's are even worse!! Oh great!! =) We have had such a fun weekend so far! After days with high fevers and a visit to the doctor on Friday to rule out ear infections, we decided to live it up this weekend...the kids are eating again and we have had a fun time celebrating Ayden's birthday!

Last night, we got to see our cute friends, The Delahunty's, who were visiting from Utah! I love getting a little taste of Utah here and there....just wish we could see all of our friends again! I guess we may have to make a trip there for that to happen! Anyway, we went to dinner at Wahoo's in Huntington Beach and then walked down the pier to get shakes from Ruby's! They had not been to either place, so we had to introduce them to some Cali favorites!! Ayden always has a blast playing with Nick and Mckay! And Natalie is just the cutest thing ever and she loves Zoe...it's so cute! It was great to see you guys!!



Crazy boys.....looks like they are all about to go overboard!!



The Delahunty Fam...







Waiting for tasty shakes....





This morning, Ayden woke up bright and early, but had no idea it was his birthday!! We have only been counting down for about 25 days or so!! We said, "Guess what today is???" and that triggered something in his mind. He then said he wanted to make his birthday cake....NOW!!! We got donuts and went for a family bike ride on the Santa Ana River trail to Featherly Park. We met Jeremiah's parents there and Uncle Kirt! Ayden got candles in his donut and we sang to him at the park!! Nothing like following up some great exercise with a fattening donut!! It sure was tasty though! Ayden got one present at the park...Grandma and Grandpa Smith brought him a Buzz Lightyear watch and hat! He was excited!

Singing "Happy Birthday" with a donut....



Ayden showing off his new Buzz Lightyear watch...



Thanks Grandma...



Mmmmm....tasty donuts!!









Getting ready for our ride back home...Ayden insisted on riding his bike this time!



I love pictures of these two riding bikes together....Ayden is going to follow in his Daddy's footsteps and LOVE riding bikes!! I don't think he has a choice in the matter....after all, he did get a Specialized bike for his 2nd birthday!!!







So cute....



When we got home, Ayden took a wonderful 2 hour nap and Zoe took a 3 hour nap!! Ahhh....it was heaven and gave Mommy and Daddy time to finish Ayden's birthday cake!! Ayden wanted a "Mater" cake and after looking and looking, this is the one he wanted!! So we tried to copy it and it came out pretty cute!! Even though Jeremiah did help me, I was impressed with the finished product becuase I am so not a cake maker....I love to BAKE, but I don't make cakes!!

Waiting in full suspense for his BIG SURPRISE....



TaDa....your MATER cake!!!



He was SO SO SO happy!!! =)





This afternoon, we went to Disneyland to get Ayden an annual pass (his present from Grammy Con and Papa Roger) since he is 3 and not free anymore! Passes are only half price if you go on your birthday....woohoo!! We had fun walking through Downtown Disney, getting smoothies at Jamba Juice and playing in the Disney store!! We didn't even go into the park and I think the kids think they were really there....that Disney store is a theme park in itself!!







Zoe LOVED laying down on all the stuffed animals. I kept getting her off of them and she would climb back up, lay down and say "nigh night"!!! It was so cute!



Where's ZOE????





We asked Ayden to find the "A" from all the letters in "CALIFORNIA" and he went right to it!! He is starting to recognize his letters here and there! He is so ready for preschool to start in the fall!







Zoe loved having her "own" smoothie!! She left the cup right there in her cup holder and kept going back for more sips! What a big girl!!







For dinner, we went to Islands for burgers and fries with Grandma and Grandpa Smith and Uncle Kirt! Ayden's first choice would have been McDonald's, but we couldn't handle it, so this was the next best thing! He was so excited to tell our server that it was his birthday and he is 3! After dinner, they brought him an ice cream sundae with a candle! We sang Happy Birthday and he couldn't wait to blow out his candle!!



Ayden LOVES it when people sing the "happy birthday" song....especially when they are singing it to him!!!



Make a wish....



I can't believe Zoe's curly hair!! It seems like it is getting curlier and curlier every day!! I hope it stays like that forever!! =)

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This is the best group shot we could get....only half of us looking at the camera! Ayden had just hurt himself somehow and everyone was looking at him crying!!



Oh, it was a LONG day, but so much fun making it all about Ayden!! And we have another big day tomorrow when we have our families coming for dinner and his birthday party!! Oh how fun to be 3 again!! Happy Birthday Aydee....we love you and hope you had a great birthday!!