Superman Turns Three!

Three years old.

Yep.

But with the sadness that my baby boy is growing up so quickly comes the excitement of the party! And I have to say that this was his best one yet. Jamie and I had a blast, and I hope that the rest of our family and friends feel the same!

Ever since last year's birthday gift from "Uncle B" (Captain America stuff), Aiden's obsession with super heroes has grown tremendously. I know way more than I ever knew I could know about super heroes, their affiliates, groups to whom they belong, villains, and their alter egos. And my kid? knows about twice as much as that. He now has an always growing (much to my chagrin) collection of super hero t-shirts. I will admit, though, that some are still cute. {Thank you, GAP and Old Navy} His closet holds a dress-up drawer where you can find everything you need in order to go fight crime and two drawers full of every figure that graces the aisles of Target or a commercial break on The Hub. The fact is: My kid can't get enough. He wants to get the bad guys 24/7, and if you agree to be his accomplice? Good luck getting out of it.

With that said, the theme for this year's party was a huge "DUH". We would celebrate SUPER HERO STYLE!

We even invited the guests to join in on the fun, and dress as their favorite hero or villain. We think dress up parties are kind of awesome. Actually, our family used to do them quite a bit, so we were all a little more than excited to bring it back.

After months of planning our "outfits" and Aiden going back and forth, back and forth about who we should all dress as, we finally made up our minds his mind! IT. WAS. SO. MUCH. FUN. Jamie and Aiden were originally dressing as Superman together, but they just don't make the adult costume for a 6 foot 2 man! Which I found kind of ironic. So instead, Jamie opted for the alter ego, Clark Kent. When we found the fedora, I was sold. We found Anna Scott's Wonder Woman onesie at Old Navy which was awesome! I had pinned it long ago, and was anticipating a long, drawn-out internet search. Aiden is a fan of the Super Hero Squad show, and I have been told since the beginning that I would be Miss Marvel, aka "Yellow Hair". Mind you, this is NOT the comic book Miss Marvel for the adult crowd. She's the one who wears clothes. We all had a great time shopping and putting the looks together, and I'm sure Jamie and I scored major cool points.

We weren't the only cool people, though. Batman and Robin were there, and they brought their Avenger friends, Captain America and Black Widow!

Among the other guests were Wonder Woman, a somewhat taller version of Captain America, a cute, mini Black Widow, and Batman and Catwoman! Aiden was so thrilled to see everyone dressed up as his favorite heroes! To say I loved seeing his reaction would be a major understatement.

 There were four different tables: Batman, Captain America, The Hulk, and Iron Man. The main table was decorated in honor of the Birthday Boy, Superman! There was a Superman cake, snacks, pizza, hero cupcakes, and even Kryptonite Cookies!

And Superman got everything his little superhero heart could wish for. And MORE! Seeing his little face light up was just about the sweetest and cutest thing ever!

After everything was opened, he had one last surprise from Mommy and Daddy...

A Spiderman Bicycle!

After gifts and cake, everyone went out for a swim, and even more fun was had! We are so beyond blessed to have family and friends that love our little boy as much as we do. Jamie and I were talking about it later that night, and both agreed that we had not had that much fun in a long time. 

I hope Aiden remembers each and every birthday, not because of the gifts, but because of who was there to celebrate along with him. He is so loved. And I am glad he knows that.

Happy Birthday, Little Man! We love you!

Aiden's Birthday Party

Well, I am finally recovered from the marathon of entertaining and parties from the past couple of weeks. Not complaining, it was tons of fun. But everytime I thought about blogging, I would choose to be lazy instead. Hopefully I can get back into gear with my posts. There's a lot going on right now, but sometimes the more I have to blog about, the less time I have to actually do it. Irony.

I tried my hand (thanks to Pinterest and other bloggers) at doing handmade artsy stuff for his party. Instead of Party City/Target, I ventured off into the wild blue yonder that I call Michaels. I had no freaking clue where to find anything in that store. But luckily, they were very helpful. I just kept showing them pictures from my pinboard and asked, "What do I need to buy to make this?" [laugh]. It was a great learning experience, and really cheap too! Of course I brought along my coupons! Anyway, now I feel much more comfortable in the store, and I can't wait to go back for more (Pinterest) projects.

Aiden loves all of the Pixar movies, especially CARS. So when we heard about the sequel opening around his birthday, we knew that would be his theme. So we all went along for his first theater experience (all two rows of us). It went much better than I expected, but we will probably wait a while before the next movie adventure.

Overall, the whole party extravaganza was so much fun! I love having tons of family around. There was good food (Thanks, Jamie), tons of presents, and lots of love! I can't believe he's already 2.

Still my little baby, though.

Happy Birthday, Aiden!

Aiden's Baby Book - 2 Years!

My sweet little Aiden, as hard as it is to accept, you are officially a two-year-old. But even though it might make me a little sad knowing that you're growing up so quickly, you make it easy on Mommy by being such a loving, thoughtful, and hilarious little person! You have yet to display any "terrible twos" signs. While you are mastering the art of a good tantrum, it's nothing that stands out as "Supernanny" worthy. Thank you for that. I just hope you're not saving it up for your teenage years.

We have been having such a great time together this summer. I love that you were born in June. That means that each summer break, Mommy gets to relive the maternity leave days for every one of your birthdays! We get up each day for breakfast and "Yo Gabba Gabba" followed by lots of pool time or playtime. After nap, you help me with chores, play some more, or just cuddle with me for a movie. I am loving these memories we're making. Can you tell?

You have become quite the helper. You put toys back, help me get things out or do laundry, and always do as your told. Even when it is not what you want. It may take a little longer, but you do it, nonetheless. You have yet to disappoint me or your daddy. We are continuously amazed with how quickly you catch onto things. You have a go-with-the-flow personality. I hope that never changes!

You have also become a little lover-boy. You give hugs, requested or out of the blue (those are the best). You always tell me, "g-night, I wah-vu" when I tuck you in. I LOVE IT! You like to go to "Mommy's Beh-ud" to watch the Good Night Show before bed.

Swimming and shopping are popular requests from you. You like to get ready and get out of the house. I'm sorry for the shopping thing. But hopefully you'll grow to enjoy it (or at least get used to it) so that you'll be a better husband. That is, if I approve of her. [wink, wink] As for swimming, you can kick pretty well with your Nemo floaties on. I think next year will be your year for floatie free swimming. Right now, you just like to float around, play with your pool toys, and 1-2-3-jump!

Milestones
You can pull down/up your pants to use your Lightning McQueen potty!
You only wear a pull-up at night and during naptime.
You eat everything! You love dips (even the spicy ones). You have your my taste buds. You're welcome.
You say yes/no ma'am/sir, please, thank you, and you're welcome. My polite little man!
You eat in a booster seat at restaurants. Bye-bye highchair!
Now, you sleep in your toddler bed. You can get up and out of bed, but stay in it when you know it's time for bed.
You request more books from your shelf now. That makes me giddy!
At night, you can now repeat your "Now I Lay Me" prayer.
You have been off of your paci for a month now. That was way easier than I expected. Thanks!

Favorite Toys
"Mack" the truck that hauls all of your CARS 2 cars.
pretty much ALL of your CARS 2 stuff
your new UT football uniform (This makes us all very happy!)
your Harley motorcycle and keys
Buzz and Woody
Captain America
masks and helmets

RAAAAWR!

Funny Stuff
You roar. A lot.
You'll get someone's toes and say "This piggy in mah-ket. Wee wee all-time!"
Your snort and laugh. Totally got that from me. My bad.
When going #2, you whisper in a very serious tone "I gah poopoo"
You call buttons "butts". As in, "I wanna push the butt."
We were snuggled watching E.T. during the scene in the woods, and you looked up at me after seeing E.T.'s hand in the branches and said, "I scaaared."
You have become a human tape recorder.
Cameras and phone calls are not your cup of tea. You bolt as soon as you are put on the spot to talk, smile, or perform.
If Bogey gets anywhere near your food, you point and yell "NOOO Bogey!"
When you are trying really hard to do something, and you do it, you say "Thank you" and "You're welcome" to yourself.

I just can't tell you enough how much I love you! When I look at your precious little face with those sparkling eyes and that precious smile, I just melt. You're just so stinkin' cute. You never cease to amaze your dad and me; we are so proud of you. SO PROUD. You are so loved!

Love,
Mommy