Ayden is 3!

And he knows it! We ask, "Ayden, how old are you today?"

"THREE!" he yells gleefully.

We did not get to celebrate his birthday in a big way this year but I figure, 'hey, it's the last year I can get away with it so why not?' When I got home from work I took him with me to Target and to the grocery store. Just the two of us. We picked out a red motorcycle that he can ride on. He used his birthday money from Aunt Noreen for that. Then, we went to the grocery store to pick out the cake. He chose the one with balloons. Then he asked, "Can I eat some of that?" He's so funny. We bought ice cream and he asked for skittles at the check-out. I couldn't resist. Luckily, with the cake hype, he forgot about the skittles. We will save them for another day. The first thing he wanted to do once we got home, was ride his motorcycle but it had to be put together. That was not a problem except, Bobby had dinner ready. The motorcycle had to wait. After dinner was cake. Ayden enjoyed being sung to and blowing out his candle. He chose a piece with a balloon but didn't eat any of it. Go figure. He was actually too excited for Daddy to put his bike together! Bobby got right on it and, after borrowing a hammer from a friend, he was finished in no time. I'm glad it didn't take too long as Dillon really wanted to snack on the parts. All the children surrounded Bobby as he finished it off and then, Ayden went for his first spin. He is thrilled! He has more fun to come since he still has Aunt Holly's gift to open. Yes - it's here, she got it taken care of in time, I just haven't been able to get to Wal-Mart yet. Hey, it's out of the way big time and on a very busy road. I will be able to pick it up tomorrow, I hope. Trunk or Treat and the chili cook-off will be tomorrow too. Then, we'll have trick or treating on Saturday. So Ayden will just get to load up on sugar and celebrate all week. He will enjoy every minute of it.

Ayden updates: At the ripe, old age of three, Ayden is very close to using the potty. I see it in the near future. *crossing fingers* He is stubborn and likes routine. He has to have his juice and watch "Imagination Movers" first thing every morning. In fact, he usually says it before we even take him out of his crib. Yes, his crib. He is still in his crib. He likes it. He stays put in it so I'm not pushing him out. We found a $35 crib on Craig's List for Dillon so I'm thrilled. I can't say he has a favorite food because it's hit or miss with him. He usually likes chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, pizza, pork and beans... kid stuff in general. He loves skittles. He is not a big chocolate eater and still thinks peanut butter is gross. He's my son. (Yes, I like peanut butter but I'm not it's biggest fan.) I can understand about 95% of the words he uses and I can always understand what he's trying to tell me. He is much happier now that he communicates so well and things are much calmer around here. Now he understands when I say that first he needs to do X then we will do Y. That is a new accomplishment and it's huge! He loves to play outside with his brothers. He is very social and tells everyone "Hi". He is sweet and thoughtful, totally rough and tumble and absolutely all boy!

Daddy gave his hat to Ayden and Ayden quickly turned it around to wear it 'his' way.

Daddy got a bit scary with the knife.


It wouldn't be a holiday or birthday without a little 'yelling at the toy' moment.


Ayden was such a big boy and helped Daddy.


What a sweet ride! It was worth the wait!

The video is just because I like the way he says 'airplane'. It was, in fact, the space shuttle.

Pumpkin patch - Year 2!

This year Bobby was able to come with us to the pumpkin patch. We had to go on a Friday after I got home from work but it was totally worth it to have him there. He also saved us $10 by doing the 'all you can carry' instead of paying by the pumpkin. Ayden was so excited this year. He remembered going last year and kept yelling, "Pumpkin!" He was thrilled with the tractor/hay ride. He loves tractors. He wasn't as interested in finding his own pumpkin this year as he was in running up and down the field. Bobby set off with Ayden to find a white pumpkin and I followed Brooklyn, Caleb and Seth to get pictures of them with their pumpkins. Caleb went for a smaller one this year. Brooklyn found one she liked but said there were ticks on it (they were gnats but whatever). She settled for a smaller one with more green on it. Seth found his immediately. There aren't as many good shots this year since I had to carry Dillon around on my hip. He just looked on, totally content. Afterward we took the kids to McDonald's and even had ice cream as a special treat for doing well in school. I'm already looking forward to next year. Here are the photos we did get from the day:

Dillon - walking! Well, not really

Dillon has taken three or four steps here and there. His preferred mode of travel though:

Catching up with Ayden

This school year has been so busy and it's going by fast, thank goodness. By the time I get home, help with homework, make dinner and put kids to bed, it's nine at night and I'm beat. I looked over the blog the other day and realized that I had not put any recent pictures of Ayden up. I feel badly about that but then I remember that every other post was Ayden related for quite some time. Now it's Dillon this and Dillon that. The first year is just so full of new experiences that Ayden has been blog neglected. I want to correct that. This probably won't be interesting to anyone that isn't family but I thought the grandparents and the aunts and uncles would like to see how well he's speaking and how much Ayden has grown. When we moved here he was so small, still such a baby. Now he's almost three and has a very strong, dominating personality.

Ayden is into taking his clothes off. He often is missing shirts or pants. Friday I stayed home sick from work and Ayden took a moment to cuddle on the couch with me.
Ayden regards Dillon as some kind of toy. He is protective of him but wants whatever Dillon has. He is also quite territorial. He does love him though and loves to play with him, even though he's too rough most of the time. Brooklyn was playing with them downstairs by herself this morning and caught a tender moment - they're rare.
Ayden speaks fairly clear now and can be understood most of the time. He does not always have the vocabulary that matches what he wants or needs and becomes frustrated, but most of the time he communicates what he needs and wants very well. Here he is, asking for his favorite show - Imagination Movers. I was trying to get him to talk more but as soon as he saw the camera he got a bit shy.