5 Year Old Aiden

Can you believe that Aiden is FIVE years old?!

We all thought that was cause for a major celebration at Judy and Marty's house.

Rock is now quite adept at grabbing the camera lens.

Annie made an AWESOME Lightning McQueen cake. In case we had any doubts about his favorite cartoon character, Aiden wore a Lightning shirt to his party.

Clip had a hard time waiting for his piece of cake.

So did Fix.

Sophie spent a long time picking which tea she was not going to be allowed to drink.

Do you think he liked the Lightning car we bought him?

What birthday is complete without a dance party after dinner?

Fix and I had a fun time cuddling and flipping and playing on the floor with the little ones. Appreciate how Rock is sitting on Fix's face.

I know, I know, it was Aiden's birthday. But I couldn't resist hugging his siblings.

Colors

I wonder what this cute little boy is smiling at... A cartoon? A clown? A rainbow?

You're right! He's staring a rainbow of colors. Crazy, clashing colors.

Worn by a crazy woman.

A crazy woman he knows as "Mama."

Even creepier than the clash of crazy colors are the pre-jump shots.

Birthday and Croup

Happy Birthday Belle! Last Saturday, we went to Belle's first birthday party.

There were lots of fun aunts and grandmas and friends there.

The birthday girl did an excellent job being adorable and getting her cake all over her face.

Although he looks happy here, when Rock awoke from his post-party nap, he freaked us out by not breathing very well.

Thankfully, Aunt Zuni was there to go with us to Nighttime Pediatrics.

Turns out it was the croup. The good news is, Rock grabbed his cell phone before we left the house so he didn't miss any calls. They gave him a steriod shot to calm down his lungs and sent us on our way. He's still recovering...any tips from experienced moms out there?

WWF Reunion

At Westminster Seminary California, where my husband got his Masters, they had monthly events for the women (students and wives) connected to the Seminary. These gatherings were known as the Westminster Women's Fellowship. Or as Carrie called it, WWF.

The other day we had a mini WWF reunion when Carrie, Megan and I all got together for a playdate.
This was especially fun because Elsie was there. She showed off her chewing skills...
While Oliver showed off his newest talent. Walking.
Then Rock showed off his ability to be weird.

My apologies to Molly. We forgot to get a group shot until after she was down for her nap. Appreciate how Elsie and Oliver are both chewing on their toys and how Rock looks so OLD in comparison to them.

When we put some cereal on the table to try and keep the younger two interested, Rock just elbowed them out of the way to grab the food first.
Sorry guys.

Alphabet

Someone loves to 'read' books. When he started 'reading' out loud, his father came up with the genius idea to teach him the alphabet (seriously, the thought never crossed my mind - can I win most clueless parent of the year?).

We started working on the letters with a few of our books and two months later, he can identify all the capital letters, but we're still working on the lowercase. My friend Michele recommended the flash cards found on Baby Bumblebee's website and they're helped a lot.

Here's the proof. And now I'll stop bragging on him.

A Walk with Nana

Later in the week, it was nicer weather so we took another walk with Nana.

Precious boy.

Monday is the New Saturday

Since Fix is a pastor, he is usually working on Saturdays to prep for Sunday. Thus, he takes Monday as his day off from work. And thus we have declared Monday the new Saturday.

Last week, we relaxed as a family by sleeping in (as much as you can sleep in with a toddler) and then walking to our local Starbucks. We were going to walk to the one that was a little further away but it was FREEZING cold so we wimped out! At least we still walked... does that count for something?
We firmly believe it is a parental priority to teach our son about the joys of Starbucks and yes, he already loves it. Why? They have chocolate and vanilla milk. He likes to purchase his beverage, drink it, and set it on the floor in the middle of the walkway.

I am not surprised by this. I am merely eating and my husband likes to take unflattering photos of me (it's not that hard when I haven't taken a shower).

Perhaps even better than drinking milk is toasting with milk.

Rock loves to tap 'glasses' and say cheers. I love to spend our day off together as a family.