Aidan is FIVE!!

Last weekend was a big birthday celebration at our house.  Bryan and Aidan share their birthday on May 31st.  So we usually always use Memorial Day weekend to party it up for the boys!  This year Aidan is 5, no that is not a typo my "baby" really is 5, and he wanted a baseball party.  So we had planned a big wiffle ball game in the field across the street.  The weather was not cooperating though.  Poor Aidan continued to check the windows throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday before his party Sunday afternoon.  Although we didn't get the sunny 80 degree day we had been hoping for, the rain did stop and we were able to get out and play the game in the driveway.  Which was good enough for the birthday boy!

Before all the guest arrived Aidan opened his gifts from MaMa and PaPa, who couldn't make it because the Bulldogs were playing in their Super Regional.  And although Aidan was sad they couldn't make it, he was so surprised by their gift and couldn't have been more excited as he put it on for his party.  Here's a few pics of him opening his presents from Mom and Dad...

A $5 bill for the 5 year old...

The smile on his face says it all!!

All decked out after opening his hat from Mommy and Daddy.  Ready to play ball!  Let the party begin!

Aidan was so excited to see all his friends and family.  He must have asked 100 times if it was party time yet?!  But 4 o'clock finally arrived and so did the guests and we had a blast.  

Our adorable neighbors Abigail and Hannah enjoyed the appetizers!

Maddux did too!

Papa and the boys played some bumper cars in the driveway.

Payton enjoyed the food as well!

Aidan busted some puddles on his scooter. And then the much anticipated moment FINALLY came!! 

It was time to PLAY BALL!!

And guess who was first up to bat?!  Yep #5 the FIVE YEAR OLD!! And he sent it deep!

Payton took his turn as well!

Everyone were such good sports and joined Aidan for a wet, but fun game!  It truly made his birthday dreams come true!!

After the game Aidan sat down with his buddy from preschool to have some lunch.  He was so thrilled Grahm could make it to the party.  They are best buds and really enjoy playing together.

Then it was time for cake.  Grammie made an adorable baseball field cake and baseball cake balls!  So cute!  The boys are very lucky to have such a creative Grammie!

Make a wish and blow out those candles!!

And dig in of course!!  The kiddos loved the cake baseballs!  After the cake was gone it was back out to play, and again we had to make adjustments to our original plans, but we used the water slide as just a regular slide and the kids enjoyed every minute of it!!

Thanks to the Zieglars for letting us borrow this super fun toy!! My boys are now dying to have one!!

After some playtime, it was time for presents!  He received some really cool stuff.  Including this fun soccer goal from Nana and Papa.

The kids played and played until they could barely even keep their eyes open.

I love this pic of Maddux taking a timeout with his juice box. 

As the night came to an end, Aidan passed out his treat bags and told all his friends goodbye.  It was such a great day for my little 5 year old man and I truly thank everyone who came and made him feel so special!

As everyone pulled off in their cars, Payton thought he should do the same!  It's to the bath and bed for you little man, not so fast!

Happy Birthday Aidan!!  We love you and are so proud of the little man you are growing up to be!!  

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Goodbye Preschool!

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Today I took Aidan to his last day of Preschool.  My little man will start Kindergarten in the fall and I could not be more proud of him.  He's grown up so much in the last two years and although this is obviously the goal as a parent, to raise an independent, polite, and helpful little man, it's sad to let go of my first baby.  Here's Aidan on his first day of Preschool in Aug. 2009.

He was so ready to go!!  Nothing has changed about that.  Aidan is such an outgoing little man.  He can walk into a room with total confidence and want to be the leader of the pack.  I love this about him, and hope he will forever have this confidence.  Today as Aidan left I asked him to take the same picture on the steps outside.  Although he's quite a bit taller, his back pack fits much better, and he's much more grownup and mature, he's was still just as eager to GO!!!

So after a goofy pic and a few tears we were on our way with cupcakes in hand so this little man could celebrate his birthday with his friends.  That's right, Aidan turns 5 on Tues!!  So many things to celebrate as our baby is turning into quite the BIG BOY!!  Proud of you Aidan Chance!!  Keep living life to it's fullest and being your fun, energetic, silly self!  We love you!



Karate Kid!

Well our house just got a little more dangerous!  Aidan has started karate.  He is VERY excited about this, and truly believes he'll be breaking boards in no time (like next week).  I was very excited for him, yet very scared for Maddux and Payton!  However, during his first class the instructor gave a big speech on behavior and discipline and sent each child home with a book that allows me to give Aidan a grade on his behavior every week.  Every week he must take this book and show it to his instructor.  If the rating is less than a 5/10, he has a special chat with the instructor on what he did wrong and how he can improve his behavior.  If he has a great week, the instructor calls him in front of the class to recognize his good behavior!  I love having reinforcement outside the house, so hopefully this will work out great!  I think I might really like this karate thing! :)

Here's a picture of Aidan during his first class.  They ordered uniforms that night, so they were in street clothes for the night.  In this pic the instructor is introducing the behavior book.  Wish I had a pic of Aidan's face.  He knew this might not be a good thing for him! HA!

Learning to bow...

This week was his second week and he got his uniform before class.  He was SOOO excited to put this on.  You can tell how proud he is, by the smile!

He was even game for a little photo shoot.  Not normal for Aidan!

So wish us luck as we take on this new challenge in our house!  It should be interesting, but I know he will do great!  We will keep you updated as the belts start to change colors...

Sweet Dreams of LEGOLAND!!

This picture is a MAJOR cause for celebration in the Archibald house!!  Aidan is sleeping in his own bed!!  ALL NIGHT!!

A few weeks ago he decided that he would give this very frightening skill a try one more time, and with a little motivation from a reward calendar hanging above his bed, HE DID IT!!  And he has continued to go to sleep in his bed and stay there for almost a month now.  Yes it was a small miracle in our house!  Bryan and I no longer have to sleep with a tossing and turning child who hates blankets and is a BED HOG!!

Here was the deal....every day he slept in his bed he received a treat of his choice, things such as slushies, donuts, and ice cream were his favorites.  Very healthy I know, but hey whatever would work!  And then if he could make it 7 days in a row, Mommy and Daddy promised to take him to LEGOLAND!  Well day-by-day he proudly put the stickers on the chart and reached his goal!  And has been in that bed every night since, going on a month now! 

Great job Aidan!  We are so proud of you!!

So as promised, we took our trip to LEGOLAND!  And man was it worth it!  He LOVES this place.  And thanks to Nana and Papa for the awesome memberships, we will be able to enjoy it very often!

The big boys posed by the tiger as we entered the Jungle!  Love this picture! Their faces give such a perfect characterization of each boy and their completely different personalities!

Aidan was so PROUD of his accomplishment and enjoyed every minute of his reward!!

And then it was time for Aidan's favorite part of Legoland!  You build your own car and race it down the many ramps they have.  He took this building process very serious.  He would build a car, go race it, and then come back and tell me he had to "build it more action"!  Which I understood to mean it needed to go FASTER!  With Aidan this is the key to life, who can go the fastest, and WIN!!  Every thing is a race!

This one was ready for ACTION!





 Daddy and Maddux had some fun with the ramps too!

And they also took a ride on the bikes that fly!

Payton enjoyed watching them soar through the air.

He also really enjoyed the baby slide!  He wanted to do it over and over and over.....

Then the little guys headed over to the giant buckets of Legos to build!  So cute watching these two play side-by-side!

Love Payton in the background!  Just making sure Maddux is doing it the right way. :)

He was also very focused on the task at hand!

What a GREAT family trip!  Thanks Aidan for giving us a reason to celebrate.  You are growing up to be an amazing little guy!  We are so proud of you and we love you so much!!