Guess Who's Four!

 To celebrate Jordan's golden birthday we had a fun birthday party for him in our backyard.  Jordan continues to be obsessed with trucks, so it was easy to pick out a cake for him.  But with all the busyness of the beginning of school and planning the party, I decided to let the bakery make his cake this year.

 Aiden loved the freedom of eating dinner out of his high chair.  Here he is sitting nicely on the deck eating, but a few minutes after this picture was taken he picked up his plate and started walking around with it.  He looked so excited to be able to move wherever he wanted to during the meal.

 Jordan received lots of fun presents.  Aiden was pretty excited about Jordan's gifts too!

 Here I am with my favorite 4 year old.  If you look closely you will see a little white frosting on Jordan's lower lip.  He couldn't resist nabbing a little bit of frosting before we cut the cake.

 Aiden has quite the sweet tooth so he was pretty excited to dig into the cake too!

 Here are all my boys!  We wanted a pinata for the party and of course Jordan wanted it to be a truck pinata.  It was huge!

 Jordan took the first swing.

 All the kids had 3 chances to hit the pinata but no one had success.  Finally I had to step in and show them how it's done.  After I broke the pinata Luke threw the cnady all over the yard as kids ran to put as much in the grocery bags as they could find.  This was definitely the highlight of the party!

 I included this picture because I think it's funny how almost all the adults are crossing their arms.  It was the first chilly evening in a long time and we were all freezing by the end of the party.

 Today was Jordan's first day of preschool!  I switched times with my partner so that I could be home this morning to bring him to school.  I tried to take a picture of just Jordan before we left, but Aiden kept running in to get in the picture.

 This picture turned out pretty bad because of the sun, but I think Jordan looks so cute wearing his backpack.

Here's Jordan with one of his teachers.  On the way to preschool he told me he was a little nervous.  But he seemed pretty confident once we got into his classroom.  I thought I would stay for a few minutes on his first day but after only about 2 minutes of me being there he turned to me and said, "Mommy, why are you still here?"  I was so proud of my boy and his excitement about being in school!

Minnesota

I accidentally loaded these pictures in reverse order but have so little time to update the blog that I just decided to leave it as is.  We recently returned from our annual trip to Minnesota and both boys had a blast.  Aiden became spoiled sleeping in the same room with us and had a difficult time transitioning back to his own room.  After about a week of very little sleep I decided to cave and let him sleep in our room.  He falls alseep in his crib but when he first wakes up sometime between midnight and two, I bring him in our room and he sleeps the rest of the night in his pack and play.  I don't know how that will go when I return to work and my alarm goes off, but for the time being we are all getting a lot more sleep and are a lot happier!

 Jordan received a doctor's kit from the Ford family for his birthday.  It took a little convincing, but he agreed to dress up for a picture. 

 Aiden was all about dressing up and kept saying "ti, ti" (try, try) when he saw the outfit because he wanted to try it on.

 There was a tractor show when we were in Minnesota.  Both boys were squealing with delight when they saw all the tractors!

 It's hard to get a picture of Aiden looking at the camera.  He loved sitting on the riding lawn mower at the cabin!

 One day we went to Luke's Uncle and Aunt's cabin where they had this little ride on John Deer toy.  Jordan loved giving rides to Aiden.  While they were riding we heard him say, "Isn't this fun, Aiden?"

 We went to see a huge dump truck while we were in Virginia, Minnesota.  Here's Jordan sitting in one of the wheels.

 Jordan loved sitting in the cab and trying to push all the buttons and pull all the levers.

 Jordan had so much fun with his cousins at the cabin!

 Here's Jordan driving the boat with Daddy.  He smiled for the picture, but he was all business when he was driving.

 I don't think Aiden looked at the lake at all when he was driving.  He was too busy trying to push all he buttons!

 Here's Jordan driving with Aunt Emily.

 

 Jordan spent a lot of time hunting for frogs up at the cabin.  He even managed to catch a couple!

 Jordan loved riding this little 4 wheeler and spent a lot of time riding around on it throughout the week.  He even gave a few rides to Aiden.

 The boys did amazingly well on the long car ride to Minnesota.  Aiden spent most of the time chewing on something- food, blankets, books, etc.  That boy puts everything in his mouth!  Right before the trip Aiden ran into a corner of the wall which is why his face looks all scratched up. 

Jordan spent some of the trip watching movies on my dad's DVD player, but mostly looked out the window and watched all the trucks.

Both boys had so much fun playing with their cousins and playing at the cabin.  Jordan asked me yesterday why his cousins don't live in Michigan.  We sure wish we lived closer to Luke's family, but are thankful we were able to spend the week with them!

Brothers

Although the boys still spend a big chunk of the day fighting, I am starting to see some improvements in their relationship.  They are spending more and more time playing together and Jordan is starting to enjoy helping his little brother do things.  He helps Aiden get his blanket out of his crib, helps him carry things up and down the steps, and helps him fix his toys.

 Here is Jordan helping Aiden put on his shoes.  One day Aiden was being a bit of a stinker about putting on his shoes and kept running away from me when I tried to put them on.  Jordan saw my predicament and offered to help.  Aiden loved having his big brother put his shoes on for him!

Whenever Jordan does something nice for Aiden I tell Aiden to tell Jordan thank you.  Since he can't say thank you yet, he always gives Jordan a hug instead.  Jordan is always pulling back a little bit as Aiden can be just as aggressive with his affection as he can be with his anger.  Watching the boys hug always makes me smile.

Here are the boys playing together in the living room.  Aiden follows Jordan wherever he goes.  Jordan gets annoyed with this sometimes, but he does seem to enjoy having Aiden as a playmate more and more.  Having a 2 year old and a 3 year old in the house makes for a chaotic but joyful life!

Jordan

These past 3 months have been a time of adjustment for Aiden, but they have also been a time of major adjustment for Jordan.  Bringing an instant toddler into the home is very difficult on a sensitive little 3 1/2 year old.  Before Aiden, Jordan was used to a fairly quiet home where he was surrounded by adults.   His little world has been totally shaken now that Aiden is home.  Aiden can be a lot of fun but he is also very loud, aggressive, and extremely possessive of anything he has his hands on.  Jordan is not a loud kid by nature, so I think that Aiden's loud screaming and rough play has been really hard on him.  I've seen a lot of behaviors from Jordan that I never saw before.  He has a lot more meltdowns and is way more hesitant to share with other kids than he used to be.  Luke and I have said that we think Jordan has cried more in the last 3 months than he cried in the previous 2 1/2 years.  That's probably an exaggeration, but not by much.

Despite all these difficulties, Jordan surprises me with how kind he can be to his little brother.  The other day Aiden was struggling to carry a truck down the steps and I couldn't help him because I was carrying laundry down.  Jordan said, "I can help him!" and quick ran up the steps and carried the truck down for him.  The other day Aiden was being a stinker about putting on his shoes and kept running away when I would try to put them on.   Jordan noticed this and offered to put Aiden's shoes on for me.  It was so cute watching him kneel down and fasten Aiden's shoes.  Then today Aiden was playing with a garbage truck and was constantly pulling a piece of it apart and then whining for me to put it back together.  After a few times of that I was sick of it and didn't want to keep putting the truck back together.  Jordan said, "I can do it for him!" and patiently put it back together for him.  Jordan must have started to get sick of it as well though because a few minutes later I heard him say, "Okay, Aiden.  I am only going to put this together one more time because then I want to go and play."  Aiden seemed to understand because he didn't pull it apart again after that.

Jordan continues to delight us with all of the interesting things that he says.  Whenever he says something cute, I always think I'm going to write it down, but I always forget.  This is one conversation I remember that I want to make sure I write down.  The other day my parents brought over a toy kitchen set they bought for the boys.  Jordan just loves that kitchen set.  He plays with it all the time.  At bedtime that night I was saying a prayer and when I was finished Jordan asked, "Does God build things for us?"  I didn't know what to say so I just said yes.  Then Jordan asked me to thank God for his new kitchen set.  After I did Jordan said, "Did God say you're welcome?"  When I explained that we can't hear God he asked where God lived.  I said that God lives everywhere and that if you want him to, he will even live in your heart.  Jordan looked at me very seriously and said, "How could he get into my heart?  Would he come in through my toes?"  I couldn't contain my laughter after that comment and Jordan looked at me with such a bewildered look like he wondered what was so funny. 

Everyone in the family is trying to adjust to Aiden in their own way.  Each day continues to present new challenges with him, but we have seen a lot of progress in the past 3 months.  My biggest goals for him now are that his tantrums and whining start to diminish, he starts to be able to communicate more in English, and my biggest wish is that he will sleep more consistently through the night.  Hopefully 3 months from now we will be able to look back and see even more progress that he has made! 

Aiden's 2nd Birthday

We  had a wonderful time celebrating Aiden's 2nd birthday!  Last June I baked a cake to celebrate his 1st birthday, but I remember feeling more sadness than joy as he wasn't home with us.  Last winter it seemed like a very real possibility that I would miss his second birthday as well, so I was thankful to have him home with us.  Luke's parents came out for a few days to meet Aiden and to spend some time with us.  The boys loved all the extra attention they received and Aiden warmed right up to Grandpa Tim.  He liked nothing better than to be sitting in his lap.

 Jordan was so proud when he thought of this idea of pulling his little wagon with his trike. 

 Jordan is holding on to a toy ambulance while taking a ride in the swing.  He has been talking about this ambulance ever since our last visit to Minnesota last August.  I can't believe he remembered it.  He asked Grandpa and Grandma to bring it with them when they came to visit.  They decided to keep it here, much to Jordan's delight.

 The weather has been hot over here, so the boys have spent a lot of time in their suits in the backyard.  Jordan loves to run through the sprinkler and play in the little kiddie pool.

 Here's a picture of Aiden riding on Luke's back at our neighborhood pool.  Both boys love the water although Jordan is a lot braver than Aiden.  Aiden can float independently with his puddle jumper on, but he becomes very fearful if we let go of him for a second.

 We went to my parent's house to celebrate Aiden's birthday.  The highlight of the night was opening presents.  Aiden became super excited about every present he opened.  Aiden is one of the most sprited children I have ever met.  When he is upset, he is really upset.  But when he is excited, boy does he show it!

 I love this picture because of how interested Jordan is in this present.  Aiden was pretty much clueless about the whole concept of presents, but Jordan was asking all day when it would be time for Aiden to open his presents.  He figured out pretty quickly that any gift Aiden received would be a new toy brought into the house that Jordan would have a chance to play with too.

 Aiden loved his new bulldozer!  Jordan was very eager to have a turn with it, but I was very proud of his patience as he waited until Aiden was ready to give Jordan a turn.

 Aiden loves trucks just as much as Jordan, so a truck cake was an obvious choice.

Aiden loved the birthday cake!  I wish I could have been with him when he ate his first piece of cake on his first birthday, but his was fun to see him enjoy this cake so much.

Aiden continues to adjust to our family and we are growing in our enjoyment of him.  He still has some challenging behaviors we are dealing with, but things are improving.  The biggest issue continues to be sleep.  I thought we had almost mastered that one as Aiden had been pretty much sleeping through the night for about 3-4 weeks straight.  But these past few nights he has been up several times and even woke up crying 3 different times during his nap today.  It can be very difficult to get him to go to sleep in the first place, so when he wakes up crying it can get pretty frustrating.  We are hoping that this is just a short phase and he goes back to his better sleeping habits soon!

Finished Basement

 As of last Friday, our basement is finally finished!  Toys have been rapidly overtaking the house, so we are thrilled to have this additional living space.  Here are some pictures I took on Friday right after the carpet was laid down.  Just a few days later this space is literally filled with toys.  The boys are loving it because there is so much room for them to play.  Luke and I are loving it because we feel like we have our main floor back again!

 Aiden and Jordan love the basement!  If you look carefully you can catch a glimpse of Jordan rolling around in the background of this picture.  They both went wild when I brought them downstairs for the first time.



Here's our happy family enjoying an evening in the backyard.









Memorial Day

On the Sunday before Memorial Day we went to a friend's house for a cookout.  Jordan had fun playing in the little pool in the backyard. 

 Aiden wanted his bathing suit on so I thought he wanted to go into the pool.  He laughed and laughed as he watched Jordan play, but whenever I would try to put him into the pool he would cry. 

 When we came home on Sunday night Jordan came down with a little stomach bug.  After a good night's sleep on Sunday night, we thought he was better so we drove out to Zeeland for the Memorial Day parade.

 Jordan loved all the tractors and trucks in the parade, but he did not like the loud noises.  He had his ears covered pretty much the whole parade.  That part of him reminds me so much of me when I was little.  I was terrified of loud noises too!

 When we came back from the parade my parents put on their sprinkler.  Jordan had so much fun running through it. 

 Of course Aiden wanted to go out in his suit too!  His sunscreen isn't rubbed into his face because he is so quick!  Whenever I put sunscreen on him, he squirms around so much that I'm lucky just to get a little smear on his face.  Thank goodness he is like Jordan and doesn't burn. 

 Aiden loved watching Jordan run through the sprinkler but he was pretty leery about joining in the fun.  Eventually he reached out his hand to touch the water, but he didn't want to run all the way through it.

Aiden was a lot more content to sit by Daddy than to run through the sprinkler!  Later on in the day we realized that poor Jordan wasn't over his little stomach bug after all. Poor kid.  We thought he was fine because he was having so much fun.  After a couple days of extra rest, he is back to his normal, energetic self.