Aiden's 3rd Birthday

Helping me make treats for the party.

Opening presents.

Dinosaurs!

More dinosaurs!

It was a Cars themed party.

Playing with his buddy James.

So cute!

A new dump truck!

His very own camera!

Cheese!

A Cars race track.

Track and Field for Tots

Our school hosts a track and field morning for the little ones.  The idea is just to show them what track is and to have fun.  Aiden did great!

Hurdles- aren't they so cute!

Lining up for a relay.

The hand-off.  They didn't quite understand that once they hand it off, they don't turn around and run again.  Oh well, it's cute!

Getting ready to hurdle.

Long jump.

He didn't like the sand in his shoes, so he decided to try it barefoot- what a goof!

Another race.

The whole group- it's the best shot I could get!

Daddy's Little Helper

Wedding

Some friends of ours from Kalona got married on my birthday.  That event allowed us a trip to Iowa City and a stay with the Lerdals.  Aiden was sooooo excited to see his best buddy Kinley.  Here are a few pictures of them.

Trying on his outfit before we left.

Admiring himself in the mirror

Aren't they so cute together?!?

Taking a break from dancing.

Easter

We had an Easter Egg hunt in the backyard.

Grandma hid the eggs for us.

There wasn't anything in the eggs, but he didn't mind.

Local churchs sponsored an Easter egg hunt in the park.  There were so many kids. Aiden only got 2 eggs, and that was because someone put them in his basket.  Fortunately they also had a few bouncy things to enjoy.

This was Aiden's first experience with a bouncy slide. He had a little trouble getting up the ladder, but once he was up, he had a blast!

He got brave the 2nd time and came down head first!

There was also a bouncy house.

This tongue-out-trait is something that runs in my mom's side of the family!

Sunday morning Aiden woke to discover the Easter bunny had left some tracks.  He was so excited!

The tracks led down the hallway.

There were some candy-filled eggs hidden around the house.

I spy an egg...

Aiden's getting too big!

Aiden loves helping, especially vacuuming.

Jumping on his bed... 

A big jump!

Spring Break Trip to Minnesota

Apparently I've been busy! I just realized I haven't posted anything in 5 months- oops! It's definitely not for lack of material.  Well, let's see if I can catch up.

In March, I (Briana) had 10 days off for Spring Break, so we decided to take a quick family trip to Minnesota.  Not necessarily the smartest choice (it was colder there than in Iowa), but we had fun.  We started off with a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese, which was just down the road from our hotel.  Not sure I would repeat that experience in a big city.  It was SUPER crowded.

Aiden squirting the target.

The bicycle Doug had to peddle to lift into the air.

A trip isn't complete without a little SkeeBall

Our hotel had a pool- which Aiden loved!

We had to jump in many times.

We also took a trip to the Mall of America.  We actually only went in 2 stores, and our only purchase was some Peeps.  We mainly enjoyed the rides.  I was surprised by how many rides they had for little ones and Aiden loved them all!

Waiting in line.

Riding on the Blue's Clues Ride

Daddy was trying to make the ride a little more exciting...

In front of Sponge Bob's Bouncy house.  Unfortunately the line was too long to jump.

Dora's School Bus

Someone's ready for the next ride...

Dora's car.

It whipped you around the corners.  My stomach was not happy after this ride.

Once again, Doug was VERY excited!

The next day (after a hour of traffic and construction delays), we went to the Como Park Zoo.  I was surprised by the animals they had there, despite the snow on the ground.

Looking at frogs in their habitat.

Dancing in the hall.

Pretty flowers in the garden.

Giraffes!

Polar Bears!

The seals? seal lions? put on a little show for us.

And of course the giant turtle statue.