His day!

Last Sunday we celebrated Aiden's first birthday. We decided not to have a big party as we did for his sister, but instead asked friends and family to speak words of truth into our sweet boy's life by sending a short note, scripture or prayer. It is our prayer that one day he will know our Father and we thought of no better way to spur him on than to gain wisdom from those who have walked ahead of him. It is our pray that he would grow up to be a tender warrior for our Lord and a man that asks for wisdom as James 1:5 says. We of course celebrated as a family. There are plenty of family photos that will come soon but these are pictures of Aiden and how he spent his 1st birthday as well as insight into his little life these days. From left to right and top to bottom:

1)Having a birthday waffle. Yes, he did stick his little finger in the candle as he was trying to grab the waffle. Aiden does not mess around with food. Once it is placed on his tray, it is quickly picked up. And like everyone in our family he LOVES his carbohydrates! Although, most food is shoved into his mouth he actually does chew up his food very well. He just stuffs his mouth before the chewing begins.

2) Pushing his tractor. Aiden LOVES pushing anything with wheels and will turn most anything into a push toy, even a package of diapers that slides nicely across our tile kitchen floor. Notice this small tractor became a means for Aiden to walk from one room to another. He has not mastered walking without the assistance of a toy, but I have never seen a child use toys and especially his push toys that are intended for walking to get from one place to another.

3) Eating cooked carrots. One of his favorites. Other favorites: bananas, grapes, watermelon, peaches, applesauce, cheerios, cheese, yogurt, macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, beans-black, kidney, pinto and each morning he eats a bowl of oatmeal with fruit added as well as the much desired mini earth's best waffles. Anna ate so many of these that when I went to buy them for Aiden I almost teared up when I saw the box. Aiden is much more of a picker eater than Anna was at this age, which makes meal time a little more tricky.

4) Taking his afternoon nap. Aiden still takes a solid morning nap and afternoon nap. Both are usually around an hour and a half to two hours. As soon as you lay him down in his crib he makes his way to the corner and buries his head in his bumper. Many days he wakes up with the indention's of his crib on his forehead.

5) Opening presents. As you will see in the family photos this was not a huge hit for Aiden. He could have cared less about opening the presents but his sister on the other hand could not wait to open them.

6) Being shown some of his new toys by none other than his sister.

7) Being sung to! We sung a whole lot of "happy birthday" on August 29th. Not necessarily for Aiden but because Anna thought everything Aiden ate as well as hers needed a candle, the song sung and the candle blown out. She tried to carry it over to Monday but the big day was done.

8) DEVOURING the cake! (this was new to us as Anna wanted nothing to do with her first birthday cake)

9) Shoveling the cake and icing into his mouth.

10) Thrilled with the cake!

11) Looking for more cake! (what is not pictured is Aiden getting upset when there was no more cake)

12) Playing with some of his new toys!

13) Sliding on our "new" to us swing set (more on that later).

14) Hopping down from the swing and making laps around the yard with daddy. Aiden loves to be outside and is perfectly content sitting in the grass. He entertains himself with the acorns and grass but is thrilled to make a lap every now and again.

15) Taking a ride in the Cozy Coupe. Since this shot, Aiden has spent a good bit of time in the Cozy Coupe while Anna is on the swing set. He is thrilled to just sit in the car as she plays.

16) Stroller ride. Of course his day would not have been complete without a stroller ride as he does love his walks. He actually got a morning and evening one on his birthday.

17) Ready for bed! Aiden really loves being in his crib these days. When waking in the morning or from his naps he will just roll around. We hear him babbling away and he is content to stay and play. Often after his morning nap if you go in to get him too soon he will arch his back and reach to be put back into his crib to roll around some more. He gave us the best birthday present a few weeks ago when he decided he would sleep in for an hour or more each morning. We are loving that we do not see the 6am hour. 7:30 am or later is much more pleasant. However, most mornings daddy doesn't get to see either of our children before he heads out for work.

18) Worn out. When his fingers go in his mouth he is ready for his bed!

It is hard for me to believe that our little boy is a one-year-old. He is truly a delight. He brings joy to us daily. We love you sweet Aiden.