Aiden turns 3 and a really big post

At the beginning of July we decided to go home to Indianapolis to stay with my Dad and Barb. We haven't been to Indy since before Madelyn was born and I was really feeling the need to take her home and soak in some of those humid Indiana summer nights. Without kids, the trip takes us 6 hours, add Aiden into the mix and we can do it in about 7 hours, so I was uncertain how long the trip would be when we added Maddie into it. I was unsure of how many times she would need to stop to nurse, or how far we could get before she decided that she had had enough time in the car and had a meltdown.

Turns out I was worried for nothing. The trip couldn't have gone any smoother. Maddie is such a trooper and would go along with just about anything we wanted her to. Much to my surprise she slept the first 3 hours, until we stopped for lunch. Our plan was to let Aiden run off some steam in the playground of Chick-fil-a while Grant ate lunch and I nursed Maddie. We would then pile back into the car and Aiden and I would eat our lunch while Grant continued to drive. While it didn't quite happen that smoothly, we pretty much stuck to our 7 hour schedule! 

(Aiden really doesn't like it when I take pictures of him and will usually run away from me if he knows I'm trying to take one. Luckily, he was strapped in and had nowhere to go!)

We stayed pretty busy while we were in Indy. We had lots of people to see and made sure that we soaked up every minute we could with friends and family. It never feels like we have enough time while we are there and we never get to spend as long as we'd like with anyone.

Our first night in Indy happened to be our 6 year anniversary. I can't believe it's been 6 years! So much has happened in that time. Luckily for us, Dad and Barb offered to watch the kids for us so that we could go out to dinner. After some debate, we decided to go to Noah Grant's in Zionsville. We used to work there before they redesigned, back when it was Brix, and wanted to check it out. We had a wonderful dinner and just happened to run into a few people who used to work with us while we were there. Afterward, we stopped by my friend Lindsay's house and sat around the bon-fire for a bit before heading back to my Dad's house. I know it wasn't a huge night out, but it was a perfect evening. And, really after 11 years, and 2 kids, just a simple evening together is about as perfect as it can get!

We watched fireworks over the reservoir from the boat for the 4th of July. It was amazing and beautiful. The best part was that we didn't have to fight through traffic or hoards of people to see them. Aiden was so excited to watch the fireworks and would exclaim every time he would see one begin its ascent into the air, "LOOK! FIREWORKS!", or "There's one!" The best was when he would say, "Oh Mommy, they're beautiful!" Maddie spent most of the time hanging out with Mimi, perfectly contented to stay wrapped up in her arms.

We spent a lot of time at the pool and we were lucky to get to see my brother, Tom, his wife, Ashley, and their kids, Lainey, Cali and Levi. Aiden had a great time with Lainey and Cali and I know he is sad that we don't live closer so he can play with them more often.

While the older kids played, the younger ones did their best to nap, and Mimi and Aunt Courtney were not about to let a baby sleep without being held.

Aiden's birthday was on the 7th and we spent the day with my Mom and Dave. Aiden had a great time with Nannie and Papaw at the Children's Museum, and especially liked the Dinosphere, where he got to dig for fossils!

After the Children's Museum, we met at Rick's Boatyard Cafe for a wonderful dinner celebration that was followed with chocolate cake for the birthday boy. We only wish we could have been able to spend more time with Nannie and Papaw.

The next day we had a little birthday party for Aiden. He had requested a chocolate dinosaur cake for his birthday and not only did he get that, but a whole dinosaur themed party. I cut out dinosaur feet to make a "Happy Birthday, Aiden" sign, then used the extra cutouts to lead to the basement for the party. I also made deviled dinosaur eggs, had a dinosaur egg hunt for the kids, and had styrofoam cutouts of dinosaurs and dinosaur eggs to paint while waiting for other guests to arrive.

We prepared most of the morning for his party, baking the cake, setting up decorations, putting together gift bags for the kids, getting  food ready, and setting up activities. Aiden did his part to help us get ready, too.

The weather had been great all morning, but as soon as I finished setting up everything outside, it started pouring down rain.

So we scrambled to get everything down and decided to move the party into the basement, which worked just as well.

We invited our friends Lindsay and Bryan, and their daughter Lilly, Tom and Ashley and their kids, and our friends Chad, Caleb, and Christian. I think that Aiden was a little overwhelmed, but everyone had a great time!

I can't believe my sweet baby is three years old. I am so lucky and proud to be his Mommy. He continues to amaze me everyday with his unconditional love, kindness, humor, creativeness, and zest for life. He has become the most incredible big brother and Maddie is incredibly lucky to be growing up with such a wonderful little boy. Thank you for making me a Mommy, it is the best job in the whole world! Happy Birthday, Buggy!

The rest of the week wasn't quite as eventful. We did, of course, get our teeth cleaned while we were there. Aiden got to pretend to be a dentist and helped Mimi clean Daddy's teeth, which he loved!

And he was a huge helper while getting his teeth cleaned, too! When it was his turn, he didn't want to be held by Daddy, he wanted to get right into the chair like a big boy.

Our ride home was just as uneventful as our drive out to Indy, except for the fact that I was incredibly sad to be leaving. We had such a wonderful time with everyone, it's always so hard to leave. I wish we lived closer to home so that we could see everybody more often, but it was an amazing, much needed vacation. Thanks Dad and Barb for hosting us!