Our Big 4 Year Old!

Look at this handsome big 4 year old!!!

I can't believe he's four!  Well I guess I probably say that every year but really he is just getting so big.  Our party theme this year was Camp Aaron.  We set the back yard up like a day camp complete with lots of food, tents to play in, a fishing game, bug hunt, a cool camp cake and of course, roasting marshmallows!  

 Decorate a bug jar for our bug hunt later

 Magnetic Fishing Game

Party Favors

Ants on a log, Rabbit Food, and Crispy Spuds

Aaron's birthday request:  A camping cake!  John and I stayed up pretty late decorating.  We make a great cake boss team!  (He did most of the work!)

 Ready for our bug hunt.  I made them hide in the tent while the adults hid all the plastic critters. On your mark, get set, GO!

Look at all those bugs!!!

 Ready for cake!

 What camp would be complete without marshmallows?

What a night!  Look at all of those gifts he got.  He's one lucky four year old.  Lots of backyard toys, some video games, and fun little gadgets to play with.  The party was a great success.  But it was certainly not all me.  I couldn't have put it together without help from John and his parents.  I'm pretty sure Aaron had a great time.

Aaron,

You are such a handsome young man full of so much energy.  You are incredibly smart too.  You know how to spell and write your own name AND your brothers.  You can recognize all kinds of words by sight and tell me so when you see them.  You LOVE to play with your brother and even though sometimes you are rough, you love him dearly and would protect him/defend him if needed.  You are an amazing big brother and a great teacher.  You have taught Ethan how to talk, use the potty, and play with many games beyond his age capability.  You have shown him how to be a monkey like you!  I love mommy's monkeys.  You can count to 30 (you have to when you are in time out) and you can even count all the way to 100 by 10's.  You can dress yourself from head to toe and even pick out your own outfits.  You are starting to get into superheroes.  Spiderman is your favorite but you also like Superman and Batman.  You have started playing Wii games and have gotten pretty good at some of them though sometimes they make you angry enough to throw the controller, a habit we are trying to break.  Your daddy did it too.  You are now 40 inches tall!  Long and lean!  You don't like to do anything on demand like give hugs or snuggle!  But you don't have me fooled, you still snuggle me and want to be held.  You will always be my baby boy.  You love to play outside.  Backyard, parks, hikes, bike rides, you name it.  Naps are growing shorter and sometimes non-existent but some days we hit the sweet spot if we've played hard enough and you crash for a few hours in the afternoon.  You love to swim - actually you are kind of a fish!  You scare the lifeguards (and your mom) sometimes with how often you go under water on purpose but kind of awkwardly!  You still are a snacker - preferring to snack all day then actually eat your dinner.  You actually like broccoli!  Unlike your brother who loves fruit, you are my veggie eater!  Your daddy and I love you so very, very much.  There are so many other things I could tell you about to read later when you are older but it would take much, much longer to list them all.  Your dad and I are so blessed to be your parents.  Keep smiling and learning.

Love you,

Mom and Dad