Taygen and Jensen come to visit (March 2013)

The weekend of cousin's Allyse's farewell was extra fun for us because Clint, Stacia, Taygen, and Jensen came to stay with us! Since the cousins who live close to us all belong to the oldest three siblings, it's rare for Aiden to get to play with cousins his own age. (The next closest is 4 1/2 years older and they just got up from there.) Taygen is almost a year younger than Aiden but he's just as tall so they seem like they're the same. They had so much fun together. It snowed on Saturday which was super fun for Taygen who is from Las Vegas and had never seen snow before (that he could remember - baby doesn't count). Luckily we have enough snow clothes for Aiden that we could bundle them both and send them out to play with the dads.

Of course the boys had a blast aiming snowballs at their dads who weren't wearing coats!

Taygen in front filling his dump truck with snow while Aiden helps Uncle Clint work on their snowman.

In nearly all the pictures I have of the boys at least one of them has a mouth full of snow!

Perfect size snowman for these 2 and 3 year old boys!

After they were cold enough, we got dressed and headed over to the dinosaur museum. Aiden was thrilled to be the boss and show everyone exactly where to walk and what to look at and what to do.

Uncle Clint, Taygen, and Aiden

Little Jensen was so charming and smiley the whole time!

Of course we had to get ice-cream cones after the museum! It's tradition even if it is cold outside! I took so many pictures but I absolutely couldn't get both of them smiling and looking at the camera at the same time! At least in this one they are both showing their faces haha!

It was so fun to have them at our house. Aiden asked for weeks after they left when they could come back for more sleepovers.

St. Patrick's Day 2013

Apparently I didn't take many pictures this St. Patrick's day. It was on Sunday and we had early church so that's probably why. The leprechauns didn't come until during Aiden's nap after church. They left tiny little green footprints all around the floor just like they did when I was little. Aiden loved it. They were sneaky and climbed all the way into the fridge to turn the milk green and they gave us a kind of Lucky Charms with all green marshmallows. Yum! The footprints led downstairs where there was a little pile of presents wrapped in green and a couple cute green balloons. Aiden had so much fun stepping on each footprint so carefully to follow everywhere it went. (We have video so I guess that's just as good as pictures...)

We had a Sunday photoshoot by our beautiful indoor flower (I can't remember what kind it is)

Aiden practiced his photography skills. We have LOTS of pictures of the two of us and the flower haha.

Upclose shot of the flower

These balloons really must have had some leprechaun magic in the them because they stayed floating for over a month. It was crazy!

Misc. Feb (2013) pictures

sadfs

Being a Nephite?

Aiden's imagination never ceases to amaze me. He told me exactly how to put the bat down his jammies and even thought it took me a minute, I finally realized that "bay-shup" was spaceship and I was amazed that he could come up with a way to transform himself into one!

Delicious smoothie mustache to go right along with another silly Aiden face.

Showing Mom and Grandma a magic trick. He had another little spool hiding under the big one so he moved it all around the table and then picked it up to show the little one. Pretty good for a three year old to come up with all by himself!

I can't handle the cuteness of that dimple and concentrating tongue!

Someone takes after Mom a little too much. The nutella has since been moved to a higher shelf because I've caught him sneaking spoonfuls too many times close to meals. Who can blame him though!?

A bath within a bath!

At Colie's drill team competition. Aiden was trying to copy how she lifted her foot up to her head.

Ice-cream date with Allyse to say bye before her mission. Crazy! Australia here she comes!

Valentine's date at the Marriott in Provo. M and D had  a free night that was going to expire and we're the lucky ones that got to use it. As much as we adore Aiden, it's always nice to get away and have some grown up time.

Thanks to Grandpa Peterson, Aiden now knows what gumball machines do and asks EVERY time he sees one. Dad gives in almost as much as Grandpa does.

Someday I'll make a line of all of the pictures we have of Aiden on this little friend from the dinosaur museum.

Grilled cheese teeth!

Catching up on the latest news issues. He now knows more than I do. Oops.

Aiden and Dad reading scriptures in their awesome fort at the bottom of the stairs.

Sometimes I wake up and find myself facing a different sleeping buddy than I might expect. Aiden sleeps in the oddest positions. It's a miracle he's never fallen out of bed!!

I guess someone is a meat eater like his dad! He downed that entire thing and then had a few more little pieces!

Dad gets a brain freeze so of course Aiden does too! I love that he's peeking to get the exact right technique for holding his head and groaning!

Protecting Aunt Paige from the scary sharks!

Celebrating Uncle Nate's birthday

Aiden enjoyed the hat a little more than Nate did haha

Misc. Jan (2013) pictures

Trying on Mom's glasses and being a nerd. This kid makes the best faces.

He told me he was in a swimming pool floating in the ocean like we did on our vacation.

Aiden's first trip to Krispie Kreme. He was fascinated by the process.

Photoshoot with Mom and Aiden

Our at-home version of Tangled...

He's done it in his hair lots of times so he doesn't realize how much harder a twisted comb is to get out of my hair.

Bright red cheeks from playing outside in the cold.

Melty heart. I love these boys and I love how they love each other.

The Elder's Quorum takes turns standing by the doors during the sacrament so there aren't as many disruptions. Aiden wanted to stand with Dad and looked so reverent, handsome, and WAY too grown up. (I only had my phone cause I was teaching YW that day and needed it to be my clock.)

We found tiny little bird prints on our back porch one day. Cute!

One of our new favorite activities is riding the frontrunner train to Orem where Grandma picks us up to spend the day. Aiden loves watching things whiz by through the window.

Playing with the dinosaurs at the University Mall playground.

Waiting for the train in the freezing cold.

Cutest group of kiddos ever! Cole, Lucy, and Sadie Moss, Blake and Emma Barratt, and Aiden Whiting

Mercedes had just had her #3, Brittany was due in a couple months with #3, so I was feeling pretty sad for my little Aiden with no siblings at all. So fun to see such wonderful friends though!

Waiting patiently at Firehouse subs for his fireman sandwich.

Grandma's little baby

Mommy kitty, Daddy puppy, and baby piggy

Having fun at playgroup

Making cookies for FHE treats one night

Aiden was such a good helper. He loves to show off his muscles!

So much fun for a little boy when the snowplow pushes the snow from the street into a spot on our front lawn.

Showing off Dad's beautiful shoveling pile

The boys were having so much fun playing in the snow that they didn't want to come in for dinner. So the obvious solution was to have a chili picnic outside in the snow!