Aiden Turns 3!!

Aiden's third birthday was a low-key affair. I had a huge party with at least thirty of our family and friends coming to help us celebrate. I had a beautiful birthday cake planned out and everything was purchased and ready to go.

Then I got sick. Really sick. I guess a stomach virus was making its way through the daycare and was infecting all the adults (I am sure the kids were all infected too, but they all seemed to be asymptomatic). It was just devastating and lasted for like a week. Instead of sharing our germs with everyone we love so dearly, we called off the birthday party. We asked Nicole and Dom to come down and Grammy and Pappy to come up to celebrate with Aiden since he was not sick and deserved to have a great birthday. Aiden got to open presents and play with his new toys. Grammy and Pappy were going to take him to McDonald's playplace while I took a nap, but Aiden decided to take a nap in the car too. Nicole and Dom bought Aiden some balloons and a birthday cake and he really loved having them here to celebrate. It turned out to be a good day.

Unfortunately, we shared our germs a little too much and Nicole got sick as well. I guess that shows how much she loves Aiden - willing to brave the stomach bug to celebrate his birthday.

Happy Birthday my big boy! We love you soo much!


















Here is a copy of one of the emails we sent from Aiden's birth.

Aiden Brent Richens entered the world today February 28, 2007 at 12:56 p.m. He weighed 8 lbs, 13 oz, is 20 1/2 inches long and has a 14 1/4 inch head.

Anyway, my labor began around 4:30 on the 28th and my mom and I headed to the hospital at about 6:45. Asa was at work, so he met us at the hospital. I got an epidural - labor was more difficult than expected. My labor was not very long and I was fully dilated by 11. We just had to wait for the doctor to get to the delivery room. There were some problems as the umbilical cord was wrapped around Aiden's neck so they used the vacuum to get him out quickly. This lead to a necessary snip and additional tearing (I had a 3rd degree tear). His oxygen was low after his birth so they had to keep him in an oxygen "tent" for about three hours. Asa, Nicole and my mom were all on hand to witness the birth. My dad and Patty were at the hospital before and during the delivery. They got to spend time with Aiden when he was in the nursery. Asa's parents were able to come right away to come meet Aiden.

Cupcakes

I am by no means much of a housewife. I am not a very good cook, horrible at cleaning or even keeping things tidy. But I love to bake. And I have developed this fascination with baking cakes and making frosting and fondant lately. And I am really enjoying it! Here are the cupcakes I made for Aiden's birthday party at school. They looked so good, I had to take a picture! And they were soooo yummy. I have attached the recipe for anyone interested in trying it out.



Chocolate Buttercream Icing

1 cup Crisco shortening
1 cup butter (unsalted)- softened
1/3 cup hot water
1 tsp fine salt
1 tsp clear vanilla
1 tsp butter extract
2 lb. bag of powder sugar
1 cube baking chocolate
2 TBSP baking choco

**** I recommend using a stand-up mixer (Kitchen Aid) for this.****

Cream together the butter and Crisco until nice and fluffy. (I use speed 6 for this on my KA.) When it lightens in color (almost white) it is ready for the next step.

Measure out the hot water in a standard measuring cup and dissolve the fine salt in this water. Then add the flavorings to the cup. Stir it up well with a spoon.
Turn your mixer speed to the lowest possible setting and add in the powdered sugar slowly. Alternate back and forth with the water mixture. Keep the mixer on low until all liquid and powdered sugar are combined. Once combined then turn the mixer up a notch and mix well. Approximately 2-3 minutes.

Asa and his Mitchell Man

Aiden's first overnight - by himself!!

The first night Aiden spent without Asa or myself was when he was six weeks old. He stayed with my mom in AZ while I went to pick Asa up at the airport. My mom stayed up pretty much all night with him and held him.

So much has changed now that he is almost three! Asa and I (ok, maybe not Asa) were not quite ready to pass him on again overnight, but the time came when I needed a babysitter and Grammy suggested an overnight. At that point I was so excited!! A night with just Mitchell Man and Asa? I would love it! So, Grammy and Pappy came to pick Aiden up on Saturday morning. We got him a new rolling suitcase and backpack so he could pack all his clothes, his blanket, some books and his stuffed frog. He was so excited about all his new stuff. He carried all his bags down to the car by himself and waved goodbye with a huge smile on his face. It was a bittersweet moment for me to watch him go. I cannot believe how big my baby is!

He had a great night with Grammy and Pappy. They went to watch an Air Force basketball game and he got a t-shirt during one of the camps. They went out to eat at Chick-Fil-A for dinner. The next morning they went to church and Pappy made Aiden his favorite chocolate-chip pancakes for breakfast. It was a great visit and everyone (including mom and dad) are excited for the next visit. I think we are ready to pass him on for the full weekend ;)

Valentine's Day

Aiden really enjoyed opening his valentines from his friends at school. It was so much fun to watch him open each card, read it and tell me all about his friends.

Aiden's First Break

Well, not really a break, but pretty close. Aiden fell down and hit his arm pretty good on our tile floors and could not move his arm. We took him to the doctor and she had some x-rays taken. He has fluid around his elbow, so they recommended we put a splint on his arm for a week when they will take another x-ray to determine if it is broken. He is doing pretty well, although he does say it hurts quite often. He refers to it as his "Buzz Lightyear arm". I can't wait for the week to be over. Bathing him is such a challenge. I understand the pain and grief my parents dealt with when I broke my arm at age 5. And I had the cast for six weeks!

One thing is for sure...nothing can keep his spirits down and absolutely nothing can slow him down! It was pretty funny trying to get him to slow down to get a picture.