The Spiderman Party

Nick celebrated his 5th birthday with a big spiderman party with all of our family in Minnesota. He had a spiderman slip 'n' slide and pool and a matching Spiderman swimsuit and floatie ring. We played drop the Spiders in the cup and pin the web on Spiderman and played shoot the bad guys with water guns while wearing Spiderman masks. We had a huge BBQ and Nick had a big Spiderman cake. It was a beautiful day for a party and Nick loved that he got to celebrate his birthday in Minnesota with all his extended family. He got so many wonderful presents that we had to ship home a huge box from the party. Nick said he hopes he gets to have all his birthdays in Minnesota.

Underwater World and Other Fun at The Mall of America

For Nick's actual birthday we went to the Mall of America to visit the Underwater World Aquarium and the Nickelodeon Theme park. Aidan and Nick loved that these huge sharks would go over your head. Aidan was so tired after the aquarium and lunch that he fell asleep in his stroller and slept through his brother and cousin riding all the rides in the theme park. My Dad kept saying I don't know how he can sleep though all this racket but he didn't seem to mind. When he woke up we went and visited Legoland for a few minutes. After spending the entire day there we finally went home and had a piece of cake to end the day. Nick said it was the best day ever!

The Lake

The boys had the best time at the Lake. They swam and fished and hiked around in the woods with the dogs and ate smores every night by the campfire. What more could boys want. It was so peaceful and relaxing at the lake. It was just what the doctor ordered for everyone. We can't wait to go back.

Sam and Elijah's Birthday Party

Nick and I went to his friends, Sam and Elijah's birthday party tonight. They were born on the same day two years apart. Sam was turning 5 and Elijah was turning 3. They had their party at the Lompoc Aquatic Center. The boys had a blast swimming and then they had pizza and cake. We got the boys super soakers for their birthday presents and Nick said on the way home that he hopes they buy him a super soaker for his birthday. I just laughed. Nick was exhausted at the end of the night and went right to bed but I think he really enjoyed having some alone time with his Mommy. It was nice to be able to focus all my attention on Nick for a change. You forget how easy and fun it can be with just one child. Hopefully, we can continue to do more one on one in the future.

Flower Festival

We took the boys to the Lompoc Flower Festival today. Nick's Grandma bought him an unlimited ride pass for the Kiddie Midway so he had a blast riding all the rides for hours. Aidan was so mad that he couldn't ride too so we took him on the train and the carousel a few times to keep him entertained. Nick would have stayed there all day if it weren't for his little brother getting tired out. Nick and his Grandma shared a funnel cake after all the rides while Aidan and I walked around looking at all the booths since he can't have any funnel cake. We all had a great time.

The Duck Park

We went to the Duck Park with Grandma today. The boys had a great time. Aidan kept trying to steal the cheerios that we were feeding to the ducks. Aidan followed his brother everywhere from the big slide to the tunnels to the swings. The boys are loving having their Grandma here and so am I. They are getting so spoiled. Nick has been playing games non-stop with his Grandma including the new one he convinced her to buy at Wal-Mart, Hungry-Hungry Hippos. Aidan is getting lots of snuggles from his Grandma too. I would love for my Mom to stay another few weeks because she has made it possible for us to eat in shifts so Aidan doesn't have to know we are eating something he can't have. Also, she has my house cleaner then it has been in ages. Poor Aidan is so wanting to eat real food but so far is still easily distracted by other things. He seems to be feeling good and isn't really even requiring any pain meds at all now. He is having a few side effects from the surgery including wobbliness and dumping syndrome. We hope these are temporary but will discuss them with the surgeon next week and the GI the week after that. Nicholas is counting the days until the calendar turns over to July and he gets to go to Minnesota. He keeps yelling at me because I say we are going home to Minnesota. He quickly reminds me that it isn't my home. My home is in California. We all can't wait to finally spend some time relaxing in Minnesota.