Alden's 4th Birthday Celebration- Part 2

Wednesday, the actual day of his birthday, was awesome! Poor Alden was a bit confused - we have usually had the birthday party the day of his actual birthday.... He finally "got it" and fully embraced that it was really HIS day!! He would claim dibs on just about everything with the statement, "Because I'm the birthday boy, I want to..."

He woke up to this- and a bunch of cupcake decorated with M&M's in the shape of number 4. To say that he was excited and ready to eat it, is an understatement!

Instead of starting with a chocolate cake, we headed to our families tradition, Dunkin Donuts!!

I put the candle in it the donut but did not light it- it was crowded and he said it was ok- he just wanted to pretend to blow out the fire....

Addie and Becca Baby enjoyed their donuts as well! I hope you can tell who is who!

I wanted to document how he looked ON his birthday- he humored me a bit! His shirt is one of my favorites- he can wear it all year!!

Now his spunky personality is shining forth!!

At 11am, our pool opened, so we met some friends there and shared Little Cesar's with them (can you tell this kid LOVES pizza??)

After swimming for several hours and a great nap (he is insisting on wearing PJ's for naps these days...) he opened his card all the way from Austria!

Then he so sweetly shared the outer-space painting craft he had received as a gift. I love that he cares for his sister and looks for ways to share with her!

Finally, after a dinner of quesadillas, we popped that well-used #4 candle in the cake, sang and enjoyed it!

Yum! He proudly announced once his cake and ice cream was gone, that he was officially FOUR! But, he didn't want to tell too many people, since he wanted to wait until his party was over....

Alden's 4th Birthday Celebration- Part I

In true Perreca fashion, we celebrated Alden's 4th birthday all week long! Celebration #1- CiCi's with our good friends, Hannah and Avery! We did this last year and Alden now thinks that he needs CiCi's to celebrate! This was extra-special since these friends were not going to be able to celebrate with us at Alden's party- thanks for coming, H and A!!

Practicing 4 fingers- perfect!!

Everyone showing how old they are- aren't they too adorable??

Yes, I brought "fire" into CiCi's- we even sang to him- he was SO excited!!

Blowing out his #4 candle AND the 4 candles - good thing the brownies are so thick!

It was a great way to kick off the Birthday Week!!

Tribute to Alden

August 10th is a pretty big day around our house.... It's Alden's birthday- and for the first time- he actually gets that it's HIS day! Granted, he was a bit confused as to why his birthday is on Wednesday, but his party isn't until Saturday.... Guess you can't win them all....

Alden:

You are such a sweet, spunky, defiant, loving, caring, instigating, compassionate, curious little boy. You are totally different from your sister, even though any time you go in public with her you get asked if you two are twins.

You have caused us to all learn more about bugs, things that fly, notice how many trash trucks we actually pass going anywhere, how effectively OxyClean really works, where Addie's "buttons" are, and to enjoy just going for a walk or taking time to swing.

The energy and quick love that you bring to our family is just what God knew we needed! We are excited to see you become the boy and eventually the man, that God wants you to be!

We love you- Mommy, Daddy, Addie and Kierke

Drumroll- what you are all really here for- PICTURES!!

Here are some of my favorite pics- I have a great slideshow of his entire year of being 3, but for some reason, google pics is giving me some issues....

At 1

At 2

At 3

September

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

Birthday Boy Sneak Peak

In true Perreca fashion, we will celebrate Alden turning 4 all week!! But here is a sneak peak at the birthday boy!!

Dragon Boat Race

Last year we discovered a neat little gem- the Dragon Boat Festival! The kids were excited this year- to get their face painted and to watch the boats. We headed out early since the high was going to be in the triple digits....

Addie watching the Asian dancers while showing off her freshly painted face!

Alden got a dragon- how appropriate!

And of course, the races!! It was amazing to see so many people rowing in unison- and it was amazing at how many clubs and businesses have rowing teams!

Radom Fun Moments

These have no common theme other than they are reflections of the fun of summer!

Addie loves to do hair recently- and thankfully Alden is a good sport!

Friends came over to play- and they decided to play school

Love that Alden is a lefty!!

Alden has discovered a love of baseball- and he's pretty good, too!

What summer is complete without lunch at Sam's!!

The Big Hair Cut

During the summer, I usually just buzz Alden's hair- but during the school year, I prefer for him to have the traditional haircut. With his birthday just around the corner, and a coupon for a free haircut, I decided to get his hair cut now!

Before: He insisted on NeNe (blanket) and Baby (little blue bear) being in the pictures. He adores these 2....

Look at all that hair!! I buzzed it about 4 weeks ago- his hair is like Al's, it grows crazy fast!

All done! He was a little miffed that the salon did not have lollypops...

I love how short it is and the little spike in the front! He won't usually let me do it, but when the stylist suggested it, he happily agreed!

Love my little man! I still can't believe he's about to turn FOUR!!