Sparky, Critter Barn, Airport

Sad day at the Lynch house - we had to put Sparky down. His cancer was making it too difficult for him to breathe and his abdomen was filling up with fluid. Sparky was Bryan and my "first baby" and he's welcomed both boys home from the hospital. He was such a great dog. So kind and gentle with the boys and well-mannered. We will miss him very much!Aiden, Gavin, and I went to the Critter Barn last week and had lots of fun. There was a huge turkey that we had to walk by to get into the entrance. Aiden was not too sure about him - especially when he ruffled his feathers and gobbeled at him.

Both boys LOVED feeding the goats!

Aiden even got to milk a goat!!

The Critter Barn is so much fun because it allows for a lot interaction between the kids and the animals.

By the end of our time there, Aiden was a little more accepting of the turkey but this is as close as he would get to him!

My boys (all three of them) LOVE going to the Grand Rapids Airport viewing area to watch the planes take off and land. Since we were already out that way the other day we stopped by. They had so much fun!

Happy Birthday Aiden!

We celebrated Aiden's FOURTH birthday a couple of days in a row. We took him to Texas Roadhouse (yummmm yummmm) for a special birthday dinner. He got to sit on the saddle while everyone in the restaurant yelled YEEEEHAAWWW!!! He also got a chocolate sundae for dessert :)

Every time we pass by Craig's Cruisers Aiden says that he wishes he could ride a race car. So in celebration of his birthday we let him ride with us and then he even got to ride on a mini kids course all by himself - he was thrilled to finally be able to go there!

He LOVES Toy Story....

He LOVES helicopters and airplanes...

And is obsessed with construction. Anytime we pass a detour or road construction sign he wants to see the construction and wants to know exactly what is going on.

He has already outgrown the bike we gave him for his birthday last year so we got him a new one. Since it was rainy outside, we let him drive it around the house for a bit.

A little while later I found him downstairs putting on all of his construction gear to ride his bike! Cute!

We also celebrated his birthday with his great-grandma, grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins...

If you remember one of my posts from when he was three years old I wondered if Aiden would ever actually use utensils while eating. Well, now that he is four, you can see he uses the combination of utensils and his hands. Maybe when he's five years old he will stop eating with his hands!

Aiden wanted balloons for his birthday - what a hit with the kids! Gavin was the only one that got his tied... all of the rest of them endlessly blew them up and then let them go fly around crazily until they deflated.
Aiden and Uncle Jeff...

Our birthday boy!!!!

Four...

Attempts at a family pic...

Aiden had an awesome few days of celebrating his 4th birthday! I can't believe that he is four years old already - time sure flies when you are having fun! :) Here's some highlights about our fabulous four year old...

• He can count to 100 (but sometimes needs help with which "10's" number comes next - 40, 50, 60, etc.)


• He recognizes and knows all of the capital letters and most of the lower case letters. He is always spelling out the words on signs, labels, etc.


• He knows what sound each of the letters make and can identify words that start with those sounds.


• He loves math (YES!!!!!!) and is always asking us to give him addition problems.


• He can spell his first and last name, Gavin's name, my name and Bryan's name along with "stop", "exit", "open"


• He can write his name and draw a person.


• He loves to help Bryan out in the garage or in the yard with anything and everything. He shadows him and asks "why" about everything that Bryan does. He loves to find out why and how things work.


• He is not afraid of the water and will jump off diving boards, go down water slides, and do anything else in the water! He loves to swim!


• He is the best big brother to Gavin. So nuturing and kind and loves to play with him and help him.


• He is very social and can't wait to start pre-school this fall!

We love you so much Aiden Thomas and are so blessed that you are our son!