Here he is with his birthday card from Mom & Dad.
We gave Aidan a camera for his birthday. He is pretty happy with it!
We had originally planned to take Aidan to the lakeshore for his birthday portraits this year, but West Michigan was expecting thunderstorms all day, so we decided to stick closer to home while it wasn't raining. We took most of the pictures at Winegar Cemetery in Byron Township - the driveway to the cemetery goes in between two private farms but has some beautiful spots for pictures.
An added benefit is that one of the farms has some very attractive horses. :)
The boy looks good, lemme tell ya.
Nice gate. :)
Finally got him to show some teeth!
After most of the photos were done we headed north. These pics were taken roadside, just off the Fruitport exit from I-96. :)
Michigan is picturesque almost everywhere, so it's not hard to find nice places to take pictures.
After a fun-filled day which included breakfast at the Bagel Beanery, a Subway picnic lunch at PJ Hoffmaster State Park, a few hours' splashing at the Double JJ Resort water park in Rothbury, and dinner at Olive Garden, we finally made it home for dessert. The storms DID pass through while we were at the water park (indoor water park!) and through Byron Center just a little bit before we came home. The power was out when we got home but that didn't put a damper on our dessert!
Candles don't require electricity. :)
It took a lot of puffing to blow out TEN candles!
Our son!
We always take Aidan's picture at 8:08 pm on his birthday, in honor of the 30 hours it took for him to be born. :)
In addition to our family festivities on Aidan's birthday, his Grandma Margie took him and all the rest of the Lowrys out for dinner the evening before his birthday. It was tons of fun to have dinner at Pietro's with EVERYbody - Grandma, Eddie, Mariah, Shawn, Lori, Jessica, Jake, Kelsey, Jordan, Jim, Wendy, Aidan & Esme!
On the day AFTER Aidan's birthday, his Grandma and Grandpa Hollopeter came to spend the day with us. We continued to enjoy cake and Lego-shaped chocolates, Jim worked on Aidan's "new" bike a lot, and Grandma took Aidan to pick out his birthday present - a Razor scooter. He promised to always wear his helmet! He also used his Target gift card from Aunt Lori and Uncle Shawn to buy a new DSi game.
On the day AFTER the day after Aidan's birthday, I took Aidan to Toys R Us to use the gift card that Grandma Margie gave to him - he picked out three Lego sets and another DS game. He went to bed this evening having already built two of his sets. :)
Now it's almost time to gear up for Esme's birthday!