Mini Golf and Arcade

On Monday this week we had really nice weather and so I decided to take Alden out mini golfing.  Alden thought it was so much fun to get to hit the ball into all the holes.  He did not really understand the full concept of the game, but it was really cute to watch him play his version.  Alden just wanted to carry his ball close to the hole and then he would set his ball down and hit it into the hole from there.  It was nice because they had golf clubs that were just the right size for him and so he could carry his own club and it was easy for him to use.  Alden had so much fun and got really excited every time his ball made it in the hole.

Alden excited to have his own ball and club!

So this was how Alden played mini golf.  He would walk up to the hole, set his ball down, hit the ball into the hole and then celebrate.  It was really cute to watch.

Alden getting his ball all set up so that he can hit it in the hole.

This was funny because Alden wanted to hit it across the bridge but that meant walking all the way up to the bridge, setting his ball on it and then tapping it across the bridge.  He wanted to do this hole over and over again so it was a good thing that no one was behind us.  It was nice being able to let Alden take his time and hit through the holes as many times as he wanted.

So, Alden started out doing a one-handed swing of his club but about half way through I showed him how to swing the club with both hands.  It was funny because it looked like he was trying to sweep the floor when he used both hands.

Alden thought his house was really cute and it was just his size...too bad he couldn't actually go in it.

This was where Alden had to return his ball in the correct colored hole.  

 This was really cute. Alden knew that to return his club it had to be upside down to fit in the hole so he carried it upside down all the way back to place where we could return them.

After playing mini golf we went inside and played at the arcade there for a little while.  It was fun finding games that Alden could play and see him get excited about the tickets that he won.  Here are just a few pictures of Alden playing some of the games.  (Sorry the quality of these pictures is not better, my camera battery died so I had to use my phone)

This was a game where Alden got to throw balls to try and get them in the holes.  You were actually trying to get the balls in the milk jug at the back but Alden couldn't throw quite that far and he was totally happy to just throw the balls.  I actually got the ball in the milk jug a couple times so we won a bunch of tickets.

 Alden was really excited about all the tickets.

So Alden didn't actually play this game but he wanted to hold the rifle and he actually figured out how to cock it.

This was a fun little game that was just Alden's speed.  He just had to push a button to make the lizard's tongue go out and try to hit the bugs.  Alden thought that it was a lot of fun.

Alden liked sitting at the steering wheels and pretending to drive, even though he can't actually because he is too short for the pedals.

This was another game where Alden just had to press a button and try to catch the animals.  I think he mostly just liked sitting on the stool.

 Alden really wanted to try this game but he wasn't quite strong enough to throw the balls on his own so I had to help him.  He really enjoyed throwing the balls.

This was one of the last games he got to play and I think he just liked making the wheel turn.

We had a really fun day and it was just nice to get out and let Alden explore and have fun trying some new things.  I can't wait to take Alden mini golfing again but hopefully next time Drew will be with us too! =)

Alden's Big Boy Bed

Okay, so this is just a short post but I am just so proud of Alden and his amazing job of transitioning into his big boy bed.  He has been sleeping in his crib until now because he has never climbed out and he likes it so I was never motivated to move him out of it.  But, now with the new baby coming I know I will need the crib for him in a few months so I decided it was finally time to try and move Alden to his new bed.

I was very surprised when he went to sleep totally fine on his new bed, he just wanted to have his Boppy pillow with him.   I was even more surprised at the fact that he doesn't get off of it unless I am in the room.  Even though he is perfectly capable of getting up by himself, when he wakes up from naps or in the morning he just sits on his bed and calls to me, "Mommy, I'm ready to get up."  I actually love that I don't have to worry about him getting up and wandering around on his own at night right now.  I don't expect this phase to last long but I am going to enjoy it while it does.

This was the first night Alden slept in his big boy bed.  I thought it was funny how he had totally covered his eyes with his blanket when I came in to check on him.

Alden is always really excited to get to go climb on his bed and get tucked in at the end of the day!

Making Cards for Daddy with Friends

So we decided to finger paint Valentine's cards for Daddy at the beginning of the month and it just happened that we had some friends over so they got to finger paint with us.  Alden had so much fun and it was fun watching him learn how to drag his finger across the paper after seeing Amber do it.  The kids had a lot of fun making cards for their dads and we only had a little bit of a mess to clean up at the end. =)

Alden and Amber enjoying finger painting.  

Alden is still a very neat child and was asking me to wipe his finger constantly before he switched colors.

Alden was showing me what color he was using here.  Both Amber and Alden had fun picking which colors they wanted to use.

Portland Weekend with cousins

We had a lot of fun last weekend going to visit Drew's cousin Jessica, her husband Eric and her two kids in Portland.  Alden had a ton of fun playing with her kids and Jess and I enjoyed trying to rest our pregnant bodies and sit on the couch as frequently as possible.  Alden had a ton of fun running around their backyard, playing with all their toys, building a fort, spinning around in the living room and much more.  It was a really nice weekend and it is always fun to go visit them!

Their son, Aaron loved running around and showing Alden how to climb through the window of the playhouse.

Alden figured out how to climb through the window of the playhouse pretty quickly and he thought it was tons of fun. Here is a video of Alden playing in the backyard and climbing through the window.

The boys had fun posing for a couple pictures.

Alden had a lot of fun spinning around in circles and running around with Audrey and Aaron.  It was great just letting them burn off all their energy and have fun.  Here is a video of them spinning.

They went outside and played in the playhouse the second day we were there as well.  The kids all had a lot of fun.

We actually got all the kids to sit down together for lunch on Saturday.  (The boys had not wanted to sit at all for lunch the day before because they were having so much fun playing.)

Alden and Aaron had fun playing with the Blockus board together and tried to get all the pieces on to the board.

 The first day we were there the boys had a lot of fun building a fort and playing in it.

 So cute together!

Both Jessica and I enjoyed just sitting on the couch and visiting.  It was nice when our kids joined us and just cuddled while they watched a movie.  We had such a great weekend and I am so glad that we got to go and visit!