Aiden, my love, it’s hard to believe you are already 4. We have loved you long before we knew you when I was pregnant, and becoming your mama has been one of the greatest joys of my life. You are my firstborn so every experience, every laugh and tear, every heartache and joy is new for you just as it is for me. And I couldn’t be more grateful to the Lord for allowing me to go through all of these firsts with you.

As you get older, your personality shines forth in new ways. You are so funny and fun to be with. You love books, all things cars + vehicles, and any excuse to celebrate and eat something yummy (you are your mother’s child). You are truly the best big brother I could have asked for for Graham and your little sister. I know that my days are numbered when you will want me to hold your hand, or play cars with you, so I’m trying to take advantage of every moment we have. Some days we have together are definitely hard, but I know that you (and I) are both growing and learning, and God gives us so much grace. Not a day goes by that I don’t have the thought, “Wow, how blessed am I that I get to be your mama.”

So, here’s to documenting your 4th birthday, even if it is a little late. 🙂 Things I want to remember from this day: your excitement over a Cars theme; the amazing cake that Kirsten decorated for you; you and your pre-school friends racing in those amazon box Lightning McQueen cars; our birthday staples of pizza and chocolate cake; and celebrating at one of our favorite neighborhood parks.

(For anyone wanting to host a Lightning McQueen themed birthday, I’ll share links below. Budget-friendly, fun and simple are some of my values, although I’m not afraid to get a little crafty.)

For McQueen themed game inspo, go here. We did “pin the buckteeth on Mater” where I created the composition of images above (first pic) and then had it printed at Walgreens as a poster. Then I printed out Mater teeth on card stock, had parents write kid’s names on the teeth and then blindfold the kids and let them try to tape the teeth onto Mater. For another game, we had the kids make their own “license plates” so that for the final game, they could attach their license plates to a homemade Lightning McQueen car and race them to the finish line. The McQueen cars were simply cardboard boxes cut to look like cars, painted red, and then I hot glued the eyes, mouths, and a couple of McQueen details to each side.

For some simple decorations, I used these plastic table covers; this decoration pack and this party favor pack along with some halloween gummy snacks and Annie’s snacks for a bday goody bag.

It was really fun to put some of evening energy into crafting for the party, and to hopefully create some memories that will stick with Aiden for years to come. Thanks to all of his (and our) sweet friends who helped make it special!