August 1 - August 14, 2018 - 4 years 1 month

Gotta love dem O's!

We met up with Ama, Maya and a friend of theirs and went on a train ride to the Spencer Whistle Stop.  Then we boarded our rafts and got to explore and touch icebergs on the Spencer Glacier Lake.  And finally, we floated down the Placer River.  Kadin loved the class I and II rapids and kept yelling, "more waves, more waves".  At one point, I had to put him in the middle of the boat because he kept leaning too far over to touch the water.  Towards the end, he got a bit bored of the flat water and I had him jump up and down in the raft trying to make his own waves (with the guide's ok, of course).

Mama Ama with Maya.

After the trip, we went to a restaurant in Cooper Landing, where Kadin found a bunch of wild raspberry bushes and was happy to pick some for Maya.  He even offered some raspberries to a random man eating at the restaurant, saying, "They're really yummy… you should eat some."

We said good-bye to Ama and Maya the next day and Kadin was so sleepy, he slept as I got him out of his carseat, put him in the cart, did all my shopping, and then put him back in his carseat!

Instead of going straight home, we decided to camp another couple of nights and Kadin always looks forward to a campfire so he can roast his marshmallows and hotdogs!

The second campsite was by a lake and Kadin was fascinated (and maybe a bit scared) by the crazy energy that these four girls had.  He just stood and stared at them for about 5 minutes before one of them gently brought him into the action.

Conversation in an outhouse (original version in Spanish, mostly):

K: what that say?

J: "Nixon lives" Es un poco una bobada sobre un hombre que esta muerto pero alguien piensa que todavia viva.

K:  Hombre?  No have tetas?  No leche?

J: Sí, Dito.  Los hombres no tiened tetas y no pueden dar leche a los bebes; solo las mujeres.

K:  Tu give me leche?

J: No Kadito, no podia.  Mis tetas no hacian leche.

K: Why tu no leche?

J:  Para tener leche en las tetas, hay que tener el bebe en la barriga, el utero, antes y yo no te tenia en la barriga Kadito.  Otra mujer te llevaba en su utero y como ella no podia cuidarte y te querria mucho, asi que ella te dio a mi para cuidar y ser tu mama.  Eso quire decir que tu eres adoptado.

Conversation in an outhouse (English version):

K: what that say?

J: "Nixon lives" It's a bit silly, about a man who is dead but someone thinks he's still alive.

K:  A man?  So he no have boobs?  He no have milk?

J: Yes, Dito.  Men do not have boobs and they cannot give milk to their babies, only women can do that.

K:  You give me milk?

J: No Kadin, my boobs didn't have any milk.

K: Why you no have milk?

J: To have milk in your boobs, you have to have a baby in your belly, your uterus, beforehand and I didn't have you in my belly, Kadito.  Another woman carried you in her belly. She wasn't able to take care of you and since she loved you very much she gave you to me to care for and be your mommy.  That means you're adopted.

You never know when and where you'll be having these important conversations…. 

May 17-31, 2018 - 3 years 10 months

Birch's favorite time with Kadin is when the little rambunctious boy is sleeping!

Buenos Días Kadito!  He's always a bit grumpy in the morning and especially in front of the camera.

We finally hung the birdhouse Kadin made at the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival.  We're a bit late in the season, but hopefully a chickadee will decide to make it a home.

Out on a hike in the forest around town and the river and Kadito climbed up on the hump at the base of this spruce and posed for a perfect portrait.  ¡Te quiro tanto Kadito, mi monito!

April 16-30, 2018 - 3 years 9 months

The Elementary School had an art show… this is the group project of The Scream! 

The next day, it was Earth Day, and Kadin spent most of it up in this alder, trying to climb as high as the older boys and girls.  In this pic, Sawyer is the boy to the right.

We are trying to grow some sunflower starts this year since last year they never flowered when we planted them directly into the soil outside.  Whatever they do, it's a fun activity with Kadin.  We poured the soil in, made a little bed for each seed and then covered them up with a dirt blanket.  When we were done, he said, "We plant seeds, go to bed, and tomorrow we eat plants!" 

I have one or two of these shots from when Kadin was an infant.  It still feels just as amazing now, 3 years later.

Biking, biking, and more biking.  He LOVES his new pedal bike and is out riding in rain or shine.  See videos below…

Of course, jumping off the bike to dive into the snow bank is just as much fun!  Even in the rain…  He tried to get me to join him but I declined.

Video of Kadin taking off on his bike without my help…

Video of Kadin swinging like a monkey in Gymnastics Class.

Video of Kadin and Luke sharing some raspberry silliness!

Video of Kadin climbing the alder tree downtown.  

He is saying, "Down, ok. That's how you go down.  Me show you how go up, alright?  This, do that, do that.  OK Mom?  Mom want to climb tree?"

And, last, but not least, Kadito in action… Fun times with puddles, snow, bikes, and Bucky.

April 2-15, 2018 - 3 years 9 months

Yay!  Spring is (sort of) here!  Warm weather and lots of daylight… some snow to play in still but also some open dirt, water, and pavement to run and bike and boat in!  Good times…

Video:  We went biking in the woods with his Strider bike (no pedals) and stopped at a fun snowy hill to play with Bucky.  Kadito is often fairly conservative with risks, but not today!  He also often cries and gets mad when he falls, but not today!

We made newspaper boats, just like in the Curious George book, and floated them in an icy puddle.  It was Kadito's idea to tie a "rope" to his so he could pull it along. 

After the boats got soggy and sank, we met up with another little boy named Cruz, about a year younger than Kadito and they raced back and forth on their bikes.  Too cute!

Video:  Kadito's first day on his bright green pedal bike.  He still needs a bit of a hand getting started and then… off he goes!  He's too fast for me to walk with so in the future, I'll have to have my bike with me too.

I tweaked this photo a bit to bring out the wispy hair and baby-red lips.  I just can't stand how adorable he is and it reminds me that he is still so little (which is hard to remember when he is racing around on a pedal bike or climbing giant hills or getting into things he shouldn't!)

Video:  I broke down and got Kadito a little remote control car that was on sale.  Of course, he loved it, but what was even funnier was how much Bucky loved it too!

Video:  One more video, especially made for Abuela Baiba (BaBa).  

Lunch at the Flying Squirrel Cafe and Kadito is always serving up yummy muffins, ice cream, and pizza.  We were biking before this and once his helmet is on, he never wants to take it off…

January 12-14, 2018 - Tulúm, Mexico CAMPING at CENOTE ENCANTADO (3 years 6 months)

Kadin checks out the cenote on our first day there.  

We jumped in with just an inner tube that day and enjoyed the fresh water for a change.

We stayed at the Cenote Encantado a beautiful eco-camp hippy dippy place with composting toilets, a yoga space, and a nice clean kitchen.  Not to mention the beautiful cenote to swim in.  But here, Kadin stacks cups and is very proud of his tower (thus, he let me take his picture).

The next day, we rented one of their kayaks and explored the mangrove edges of the cenote.  We saw a 4' caimen basking in the sun, lots of birds, and Kadin helped me pick up lots of trash.

Buenas noches!

November 1 - 15, 2017 - 3 years 4 months

That's one happy kid!

Yum, ice!  With his bare hands no less!  Brrrrr.

The gravel pit, with it's snow-covered "mountains" makes a great place to explore and play and run along the mountaintops.

Near the gravel pit, Kadin led me into an alder and willow grove, that I called the fairy forest.  It was a perfect Kadin-sized forest too.

Kadin snuggles with Tony while Mama Trinity sits close.  We fostered a mom and her two kitties for a while.  In the end, I decided not to keep any of them.  The kittens were a bit shy/nervous/feral and needed a quieter home.

Eating snow again… Captain Snowbeard!

Kadin was working really hard to push up this hill.  It's a bit steeper than it looks in the photo.

After all that biking, Kadin crashed in the sled and I pulled him the last bit down the road to the car.

Kadin working hard again, this time my little "alpinista" is summiting the mountain.  Half way up he says, "This hard Mom," and towards the top his asking me to wait where I am while he goes the rest of the way up.

Kadin bike-skis down a hill, with Denali and the beautiful Alaska range in the background.  In the beginning of it, I wasn't sure what he was saying, maybe "run"?  Then he says, "Mama mas cerca arboles," which means, "Mama, closer to the trees."  Ie back up!  

July 14 - 16, 2017 - 3 YEARS OLD!!!

Happy Birthday Kadito!
Abuela Baiba sent him this card, and he put all the stickers on it immediately, starting on the floor of the post office.  

My adorable sleeping baby is now a three year old sleeping child… and still adorable. 

Happy Birthday Kadin!

We spent his actual birthday hanging out at a lake, playing with water, rocks, and mud.  Defintely need to see the video below...

Laura and Kaiya graciously offered to help us make yummy blueberry muffins with cream cheese icing for the party.  Mr. Chef jumped right in with the flour sifter.

Feliz Cumpleaños Kadito!

Calvin and Soleil eagerly wait for Kadito to blow out his candles so they can have some yummy blueberry muffins!  Juniper was there too, watching from her mama's lap.  After we got them all sugared up, we went out in the raft and took turns jumping into the water.  So glad it was a warm sunny day!

June 16 - 30, 2017 - 2 years 11 months

Chilling in a tarp on the phone.   

Proud Mama displaying Kadin's first girth hitch.  He is constantly trying to tie knots and hook his various toys up to ropes/cords.  

You can't really tell, but he is asleep and still hoding his book!
I pulled this catalog out of the recycle bin and it's his favorite book - full of boats and wild animals.  

Kadin is bottle feeding Pinny, the one and only kid that survived Patches dystocia. 

Kadin and I at the first ever Talkeetna Pride Parade.  Not sure why my phone broke up the picture so much but this was the best one of the two of us.  Kadin was happy (he has icecrean, doesn't he?) but he was intently watching all the commotion. In fact, I had to carry him because if I tried to get him to walk he just stopped and turned around in circles watching everthing.  

Eventually Kadin got too heavy and I found a friend of ours on his tricycle so Kadin rode in the back with Bowie.

Can you find Kadin?   If not, there is a clue at the end of this post...

After all the Pride festivities, we went out for pizza, beer, and music at Mountain High Pizza.  Yum!!

Leftover fruits and veggies going into the Ninja.  Best way for me to get yummy greens into Kadin at this point.

Yummy!!

Kadin brings the cat inside for the night.  Birch loves Kadin and is amazingly tolerant! 

Random Talkeetna scene at the library.  Probably Granddad, his baby granddaughter, and his gun.  I love living here.

Video of Kadin bottle-feeding Pinny, the baby goat.

Another video of Kadin and Pinny, the baby goat (Patches' baby)

Clue for finding Kadin and I in the big Pride photo:  
(We are just to the left of the girl with the white hula hoop.  I am wearing a fuzzy rainbow hat.)