June 16-30, 2018 - 3 years 11 months

The kids had the chance to disect a squid at Library Hour today.  Kadin LOVED it!!!

Yoga class at the library with Miss Geri.  Kadin did okay; some days he was really into it and others he just wanted to run around and do flips.  This was an "into it" day as he does the table pose (the cat and cow were next!).

Grayden, Dean, Kadito, and Ben climbing the fence together after T-Ball.

Funny face selfies on the computer.

Calvin, Kadito, and Jorie hanging out at Twister Creek.

He gets a bit of screen time at the library, at home, and occasionally with friends, but usually in the car, a book, toy, or conversation are plenty to keep him entertained. 

Pride Day.  He ran right up to these two guys to admire their bikes and they popped him on one for a photo op.

T-Ball.  OK, I know I got a bit too excited when he hit it.  ;-)

We made homemade pizza with pineapple and hotdog slices (didn't have his usually favorite, pepperoni).

May 1-9, 2018 - 3 years 10 months

Proud Mama moment… I ordered breaded green beans for us at the Sheep Creek Lodge as a lame attempt to provide my child with a vegetable and guess what!  He not only loved them but peeled the greasy breading off and ate only the green bean part and said, "Yummy!!"

Later on, a band started up, playing fun rockabilly and lounge music and Kadin said, "Too loud" and would only watch from outside.  (Can you spot him?!)

My little helper these days… "Me help Mom, ok?"  And he cleaned every window on my car, including the sideview mirrors.  He started to try to wash the entire car, and I managed to convince him that he had already helped out plenty.  

OK, this might be one of my favorites… picturing him as a 30-year-old intellectual in his university office… absolutely too cute!

We must have spent over an hour playing in an old log pile, climbing up and down, "catching fish in the lake" (the bottom of the pile was the lake, sticks were our catch), and getting Bucky to follow him down the rabbit hole.

Buckarooni!

Our new favorite bathing spot on the 2nd floor of the Fairview.  It's my favorite because, one, I can get in the tub as well, and, two, they let me order a drink and bring it up to the bath.  Heavenly!

Kadito, Buck, and I had a great time just playing in the hollow across the street from our house.  Kadin would throw the ball down into it and we would sometimes have to give Bucky directions to find the ball – and he got it!  Gee (right), Haw (left), Uh uh (nope), Da Vuelta (turn around), and Sigue, sigue (keep going).  Kadin won't let me take many photos but he loves showing his talents on video!

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.

January 8-11, 2018 - Tulúm, Mexico CAMPING at PANCHO VILLA (3 years 6 months)

Our new camp was a huge area right on the beach with lots of shade from the palm trees.  My little monkey felt right at home!  

So here, Kadin LOVES his shrimp and wanted me to take a picture of it but wanted to close his eyes and hide his face.  Grr.  BUT HE IS SOOOO CUTE!!!

We took a boat ride out to a reef, so that I could go snorkeling and Kadin could be on a boat.  I think he was more excited than I was!

Kadin watches me in the water, as I come up from snorkeling to check in on him.  He was as happy as a fish in the sea!

Kadin preferred staying closer to shore where the breaking waves were but would occasionally swim out beyond the breakers and just float around.

Hard to capture the view from our tent in a shaded grove of palm trees right on the beach.
No naked monkeys to be seen (I think he was asleep).

Yay!  Coatis playing at the entrance to the Tulúm ruins.

Kadin was tired and possibly bored for most of the exploring of the ruins.  It made a lot more sense that night when he fell asleep at 7pm with a fever.  Fortunately, he was back to his energetic self the next day.

Definitely, the iguanas were a favorite at the ruins!

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!  

September 5 - 15, 2017 - 3 years 2 months

Daycare dress-up - ladybug outfit with a safety orange construction hat.  And note how he learned from all the girls in daycare how to hold the edges of the skirt up! 

Well, we missed the blueberry season this year but didn't want to come home empty handed.  Lots of high bush cranberries everywhere! 

What a fun time!  We were at the playground when it started raining so we headed home.  But then I had to pull over at the overlook because there was a rainbow… Pfff. Rainbow.  The next thing I knew, Kadin was running around like crazy, putting all of his firefighter gear on and putting out fires left and right.  We must have spent an hour there, having too much fun!

Hanging out at the Station parking lot, Kadin on his bicycle.  Notice the little froggy harness thing his wearing?  It's a leash!!  It had just arrived in the mail and I was trying it out on him… for use in Mexico and big cities for my little independent explorer.

And, last but not least, Patch, hanging out on the couch with me when Kadin isn't here.

Video:  Kadin putting out "muchos incendios" (many fires)!

Video: Kadin up on the old firetruck and climbing back down.

August 16 - 30, 2017 - 3 years 1 month

Kadin loves climbing up on the old fire truck at the station and can even climb down without my help.  My little monkey!

Kadin wasn't there for loading up the logs onto a trailer, but it is still one of his favorite videos to watch.  The bigger the machinery the better in his world!

Kadin will now put on the googles but still won't go under the water with them on.

After swimming, Kadin and I went out to lunch with Alden and his family.  Here, Kadin and Alden are both using the butter knife to try to cut up the ice cubes.  They are definitely two kindred spirits.

Alden's mom, Nikki, and his sister, Althea, read books together while the other two were playing with knives.

It wouldn't be summer in Alaska without at least one puddle photo.  Here, Kadin's shoe came off in the sticky mud and he just kept on running with out it.  I also tried to keep his cute red Converses out of the mud, but I knew that it was not going to last.

The rains began in August, and along with them, many beautiful rainbows.  Kadin would only pose for the photo if his curly fries could be part of it.

One rainy day, we drove down to the Alaska Transportation Museum and fortunately, it stopped raining intermittently and we enjoyed the outside exhibits.  Kadin sure looks little next to these giant planes!

He was quite disappointed to find out that we were not allowed to climb inside the planes!  

There was a train set up that he could climb into and he would race through each car as fast as he could, jumping on the seats, grabbing any levers he found, and avoiding the scary barmaid manequin in the dining car.

A gift arrived in the mail for Kadin and after opening it, he studied it closely to figure out what it was….

Tinkerbell stickers!!!! Yay!!!!  Thanks Abuela Baiba!!