July 15 - July 31, 2018 - 4 years 2 weeks

Those bloody leeches! I can't remember if we kept the one that did this to Kadin as a pet or not.  At least they are kind enough to apply a topical anesthetic first.  Didn't hurt at all.

P.S.  The fun part of being so behind in my posts is that I can relive all our summer fun while it's cold and snowing outside!

June 1-15, 2018 - 3 years 11 months

Shut yer mouth, kid!
(just kidding, he did it to himself, for fun!)

Munching on some curly fries and at Live at 5.

The dogs LOVE his dump truck!

Mama, me do this?  When me hombre?

Spending quality time with Kadin, catching mosquitos as they feed on me, putting them into the spiderweb, and watching the spider wrap up the tasty morsel.  Kadin now loves spiders and doesn't kill them.  Yay!

Hey Mama, is that plant thirsty? It want agua?
(We had a sudden downpour of rain and he rain out onto the patio at Twister and was essentially showering in the drips from the rain gutter as he filled up the bucket to give to the plants.)

Watch this Mom!  Just like the Dukes of Hazard!

How did he get so big?  Relaxing and reading a book while I go inside and order us some food.  

Happy Birthday to me!  "Jota para ti Mama!"  ("J is for you Mom"

Kadin loves hanging out with Mr. Ernie and his grandkids at the library.

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 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…

February 16-28, 2018 - 3 years 7 months

Kadin's art for his Mama…

And Kadin's art for his Abu Baiba.
He was very specific as to who got which painting.

When we go to pick up our milk, Kadito loves checking out the cows who are giving it to us.
That particular cow in the photo, however, is a beef cow grandma and she's HUGE.

I got a used little car bed for Kadito.  We still share a bed, but it's fun to play in and eventually may even be slept in…

First… the cake…

Then, the cream cheese icing…

Feliz Cumpleaños Abu Baiba!!!
(decorated with a bit acai powder mixed with the icing)

And, a video, of Kadin playing with Bucky in the snow.

January 30 - February 1, 2018 - Isla Mujeres, Mexico (3 years 6 months) – Last 3 days.

Kadito has already learned to never turn your back on the ocean!  Either that or he just really doesn't want to leave.

Kadito enjoys a strawberry liquado (smoothie) at the beach-side restaurant.

Laughter is such a beautiful thing.  As is that cute little "tickle button"!

He is pointing to some boats in the ocean, I think.  This was when we took the golf cart around the island to check out some other sites.  

At the turtle sanctuary, we saw turtles of all ages getting prepared to be released to the wild.  This is the second stage – outdoor pools.

We bought a little baggie of turtle pellets to feed them (and the gulls).  You can see one little pellet at the edge of the pool between Kadin's foot and the turtle.

This is the final stage for the turtles before they are released – an enclosed part of the ocean.  Lots of fish and gulls and there was even a catshark in there which you can get a quick glimpse of at the end of the video.

We went out for lobster for our last dinner in Mexico and Kadito was the Lobster Monster.  Grrrh!

And Abuela Baiba was the Lobster Eater!  Yum!

Our ferry ride back to Cancun to get to the airport and start the long journey home.  He's such an awesome travel buddy.

August 30 - 31, 2017 - The State Fair (3 years 1 month)

Ama and Maya came up to Alaska from Oakland, CA and we had a great time at the State Fair in Palmer!  

Kadin and I spent the night camping in Palmer and then rode our bike to the Fair the next day.  Yummy pizza for dinner!  And then off to explore the woods and the lake! 

Kadin and Maya, about 10 minutes after they'd met. 

We had a choice between posing with an alligator, a turtle, a snake, and a macaw and Kadin was adamant about the bird.  He was a little nervous about it being on his head but it was an excited kind of nervousness, especially when it suddenly flew to the ground in an explosion of red feathers.

Next, we saw the pony circle and Kadin took off without me to check it out.  He sat all by himself on a pony named Ringo and was enthralled.   

And then the "petting zoo", where Kadin got to play with some "kids" who were just as rambunctious as he is! 

After all the animals, it was time to check out the rides… Kadin had never been on them, but the first one he saw was the giant Ferris Wheel and he was super excited for it.  Absolutely no fear; in fact, I had to keep a hand on him so he wouldn't go too close to the edge. (The gate was locked, but I wasn't taking any chances!) 

We were deciding on our next ride, when he saw the green train… AKA the Wacky Worm Roller Coaster (for younger kids).  It was awesome!!! Just fast enough and curvy enough to put a huge smile on his face.  And when it stopped, he cried, "Mas, mas, mas!"  But we had to go meet up with Ama and Maya and so, no more Wacky Worm.

After the yummy pizza, we played on the dock near the lake and Kadin's imagination went wild… First, the dock was a big boat, a discarded bait lid was the power-on button, and we steered through the waters avoiding monsters, sharks, and crocodiles (and sometimes saved them and their babies too).  Then we were in the woods and the alder leaves were icecreams and he served up all his favorite flavors: frozen banana, berry, strawberry.  And finally, he would ask me to cry and then bring me things to cheer me up… 💚

There was a crazy show with a guy, 2 border collies , and 2 monkeys.  The monkeys rode the dogs like horses, with saddles and everything, and the "cowboy monkeys" had to round up a few sheep.  Afterwards, the guy talked about how he rescued the monkeys (I can't remember from where) and then walked around the audience letting everyone meet one of the monkeys.  Kadin was so excited and kept running around the fence to get closer.

Here, Kadin is checking out everyone else on the ponies and horses and is telling me how he doesn't need me to have a hand on his back like the baby in front of him.  He's such a big boy now!