May 10-16, 2018 - 3 years 10 months - Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival

To break up the drive, we stopped for a few hours at the Soldotna playground… where we discovered that Bucky enjoyed going down the slide as much as Kadin! 

A nature walk along the docks, exploring all of the sea creatures there.  Kadin loved it!  This one is an ochre sea star.

An "Otters and Eiders" boat tour where Kadito and a kid he met on board get to sit in the captain's seat.  (The Captain is pictured to the left).  Lots of otters, lots of running laps around the deck.  No eiders (a cool sea duck). 

Kadin slept through it, but I awoke to the crunch of underbrush and chomping of leaves right outside of the tent.

Awww!  Love this shot of Kadito and Bucky… best of friends whenever Kadin has either food or a ball in his hand!

August 1 - 15, 2017 - 3 years 1 month

Kadin watches the other kids balance the plate on the stick after the Juggling Show.

And then he tries it himself!!!!   

Kadin, hanging out with his friend Alden, at the Juggle Whatever Show.

It's so fun to run into Kadin's friends around town… here Kadin is playing with Soleil at a sunny Live at Five show.

Kadin didn't want to get into the car when Live at Five ended, so he ran around the car several times, jumping into all of the mud puddles until his face was sufficiently splattered.

Fun on another sunny day at X Lake!  He would run and jump into the raft over and over again… see the video below.

Eventually, even Kadin tires out and he decided to chill in the raft for an adorable summer portrait.

Moose!  We pulled over so Kadin could get out of his carseat and actually see them.  Afterwards, everytime I put my brakes on or slowed down, he would ask, "Alce?" (Moose in Spanish)

I went into Conscious Coffee to order and thought Kadin was outside playing with the Tonka trucks.  Instead, I found him sitting on the couch, reading!  

We went out to the Talkeetna River on the other side of the trestle bridge and Kadin found a giant glacial melt pool to play in.  The water was icy but it didn't faze Dito… he played in it for an hour!

The best toy ever… a double roll of birch bark he found in the water… which became a boat zooming all around.  See video below.

A throwback to my days of artsy photos… Both Kadito and I love spirals, especially in nature. 

He saw so many boats cruise by when he was playing in the river the other day, that I booked us a tour up the Chulitna with Mahays.  Yay!!!

The boat tour included a stop at a recreated Athabaskan village where Dito could run around and play with moose antlers and fur.  (And scare the tourists when he'd eat the high bush cranberries without asking me first.)

What a busy couple of weeks!  It was Salmon Day today, and the Ranger Station and Susitna River Salmon Center put on events for kids of all ages.  

Kadin swimming and counting boats

Kadin jumping into the raft!

Kadin playing with his birchbark boat.

May 4 - 8, 2017 - 2 years 10 months CORDOVA SHOREBIRD TRIP

Kadin and I spent a week in Cordova, at the Copper River Shorebird Festival where every spring hundreds of thousands of shorebirds pass through on their migration north.  

First 3 days, we camped and had bald eagles swooping through the camp area.

Glad we had Pee Wee Herman with us!

At the festival reception, there was a very large Western Sandpiper that both scared and fascinated Kadin.  He wanted me to follow it wherever it went, but I had to carry him and he'd hide if I got too close.

Finally, he got up the nerve to approach the Sandpiper but still wouldn't touch her feathers.

On a boat tour for the birders, we saw a black bear on the beach.

Kadin had to try out my binoculars to get a better look at that bear (or maybe at the clouds?!)

Our last two nights we spent at the Orca Lodge and Kadin decided that it was time to brush Jorge Curioso's teeth.

Teeth nice and clean, Jorge was now ready to put on his boots...

And go for a walk!  Hey… where are you two going?  Wait for me Kadin!  (He didn't wait, of course, and I finally caught up with him in the lobby!)

Rainy and windy day, but we braved the elements to look at all those little peeps on the mudflats - predominently the true Western Sandpiper which is quite a bit smaller in real life.

My intrepid little birder!

Dinner at the Taco Bus and rain or shine, Kadin was outside playing in their courtyard which was full of awesome toys and trucks and stuff.

Our last night in Cordova, and we went out for an evening stroll in the drizzling rain.  As they say, there's no such thing as bad weather if you have good gear (and a good attitude)!

Aye, aye, Capitán!

Exploring the barnacle covered rocks and seaweed on the shore.  

Cool new playground in Anchorage with a "moose" in a "pond" and lots of other fake natural things to play on.

Video of Kadin throwing rocks and seaweed into the ocean with the raucous calling of gulls out at the  dilapidated pier.  At the end, he says, "Baja... Agua." which litterally translates as waterfall (cascada in Spanish) which is exactly what he is looking at in the distance.

November 25 - December 1, 2015 - 16 months and 2 weeks

It was supposed to be a "napping" walk, but Kadin struggled out of the carrier, took his hat off, and was practically dancing in the streets!

We got lots of snow this week.  My poor moose is up to his antlers in it!

Kadin and his brother Birch are happy to watch the chickadees from the window instead of going out in -10ºF weather.

The next day was warmer, so we went for a little hike around our pond and within minutes of taking these photos, Kadin was fast asleep.

Another favorite indoor activy of Kadin's is snacking on a bowl full of snow!  I now have 10 snowballs in the freezer to pull out as snacks here and there.  I've "spiked" them with juice, but so far, he actually prefers them plain.  

June 17, 2015 - 11 Months, 3 Days Old

We started the day with Kadin deciding to climb up our loft ladder!  He did it all on his own, although, obviously, Danial kept a close spot on him.

And we ended the day with a few visitors to our baby pool!!! 

One youngster just had to jump in!

May 19, 2015 - 10 Months, 5 Days Old

In the afternoon, we biked over to our new place and were busy planting a baby sunflower and working on house projects while Kadin chilled in his comfy outdoor pavillion.  On the way home, we passed a momma moose and her two older calves.