October 1 - 15, 2017 - 3 years 3 months

We went out for sushi and Kadin did a great job with his chopsticks!

ARGGH.  He LOVED the calamari.  He actually ate everything but wasn't too excited about the raw salmon.

As a surprise reward for being so good in the restaurant and in Value Village, I let Kadin pick out a toy and he is super excited about his new pirate ship!

It even has little mini wheels so it can smoothly sail the concrete seas.

Soleil's Birthday Party!!! Soleil is the girl to the far left.  

Mr. Monkey Acrobat in the bath.

In aerial yoga, this would be the orangutan pose.

Throwing rocks and sticks and leaves and watching them sink or float down the coast like a pirate ship.  (Everything is a pirate ship these days!)

It took Kadin over an hour to finally work up the courage to approach Sparky, the fire dog.  Sparky was quiet and patient and eventually Kadin wanted to show him all of his toys and art.  He even started to "read" the fire activity book to him!

We visited Wendy for a lovely tea and biscuits and a fun romp with her dogs.  Kadin found a feather on her window sill and he let me put it in his hair.  I love his facial expression in this picture for some reason.  

Yes, he's still running around naked.  But the awesome thing is that he had watched me mop the floor a few minutes prior to this and then immediately picked up the mop, mopped the floor, and used the squeegie thing to get the water out.  Kids' amazing ability to watch and imitate never ceases to surprise me.

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.

September 20 - 30, 2016 - 2 years 2 months

Kadin took this photo of Mama and su cafecito.

This is another shot of Kadito the photographer.

Kadin put this sticker on his nose in a silly moment, which was perfect, because poor Mia was in the hospital on her birthday and we sent her this photo to cheer her up.  Happy Birthday!!  Hope you are healed up soon Mia!

Kadin, practicing his tree pose.

Namaste.

My friend Leighan painting a gorgeous sandhill crane on my wall.  It's Kadin's growth chart.

Putting the finishing touches on the crane… 

Now you see me...

Now you don't!

I think he was removing the rock from the road, 

Mi cocinero made scrambled eggs this morning, from getting the eggs out of the fridge, cracking them, mixing them, pouring it into the pan, scrambling them and serving them onto a plate.  The only thing I did was light the stove and help hold the heavy cast iron skillet!

Yay! Biking and high bush cranberries!

I'm going in!  Brrr… it's a bit chillier than last month's swim.  Didn't stop him though!

Since Kadito went in, his Mama had to follow suit, both in our birthday suits, of course!

Video of Kadin biking down a hill, making funny faces.

Here's the link: https://youtu.be/ujIryQOFeLg

August 28 - 30, 2016 – Backpacking in Denali State Park! (Part 2)

Kadin and I went on a 3 day, 2 night backpacking trip up Troublesome Creek trail in Denali State Park.  We might have only gone a few miles each day, but we had a great time shwacking through the ferns and tall grasses, setting up camp, and eating yummy food.

Pre-planning yummy and easy meals was key!  Kadin really wanted to "help" with the cooking and lighting of the stove.  Meal times were probably the most dangerous part of the whole trip!

And we're off.  My hiking pole was a perfect size for him when it was fully collapsed.  He insisted on it any time he was hiking on the trail. 

Needless to say, it was slow going.  Kadin can walk pretty fast, but is distracting every 20 seconds by neat things along the way… birds, leaves, twigs, the river, etc…  I think he is pointing out the river in this photo.

I tried to wipe his face a bit before heading into bear country, but obviously wasn't too successful.  I certainly did get it clean before bed though! 

He usually started the day hiking, then ended up in the carrier.  Then out of the carrier to walk 5 feet, then up, up up.  Then out, out, out.  Over and over.  Here, we just got into our camp for the night.

A river with lots of rocks and sticks on the shore was a perfect distraction for him as I unpacked and set up the tent.
And it was just a few yards away, with a shallow section, so I didn't have to be too worried (still watched him like a hawk though!).

I think he looks like my brother Mark in this photo!  Something about the expression on his face reminds me of one of Mark's baby photos.

And here he is just adorable smiley Mr. Kadin.  Love you.

Ha!  Not just a bear-proof canister… it's Kadin proof too!  Drove him nuts, trying to get to all the snack and lunch foods!

That's my sleep pad he's playing with.  I went super light weight for this trip since I had an extra 30 pounds of Kadin plus his diapers and clothes, 2 sleeping bags, and of course, his Curious George and a book for bedtime.

Kadin found this bee first, and somehow it landed on my hand.  After a summer of swatting mosquitoes, he tries to swat or stomp on any type of insect, and I have to tell him these are our friends.  Amiga, Kadin, la abeja es nuestra amiga.  

Kadin is such a helper and after breakfast at our second camp, where there is no river nearby, he runs over right away to help me break down the tent in the morning. ;-) 

And then, it was time to relax and have some snacks.  I mean, it's been at least 1/2 hour since he's eaten.  Of course he's hungry!

Our last day hiking and Kadin finally is able to nap despite the constant bear calling.  It took him 3 days to get used to me hollering out every few minutes.  He'd say, "No!" and I'd explain that we have to say hi to all the animals as we hike so we don't scare them as we pass through.  He'd still say, "No!" every time I called.

The whole hike was forested and the trail was often overgrown and narrow like this section here, so it was a bit tough for Kadin to hike sometimes, but it was overall a big success.

And the link, if you can't watch the video in the blog:

https://youtu.be/pFwsYuhUnxI