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…

April 1, 2018 - 3 years 9 months - EASTER DAY

Easter was a busy and fun day!  So busy, it's getting is's own blog entry.

We started the day with a hike with Laura and her dog, Ricca.  During the hike, we ran into Mark, Laura's husband, and Kadito took a spin on his snow machine, helping Mark clear some down trees.

Towards the end of the hike, we explored a snow cave that Laura's teenaged daughters had built over the winter.  It was a little sunken and a tight fit.  Kadin wouldn't go in it until I did and then he loved it.

Kadito wouldn't leave the snow cave until Laura was coaxed to go in there with him.  She's a bit claustrophobic but didn't want to disappoint nor scare Kadito so in the cave she went and then they both crawed out.  Thanks Laura!

Back at the house, we pulled out the EasyBake Oven and made some M&M sugar cookies to bring to Mia's house for Easter.  They are teensy!

I actually didn't get a chance to put together Kadito's Easter basket this year, so I was happy that Abu Baiba had sent him one.  So was Kadito!!

Yet more candy at the Easter egg hunt at Mia's house.  They were mostly the little red and white mints… Thank you Mia!

After Easter, Kadito was a little candy monster, searching the house for hidden sweets to the point that I finally had to give them all away or eat them myself and completely rid the house of candy.  (At least until Halloween, I guess.)
When I told him no more sweets, he said, "Mi sabo (Me knows), me eat candy, me loco."  Ha!

March 16-31, 2018 - 3 years 8 months

Due to a last-minute realization that we were both going to the start of the Oosik ski race, I got to spend a few hours with Kadin in the middle of March (the 17th).  He was super excited to see me and we played on the giant snow mountain and had a wonderful time.

Here's the first snowman we ever built together!  He has hair on top of his head; Kadin's addition.

Sliding down the hill, over and over again, with Bucky chasing after us.  I felt like a river otter!  Weeeeee!

A few hours later, Kadin takes on a more contemplative look…

 And then, there were two more weeks of 

"beznjenica" 

which I just learned is Serbian for 

"a space or time without a loved one".

Kadin was back with me again on the 31st, just in time for Easter egg dyeing and pizza!  

After the eggs and pizza, we went out to the river to play in the snow with Bucky.  I love you Kadin.

Kadin would climb up the willow trunks and go "nnneeighhh!" like a horsey.

Even the walk back to our car was an adventure, as Kadito climbed up and traversed the snowplow ridge alongside Main Street, navegating steep hills and icy downclimbs.

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And these last two shots are candidates for a Historic Downtown Talkeetna Calendar, highlighting two of our local establishments with a classic style. 

 (I swear these are not posed… Kadito hates posing for the camera!!)

March 1-15, 2018 - 3 years 8 months

I only had Kadin with me for two days in March: the 1st and the 30th… A whole month without him.  Even as I write this in May, I feel the knot of emptiness come back.  It was horrible.  I survived.  

I love this little boy more than I thought possible.

Playing out on the river, with a beautiful view of Denali in the distance.

Kadin shows me the 5 cars he wants to take with him to the "other house" for the next month.  

This sums up how I feel all of March, while Kadin is "not with me". 

At least Bucky keeps me from sitting on my butt all day!

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.

February 2-15, 2018 – 3 years 7 months – Fun INDOORS!

Sorry, too many photos again, so I had to split the 2-week period (the fortnight, if you will) into 2 posts, again…

We baked yummy bread shapes using a recipe in a Spanish Sesame Street recipe book.  Kadin loved it!  And the bread was  actually really good.  We shared it that evening with Franny and Jorie during a salmon dinner.

Completely different day.  After swimming we went to eat chinese food and Kadito is adamant about using the chopsticks.  Look at that face of concentration!

This should have been a video, but I didn't get a second chance and only got a series of stills… Fun in his playroom jumping onto the beanbag.

February 2-15, 2018 – 3 years 7 months – Fun in the SNOW!

We're back!  Lots of snow and Kadin jumps right in and wants to help clear the car off.  

Yay! Snow!  Let's throw it up in the air!  And have it fall on our head… Yay!  

Snow angel.

The snow was so powdery and soft we could run and jump and land it it and then just lay there like we were in a cozy bed. The warm sunshine was nice too.

Mostly, Kadito doesn't walk too far in the vast snowy world, but sometimes he runs off, turns around, and looks at me… You coming, Mama?

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.