A Very Belated Father's Day Post

I just realized I never posted anything about Erik's first Father's Day!  Kade did a good job spoiling Dad on his special day, just like Dad does a good job spoiling Kade every day :-)  He got him a tool chest on wheels and a hammock.  He also made him homemade waffles for breakfast and pineapple pork chops for dinner.  Not to mention he took Dad to Chester Woods and walked Dad down to the water so Dad could splash around and play in the sand.  It was a great day and, like always, we counted our blessings that Kade is in our lives and has given us even more reason to celebrate Father's Day.

On a different note, we've created a "more" monster.  Kade likes food. A lot.  He tends to scream at the top of his lungs, sometimes til he's blue in the face, if we aren't shoveling it in fast enough.  We decided that it's never too early to learn some manners so we've been trying to teach him to sign "more".  He's finally caught on.  Now, during meal times, not only does he scream loudly between each bite, he also signs "more".  Not really the result we were looking for, as we were hoping "more" would replace the screams but we're getting there!

Wait, if Kade and Dad are eating the waffles, who's making them??  Okay, Mom might've gave Kade a hand in the kitchen.

On our walk in Chester Woods

First time in the sand

He loved the sand, although it's hard to believe that looking at that face he's making!

Here Dad, follow me!  I'll take you down to the water.

Look how much fun splashing in the water is!

Dad, how come you are always complaining about having a sore back??  My back is fine!

Okay Dad, that's enough splashing, let's get you dried off now.

Tractors

Yep, Kade loves his tractors.  On any given night it's not unusal for Kade and Dad to be pushing a tractor across the floor.  Kade leading the way with his tractor and Dad bringing up the rear pushing something and complaining about how hard the floor is on his knees and elbows.  I don't how he does it man.   It's gotta be that extra padding he has on his legs!  Not only do we look really cool crusing down the hall on our tummies, the sound effects between the two of us are spot on.  The tractor runs smooth, but I fear he may have a fuel leak.  His RPMs get cranking so high that he leaves little wet puddles of drool/spit every few inches as he makes his way around the house.  Gas gauge always reads full!

  You never know where tractor will show up!

Yep, Kade loves his tractors.  With the beautiful summer weather now upon us Kade and Dad get to play with tractors outside!  I've never heard such a big "Ohhhhh" as during his first lawn tractor ride.

Kade finishing the front yard.

Bedtime Kade!  Kade was getting his pajamas on and Dad was trying to mow the front yard before Kade went to bed.  Every time I went by the window he stopped what he was doing and said "Ohhhhhh".  He proceeded to talk Mom into bring him outside and Dad had no problem with the pre-bedtime tractor ride.

Kade taking over the wheel.

Kade's love for steering wheels does not end with tractors of course.  Kade has several other passions.

The best part of going out for pizza on Mom's birthday.  "I didn't break any high point records, but Dad kept feeding the machine with quarters".

Doing a burnout in Grandpa's hot rod.  Thus the blurring picture.  One hand on steering wheel, one hand on stick shift, and pedal to the metal.

Yep, I like snowmobiles too!

Gopher Count

I've been waiting to do a new post until the end of today because I knew I'd have a lot of good pictures to post.  Today is Gopher Count!  Which means Erik took today off work and we took Kade to his first parade.  Gopher Count is a town festival in Viola that's been going on for 137 years and started out as a gathering of farmers to picnic and a competition to see who trapped the most gophers through out the year.  Since I'm a "city" girl I've never really been interested in trapping gophers but it's big business for farm kids!  It was mine and Kade's first time attending Gopher Count and Erik was excited to take us.  The parade was entertaining, but I think it could use about 50 less tractors in it.  Although, if they took out the tractors there wouldn't be much left of the parade! 

Afterwards we headed out to spend a day at the pool.  Ellie's grandparents, Rich and Sharon, have their own little oasis out in the country.  Going there is like going to a resort so when the sun comes out, that's where we head.  The water was a bit too chilly to swim in but Kade had fun splashing and watching the big kids play.  Oh, and he had fun playing with the ladies closer to his age, Ellie and Olivia.

Picture Overload Alert!

Watching the parade with Grandpa and Grandma H.

Kari, Ellie and Megan.  These 2 girls have been my best friends for as long as I can remember.

The Gopher Count Newbies.

One of too many tractors.  Although those wheels are pretty cool!

That's Jaxon on the right.  He's our Godson.  He's also $45 richer because his grandpa trapped 200 gophers for him to take in to be counted.  Yep, even after 137 years they still count the feet and hand out money!

Braeden and Owen enjoying the fruits of their labor.  It's tough work picking up candy that's thrown at you!

Kade watching the big boys eat their suckers, wondering when he'll be big enough to have one.

Kade always manages to find the best seat in the house!  He's in the middle of saying "Ohhh".  Maybe another tractor is going by?

Kari, me, and Megan.  When I'm with these girls I feel like I'm still 14, I can't believe we're old enough to be moms already!  Time flies.

Olivia and Kade.  Olivia is 2 weeks older than Kade but he has a good 10 lbs. on her :-)

Obviously Ellie, being 9 months older, has a bit more practice at saying "Cheese!" when the camera comes out.  Olivia and Kade still need to learn a thing or two!

Splashing in the pool.

Is there a weight limit on the exersaucer?  I think Kade might be exceeding it.

Cutie Pies.

Kisses from Ellie.

"Wait!  Ellie!  Are you done??"

"Oh good, you've still got one more for me."

Ahhh, summer...

Kade took his first dip in the pool this past weekend, with none other than his favorite gal, Ellie!  He surprised her because when we got there she was napping so when she woke up Baby Kade was waiting for her.  She went right to him and gave him a kiss.  Then she proceeded to say about a million times "Oh-Kade" (actually, her mom and I couldn't tell if she was saying "Oh-kay" or "Oh-Kade" but we're going to stick with the latter).

He wasn't a big fan of the pool at first but that might have been because he was hungry and Ellie threw a ball at his face (Girls!  Who can figure them out?!?).  After pounding down a jug, and another kiss from Ellie, he went back into the pool and loved it.

Wearing my Easter outfit from Lady A!

Kade and Ellie are ready for the pool!  Looks like he's already checking out the ladies in their swimsuits!

Kade's not sure what to think at this point.  Maybe he's a little self conscious of his non-matching hat? :-)

We caught Ellie winding up with the ball on film.  Poor Kade doesn't even know what he said or did to deserve it!

Best part of the pool was Dad making a waterfall.  Ellie proclaimed it, "FUN"!

This little man loves to swing!  I don't think we'll be indoors too much when the weather is nice.

Kade almost shares a birthday with these 2 (Sofia and Oliver).  He was born on August 10th, they were born August 11th.  He's in the 90th percentile, they're in the 15th.  We joked that it looked like Kade could eat them!

Helping Dad baby proof the kitchen.  

Memorial Day Weekend

Kade took his first road trip last weekend.  My brother and his fiancee, Evelyn, bought a house in Kansas City so we loaded up a trailer and headed south.  We left Friday evening after work so Kade could sleep the whole way.  It was about a 7 hour drive and it got a little long for him in his car seat but he did pretty well.

We hung out, moved stuff in, cleaned, shopped and worked pretty hard at convincing the new home owners that they need to put a pool in their backyard.  It's hot down there!  We left Sunday evening so Kade could sleep again.  It was a short trip and we can't wait to go back for a longer visit!

Yesterday was my birthday.  I was born June 1, 1979 so I'm 29 years old (don't do the math, just trust me on this one).  Kade, Molly and I took a drive to Caribou and they bought me a coffee (okay, I might've loaned them the money but it's the thought that counts!).  Then Erik came home early and we went out for pizza.  Luckily it was an early dinner so there wasn't a lot of other people in the restaurant because Kade hasn't learned the difference between his inside and outside voice yet.  He got a bit loud, but we were entertained!  Can't say the same for the elderly couple behind us though! 

The happy couple.  This picture cracks me up because they both gave the thumbs up at the same time not knowing the other was going to do it.  Aww, they're a match made in nerd heaven :-)

A better picture.  Look at how little Kade was!

Dad and Kade taking a break from moving. 

Bath time in the new house!  Kade was the first to use it.  He loves watching the tub fill up.

I hope he always loves baths as much as he does now!

He might be a race car driver someday because he LOVES steering wheels!

Somebody has discovered Molly's steps to get up to bed.  Molly is no longer safe anywhere in the house.

Big smiles for Mommy on her birthday.  Let's party!

This is what we walk into every morning and after every nap these days.  What a big boy he's becoming!