A Walk To Remember

A couple of weekends ago we participated in a walk around Silver Lake to raise awareness and funds for Cystic Fibrosis.  One of Kade's little buddies, Braeden, has CF.  I've done a few walks and runs in the past and my only 2 goals have always been:  1.  Don't get lost.  2.  Don't get last.  Unfortunately, in this walk, I failed 1 of my goals.  We got last. 

Somehow we ended up with Ellie which was fine with us because Kade can't get enough of her and her mom had 2 other kids to manage.  Walking with a 1 and 2 year old is not so much walking as it is chasing, stopping, waiting and coaxing.  Although we got left in the dust by the rest of the walkers, we were the lucky ones because we got to see the wildlife that was hiding from the big group.  On our walk we saw, in the eyes,words and imaginations of Kade and Ellie..."A BEAR!", geeses, Ooh, look Kissy (Ellie doesn't quite have Kristi mastered)...A CROCODILE!, monkeys, an alligator, baby ducks, and baby geeses".  I'll give you 1 guess as to which animals we actually saw.

Ellie was still a little sleepy from the car ride but Kade insisted on holding her hand.

We managed to almost catch up when Kade used this method of transportation.  Unfortunately it didn't last long.

Could these 2 be any cuter?!

On a completely different note...

A red tractor pulling a green wagon???  Kade sees no color when it comes to his farm implements!

Count to 10!

I'm always amazed at how fast kids can learn!  We've been playing Hide n' Seek a lot lately and we always count to 10 before we come searching.  Apparently Kade's been paying attention!  Now we just have to work on the hiding part.  He thinks he's only supposed to hide while the person counts, and then once they hit 10 he comes out of his hiding spot with a big grin on his face.  You don't want this little blondie on your Hide n' Seek team just yet!!

Our Weekend in Pictures

This past weekend was a big one for us!  When Kade woke up on Saturday morning he had some special guests to greet him, Baby Vivienne came for the weekend! (so did her parents, but as they'll soon learn-if they haven't already-nobody cares about them anymore!)

Kade and Daddy got the lawn ready.  Although that was a wasted effort since it rained or snowed all day on Saturday.

Then he came in and helped Mommy get the house ready.  This kid works hard!

The Guest of Honor has arrived! 

Every time Kade said something (which was A LOT), Vivienne would follow the sound of his voice.  She's going to learn a lot from her big cousin!

Kade loves her just as much.  I think he wins for the person who gave Viv the most kisses and hugs.

I'm a very proud Auntie!!

And here's her very proud Daddy!!

How did these 3 turkeys end up on the same couch?!

Speaking of turkeys, these 2 are in the middle of calling turkeys with one of Grandpa Ranger's turkey calls.  When we asked Kade if he wanted to sit outside and call turkeys he thought that meant the same way we call Molly in.  So, as he stepped outside, he yelled at the top of his lungs, "TURKEYS...COME!!"  Needless to say, Grandpa Ranger's turkey calling adventure failed.

To top off an already exciting weekend, we had a neighbor come over with his skid loader to prep our driveway for cement.  Kade was so excited to see it, "scoop, dump and lift it's bucket", up close he was shaking and has been talking about it all week.

And, just a little something to embarrass the Kade Man when he gets older...Safety First!!  

He Sings!

Last summer Kade's little buddy, Ellie, could sing some words of "Down By the Bay" and we thought she was a genius!  Turns out Kade, now the same age Ellie was at the time, can sing those same words!  It goes without saying that we think he's a genius too :-)  Although, he seems to get a bit distracted at times.  I can't blame him though, I get distracted when cookies are involved too! 

Judging by these last few videos I've posted , I think I need to start recording some moments other than right after dinner!  Such as right now, when he's supposed to be going down for his nap, he 's jumping in his bed and clapping his hands while yelling, "MOMMY, COME!!".  Which is what I do when I'm trying to get Molly (the dog) to come in the house.   

He Speaks

Now that Kade is more or less capable of holding a conversation, I'm having a hard time keeping a straight face at times when it is necessary to be stern, or at the very least, not smiling.

Our basement is always messy with Kade's toys because it's a battle I choose not to fight.  It normally looks like a tornado swept through but for some reason, yesterday, it looked like a combination of a tornado, an earthquake and a hurricane hit it.  I asked Kade, "Who made this mess?!"  He thought about it for awhile then said, "Umm...Lady A".  For the past 2 days, every time we go downstairs, he points and says, "Lady A's mess."  Granted, Lady A and her mom did just come for a visit this past weekend and we did play downstairs so it's fresh in his mind but I hardly think she can be blamed for it! 

We're having a hard time with teaching Kade to not throw his food, utensils, cups and other various objects off the table.  He knows better, he does it anyway.  Believe me, I remind myself daily that he's only 20 months old and we still have a long road ahead of us.  Yesterday, during dinner, he threw his cup at his plate and food went flying.  I said to Kade, "NO NO! You don't throw your cup!  Look at the mess you made!"  He looked at me, ROLLED HIS EYES while saying in his most exasperated tone, "UGH!  Sorry."  Erik had to turn away because he almost had milk shoot out his nose from laughing!  One of us has to be the strong one but I had to fake a cough so I wouldn't start laughing too!! 

The Sky Tower

Work has finally begun on the "swing set"!  I put that in quotes because to me a swing set is a few metal poles with a couple of swings hanging off it.  This thing, when it's done, will be more like a mini-castle!  It even has an observation deck with a telescope!  I don't know who'll be on it more, me or Kade!  This might be one of the few times I'm actually glad I'm short.

Erik and Michael's dad, Tim, have been spending any spare time they can find working on it.  The instructions say it takes, "two adults of average capability 24 hours to complete".  That just might be the funniest line in the 100 steps instruction booklet!  Lucky for the Dad's, they have 2 fantastic helpers!!

Were the screws in that bucket that Kade's playing with necessary to finish the project?  I hope not.

Do those 2 on the right look like "2 adults of average capability"???

Playing on the seats of their soon-to-be sandbox.

Boss Man #1 keeping a close eye on Erik's handiwork...

Boss Man #2 taking a 15 minute break.  Or, more like 15 second break.  I think it took him longer to actually get on the chair than the time he actually sat on it.

They seem to like what they see so far!

Okay, so if you saw the cookie dunking video on a previous post it may seem like Kade wears the same shirt and eats a lot of Oreo's but I swear he does wear different clothes and he eats his fruits and veggies first! 

Everyday his vocabulary grows and he's starting to string 3 words together now.  Last night, after Erik cleaned his plate, Kade turned to me and said, "Daddy...more...hotdish!"  I assured Kade that if Daddy wanted seconds he could get them himself :-)

It amazes me how fast he's changing and maturing!  When we drop him off at daycare these days, he walks right in and barely looks back as he says, "Bye Mom!".  Since I don't drop him off very often I used to get big tears.  Not that I'm complaining but when did he get so independent?!