Highlights from 2012

Who am I kidding? There's no way I can keep Kade's blog up to date. I admire everyone who is able to do that. My new goal is to at least share highlights and most memorable moments each year! Anything else I blog will just be a bonus. That, I can handle (I think). So, here are a few of last year's highlights. Enjoy!

Kade's 2nd Birthday Wish on Sprout

My little chef

Yummy Frozen Blueberry Candy!! 

He loves to "read"!

Drawing with his Aquadoodle

Working the register

Reading with Abuelito and Uncle Mirra

Kade's received his 1st Baseball!

Father's Day

Taking a break at the ranch

Playing in the puddle

Highlights from 2011!

Since I haven't been able to blog about EVERYTHING Kade has been up to the last few months, I decided to post a few videos and pictures highlighting some of the most memorable events. 

Rockin' Out

Exploring and Building

My little Cubanito

Visit from Oma and Opa

Agua Linda Farm

Taking a break on the horse ranch

Writing away

1st trip to the Grand Canyon

Grocery shopping with Mommy

Aunt Heidi and Uncle Jay's Wedding

1st Boat Cruise

4th of July Festival

Reading with "Abuelito".

Working hard in Mommy's classroom

ABCs and 123s

Kade continues to impress us with his increasing vocabulary. He repeats pretty much anything we say. He has a great memory, too! I captured him reciting the ABC song and attempting to count to 10. Mom and Dad were very proud (as you can tell at the end of the video).

Uppa, Uppa?

Kade loves to climb on EVERYTHING! He has no fear. Now we have this rule, if he wants to climb on something, he points to it and asks me "Uppa, Uppa?" I either say, "Yes, Uppa Uppa" or "No, Uppa Uppa". He does a pretty good job of listening (most of the time).

Father's Day 2011

Bernie and I planned a really nice Father's Day weekend. We made reservations for a 2 1/2 hour dinner cruise on Canyon Lake right outside of Phoenix. It was a nice drive out there. Towards the end, Kade wanted me to entertain him by singing "Old MacDonald Had A Farm" over and over again. He also learned to identify and say "tree" and "mountain" since I repeated each word at least 100 times.

We arrived just in time to board the boat. One of the passengers in line said to us, "Let me know how he does with the life vest. We have a little one at home, but we weren't sure how she would do." Neither one of us had really thought about how Kade would feel about wearing a bulky and uncomfortable vest for 2 1/2 hours. Fortunately, he immediately let us know that he wasn't wearing it. The poor little guy could barely move his head. I asked if there were less bulky vests, but that was the one he needed based on his weight. We were originally seated downstairs, but Bernie requested to be seated upstairs. When I told the captain that Kade wasn't going to be comfortable wearing the vest, he said he didn't have to wear it downstairs. At that point, no one was willing to switch with us. So, we got off the boat. We knew they didn't give refunds, but they were kind enough to offer us a voucher to come back and just pay for the dinner. The captain suggested we find a babysitter next time. That wasn't the point of our trip in the first place.

This was BEFORE we put the life vest on him.

We were bummed out for a while and ended up eating at the Lakeside restaurant. Afterwards, we walked to the shore and let Kade run around. He loved it! We decided to stay the night in Mesa and explore the city the following day. We went to Tempe Town Lake and ate at a yummy Seafood buffet. It turned out to be a great weekend after all!

Canyon Lake

Tempe Town Lake Water Park

I love this picture!

Kade in Action

Even though I haven't been good about blogging this past year, I've been busy taking pictures and videotaping Kade's daily adventures. Here are a few of my favorites!

He loves "reading" books!

Here he is complaining to Dusty about being stuck in his corral.

I love to see him playing and giggling with his daddy!

Boogie Baby, Boogie!

Kade loves different types of music. He's a pretty good dancer too. This is the first time I captured him on video. Not bad for a 10 month old!

Oh, how much he's grown!

So, I started this blog last summer, but for one reason or another, I just haven't been able to keep up with it. I really just want a place to document all of Kade's milestones and adventures. I'm hoping to do a better job of that considering it's been a year since my last post. I can't believe he's 16 months already!! He has accomplished so much and developed quite the personality. I just love everything about him. He amazes me every day with his new discoveries. Here are a few of the thousands of snapshots I've taken of him!

He loves to read!!

Nap time!

I love my boys!

We voted!

Kade's First Birthday

Here are a few pictures and a short video of Kade's 1st birthday weekend. He had a great time celebrating with his daycare buddies. Bernie and I took him to Bisbee for the weekend.

I made mini cupcakes for his daycare buddies and created a farm scene for them.

The Birthday Boy!

Kade has the best daycare providers we could ask for. We love you!!

A New Adventure

It's been over 5 years since we left our home in San Diego to begin a new adventure here in Tucson. Bernie and I have enjoyed our new home and jobs. We've met so many wonderful people and explored many amazing places here in Arizona. On January 17, 2010 we began our most incredible journey of parenthood when our son, Kade Andries, was born. These past few months have been filled with excitement, happiness, laughter and lots of love. Our baby boy is our pride and joy. Here are a few of my favorite pictures of him when he was born.