Kaden's 1st Birthday!!!

Miss Anngie made this great cake for Kaden's party!

cute family!


Kaden stuck his hand right into the frosting, and didn't like the way it felt!!
Kathleen and Kaden blowing out the candles!

Birthday girl and boy


Kaden's new bike!

Kaden the builder in his flight jacket from Grandpa and Carla!


hat and toolbelt
Toolbelt too cute!

Opening his presents!

Kaden cried the entire day on Thanksgiving/ his birthday...he had a tooth cutting through.

Kaden's cake on his actual birthday

Great Grandmom's gift to Kaden...his first gift for his first birthday!

Reading his first card


Hello everyone! This past Thanksgiving, our family celebrated Kaden's first birthday! We spent Thanksgiving at some friend's house. We had a cake and some small gifts for Kaden on that day, of course, but we waited and celebrated his birthday in combination with another one year old who celebrates her birthday later this month. Her name is Kathleen, and she is a baby from playgroup. Her mom and I both decided that it would be nice to have a fun day at the park with all of our friends, since all of the same people would have had to come to both parties within a month if we didn't. It turned out to be a beautiful day! Lots of people came out to celebrate with us, and we had cupcakes, juice, and Ed grilled up some burgers and chicken. Here are a few pictures from the past month, including both Thanksgiving and the party. Kaden has been getting lots of fun toys and books this month! Thanks everyone!

Yuma, AZ Nov. 08

Hello Everyone!!

This month has been a long one because Ed has been gone to Freefall jump school in Tuscon. I've been a single parent, but Kaden and I stay busy with playgroups and trips to town. This last week though, Kaden and I had the opportunity to meet daddy in Yuma with some friends of ours who ride quads in the sand dunes. We went from Friday to Tuesday, but it was a 5 hour drive, so it was nice to be gone on a long weekend. The friends that we went with also have young children, so it was good for Kaden to have playmates every day. We stayed with them in their 5th wheel trailer, and it was super nice. It was also really good to see Ed and for Kaden to have his daddy, even if it was just for 2 of those days. Ed had to drive up 3 hours, so he left Sunday night to get ready for Monday morning. Now, we only have one more week to go! That trip broke up out time apart very nicely. Here are some pictures from that week. Also, there is a great video of Kaden WALKING!!! :)




















alright, so let me apologize for the blaring music in the background, but it's worth it to see Kaden take so many steps!!

Halloween 08 and First Steps

October 08 pictures

Apple picking in Tehachapi



These are just at my front door, but I thought he looked really cute with the pumpkins.



This video is showing how well Kaden is walking, with just one hand! He'll be doing it on his own shortly!! Just a side...look at Kaden's hair...doesn't it look like he has a dark mohawk right down the middle?? He's so blond all the way around, but his hair is dark on top. It's pretty cute, actually.

October 08

Hi friends! I've been adding pictures, but I haven't really told you guys much lately. Ed and I have really been making friends, learning our way around this area, and marveling at Kaden's growth and development. He isn't quite walking on his own yet, but he certainly does well when holding his hand. KK even took 2 steps on his own last Sunday! He hasn't done that since, though. It's like he gets nervous, and just sits down. He can stand on his own, and he loves to see how long he can stay up by himself.

Last weekend, the three of us went to Tehachapi, CA to go apple picking and just enjoy an area OUTSIDE of the desert!! It's only about an hour drive, but the town is in the mountains, so it's cooler and actually has four seasons. It was a beautiful day that day.

Ed is leaving tomorrow for a month :( He and some of his coworkers are driving down to Tuscon, AZ to attend Freefall jump/ parachuting school. He will be skydiving rather than just jumping out of the plane and having it open autimatically. He is very excited for the qualification, but we are not excited to be apart. Since the drive is about 8 hours, I am thinking of making a weekend trip out of going down to meet up with him. We have friends that want to go camping in Yuma, so I may make the first leg of the trip with them...take a few days there, and then drive the rest of the way a few days later. That way I won't have to strap Kaden into the car for so long...by myself!

Ed will be home on Nov. 22nd, so he will be back for Kaden's first birthday as well as Thanksgiving Day on the 27th! Isn't it great that the baby's first birthday is on Thanksgiving??? We certainly have a lot to be thankful for :) Hopefully, family will be able to come out and visit in December, and I have two great friends from Okinawa coming to visit that month as well! I am SOOOO excited to see everyone and have them see our new house and lives here.

Please keep in touch...especially while Ed is gone. you can call me or email me anytime.

Love you!

Settled in our house

Here are some pictures of the house on the inside...now that we are settled and there is paint on the walls and pictures hung. We feel like it is finally HOME!

Kaden 10 months

This is a video clip of Kaden walking with his shopping cart!- he was really about 9 months old in this video. The pictures are all newer...within the last week.