New Haircut

Yesterday James said that no other boy in the world needed a haircut more than Cade. So here you go Dad.

Cade James Wedekind

Cade is three and a half now and James and I can't believe how much he is learning. He knows his numbers and letters and remembers everything we tell him. He wants to know about everything. I have learned tons of new stuff just researching the questions he asks (most of it is about dinosaurs but that's ok). He is such a good boy; he is an awesome hiker and geo cacher and loves camping. He fits in very well with our family. He is also very patient and sweet with his sister. We couldn't have asked for a better little boy.

Tessa Marie Wedekind

Tessa is now 18 months and she is CRAZY! She climbs on everything and is into everything. She loves to chew on James' toothbrush, color on everything, dance on high surfaces and pretty much anything else we don't want her to do. She is always busy, busy, busy. But she is also very sweet and very fun. She has a cute smile and when she flashes it at me, I can't help but smile back. She is talking more and more and her favorite word is Daddy. She wants to do anything that Cade is doing and makes sure we know if she feels left out. James and I feel so blessed to have little Tessa in our lives.

Sick Kids

Tessa is home sick today. Both the kids have the flu but Cade is pretty much over it and visiting Grandma Angie. They are very good sick kids. They don't complain at all but you can tell by looking that they don't feel well. On the upside, staying home with Tessa today gave me chance to catch up on the blog. Here are a couple of cute photos I snapped of her snuggled up on the couch.

Cousins

The Motleys came for a visit this Thanksgiving. The cousins had a great time. I wish we were closer so they could hang out more often. Here are some of the highlights.

Christmas in Illinois

We have to start visiting IL in the summer time. Leaving New Mexico to go to Illinois just doesn't make sense in December. We hit Illinois just in time for a major ice storm and subzero temperatures. The good part about it was that we had lots of play time with Grandma and Grandpa Wedekind since we were homebound. We did get to visit with Santa Claus one morning and then we headed to the annual Christmas Eve dinner with all of the Noonans. It was a great evening but the highlight was when Rick proposed to Aunt Colleen. That was exciting and now we have a wedding to go to in October.

Flying with Tessa proved to be quite the challenge. She doesn't like it, to say the least. She cried the ENTIRE way home. To top it off, Cade choked on chinese food and threw up in the airport and then had an accident when trying to use the water fountain. I guess he couldn't hold it once he heard the water flowing. Of course I had no extra pants. Luckily his were so large that just his underwear got wet. Unfortunately, the underwear was the only thing keeping his pants up so they kept falling down when he walked. That is when dad fashioned a belt out of our camera case strap and we were good to go. Tessa then cried the whole way home but by that time, James and I just slept through it. Our apologies to other passengers on the plane. It was good to be home.

Halloween

So, let me see if I can remember. . . oh yeah, Tessa was an adorable Tinkerbell and Cade was Spiderman in a costume that was a little tight. We went trick or treating with some kids from Cade's playgroup and had a great time. We went to A LOT of houses and got A LOT of candy. The kids loved it, imagine that; free candy and dressing up like superheroes, what could be better?

By the way, I'm a little behind on postings so I'm attempting to catch up. We lost our camera and so we don't have many pictures from the past 6 months but I'll hit the major events. Cade and Tessa are doing really well. James has been working out a lot to prepare for different races. He just finished the Mt. Taylor Quadrathalon last weekend and did really well. James was also promoted to Major way back in September, but I'm still looking for those pictures. I have been working full time because my job share partner had a baby (another reason I'm behind on the blog) and trying to finally finish my masters. I'll take my last class and the master's exam this summer. I will be going back to part time work next week and we got a new camera so hopefully I'll be able to document our lives a little better.

Tessa's First Birthday

On August 3, Tessa's first birthday, she weighed 20 pounds (before cake) and was 28 inches tall. We spent the weekend with Mitzi, JT and Summer's house in Albuquerque where we took Cade to a dinosuar exhibit and Dad ran the La Luz Trail run. James did really well placing 74th out of 400. The race followed the La Luz Trail which gains 4500 feet in 9 miles; good job Dad! We made a pan of birthday brownies since we were caked-out from Cade's birthday the week before. As you can see, Tessa was not that excited but did eventually come around once she tasted the birthday brownie. Happy birthday Tessa!

Pedaling

Besides the museum, camping, a triathalon and learning to walk, we also attended a Celtic fest in Flagstaff and Cade learned to pedal a tricycle. Here are a few more good picture and then we'll be done with Arizona.

Cade Turns Three

On July 26, Cade turned 3, weighed 30 pounds and was 36 inches (or 3 feet) tall. . . anyone notice a pattern? We had a quiet birthday; a bbq at Grandma and Grandpa Sullivan's house with a strawberry cake. James and I planned on taking Cade to Wall-E but he fell asleep on the way. Unfortunately a camera did not make it to the festivities but we do have one picture of Cade, taken in Flagstaff by Aunt Colleen, with his new Bob The Builder stuff. He can now dress up like Bob and fix things around the house. He's also enjoying the dinosaur puzzle he got from Mom and Dad; he can put it together all by himself now. What a big boy!

Cliff Jumper Point!

On our way to Flagstaff we stopped and camped a couple of nights. Although we have no photographical evidence, camping with a 11 month old who is learning to walk is a dirty job. Tessa was filthy, but we didn't care, she had a blast and slept like a baby all night in the big blue tent. We stopped at Grasshopper Point, (which should be renamed Cliff Jumper Point according to Cade) by Sedona, to swim and cliff jump. Cade gave it a go! He didn't go too high ( a foot, maybe) but he did it, and the water was COLD. James and I each jumped off of a 10 foot cliff. Tessa remained on the sidelines eating rocks and the like. Here are the pictures of Cade jumping and some hiking photos as well.

Arizona!

In July we all went to Flagstaff via Phoenix for James' triathalon. James will have to do a seperate post bragging about the triathalon, but I will say this, HE DID AWESOME!!! While we were in Phoenix, we stayed in a lovely Residence Inn where Tessa perfected her walking skills. The carpet was soft on her little bottom when she fell and the furniture was all very close together creating obtainable walking distances for her. She also spent a great deal of time walking up and down the hallways while Cade took his long afternoon naps. Needless to say, she is a pro now. While in Phoenix, we visited the new children's museum. It was a great indoor actvity since it was too hot outside to do anything. The next day I attempted to take the kids to a movie but that didn't work out so well. Anyways, here are some pictures from the museum. Enjoy.

Tessa is Walking!

Ok, so we got way behind on our blogging so here are the updates. Tessa is walking, unless she has to go long distances, then she prefers to crawl. She and Cade are good buddies (most of the time) and he loves helping her walk. He does not love sharing his dinosaurs with her. The photos below are a RARE instance of him letting her check out the dinosaurs. By the way, Cade is WAY into dinosaurs. He is growing quickly and becoming an expert on everything (just ask him). He is 100% potty trained, unless you count night time. He is a great hiker, in fact, he hiked over a mile, off-trail, last weekend. He did have some "tough marks" from the mesquite bushes but that just proves that he is a "tough Wedekind". And we've included a picture of Cade's crazy, moldable hair. New Mexico's dry climate does some weird stuff to his curly locks, you can mold it into strange styles, as seen here.

Tessa is almost 20 pounds now. She has two little front teeth that came in in early June; we're still waiting for more. She is quite independent and likes to sneek off to play by herself. We have to be careful though because she loves to climb and we often find her stuck in a spot outside of the 'safety zone'. She has learned that crying gets quick results so she is utilizing this often. I think she is saying 'dog' and 'duck' but they sound rather similar. She loves to play outside but tends to eat the sand and many rocks in our backyard. We're quickly approaching her first birthday and Cade's third; although some days seem especially long, the majority of the time with them flies by.

We're headed for Phoenix and Flagstaff next week. We're taking the kids for their first camping trip of the summer in Sedona. We're then heading to Flagstaff where James will be competing in a 1/2 Iron Man Triathalon. He has worked hard and I'm sure he'll do well. Send him good luck emails if you get a chance. Hope this finds everyone well; enjoy the rest of your summer.