Spring-time at the Ranch

Between the birthday party and the upcoming Easter vacation- we made a quick trip to the ranch for the weekend.  There's nothing quite like a little time in the country during spring-time.  Baby calves, warm sunshine and signs of new season to come.  Here's a look at our weekend of fun- 

 Off to the barn to see Grandpa's critters... 

 Riding my 1st bucket calf- Ohhh!! 

 Meeting the horses- I liked these a lot!  

 Mom and I played with the bucket calf- so, much fun. 

 Grandpa is so proud of his stylin' boots...

 I think Grandma will even buy me a pair of neon green or blue ones ;)  hehe

 Then, we went for a ride in the pickup to feed cows...

don't tell anyone but, they even let me ride in the middle- it was awesome!  

 I saw Grandpa's tractor and we fed the cows some hay. 

 Then, we got the daily update... lots of new calves and a nice warm day out :)  

 After all that hard work,  Grandpa gave me my 1st popsicle.  

It was cold but....oh- I loved it!!  

The Birthday Party

What a blessing to celebrate Kaleb's 1st birthday together with part of our family.  It was made especially sweet because we celebrated with his Great Grandpa Kenneth- what a blessing on top of a blessing.  It was Kaleb's 1st birthday and Grandpa's 83rd birthday- both born on March 22nd.  

Of course, since everyone deserves their own birthday cake... 

of course we had to have two :)  

Grandpa's- Coconut Cake w/ coconut cream filling

Why coconut?  Well, I happen to think that birthdays should be all about what he/she really loves.  As a kid, I remember Grandpa always liking coconut.  One time, we were staying at their house and Grandpa had been in town that day.  He picked up a coconut for us (and him)- we drilled a hole in it and drank the milk.  It was so much fun!   When I think of Grandpa and food, I think of ice cream, coconut, pineapple and jelly beans.  

Good news, we fit them all into his birthday celebration!  

Kaleb's 1st birthday cake was all about the things he loves too... 

 Cheerios!!  

 The party was ready...for the crowd! 

 Checking out the cake... a little cautious.  

 

Here Mom, you tries some too :)  

What a precious tender-hearted little guy we have- he truly has a sweet and caring heart.  How many 1 year olds just spontaneously share their birthday cake?  Love you so much Little Man :)  

 Phone calls from Grandma and Grandpa Roth :)  Yay!! 

 Ohhhh- time for presents!!!!

 The kid is an expert at opening presents!  

 Auntie Ashley is sooo much fun!!!!!!  She is awesome :)  

 Thanks for driving so far to bring me a sweet car and push me around- it was soooo much fun! 

The Roth-n-Berry Bunch :)  

1st Mud Puddle!

The kid LOVES water!!  Seriously has a knack for finding even the smallest bit of water.  Again, since we're skipping winter this year... it was a warm Saturday morning when Kaleb met his first garden hose and mud puddle.  Every boy's dream... especially this guys'! 

 Ohh, I Love Water! 

 1st time drinking from the garden hose... looks like he's off to a good start! 

 This is awesome! 

 Discovering Mud! 

Life is Good.  So very Good.  

First Steps...

In March, this is how we rolled.  I'd give him a huge fat carrot which barely fit in his mouth.  He'd wander around the house grating off small slivers of carrot with his big front teeth.  

Ohh, and this is a very early picture of him walking!!!  

We will never forget the day he truly walked for the first time.  Our social worker Renee was at our house on March 5th (I believe) for our 6 month update for our adoption requirements.  We had joked the day before that it would be just awesome if Kaleb would put on his best show by walking for Renee.  Well- what do you  know, as we're talking to Renee, Kaleb just lets go of his tub of toys and walks across the living room.  We're screaming and clapping and bouncing and- he's concentrating.  

It was precious and a moment I'm sure all three of us will never forget.  It was a good 5-6 steps before he made it to the ottoman.  

Way to make us look good kiddo!  We love you Little Man!! 

February Fun...

February was filled with lots of traveling and meetings for Mom.  Our daycare situation finally fell together and it seemed like Kaleb spent the month crawling all over the place.  Before long, he was pulling himself up and scooting between the furniture.  His absolute favorite thing... the card board box his seat base came in and the diaper box.  The perfect walker- big wide base and just enough traction to help that slow walker move along.  

 And, sometimes- he'd be brave enough to let go.  

 Discovering the Dishwasher- LOVE!  

 Ohhh, I love my Retro Rocket

And, as Mom and Dad were trying to get ready for a fancy dinner for work... 

suddenly Mr. Kaleb took off for the stairs.  This definitely earned an 'oooh' from the kid.  

First Snow!

President's Weekend brought our first real snow since Kaleb was 'big' enough to really enjoy it.  We've had the strangest and most mild winter- which is just bizarre considering we live in western South Dakota.  Seriously, very strange to only have one good snow since the first of the year!  

 But, we made the most of it!!  Kaleb's first sledding adventure.... 

 Ohhh, this is fun :)  

 Ohhhh

 I can eat it too- its like water but really, really cold!

 Sledding by to say 'hi' to Rascal our awesomely cute dwarf lop-eared rabbit.  

 And, even better than snow- Auntie Ashley and Justin were in town for the weekend.  So, we got to hang out and play in the snow together.  Always love having them here! 

 Weeeeeeeeeee :) 

 What an awesome Dad... pulling me in the snow, 'round and 'round and 'round.  

Love having them out for a visit- so much fun!