THE EVANS FAMILY: Kade

Kade turns 4!!

Oh goodness! Hard to believe that this little ball of cuteness is 4 years old already. He is full of silliness and loves to get a reaction from others. He is also very sweet at thoughtful. He is a great mix and of course has his spicy moments as well, We love you, Kippy!

Kade is 35 inches tall and weighs about 28 pounds. He continues to be the shortest of our kids at each age. But he is definitely not short on personality. Kade still shares a room with Reece and sleeps on the bottom bunk of their bunkbed. He takes a nap still when we are home and nothing is going on. If he doesn't nap, then he will play and do a quiet time for a while each day. Kade still sucks his thumb and holds the folds of his blanket/comforter when he falls asleep. His favorite of choice at bedtime right now is "Silent Night."

Kade is a fun-loving, goofy boy when he is around people that he is comfortable with. He loves making silly faces, goofy noises and making up nonsensical words. He has such an expressive mouth and eyebrows and is really good at making funny faces. He plays nicely with his friends and loves doing what Ember and Reece are doing when they are around. Kade is quite shy around strangers and people he doesn't know that well. He always wants to hold my hand when walking around in a more unstructured situation or if there is the possibility of someone talking to him that he isn't as familiar with. Kade is still our little encourager and will give kind words to all of us randomly or simply say "Mom, I love you" out of the blue. He has a magnetic personality and cuteness that people are drawn to consistently. People are complimenting his smile and his cuteness almost everywhere we go.

Kade has many things that he likes but at the top of the list is food - hands down! He is always asking when it will be snack time, lunch time, dinner time, etc and says "I'm hungry" many times each day. He also really loves being outside! He enjoys riding his Strider bike and playing at parks. He loves to dig for worms in the backyard with Reece or kick his soccer ball down the greenbelt trail and chase after it. Kade has grown to love the bike park and also loves doing the little bike jumps scattered around our neighborhood. Kade isn't swimming on his own yet but he really enjoys playing on the steps of a pool. He loves going to the library and playing on the computers. He also really likes the open gym at Summit Gymnastics and the indoor play place at the mall. He loves having people over whether that is Lifegroup, Grandma and Grandpa, or other friends. Kade loves his special mornings at home with Dad where they play games and go for a walk together when the weather is nice. Kade loved when we went to Disneyland this past January and asks often if we can go back. He also really likes the beach and adores camping in "Little Ducky." Kade loves to be comfortable and changes into pajamas often as soon as we get home. He also is found wearing slippers around the house often. Lastly, but not leastly, some of his favorite foods are: cereal, waffles, hash browns, corndogs, cheese crisps, pizza, sausage, grapes, yogurt, and treats.

Kade really also likes games. He is always asking us if we can play a game with him. He often chooses a game that is not age appropriate and just makes up what to do with it. Among his favorite board/card games are: Go Fish, Uno, Zingo, Candyland, and Raccoon Rompus. Kade really enjoys playing with Playdough and Kinetic Sand as well. He enjoys reading books. Some of his current favorite books are "No, David!," "Chicka Chicka, Boom Boom," "There is a Whale in My Swimming Pool," and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear." His newest favorite thing to do is the bounce house we got on his birthday. He asks almost daily if we can get that out to play with it. Kade still enjoys dressing up and will randomly appear in his Minion costume or as a superhero.

Kade is usually a pretty happy guy, but there are definitely some things that he doesn't like. He does not like to be told "no" when he wants something (like food) or when he wants to do something. He doesn't like when he isn't quite old enough to do something that Ember and Reece are doing. He doesn't like when kids or adults give him too much attention. He still gets very frustrated when he falls or gets hurt. He also gets embarrassed when he doesn't know something or says something wrong. He likes most foods but he isn't the biggest fan of most meats. He also doesn't like some vegetables and things with spice or too much flavor.

Kade has, of course, learned some new things throughout this year. Kade is officially potty trained now and can even wipe himself. He has gotten really good at his Strider bike and has also gotten his scooter down. He has figured out how to do the peddles on a little tricycle that we have. He is pretty good at dribbling and kicking a soccer ball. Kade can now buckle his car seat all by himself. He knows all his colors and most of his shapes. He can almost count to 20 by himself now. Kade went to the dentist for the first time and had a great report. And finally, Kade started preschool on his 4th birthday at Mount Calvary. He is there two mornings a week for 4 hours. So far he is enjoying it.

We love our little Kipper Do and he brings us so many smiles and laughs. We are so excited to spend another year of life with him and see how he grows and matures. Happy 4th birthday, Kade. We love you!

BIRTHDAY ACTIVITIES:

Kade wanted Chia pudding for his birthday breakfast like his siblings usually choose