Video Proof

Solid Proof

I have proof that Seth can ski on his own now and just let me tell you that he is doing an amazing job skiing. He can control his speed and he makes correct turns and I am such a proud mom. He is growing so fast and just thriving. It is utterly amazing to watch him. Next thing to teach him is tying his shoes then he will be ready for kindergarten. Sniff sniff!

Seth and Sophia skied together all day long.

Check this out, no harness and all smiles!

Maya was next and she is officially off the harness now too! She skied a bunch of runs with only a few falls. She did fantastic.

What a wonderful way to spend the morning!

Too Much Sugar = Dance Craziness

Sorry that chair is blocking the way for most of it!

Come on Over, BUT you Have to Cook Your Own Food

We needed a "wintervention" (Kristen's word) so we decided to get our friends together and make them cook their own dinner AKA have a fondue party! We were out numbered by kids with 8 children and 6 adults, but everyone, kids and adults alike had a blast and went home stuffed and needing stretchy pants.

Cheese fondue...course number 1
Zeke came into the house and announced that he was not wearing a skirt to this party! The kids ate kid food, but jumped in at the end and had chocolate fondue with us.

The little beans.

Course 2 & 3....veggies in tempura and steak, shrimp, chicken and duck in broth. I have to say this was my favorite. The veggies and shrimp in the tempura were AMAZING!

Broccoli in tempura...yum!

Rod got creative and deep fried a pickle.

Dessert time!

For dessert we had strawberries, pineapple, bananas, homemade marshmallows (Thanks Lisa!!!), pretzels and graham crackers. It was heaven and the kids had a blast!

Lisa makes the most amazing homemade marshmallows and I'm not even a marshmallow fan. They are to die for!

Leah decided to dip her hand in chocolate and then sprinkles...delicious!

After all the sugary goodness the kids were wound so they did some dancing to the Grease soundtrack.

How low can you go??

What a fantastic night, thank you all for making it so memorable!

PS...We missed you Castana family!

It's a Good Thing I'm Not An Engineer...

For Seth's birthday one of his friends bought him a fort kit and he is always making blanket forts so it was the perfect gift. We came home that Sunday and he instantly wanted to put it up. Roland was trying to watch football so I didn't want to bother him. I could totally build a fort with Seth, no problem. HA! Seriously, I felt like I needed to be an engineer to figure out how to attach this fort so it would stand. The kit gave you clips, rope, suction cups... After ten minutes, sweat dripping and no success I had to call in the reinforcement to build the fort. I admit I was defeated by a piece of cloth.

It is still standing and Seth loves it! Better luck for me next time.

Solo Skier

I don't have any proof except for three phone calls last night and an awful lot of excitement when the boys returned home, but I have been told that Seth is officially a solo skier and that we can now pass the harness down to Leah for next year.

Roland and Seth took the warm temps as an opportunity to go up to Dry Hill and take some runs. Little did I know that after one more run on the harness Seth would decide that he was done with it.

He called me at about 7pm and asked that I promptly call Sophia and MJ to tell them that he skis by himself and he was so proud!

I will be able to see for my self this Sunday when we have plans to ski as a family. I can't wait and I am so thrilled for Seth.

WAY TO GO BUDDY!

Horrible Hair

Seth's latest project from school for the letter "H".

I had to post it because it's seriously priceless and it cracks me up when I look at it.

Check out those cheeks and eye lashes!

The newest addition to my Keen obsession. In my defense, Leah's feet had a major growth spurt so she outgrew her old sneakers. I am also loving the purple toes on these ones! Score!

A Conversation with Seth

This morning while Seth was eating breakfast we had a chat about how his table manners have improved since he turned 5.

He then asked when kindergarten started?

I told him that he would start school in September.

He asked if that was after the summer?

I said yes we start school after summer vacation.

His response was..."Awwww that's a long time away!"

If he only knew how many years of school he had ahead of him he would not be complaining.

So I then told him that he needed to finish Pre-school first and he has decided that he doesn't want to finish Pre-school and that he wants to jump right into kindergarten as soon as possible BECAUSE he is 5 now and that is his rule!

Ahhh to be young again with not a worry in the world!

Old Photobooth Pics

We have been going to a photo booth since Seth's 1st birthday, but I think I only scanned in the past 3 years because I can't find the first two on my computer. It has been such a fun tradition to do each and every year and now we have passed the torch on to just the two kids since the four of us don't exactly fit into the photo booth anymore. We learned our lesson after last years fiasco!

Seth's 3rd Birthday!
Seth's 4th Birthday!
Seth's 5th Birthday!

We still can't get the hang of where to look at the camera. We are a work in progress for sure!

Back in Time

I decided to pull out some pictures of Seth's 1st year. He started out this tiny little being and then grew so incredibly quickly. I distinctly remember my mother telling me that he will grow so fast and at that time I thought there is no way. I thought he would be this little baby forever and now 5 years later he is this grown up little boy who amazes me everyday.

Seth's first day home!
Our favorite onesie said..."My Big Brother is a Pug!"

Biter Biscuits...nasty!

Our little Yankees fan! He was so chubby and heavy as a baby!

Someday he will seriously kill me for making him dress up as a duck for his first Halloween.

Sporting an 80s headband look!

He had more hair at 4 months than Leah has at 22 months!

Dropping the crib mattress.

An infectious smile!

His 1st Holiday Commercial.

We love you so much Seth!

Cake Through the Years

It is very hard to believe that we just finished celebrating Seth's 5th birthday. So I got to thinking about all of the different celebrations and cakes we have had over his five years of life. I searched for all of the pictures of his cakes and the two years he celebrated his birthday at Pat's. Take a look...

Seth's 1st Birthday; Yankees themed!
He was not too thrilled with his cupcake at Pat's. He wasn't a fan of the stickiness!

Seth's 2nd Birthday.

We made cookies with the number 2 on them for Pat's and he had a HUGE dump truck cake at home. He used to call it a "digger". When Seth turned 3 he was in love with Diego so we had a Diego cake made for him.

Seth's 4th Birthday Cars style!

TA DA...Seth's 5th birthday cake... a dinosaur monster truck cake.

As you can see Seth has grown and changed a TON over the past 5 years and has gone through many different phases. We are always anxious to see what is around the corner with him and we will continue to look forward to it for years to come!

PS...Thank you to Lorraine for always making the most AMAZING cakes for us. We have loved them all and even gotten you tons of referrals too!