Photo Shoot

I'm sure it isn't a huge surprise that trying to take a picture of a 8 month old isn't exactly easy so here are some of the pics from my attempted photo shoot with Leah. She is going to KILL me later on in life when she finds out that I put antlers on her as a baby.

PRICELESS!

Just wait until you see the picture that made the final cut!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

On Saturday morning bright and early we headed out to try a new (new to us) tree farm. Roland read about it on Craigs list randomly and we had such a GREAT time! We trucked out to the forest, found our trees and cut them down. Then, we went on a horse drawn sleigh ride followed by hot chocolate and lots of laughs. Plus, the trees were only $20 any size. We were shocked!

Seth had a blast walking out in the woods!

The perfect tree!

I'd say this one is FRESH!

The sleigh ride was super fun and we want to go back when there is snow to enjoy it again!

Seth even got to check out the horses!
Our two WONDERFUL kids enjoying every life experience we can give them!

Thanksgiving Thankfulness

Thanksgiving was amazing as always. We hosted for the 3rd year in a row and it was so much fun to stay home and have all of our family with us to celebrate. The kids took great naps and we all had a day to remember. Here are some of the highlights...

Leah wore the cutest dress that was so funny because it ended up around her belly as she crawled around!

My Mom and Seth were dancing to the half time show!

After Seth said The Pledge of Allegiance, The Our Father and The St. John Bosco prayer we were able to eat!

After dinner my Gramp was exhausted and looked like this!We had a LOT of trash!But wait, that's not trash!
That's Grandma Charlton playing a trick on Seth!

I have a TON more pictures because it was truly a memorable day, but I won't bore you with all 50 of them! Thank you to my wonderful family for travelling to our home, helping with the meal and wanting to celebrate with us once again!

Tile Master for HIRE

I can't say enough how proud I am of my husband! He tried something new and was extremely successful. I think that he missed his calling as a master craftsman! Here is an up close and personal view of our new mantle and tiled fireplace!

If you remember, the old fireplace had cream painted brick and now it is freshly tiled!
OOOPS, I forgot to shop vac the inside of the fireplace.
The old mantle was also cream painted wood and now it is stained.

Congrats Ro, you did an amazing job!

Home Improvement Updates

It all started out with a grand idea to get rid of the brick on the front of the fireplace which led to a new mantle and then when that project was complete, I decided I didn't like the wall color anymore. So, we now have what looks like a brand new living room and we are so excited with the outcome.

The new mantle.

No more brick fireplace. Roland did an AMAZING job with the tile.

It used to be a light sage green, but now it is a bolder and darker green.
I need to order a roman shade for the front window and the room will be complete!

I just realized that I never took an up close shot of the fireplace so I will take one tonight and upload it tomorrow!

Fireplace Update

These are not the best pictures because I took them quick this morning with my phone. The mantle is about 90% done and all we have left on the fireplace itself is to grout it. I vow to have this project done by the end of this weekend because I have a couple of other little things I want to do this weekend before Thanksgiving.

Funny Seth Story

This morning on the way to drop Seth off he says to me...

Seth: "Mommy, when Rocky goes to doggie heaven can we get a turkey?"

Me: "We are going to have turkey next week buddy, it's Thanksgiving."

Seth: "No, can we get a pet turkey?"

Me: "Why do you want a pet turkey Seth?"

Seth: "So he can waddle around the house."

Me: "Sorry buddy we are not going to be able to get a pet turkey."

Seth: "Well, then how about a cat?"

Me: "Nope, totally out of the question, Mommy doesn't like cats, they scare her."

Seth: "OK, Mom."

Such innocence, I love out conversations!

Leah's ENT Appt

Today Leah went to the ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor) after over a month of having chronic ear infections and trying 4 different antibiotics. The doctor has decided to put tubes in her ears. By having this procedure done it should alleviate the pressure and uncomfortableness in her ears so that she can continue to be the happy-go-lucky baby that she is. We go for her outpatient procedure on Dec 2nd.

"Seriously Mom, what are you putting on me NOW!"

Thank You Sweet Family!

Last night we were invited for "Chili Night" at our friends The Sweets. Let's see, there were four babies, three toddlers and six adults. The kids had us out numbered! We all had so much fun and the kids were so cute. They were playing Cinderella and dress up. YES, the boys LOVED playing dress up. We laughed hysterically!

It looks as if the boys are fighting over dancing with Annabelle. NOPE, they were fighting over who got to dance with Seth. SO funny!

Leah got into the dress up action as well!

Happy 4 Week Birthday to our beautiful god daughter Lindsey!

Progress as of Sunday Morning!

Roland has been working EXTREMELY hard to finish this fireplace and it is turning out amazing! As of Sunday morning the mantle was up and all the tile was up. By Sunday afternoon (no pics sorry) I had the mantle stained.

Tonight Roland is going to tackle the grout and I would like to get a coat of poly on the mantle. I'd like to wrap up this project by the end of the week! Pics to come!

Leah's 1st Babbling Words!

Look at These Faces

I am SOOOOO LUCKY!

Starting Table Foods

We are slowly introducing table foods to Leah. Saturday we tried cutting up a banana into small pieces and givng it to her. SHE LOVED IT! So at the luncheon on Sunday she plowed through the puffs I gave her in 10 seconds flat so we tried giving her a roll to chew on. SHE LOVED IT! Can you see a pattern forming?

Happy Baptism Lindsey!

It is now official, we are the proud godparents of Miss Lindsey Marie Castana! Yesterday couldn't have been a more perfect day to have a 3 week old baby baptised. The sun was out, it was a warm November day and everything went perfectly. Plus, I got to put Leah in tights and a dress which is my favorite thing to do, she looked so stinking cute!

Daddy and his girl!

It feels like just yesterday that we were up on that alter with Leah and now she is a big girl!

When we met we were families of three and now we are a huge group of 8!

Lindsey was a perfect little girl. She slept all through mass and didn't make a sound when the water was dumped on her!

Roland and is newest god daughter. He is now the proud god father of two beautiful girls; his niece Lexy who is in 3rd grade and Miss Lindsey!

After the mass Kristen and Lee used the caterer that we hired for Leah's baptism and had a luncheon downstairs in the church. It was delicious! Thank you so much for a wonderful and memorable day. We love you all!