Boo at the Zoo

Saturday we went to Boo at the Zoo for the first time and it was so much fun. I will say that it is a good thing we went right when they opened because by the time we were done the line to get in was all the way to the parking lot. The kids had a blast dressing up, seeing people in costumes and of course getting candy. I am not sure if they actually paid any attention to the actual animals though. They had fun and that is all that matters!

Introducing Jacob the Spaceman and Seth the Pittsburgh Steeler!
Leah just took it all in and watched all the crazy dressed up people!
You are getting there Seth!
BFFs
Tell me you don't want to kiss those cheeks!!

The rest of the weekend involved Christmas Shopping, Baptism shopping, dinner out at Ryan's Lookout, church, golfing and Sunday night dinner! It was another GREAT weekend!

Photobooth Flashbacks

If you know us at all you know that we are huge suckers for photo booths and ever since Seth turned one we have been going to a photo booth on his birthday every single year. I came across some old pics so I had to post them for you all to laugh at and see how much our boy has changed. Leah only has 20 weeks until her first birthday photo booth picture. Actually she will be in Seth's 4th birthday photo booth pic so that will be even earlier!

Seth's 1st Birthday!

Seth's 2nd Birthday!

Seth's 3rd Birthday!

A random photo booth in Vermont when we vacationed with our friends The Gilbert's!

Waiting

We are anxiously waiting for Miss Lindsey Castana to be born. Kristen called yesterday and she was thinking it was going to happen last night, but she isn't quite ready to make her appearance. So we are waiting and checking in with her every few hours. I will keep you all posted. Roland and I are ready to meet our goddaughter!

Columbus Day Tradition

Every Columbus Day heat or frost we head to Old McDonald's Farm for the morning. We have been there years when we have worn shorts and t-shirts and years like this one where we had to wear a hat and mittens, but either way we make the most of it and have a blast!

If you keep up with this blog you know that Seth LOVES to golf right now so we spent a good chunk of time at the mini golf section of OMF!

Had to bundle the little peanut up for the hay ride.
We have been on this hayride dozens of times, but on this particular day Seth really took it all in. He truly enjoyed every minute of it.
Our very favorite part of going to OMF in the fall is the corn maze. Seth thinks it is the best thing and my Mom and I reminisce about watching the movie Children of the Corn.
We had a fabulous morning followed by even better naps all afternoon long!

Final Party

Today was the final party for the weekend and Seth had a blast! Seth's friend Annabelle turned 4 and had her party at the YMCA. All the kids got to swim for an hour in the pool.

I wasn't sure how Seth would do in the pool on his own, but all my worries were for nothing. He can swim like a fish with that vest on and he has no fear. I am so proud of him!
He used the noodle for a bit and then ditched it!
After an hour in the pool he was starving and ate just about everything except the table cloth!

Happy Birthday Poppy!

We also celebrated Tommy AKA Poppy's birthday on Saturday. It was party number 2 for Seth for the day and he was still going strong. We even got quite the dance routine from him that I will try to upload later.

The rain finally stopped long enough to get outside and run!

Seth couldn't understand why it was called cake if it wasn't really cake. He was disappointed as he has finally taken a liking to cake now and not just the frosting. We also hadn't seen Justin in FOREVER! So we enjoyed our time with him for the evening!

Happy Birthday Poppy, we all love you!

Birthday Weekend Extravaganza

This weekend Seth was invited to 2 birthday parties plus it was Poppy Puccia's birthday so we have been party hopping all weekend long! It all started with Seth's friend MJ's party on Saturday afternoon.
It was a Spider Man themed party so Mackenzie bought the kids silly string to spray at each other. Seth had never seen silly string so he thought it was hilarious!

This party was a little boys dream. The room was all decorated in spiders, she had a craft for the kids to do, a pinata, candy, cake and food food food!

Now Seth wants to start planning his party. I told him we have plenty of time, it's only 3 months away!

Obsessed

Seth is completely and utterly obsessed with playing golf. Before Roland has even taken his first breath as he enters the house, Seth pounces on him and asks if they can play golf. Playing golf to Seth at this time means going to a big open field and hitting balls as far as he can. He is actually REALLY good at it and it makes him so happy to be off with Daddy. He told me today that he wants me and Leah to go to work and Daddy can stay home with him. He certainly loves to be with his Dad.Seriously, I think that Tiger Woods should watch out! :)

Traditions

This week is a total wash and I never got to post the Halloweeny pics from last weekend. So here they are for your viewing pleasure!

We picked out what we call our Mr. Pumpkin Head pumpkin, but he was a little too hard so Daddy had to put nail holes in before Seth could put on his face.

Whose smile do you prefer?
Leah had to check Mr. Pumpkin Head out, but we grabbed him before she tried to put him in her mouth.

On the Mend

Let's just say it has been a long few days with sickness and little to no energy, BUT we are on the mend. I started to come down with a cold late Sunday, but was hoping that with some TLC it would go away. Boy, was I wrong! By Tuesday morning at work I thought I'd about keel over so I was told to go home about 11am. I headed to urgent care, got some meds and rested. I thought I was feeling better, but once again wrong wrong wrong as I stayed home from work on Wed and today. Today I feel worlds better, but not 100%.

On Sunday I noticed some strangeness coming from Leah's ear and at first I brushed it off as possible spit up that had oozed to her ear in her sleep. I cleaned her up, but again on Monday I noticed it. By Tuesday night there was more so I started to get worried. I called the docs and got her an appointment too. Roland took her bright and early on Wednesday morning and you wouldn't believe what they told us...her left ear ruptured and her right ear is severely inflamed. We never in a million years saw any signs. She never ran a fever or was fussy at all. If it hadn't been for the ooze coming out of the left ear we would never have known anything was wrong. Those darn ear infections are so tricky. So she is on ear drops and a heavy antibiotic. On the bright side, she is happy as can be. Thank heavens for small favors!

So that has been our week in a nutshell! Here is hoping for brighter days ahead!

Now Introducing the 2009 Mini Beatles!

Roland bought the brand new Beatles for Rockband with some of his birthday money and he finally broke it out this weekend when we had some friends over for dinner and play. It didn't take long before the kids completely took over and basically ran the show. So we are proud to introduce our 2009 Mini Beatles!

We have Ringo Starr on the drums (AKA Seth Patrick Charlton)John Lennon on lead vocals (AKA Sophia Ruth Voss)

Last, but not least rocking out on lead guitar is George Harrison (AKA Maya Rosemary Voss)

We also had Paul McCartney on bass guitar, but we forgot to take his picture. (AKA Daddy Roland)

The kids had a BLAST and Sophia really got into the singing. She made her mom proud as she quickly learned many Beatles tunes!

To Serve and Protect

October is Fire Safety month in case any of you out there don't know it. So basically in Seth's life right now it is his dream month! Saturday was also Home Depot Kids Day so Seth was in his glory; fire tucks and tools! When we pulled up not only was there a fire truck, but also a police car for the kids to explore.

Firefighter Charlton reporting for duty!

...or should I say Officer Charlton!

It seriously took us some bribes to actually leave Home Depot. Seth was in his own personal heaven!

It was also Leah's first time in a firetruck, but she wasn't as excited!

Life

I can't remember what life was like before this little bundle of JOY came into our lives just 7 months ago. How easily we forget the old and just start new with this little person. I feel so blessed to have 2 wonderful children, but on the 5th of every month I say a little thank you to someone up above for the gift of our Leah. She is 7 months old today and such an amazing little girl. She is happy and smiley and just plain wonderful! She is also mobile now so that makes her independent in her eyes and we just sit back and watch her observe and test herself. It is a wonderful time in all of our lives!

We love you Leah, BUT time can slow down because it is so hard to believe that you are 7 months old! We don't want you to grow so fast!

Fall Flashback!

I came across a bunch of old pictures on the desktop of my work computer and they brought back so many wonderful fall memories from the past that I had to share them with you. Just look at how much Seth has grown...

2nd Halloween!3rd Halloween!
Be on the lookout for a Pittsburgh Steeler football player coming to your house this Halloween. That is what Seth decided he wanted to be.

Growing Up

Seth is officially in a booster seat in all vehicles! This is going to make our lives soooo much easier!

My Little Helper

The last of the 31 Party boxes arrived yesterday and Seth was very eager to help his Mom out!