Breaking the Ice

We wanted to make sure that the last day of our break was fun! We were either going to go to the Arboretum or ice skating. The weather decided for us...ice skating here we come!!! Kade is obsessed with Home Alone and loves when Kevin, the main character, is running from the police and slides across the ice. That made him want to ice skate..that of all things. Before our stop at the Galleria we had to eat at The Angry Dog in Deep Ellum. Mike and I loved eating there when we lived just two blocks away and as soon as Kade was old enough, we started taking him. He loves an angry dog!

Our tummies were full and it was time! On the way we had to give him a "pep" talk. We said that if you fall, don't get discouraged, just get right back up and try again. It's normal to fall. Mike told him that he would teach him how for sure. Kade said, "I don't need your help daddy. I know how to skate. I can even do a figger 8 and skate on one foot." REALLY? Where did you learn that? "I saw it on TV."

Things changed the minute he hit the ice. It was much more difficult than he thought. They happen to be running a special today for a 15 minute private lesson so we booked one. The sweetest girl, Alysa, was his teacher. She was so patient and he listened and really started to do quite well. He wants to go back now!!! We are going to have "Miss Alysa" teach him privately once or twice a week to get him comfortable with the ice.

I will say...he lasted an hour on the ice. That's pretty darn good! I would not have lasted 5 seconds!



OOPS!

Be Ye Thankful

My little pilgrim has really enjoyed his break from school. So have I! When I asked Kade what he was thankful for he said, "I'm thankful for my family and that we get to read books every night."

There are so many things that I am thankful for, not just on Thanksgiving, but every day of my life. I have a healthy 5 year old, a husband that takes care of us, and beautiful home, parents that live 7 minutes away, great friends, a JOB, and for the next day that comes.

My thoughts always venture toward those that have so little and are struggling right now. I'm trying so hard to teach Kade the joy of giving and that we live a very blessed life. Each year we adopt a family at Christmas and so last week we spent our Monday evening shopping for the three kids that we adopted. We had such a good time picking out things that they needed and that we wanted to give them! This year for Christmas, my hope is to show Kade another side to it. We are hoping to volunteer to feed the homeless this Christmas and want him to be right alongside of us. This will hopefully become our yearly tradition and will be something that will always keep him humbled.

Sneak Peek at family pics

This weekend my friend Casi took our family pictures! We decided to take them on the railroad tracks, around..and in some trees, near an old shed, and on the bridge at Harry Myers Park. Here are a few as a sneak peek! The rest are being enhanced and cropped. It's so hard to pick which one will end up on our Christmas card!!! I'll upload a few more this week. I love the one where Mike and I are out of focus and it's all about Kade!

Halloween 2009-Also check out Kade's 5th birthday post

This year Kade decided to be Woody from Toy Story. He looked just like a little Roy Rogers...so cute!

We spent Friday night at the Great Wolf Lodge with our good friends Maddie and Jacob (Paige's kiddos). On Halloween we woke up and had a wonderful breakfast with Mimi at the lodge and then headed to the waterpark for 4 hours of splashin' fun! Around 3, we decided we had had enough water and headed home...not before stopping at Mi Cocina..it was on the way! WHY NOT!!!! Kade crashed on the way home and I certainly wanted to, but I knew we would have to get ready for the Halloween party soon and I didn't want to take the chance of not waking up in time.

For the past two years my friend Lori has had a Halloween party at her house. Her husband Jay hooks up the trailer and takes us all on a hayride around her neighborhood. He stops at each house and lets the kids get out to trick or treat. It's such good fun and SAFE for the kids. There are about 30 houses in her development and each one of them know that the kids are coming! They load down each one of them with tons of candy. After the hayride we headed back to her house for some yummy desserts. Kade was pooped so we grabbed ours to go and headed home. My little sheriff was "worn plum out"!

I have a 5 year old!

On October 25th at 12:30pm, my little guy turned 5!!! How could he already be 5? Time goes by fast whether we want it to or not and you only realize it once you have a child. Here is our day:

I always make Kade a HUGE pancake for his birthday. So...I woke up extra early and made pancakes, eggs, sausage, and fruit cups, ALL HIS FAVORITE! Once the table was set, I started up the stairs singing happy birthday to my baby boy! His eyes were closed, but he had the biggest smile on his face! After breakfast we let him open his presents from us and his grandparents that live in Canada. Our big surprise was a night at the Great Wolf Lodge. He loves this place. After presents it was time to get ready for his fireman themed party. We found a firetruck bouncehouse and found a fireman that would bring a real fire truck to the house and take the kids for a ride. We served "Blazin' Berries", "Great Balls of Fire" (cheese balls), "Smokin' Sandwiches", and "Fire" crackers and cheese! The kids (28 of them) started arriving and went straight for the bouncehouse...and some adults too! The fireman was set to arrive at 3:15 and so we sang happy birthday and had cake so that the kids would be ready to go when he arrived. HE NEVER CAME and called when the party was nearly over. He forgot...are you kidding me???? We told the kids he had an emergency. Thank goodness I rented the bouncehouse! The kids played and had so much fun. It's a great feeling to have so many happy kids in your backyard! As the party was coming to an end, we sent each of them home with a Lego fireman that we found at the Lego Store. Kade had SEVERAL girlfriends at the party. I hope they have this much adoration for him when he is older! All in all it was a blessed day! After everyone left, we opened presents, and more presents, and more presents...CRAZY! We finished our night with dinner at Joe Willy's with Mimi, Bop-O, Uncle Cole, Bubba, and Alicat.

Here are some pics from his 1st five birthdays...tears are rolling down my face....
Welcome to the world: M. Kade Spampinato

Snuggle Bunny


1st Birthday




2nd


3rd



4th


I'm 5!