Thursday, October 14, 2010

Baker's 1st Haircut!

This is and always will be so emotional for me..the 1st haircut! For me, it is saying good-bye to my baby and then just like that...a toddler is sitting right in front of me! It had to happen though, Baker had been mistaken for a little girl one to many times. He has such cute hair...it was curly at the bottom (when dry), but when it was wet and I combed it it was all the way to his shoulder. Are you kidding me? Where did all this hair come from? It felt like it grew over night!
It was haircut day at my moms house for all the boys. (We are so blessed to have my mom cut hair!) Jacob...then Dave...and then Baker. I was very hesitant about the whole thing. He is only 15 months and I will be saying good-bye to his baby hair, the hair he was born with. (I actually don't know if that is true, his baby hair probably all fell out at some point. But I like to think of it as true!) I talked it over with Dave, who really didn't care or have an opinion, but talked it through with me none the less and we decided it was a go! WHY IS THIS SO HARD FOR ME???? So we did it! Baker Bear now looks all grown up and has a big boy haircut!


That night when we got home I looked at pictures of his hair before and I started to wish I hadn't done it...he really did look cute with his curls! BUT...he will not be mistaken for a girl anymore. (I never quite understand that...he is dressed like a boy, acts like a boy...really does he look like a girl?) And he REALLY does look cute with his haircut!

I know..I am a little silly! I just need a little girl whose hair I will not have to cut :)

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The Pumpkin Patch!

Last Friday we ventured out to thepumpkin patch for some fall fun and to collect our pumpkins! We went to this GREAT farm that had lots of fun stuff for the kiddos to do! They had bouncy castles for us to jump in, an inflatable slide for us to go down, farm animals for us to see and of course pumpkins for us to find! It was a really wonderful day for us!

We got home and put the pumpkins on our porch...they looked so cute sitting there, making our house look adorable! I woke up Saturday morning to find that one of our pumpkins had been smashed! What punks! I guess it will give us an excuse to go back!

Happy Fall!











Friday, October 1, 2010

Brotherly Love


In the past several weeks I have really noticed the relationship between Jacob and Baker start to change and develop. It all started when Baker began to walk...it was a whole new world for Baker and a lot of fun for Jacob to have Baker be able to keep up with him. They will play in the toy room together without me present and they will run up and down the hallway giggling. Jacob can't fall asleep unless he knows Baker is in the crib next to him and has to make sure he knows where Baker is at all times. Baker follows Jacob around EVERYWHERE and does whatever he does. For example, if Jacob is stomping his feet then Baker stomps his feet, if Jacob is patting his chest like a gorilla then Baker pats his chest like a gorilla....really cute to watch! I love when I am cooking dinner and I hear them laughing together...it brings so much joy to my heart. The other day I walked into their bedroom to see what they were up to and this is what I discovered...



Now don't get me wrong, we still have our fair share of timeouts because of hitting or not sharing. I still have to constantly teach Baker to be gentle and tell him not to touch certain things. I have to remind Jacob to play nice with his brother and to treat him like he likes to be treated. But with all that...we have some brotherly love going on in this house!!!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Photo Session

My very dear, best, longest friend Adria blessed our family with her talents and took some pictures for us. It was around Baker's 1st birthday and she really captured some good ones. Take a look...

The Staples Family


Daddy and Baker

Daddy and Jacob

Baker

Jacob




Baker and Mama

Mama and her boys

Baker



Cool Dude Jacob

Baker enjoying some cake



Too Cute for words!








Thank you SO much Adria! Such great memories captured! Love you!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Whats Happening with The Staples...

1. I cannot figure out this whole background blog thing...I will continue to mess with it and hopefully things will start to piece together.

2. I have officially lost 21 pounds! Can you believe it??? I feel amazing and have gained a new found confidence. The discipline that I have had with food now has stemmed over into other areas of my life...its been AWSOME!

3. I can now run 5 miles without stopping with the double jogging stroller...and I actually LIKE it! The boys and I look forward to our morning runs and really love these cooler mornings! The route I take has sheep, prairie dogs, birds, ponds and lots of other runners/walkers/bikers...it keeps us entertained!

4. I have dropped Baker's morning nap! With Jacob I did not drop the morning nap until 18 months...and Baker is only 14 months. He is a lot younger...but it is so nice having our mornings free and not have to work around his nap. Also, when they go down they are ready to sleep and they take really LONG, good naps! Leaves me enough time in the afternoon to get my chores done, check my email/facebook/blog and I can even lay done for a short while! Its been nice.

5. I have finished painting the inside of the house...its looks beautiful and really feels like our home. Paint adds SO much to a room! I have a couple little book shelves I want to paint other then that I am done with BIG projects for now...I will post pictures soon!

6. My house is ready for fall! I have my pumpkin spice candles out, my fall decorations in place, and fall colored dish towels ready for use! I LOVE it! In a couple weeks we will head to the pumpkin patch to get our pumpkins! This really is my favorite time of year!

7. I am hooked on Gilmore Girls right now! I can not get enough!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

The WONDERFUL World of Weight Watchers!

For probably the last 6 months I have been saying to myself...and my husband, I need to lose some weight...I would say it, get excited about it, and then do NOTHING! It was lame. To be completely candid, I had about 15 pounds to loose after I had Jacob. I got pregnant with Baker when Jacob was 7 months...we were overjoyed. After having Baker there was this stubborn 10 pounds that would not dissipate. So to add that all up I had an extra 25 pounds plus the honeymoon 5 that I had gained (is there such a thing) since my wonderful wedding day. 30 pounds heavier since my wedding day...and if I keep keeping on 10 pounds with every baby I will not be very happy with myself and it will just get harder to loose the weight. Recently Dave and I have been talking/praying about baby number 3...which means that if I want to loose this weight then I NEED to get motivated! We prayerfully decided to wait a short while to have another baby for several reasons which gave me about 2 1/2 months to reach my goal. So we dived into NFP (natural family planning) which we haven't practice since we first got married... its been an all over again learning experience, but we love it!

So now its time to get serious about loosing this weight...can I do it...will I do it??? All these questions rolling through my mind. My mother is my best friend and someone I can talk to about anything...weight included. A mother never wants to see her daughter struggle in any way...especially with body image. She encouraged me in a loving way..never placing any pressure on me or making me feel bad about myself. As a gift she asked if I was interested in weight watchers and that she would purchase my first 3 months...of course I said yes and was SO excited!

3 weeks ago I began this adventure...

In 3 weeks I have lost 11 pounds! I feel SO great! The best part is my confidence in knowing that I can DO this...it is possible! Weight watchers is wonderful because you can still eat...which I LOVE to do! You have a certain number of points each day. Everything you put in your mouth has a point value to it...you learn to love the things that have 0 point value...like cucumber...and salad! You have bonus points in the week as well...I have an extra 35 points for the week that I can use if I go over my daily points. You also get activity points...so AWESOME! If I work out, go for a walk, play outside with the boys, clean...I get extra points for the day!

I am being educated..learning discipline with food and the GOOD things to put in my mouth. This is a life plan! I have noticed that this discipline I have with food has stemmed into other areas of my life. For example, prayer. Finding time in the day...and sticking to it. My schedule is more orderly which leaves everyone a little bit happier! Dave is SUPER encouraging and eats what I eat! He is so wonderful!

We would like to TRY to get pregnant in September/October with gives me a couple months to reach my goal! Please pray for me that I continue to have discipline and the desire to keep loosing weight! It is such a wonderful feeling getting a little bit closer to your goal everyday!

Thanks for listening...weight watchers in wonderful and I would recommend it to anyone!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

A Vacation for the Staples' Family!


Well we did it... traveled to Michigan and back (with lots of stops along the way)! It was a wonderful 2 1/2 week road trip and I hope to do it again next summer. We packed our van full and drove off on our way...waiving good-bye to the "new house" as Jacob calls it.



Our plan was to camp a couple nights at Mahoney State park near Omaha, NE. We were unable to get a reservation so we were praying along the way that one of the first come, first serve sites were open. When we were an hour away I called to check...and they had one site left. Do we risk it? Dave and I decided it would be best to stop and get a hotel and get there early the next morning to get a site. We stayed in Grand Island...ate Qdoba and found a hotel with a pool. The next morning we did set out early..on the road be 7:30 and made it to the camp ground by 9:00. We were 5th on the waiting list and finally our campsite became available. We set up camp...made some grub and headed to the water park for a little swimming. That night we grilled hotdogs and played at the park...i forgot how MUGGY and HUMID Nebraska is. That night when we decided to lay our heads to rest we realized how SMALL our tent was. Dave and I had used it last when it was just the two of us...now there are 4 so you can only imagine! We made it work though...Dave and I laughing hysterically at the situation!!! It stormed like crazy that night but we managed to stay dry! The next morning our campsite was one BIG puddle so we decided it was best to pack up and head to the next portion of our trip.







Next on the list was Davenport, Iowa. We found a nice little hotel and spent most of the evening swimming. The next morning was the Lord's day and we found a cute little church that we were able to attend Mass. It was a beautiful Mass and we left renewed. We then traveled 6 hours to Michigan where we stayed with Dave's family for 1 1/2 weeks.

It was a good time in Michigan. We did lots of fun things to entertain all. The zoo, a fun park with fountains for Jacob to run through, paddle boating and lots of spoiling by the grandparents. It was really nice to spend time with them! It is always hard to leave. The night before we left Jacob woke up with 105.5 fever...it was a little scary. We could not get the fever to go down so we ended up taking him to urgent care. Everything turned out to be okay and Jacob ended up getting a cold within the next couple of days. Baker then developed a fever and then got a cold too. Its just hard to be sick and away from home but the boys handled it great.




We then headed to Wisconsin to hang out with my extended family. We saw my Grandma Baker who is in a nursing home. It is always so good to see her but pains my heart to see her there. Such a lonely place. It is such a blessing that she was able to see her only 2 great grand children. We stayed with my Aunt and Uncle and had a BBQ with my other aunts and uncles and cousins in the area. It was really great to see everyone! We then left and headed to Omaha, NE.



We arrived to Nebraska, checked into a hotel and swam...can you tell that Jacob LOVES to swim! The next moring we got up and head to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. I lived in Omaha for 9 years of my childhood and have such fond memories of that place. We spent a lot of time at the zoo...it was great to re-live my memories of the zoo. It is an AMAZING zoo! They have done so much to it! The boys had a great time! A fun surprise was that my mom decided to fly to Omaha to come to the zoo with us...she missed her little grand-babies! It was great to have her there. Jacob really missed her! (as did the rest of us!) We stayed with some good friends of my parents...another reason why my mom came...to spend time with her good friends! It was a great time. By the end othe day we were ready to get home!



The last day of traveling went fast...and we were SO happy that my mom was there to help with the boys. There were some moments of survival but we made it through! Thank goodness for portable DVD players..and suckers!



In the end it was a great family vacation! It was nice to travel together as a family and to visit lots of family along the way. As much fun as a vacation is, it is always a good feeling to get home and get you life and schedule back in order...but sometimes you need to leave for while to appreciate the everyday life you have at home.



Thanks to all the hospitality along the way! It was SO nice to see everyone!