FIRSTS

We had two exciting and one depressing "first" today.

Aaron grabbed the crib while he was sitting on the changing table and pulled himself up to standing!

Timmy said an ENTIRE prayer all by himself! We said "Father" and he just went "Father in heaven....bless"....and kept going....all the way to "Jesus Christ. Amen." We were amazed!

and finally

the depressing first

I got my first gray hair. ugh. A little short one right above my temple. At least Scott has already had a few. If I had been first it would have been much more depressing.

Family Home Evening

We got a bit of snow today, so we decided to prove that we really were worthy of being called Stapletons by taking the kids snowshoeing in the forest around our neighborhood. It was a good 45 min worth of fun (we didn't really get that far, but I was weighed down like a packhorse so speed wasn't an option). Surprisingly, the little ones really enjoyed it and no one got hurt. 10 points for us.

Chilly Chilly February

February is nearing an end. Thankfully. It's cold here folks. Here are a few things we've been up to in random order:

Playing at Jungle Java

Aaron calculating some equation on his abacus. :)
Hanging with Olivia. Her mom and I have been doing a weekly babysitting swap, so Timmy and her and getting to be good little buddies. They get excited when they see each other now. It's cute.
Exercising and going potty. And sometimes, even both at the same time.
Making Valentines. I made homemade Valentines this year, and it took me a while, but was a fun project. Scott was a good sport. He helped me cut all the hearts, paste the fabric, and sew around the edges.
Squirrel watching. This is Maiko and Timmy checking out our squirrel. He likes to come to the door and beg for food. We don't do it though, because he would actually come in the house.
Partying. This is Evie's cute doggie party. So much fun! One of Timmy's first birthday parties.
Aaron started eating soft finger foods!
Aaron has 4 teeth now! 2 on top and 2 on bottom
I've meant to post a picture of the boys in their cute Christmas pajamas that Macha made for them for a while. Aren't they cute? She made all her grandkids these cute PJs.

Aaron is army crawling, getting up on hands and knees and....pulling this kind of stunt. He's super-cute!

Friday night date

Just thought I'd post a warning to any of you who think small theatre sounds really fun for a date. Beware. Scott and I went to see a small production entitled "Barbara's Wedding" about a washed up actor and his wife who live next to Barbara Streisand. We basically paid $20 to get sworn at for 70 minutes. Scott affectionately calls it our "F-date" or right afterward said "This was an F-ing good date" :)

We could not understand how saying the F word so many times could pass as comedy. However, in a 40 person theatre, with the exits in front....practically on stage, it's difficult to slip out of a play like that. We thought they should have carded us at the ticket office to see if we were 18, and warned us the the show was (or should have been) rated R. Just to be safe, we suggest now sticking to high school plays, the children's theatre, or familiar titles!

In other news...

As I downloaded the pics from our camera this month, I thought I'd touch on some passed-over highlights:

1. Adult pinewood derby. As an engineer, I feel like I should make a really precise, technical car driven by the advances of physics. Therefore, I try to make a silly car patterned after some random object: hence the whale car! This year, I actually beat a car, but was eliminated by the winning car, so I think that means I tied for second. Whatever. TT really digs the car, and even refused to sleep without it the first night. In the morning, he was playing with it and I noticed only 3 wheels. To my shock, I found the wheel and the axle (a nail) sitting on his matress. Let's just say that pinewood derby cars are not good "sleepytime toys." Lesson learned and no one lost an eye. Ten points for us!

2. Haircuts. While haircuts aren't really that much of a highlight, we just happened to have a picture of the process this month. TT doesn't really like the removing of the hair, maybe because he thinks that he's losing his super strength (he tends to take the Bible extremely literally sometimes). Anyway, I taught myself to cut hair through trial and error on poor mission companions in Germany. Hair cutting can be tough, but try adding the attention span of a 2 year old. Even with the Wiggles blaring on the mini DVD player, I seem to always miss large spots, but the chicks he's interested in don't seem to really mind, so he's ok with it.

3. Katie played the flute in church last week. I know, I didn't know she played the flute till recently either. Go figure. TT now has his own little plastic flute so that he can play along. He's really gifted. There may be only one possible note in his little "made in Taiwan" flute, but he really knows how to work that one note. I think it's a D#. I think.

Ode to Aaron

2.3 teeth, 4.5 hours of day-sleep, 3 leg-rolls of fat on his thighs, 20% of food on floor or clothes, 10% stuck on his hands, 60% ends up in his legs, hungry 7 hours a day, known as "Anon" to some, gives cuteness to all.

Brother Bear

Timmy loves the show Brother Bear and likes to sing the song "Tell Everybody I'm on my Way"

He sings it like this:

"Hey ebubby I'm ah my way

new faces to meet

yes, I'm ah my way

Hey ebubby I'm on my way

new faces to meet"

M-O-P

Timmy has learned to spell a little from his new "Word Whammer" that he got from his aunt and uncle for Christmas. I was so proud when he begged me to help him spell "M-O-M, Mom!!"

Well, he likes to spell mop a lot, but gets the meaning just a little bit off.

"M-O-P Care Bear downstairs!"

I just asked him again.
Timmy what does M-O-P spell? "Care Bear downstairs!"

I Exercise Me!

I did a workout video at home the other day.

Timmy saw the video and said "I exercise me!"

and "I dancing!"

Let's Pretend

"I Yuke!" (Luke)

"Mommy Cade!"

OK. Then, who is Aaron?

"Seffy-pants!" (Seth M.)

Most kids idolize about being a character from one of their favorite shows. Timmy aparently aspires to being his cousin Luke. :)

Poo-poo

"Annon go poo-poo" "Yes, Timmy, Aaron goes poo-poo"

"TT goes poo-poo" "Yep, Timmy goes poo-poo"

"Mommy goes poo-poo" "Umm-Hmmm"

"Daddy goes poo-poo" "That's right"

"Mater goes poo-poo" "Oh?"

"Cars go poo-poo" "Hmmmm"