"Da-Da" Video

Caleb is getting so big and grow so fast!  Here is Caleb sharing one of his favorite new words:




I hope you enjoy!

Pam & Mike Staples

My First Video

his weekend, I received my Mother's Day gift a little early!  I'm so excited and am certain we will have fun as a family with the gift that Mike and Caleb bought for me.  They bought me the new Flip SlideHD Video camera.  It really is so cool and SO easy to use.  I'm also very impressed with the quality of the video along with the sound.

Here is one of our first videos of Caleb playing with his squeaky toy, Sofie the Giraffe:

 


Enjoy!

Pam Staples

Adoption Finalized!

I just posted on our Adoption Blog, that our adoption of Caleb has been finalized.  On Saturday, April 24th, we received the final adoption paperwork for the Court stating that the adoption was finalized on Thursday, April 22nd.  Mike and I are so thrilled to be Caleb's parents and to know that he will always be a part of our family.  Parenthood is treating us well and we are having so much fun.  I love being a Stay-At-Home-Mom and working as an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.  Mike enjoys his full-time career at Talecris.  We also enjoy living so close to Talecris so Mike can easily and quickly come home for lunch or go to Drs. appointments for Caleb.

Caleb really does have a very sweet disposition and is now 7 months old!  It is so fun to see him grow and make new discoveries each day.  He loves to giggle and smile.  Each day his personality shines through more and more.  We are blessed that he is a very laid back, relaxed baby.  He doesn't cry very often unless he is in discomfort which lately involves teething - poor little guy has had bloody gums as he is teething.  We are taking Caleb to physical therapy to deal with a mild case of Tortocollis (shortened neck muscle on one side) as well as helping him with some of his gross motor skills.  The Physical Therapy is once a week and we will probably go as long as our insurance covers the appointments which means we have around 30 appointments available.

Caleb at 7 months...

This summer Caleb and I will be visiting Minnesota arriving on Thursday, June 24th.  We will be in Minnesota for 3 weeks leaving on Monday, July 12th.  Plans are being made to go up to the lake near Nevis, MN on Friday, June 25th and probably stay through Tuesday or Wed. of the following week then we will be back in the Twin Cities.  Randy, Lori and the girls will be arriving around July 1st dropping the girls of for an extended visit with Grandma & Grandpa Schmidt.  Then Daddy will have Caleb all by himself for a week while Mommy goes to Salt Lake City, Utah for the Stampin' Up! Convention.

Lots of Love,

Pam, Mike & Caleb Staples

Oops... It has been too long.

I've been a bad girl not posting to the Staples Blog but instead focusing on my scrapbooking and stamping blog at www.sunnygirlscraps.com!

Mike and I have had a very interesting summer with some of our vacation plans having to be canceled. We are now back on track and looking forward to visiting family and friends in Minnesota the month of September. Unfortunately, we are not able to bring the puppy dogs along for the visit.

We also miss seeing some of our family. Mike hopes to visit his sister, Melissa, in Georgia towards the end of September and early October while I'm away at a couple different scrapbooking retreats.

I am excited to share that at the end of March, I became a Stampin' Up! Independent Demonstrator. It is so much fun using my creativity selling Stampin' Up! My hope is that I can make it into a thriving business while teaching others how to create beautiful handmade cards, scrapbook pages and gifts. If you have a chance, take the time to check out my SunnyGirlScraps blog! Also, if you know anyone that enjoys making cards, scrapbooking or making handmade gifts email them a link to SunnyGirlScraps so they can see all the great projects that I've posted. My Stampin' Up! online store is available 24/7 for purchases from anyone located anywhere within the United States!

All my best.

USS Wisconsin Battleship!

Here are photos from our visit to the USS Wisconsin in Norfolk, VA.



And, of course... Old Glory - The Stars & Stripes!

Kings Creek Plantation... USS Wisconsin!

We are on vacation in Williamsburg, VA staying at the Kings Creek Plantation. This place is absolutely beautiful. Our accommodations consist of a beautiful 2 bedroom townhouse that can accommodate up to 6 people. There is plenty of room and I'm seriously thinking I'll have to arrange for a week get away scrapbooking retreat in February 2010!

Mike and I enjoyed visiting the Nautilus today in downtown Norfolk, VA and touring the USS Wisconsin which is in the same class of ship as the USS Missouri. My Uncle Otto served on the USS Missouri when the Japanese surrendered at the end of World War II. It was very interesting. Did you know that the USS Wisconsin is in "reserve" and can actually be recalled to active duty? Now you do!

Tomorrow we are planning to visit Yorktown and Jamestown Settlements along with visiting some lighthouses along the VA Beach coastline.

Savvy Girl...

Savvy is our newest family addition. She is a Golden Retriever rescued through the Neuse River Golden Retriever Rescue. Savvy comes from a puppy mill in Virginia. She is a wonderful girl and very sweet. We've had her since early March.

Savvy is very attached to me and has to be by my side all the time especially in the house. In mid-March, we started obedience classes which are definitely helping but she still has work that needs to be done. If she knows she is in trouble, she really doesn't want to listen or will go hide under our master bed.

Here are a few pictures: