I must be crazy...

I love long weekends such as the one that we just had...but this was exhausting. 

WEDNESDAY
Wednesday morning started with a trip to Gus' doctor.  Poor little guy has a little infection.  (Got a prescription for it and it is starting to clear up.)  Gus, Joel and I stopped at Home Depot to buy our Christmas tree stand.  I met Sarah at Hannah's preschool and then whisked my adorable niece off with me for the rest of the afternoon.  She went with me to entertain Gus while he and I got our hair cut and then she and I made Thankgiving desserts.  She and I did this last year, too.  I hope this little tradition continues.  We were supposed to go get our Christmas tree that evening but it started to rain.  :(

THURSDAY
Sarah and I kicked off our Thanksgiving Day traditions with a trip to Meijer to check out any deals they have on Thursday before racing back to her house, meeting up with Joel and Jason and going to the Lions Game.  Gus was decked out in his Lion's gear for the day while he stayed home with Grandma Jo, Papa Scott, Brendan and Hannah. 

That night Sarah and I decided to go to Toys R Us at midnight.  They were opening early and were supposed to have some good deals at 12 am.  We ended up standing outside from 11:30PM- 1:30 ish...in the spitting rain and cold.  We finally got inside.  I immediately went and got in line to check out while Sarah ran around the store and brought the items back to me.  We didn't get home until about 3:30.  Crazy I know...but I loved it!!

FRIDAY and SATURDAY
Sarah and I went scrapbooking in Chesaning.  I was finally able to start Gus' baby book!!  Joel and Gus came to pick me up on Saturday night and on our way to my parents house we went to meet up with Joe Maly and Jane Wong.  So excited that Gus got to meet them!  We finally got to my parents house after midnight.  Whew!  Did I mention that Gus wouldn't ride nicely in the car unless the interior light was on?  If we turned it off, he screamed at the top of his lungs.  So, I sat in the backseat with the light on trying to entertain him.

SUNDAY
We went to visit my grandmother, Mamie, and then went to the Otto Family Christmas.  We weren't able to stay very long because we had a very sad little baby.  So we hit the road and traveled home.  It was a long trip around the mitten we call Michigan.  And I am SO glad that we are home!!!

The end...

Last night marked the end of the Flat Rock football season.  (Above is Joel and fellow coach, John Lawson.)  I would be lying if I said that I wasn't jumping up and down about it!  We had some of the yuckiest weather for football games this year.  I sat through a handful of games in the rain this year looking like a drowned rat. 

For some reason though, this was an emotional evening for me.  We had "parents night" where the parents walk their kids out onto the field and all I could think about was how someday I would be walking my kid out onto a field and he would be playing his last football game and then he would leave the field in tears like many of our seniors did last night.  But I suppose if Gus wants to be a tap dancer instead of a football player then he won't have that problem.  One more reason for him to be a tap dancer...

I was surprised to see that my husband had a tough time last night.  Joe Conner even got a few tears out of Joel when he hugged him (above).  Joel can identify so much with how these boys were feeling.  He felt that way when he finished playing football in high school and then again when he finished in college.  But for some reason, this group of seniors was special to Joel and he had a strong bond with a couple of them.  Joel has coached most of the seniors since they were pint-sized little 7th graders and has been with them ever since.  He is extemely proud of them and how hard they have worked since they first suited up for him in 7th grade.  It made me laugh last night when one of the seniors said to Joel, "Thanks for everything Coach!  Your the one who taught me how to put the pads into these pants."  It makes me chuckle because I remember when Joel quit coaching Varsity and went to coach at the middle school.  He talked about how funny it was that there was such a big difference between the two levels...at the middle school, he had to teach kids how to put the uniform on!!  It is hilarious to me that it has come full circle and one of the kids remembered that!  "Football season is over....time to get ready for your winter sports, boys!"

Topo, Danny, Koby, Vroman, Stape, Joe and Jake

We interrupt this life for football season...

It has been a crazy time here in the Stapleton household.  Football season is always super crazy around here.  In addition to football and cheerleading practices, we had something going on every night this past week.  Monday- cheer stunt clinic.  Tuesday- dinner with Sara Griffin. Wednesday- dinner with my parents.  Thursday- JV football game.  Friday- Varsity football game.  Saturday- coaching clinic.  And this is what most of our weeks are like.  Gus has been going with me to cheerleading practice and is quite spoiled by all of those crazy cheerleaders. He also goes to most of the football games...if it isn't too cold or rainy.  He has been wearing his dinosaur hat to all of the games.  We have decided that his hat is good luck for the team and therefore needs to wear it.  Every game that he has gone to where he had his dino hat on, the Rams have won!!  We are hoping that it continues to be lucky for the rest of the season and we hope the weather is nice so that Gus can go to the game.  (He didn't go on Friday and we lost...bummer...)

Luckily Gus travels well right now and seems to be okay with the chaos.  So until he isn't okay with it, we will continue to enjoy the chaos.  We only have a few more weeks of football so life will get back to normal soon.

Gus has started to roll over a lot more now.  It has been a lot of fun to watch and he has been scooching on the floor and in his crib.  But watch out!  That means he is going to be starting to move earlier than we thought.  Regardless, it is fun to watch how much he learns everyday!!

Gus Goes to the Game

Gus went to his very first football game. His daddy was coaching and they even won. Flat Rock beat Ida 40-6. It was a great game to watch and it was fun for Gus to meet so many new people. It was his first game of many, many more to come!!

Gus hanging with some of his Varsity football buddies at his first game!

"A.J." and his buddy Joey. When we introduced Joe to our son and told him the full name (Augustus John Martin Stapleton), Joe decided to call him "A.J."

(They even have a secret hand shake!!)
Chatting it up before the first JV game. Gus got to hang out on the field with some of the Varsity players.