He's a whole hand now!

Today Zander, my very last baby, turns five! I can't believe that 5 years have gone by in the blink of an eye. He has changed before our eyes from a perfect sweet little baby who wanted nothing more than to be loved and held into a smart independent big boy who will still pick being loved and snuggled over most things :)

My pregnancy with Zander was amazing, we were all so excited to be bringing him into our family. Adam and I were so happy to have a child who would never have to go off for a visit with another parent, we missed our other kids so much when they were gone and it was so exciting to have a little bit of a distraction to fill the void when they were gone. The boys were happy to be getting a little brother..... Lyndsay was initially disappointed that Zander was a boy and not the sister she had been hoping for but then she came upon the bit of wisdom that if he was a boy she would forever remain daddy's one and only little girl, and she kinda liked that!

Lyndsay has always been a girl who is beyond her years and at the age of 12 she was very involved in the pregnancy. She was on conference call for the ultrasound to find out the sex since she was in California at the time, she was constantly telling me not to carry things, or lift, or skip meals.... it was like having a midwife watching me whenever she was there! I loved it. She loved to rub my belly and get Zander to kick, we could lay in my bed talking and playing with my belly for so long in the evenings. After getting special permission from her mom it was decided that Lyndsay would be in the room with Adam and I for the birth. Zander was actually due on June 19th and Lyndsay was supposed to come for the summer sometime around June 10th, should have been no problem, but as she was visiting for labor day my Dr. told me he could come at any time and we got a bit worried. Lyndsay started taking me on long daily walks, jumping on the trampoline, eating spicy foods together..... we were getting quite worried that she might miss the birth and that would just be sad. 2 days before she was supposed to leave we decided to give Castor oil a try but nothing seemed to happen.... we kind of gave up and Adam and I decided to take all 4 kids to the movies for some fun. About 1/2 hour into the movie the contractions started but after paying for 6 movie tickets we were staying for that dang movie! I spent most of it in the hall or bathroom and when it was over we went right to the hospital with all the kids in tow.... I'm sure we were quite the sight! Lynz and I were so excited, the baby was coming and she was going to be here to see it! We got checked in to the hospital and grandma came to pick up the boys for the night.

The birth didn't go quite as planned, in fact I had to have a C-section so Lyndsay had to wait in the hall but she was a trooper and was still one of the first to see her little brother, and was there for me from the time we went in to the hospital and after the baby was born. She was amazing!

Zander had to spend a few days under oxygen to help his lungs but was otherwise perfect. Since we could only touch and rub his body but not really hold him for those days the minute he was released he was held 24/7, and he loved it! He turned into the baby that just wanted human contact at all times, and he had a mommy and daddy who were happy to give it to him!

He grew up so fast, I don't know how old he was but I know that other than mama and dada his first words were "DILWAY" (Dylan" which was always yelled" "SIS" which was Lynz and "Show-ay" which was shower. Those words summed up his favorite things.

Daddy Loved to pose him in things like pots and baskets of apples..... the favorite I think was the tiny tents set up at camping stores, Daddy loved to put the baby anywere a baby wouldn't normally be found.... that's my hunny... that's why we love him!

Now at 5 Zander has actual friends, he gets invited over to people's houses.... without me! He is excited about starting school this year, he is growing up and I am so very proud of him..... and so happy that he still starts every day with snuggle time with mommy and daddy if he is home, just 10 minutes of laying together and hugging and talking about how we slept starts his day off in the right direction and I love that about my boy!

Happy Birthday Zander Boy, no matter how big you get you will always be my baby!

the best looking boys in town!

This is how we woke up this morning..... Adam was already off to school and I told Aidan to be quiet while getting himself ready to not wake his brother up. He looked at me and said "mom, Zander's not here" Just as I suspected I found him sleeping soundly snuggled up to his grandma who had spent the night with us. They both looked pretty dang content!

Here is a cute shot of my 11 year old Aidan right after
his band concert, proud as can be!

I should also mention that he rocked getting the principal's honor roll award today,

straight A's and lunch with the principal! Smart and cute!

Sweet Zander tying to mimic his brother's look :)

Aidan getting ready to perform his big solo during his band concert/

He ROCKED IT of course!

Aidan hanging out with his sweet girlfriend Ashley..
Cute aren't they!?

So there you have it, my pride and joy. I have the most amazing sweet, smart, and compassionate boys I could ever imagine. I love them more than life. I attribute the way they are greatly to the influence my husband has on them, you can see it in their jokes, their personalities, and the way they love to do things as a family.

Adam Todd Staley, I couldn't have made these guys into who they are without you. We all love you Alpha Dog!

Spring break Staley Style Part 1 Pat's Run

Although spring break in AZ was a month ago we didn't do much at that time, we waited until the California kids (Lynz, Dylan, and Aiden Tanner) had their spring break and came out to play! They all 3 flew out on the 14th so that Lynz could run with Adam in Pat's Run. Aidan Wolfe and I decided to run as well, and Zander rode along in the stroller. Dylan and A.T. are both healing from some injuries so they cheered us on! We have run in Pat's Run for years, but missed the last 2. (Adam had a broken foot in 09 and in 2010 I can't remember for sure but I think it was just a rough year and we skipped it) The run is a benefit to honor Pat Tillman who played football for ASU and had a contract with the Cardinals but put it off to fight for our country. He was killed by friendly fire while he was in the army, it was such a selfless act to give up his football career! I love this cause, and the feeling of the entire event, there is so much love and patriotism in the air. I think it teaches out kids a very good lesson, and the money that is made goes to the Tillman foundation who gives scholarships for college. The run is 4.2 miles and ends on the 42 yard line of Sun Devil stadium, it is an amazing feeling to run in there!

This year it was PACKED!!!!! We had so much fun, Adam killed it and finished the race in 28 minutes, that is under 7 miles per minute! Since there were so many people running they split us into groups based on our estimated finish times, Adam was in the first group to start, Lynz is a good strong runner so she was close to the front, and Aidan and I were towards the middle. As I was taking Aidan to where we were to go I found out that anyone pushing a stroller was being asked to start in the last group to not trip up other runner. Completely logical but I had to leave Aidan on his own which was a bit nerve wracking considering the 2007 incident where he ran on his own at the very end and somehow missed that he had passed through the finish line and just kept on running, through the stadium, through the ASU parking lot, up the parking garage..... it wasn't until the group of people he had apparently been following got into their car that he realized something was amiss. 700 brown haired boys in the same shirt makes 1 hard to find, fortunately he found a race official who quickly brought him back to the finish area and paged us! He was so big about it and did great this year! He finished the race in just over an hour, all on his own! Way to go buddy! The timing was done with chips so it didn't matter when you started, your time didn't start until you crossed the start line, but it was funny that as I was finally starting I saw Lynz running towards the finish line! I finished an hour and 5 minutes. It was an amazing time and I hope we can continue doing it every year!

We had more of a packed week but I will get to that