Summertime Fun

What a fun but exhausting weekend! It started when I picked the boys up Friday afternoon. I saw Nana's car at the neighborhood pool so I stopped. When I walked up Jake was playing on the steps in the shallow end without his floaties. Pappy was a few feet away and I kept saying be careful Jake, don't do that Jake. Pappy looked at me and said "He's fine, he's been doing this all afternoon"! WHAT?! Since when did he turn into a big boy without floaties? Oh yeah, Sam doesn't use them so why should Jake, right?! Well the next adventure with Jake was when he started jumping into the pool from the ladder to Nana. Then he jumped in from the side of the pool to Pappy! He is fearless which terrifies me! Our beach trip should be fun next week keeping our eyes on Jake!

Ready or not Pappy here I come!!!

Alan's 31st Birthday was Sunday so when he got home from work Saturday we headed down to the lake to celebrate with Grandma, Poppa, Katie, and Parker! The boys always play so good together and in the 4 hours we were together they only fought a few times over the same toy! We stayed at the lake Saturday night so we could spend some time Sunday on the boat. It was incredibly hot Sunday so we stopped the boat to go swimming for a little while. Sam made it known that he did not want to get in so I got Jake and once Sam saw how much fun Jake was having he had to give it a try. I think he was afraid his life jacket wasn't going to hold him and since he could not see the bottom of the lake he was scared. Well, once he got in and realized he was fine he LOVED it! He was jumping off the side of the boat and putting his face under water! He did not want to get back in the boat when it was time to go! I wanted him to intertube with me but he wanted no part of it because the last time he saw Katie on the intertube Alan was driving crazy trying to throw her off. Poppa drove the boat and was pretty easy on me since Sam was watching so close. A few minutes later he stopped the boat because Sam wanted on!! YAY!! He climbed on the tube with me and off we went. I asked him if he like it and he screamed "YES"! We had a great day at the lake and I am so proud of Sam for being such a big boy and trying new things even though he's a little scared!!

Huge Milestones Accomplished

What a great week the Cunningham Boys have had! Both milestones happened Monday however Sam's lasted all week as he took his first round of Swim Lessons! A friend of ours referred us to Ms. Katrina and she is wonderful! Sam went everyday this week for 30 minutes and I am amazed at how much he has learned. Just a few weeks ago he did not even want to be splashed in the pool much less put his head in the water and after his first lesson with Ms. Katrina he was holding his breath and going underwater! After Tuesday's lesson he was learning to swim underwater after jumping in from the side of the pool with no one catching him. Today in his final lesson he was swimming under water to gather rings and torpedos that were on the bottom of the pool. During one of his attempts he actually grabbed 4 torpedos! I am so proud of Sam!!

If you can not see Sam it's because he is underwater swimming to Ms. Katrina after jumping in by himself!

Jake reached a milestone this week too! Monday night we were getting the boys ready for bed and as I searched and searched for Jake's paci I finally decided to try to put him to bed without it! Jake tends to throw his paci when he doesn't want it in his mouth anymore so there is actually no telling where he threw it or where it landed! The boy has a really good throwing arm already! Well, Monday night I knew I would most likely end up at the store buying another set of paci's before the night was over and I am glad to say I was wrong! He went straight to sleep and slept all night! We have still not found the paci (which would be about #20 that we have lost in the house) and he has not had the first fit, not even during naptime! I never thought that I would EVER get that thing away from him because he was so attached!

We are so proud of the boys and their accomplishments this week!!!

Beach Trip #1

Well we finally got out of town this summer! When I found out I had to work from our Pensacola office for just one day I talked to Mom (Nana) and we decided to make it a mini vacation with the kids. We drove down Wednesday afternoon to Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach. The kids were really good in the car. Jake had never been on a car ride longer than an hour except when he was just 5 months old so I was worried how he would act. We turned on the DVD Player and they watched Alvin and the Chipmunks "Sqweakquel" and a Spongebob DVD. Little did I know that I would hear Spongebob the ENTIRE weekend! When we got to the beach we decided to take the kids down to walk on the beach since it was still daylight. Because Jake had never been to the beach he was so much fun to watch! He immediately wanted down to walk on his own which turned into stumbles and finally he crashed into the sand. When he looked up at me he was all smiles! I should have known since he is my little mess maker! We walked down to the water not knowing what to expect since it has been all over the news about the tarballs. To my surprise you could not see any oil anywhere. We stood on the edge of the water and let the waves his the kids feet and I immediately had a tight grip on Jake's hand because he wanted to dive right in!

By the time we got back up to the room and gave the kids a bath it was time for bed! I had not really given much thought to how we were going to sleep since Jake did not have his crib. The first night both kids were in the bed with me. Sam fell right to sleep but Jake was a different story. He was so happy that he was in a big bed and not in his crib that he would sit up and laugh and then when he laid back down he would start clapping his hands! It took about 15 minutes of him acting silly before I handed him over to Nana and let him sleep with her. I just knew he was going to wake Sam up!

Thursday I had to work and Pappy was driving down to play with the kids too! After dinner we went to play Putt-Putt & ride go-carts. Actually Pappy & Sam played while Nana & I wrestled with Jake. The rest of the trip was spent between the pool and the beach and a trip to the Naval Aviation Museum! Oh and watching numerous hours of Spongebob on the DVD Player. Jake has become obsessed so anytime we were in the room it was turned on!

We had a great trip and I can not wait until we go to Panama City in a few weeks with James & Melissa!

Below are just some of the pictures!!

Summer 2010

Summer of 2010 officially started, well actually it started a few weeks ago when Sam finished 3k, but we have been major busy! Here is what has been going on with the Cunningham Boys:

- Sam finished 3K! I can't believe he only has one more year of preschool before he goes to Big School! He had a great teacher this year, Mrs. Margaret, and learned so much! It's amazing how much he learned this year and I can tell he really misses it. He talks about his school friends all the time and is constantly asking if they can come over and play! He is going to Vacation Bible School starting tomorrow at Helena Methodist, which is also where he goes to school. He is excited that he gets to see some of his school friends again! I took Sam for his 4 year checkup today (I know I'm late but the Doctors office was also going through renovations so they were not taking may "well visits")! Sam weighs 48.5lbs and is 43.6" tall! He did great up until they gave him 5 shots! He is done with shots until he is 11 but these 5 really did him in. He was such a big boy and told me when we were done he was NEVER going back to the doctor again because that was NO FUN! Poor thing I don't blame him!

- Jake turned 16 months old and starting to talk a little more. He also graduated from the highchair to the booster seat. He has learned to give the best loves in the whole world. When you ask Jake to give you love he will put his arms around your neck and squeeze as tight as he can! He has learned how to "play" with people too because when Alan asks him to give him love he will and then if I ask him right after Alan he shakes his head No and laughs! He loves playing with Sam in Sam's room. If we don't get our house sold soon we are going to change Sam's room into a playroom and make Jake's room the bedroom for both of them. Sam has been begging me for bunkbeds so he and Jake can sleep in the same room but I don't think Jake is quite ready. We'll see.

More to come this summer on our adventures!

Boys will be Boys

Boys will be boys but this Momma may not survive it!

Last night Jake and Sam were running through the kitchen back into the den. Sam is all about “winning” these days so he bumped Jake and Jake went flying into the door frame between the kitchen & den. I did not see him hit but I heard it! He immediately started crying and kept crying after I picked him up. He usually will quit once someone has picked him up. After about 5 minutes I put him back down and he played and laughed until I looked at him across the room and saw the biggest knot on his forehead above his eye. He would not let me put ice on it so I just watched him for the next hour or so to make sure he was ok. This morning it is still a little puffy and definitely bruised. I knew he was ok when he put on his hat to go to Grandma's.

Sam felt really bad because when Jake was crying Sam immediately began telling him he was sorry. We, of course, told them no more running in the house for the thousandth time. Before I put Jake to bed (an hour or so after it happened) Sam gave him a hug and kiss and told him he was sorry again. Poor Jake!

*This was the best picture I could get because once he quit crying I could not get him to sit still! You can definitely see it since it starts at his hair line and goes down to his eyebrow.

15 Months Old

Jake was 15 months old on April 14th but since his doctors office has been doing some renovation I had to wait until today before I could get a wellness appointment. Jake is so much fun and into everything at this age! He weighs 25.6 lbs (50%-75%) and is 32" long (75%). He is really starting to babble/talk so much more now. He can already say: Momma, Dadda, Outside, Nana, Bubba (Sam), Bye Bye, Uh-oh, That (when he points at something he wants), and Go. If I tell him to put something back or shut the door he usually does it for me. He has also learned to point at himself if he wants to do something. The other night he looked and me and said "Outside" and then pointed to himself!

He LOVES Sam and they are playing together really good at this age. Sam finally lets Jake in his room to play with him and they make the biggest messes! He is also a great faker! If you cough around him he will look at you and do his fake cough. He will also laugh in a crazy way if someone around him is laughing! He loves to climb on chairs and play with trains. He is all boy and keeps us all on our toes!

He also has his temper tantrums now too. He will stomp his feet like he is dancing and start fussing. I tend to think its funny but when he starts it we just ignore it! I laughed so much at Nana the other day when he did his first tap-dance tantrum for her when she had the boys. Jake started his tantrum and Mom turned to Sam and asked Sam "how long does Jake usually do that before he's done!" Sam just said "I don't know"! Ha, looks like even Sam has been ignoring him!

We love you Jakey!

Spring is Here!!

We have had so much fun playing outside the last few weekends! Jake and Sam play really good together and suprisingly Sam has been sharing his toys with Jake! This past Sunday we went to JJ & Issa's house in Gardendale. We went to the park by their house but I think the most excitement came from Sam when JJ took him for a ride on his new 4 wheeler! He has been asking to go back ever since and even found his toy 4 wheeler and has been playing with it all week. I think we have a new obsession!