Pumpkin Patch Express

Sunday we went to the Pumpkin Patch Express with Noni & Pappy! We had a great time! Last year we took the kids to the Pumpkin Patch in Clanton so Sam had not been to Calera in a while and Jake had never been! As soon as we pulled up Jake started yelling "Choo" and pointing at the trains. We rode the train to the Pumpkin Patch where I made the mistake of letting them go in the bounce house first...they did not want to get out to do anything else! We finally convinced them to go on a hayride and pick out a pumpkin but then they were back in the bounce house until it was time to get back on the train! Needless to say they were worn out on the train ride back to the station. Jake passed out in Pappy's lap on the ride back!

Sam & Pappy: Sam doesn't like to smile these days for pictures!

Jake & Pappy: Jake loves to be up high!

Riding the train!

Bounce House!

Jake thinks that anything that looks scary makes a "Roar" noise...even spiders!

Sam talking to the Conductor about the train!

We are ready for Halloween this week. Both boys have their Halloween Parties at school on Friday and then Saturday night we are going to Noni & Pappy's to Trick or Treat since Helena is having their Trick or Treating on Saturday! I have a feeling Jake will beat Sam to some of the houses once he figures out that he gets candy!

Sam's 4K Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

I went with Sam and his 4K class to the Pumpkin Patch in Clanton yesterday and we had a blast! I love this Pumpkin Patch because there is so much for the kids to do. When we first got there Mrs. Elaine brought a snack for the kids while we waited for everyone to arrive. We went to the Petting Zoo first and Sam loved running around looking at all the animals. It was then his classes turn to ride the ponys. I wasn't sure how this would go with Sam because he refused to ride the pony last year. We'll he jumped right in line with Tyler and Caleb and away he went. He loved it! When it was our turn to go on the hayride to the pumpkin patch Sam wanted to sit up front with his buddies which I didn't mind. It gave me a chance to see them interact and hear their conversations which at 4 is hilarious! Once we got to the patch Sam picked out the BIGGEST pumpkin he could find, which was fine except that I had to carry it the rest of the time! Luckily I had brought a bag with me to carry it which made it a little easier, but not any lighter. The kids got to jump around on the hay for a long time which the boys made into a game of "King of the Hay"! It was so funny as they all climbed to the top! The last thing we did was the inflatables. It got Sam just tired enough that he started to get whiny.

When we left I asked Sam what he wanted for lunch since this was "his" day. He chose Moe's so we headed back toward Alabaster. He ate the kid-size burrito and all his chips and cheese dip. He was starving after a fun morning!

We had the best time! I can't believe this is his last year at CCCE! It has flown by! I have loved every one of Sam's teachers and can't believe how much he has learned! I'm glad Jake has started "school" too and I just hope the teachers can handle him!

Sam & Tyler riding the ponys. Must have been hard work because they had to take a break afterwards (See below)!

Most of Sam's 4K Class!

Caleb, Sam, Ethan, and Zac on the Hayride!

I love this one of Sam!

Some of the class with Mrs. Elaine!

The kids playing "King of the Hay"! Sam was the King this time!

Jake's 1st Day at Playschool

Jake had his first day at Playschool today! Ms. Karen loves Mickey Mouse so she made the kids the cutest school bag with their name (pic below). Jake wore his Mickey shirt for his first day of school just for Ms. Karen!

Nana dropped him off and picked him up. She said that Jake started to walk into the classroom this morning until he heard another little boy crying and it made him start to tear up. Nana handed Jake over to Ms. Karen and left. When she got back to the school to pick him up Ms. Karen said that he had a good day! Ms. Karen said that he did cry out a few times throughout the day but that he was good. She said that the kids sat down for lunch but that they did not eat a whole lot. She said that Jake ate more than any of the other kids! HA! That is one thing about Jake, he will eat regardless if he is upset or not! That boys LOVES food, especially the yummy food Nana packed in his lunch. Jake had grapes, cheese, chex-mix, and popcorn chicken! All of his favorites!

I'm sure Friday will be difficult since he will recognize the school but once he gets use to the idea and knows that Nana will be there to pick him up after lunch I think he'll be fine! Sam started out this way and now he is begging us to go to school!

Update on Sam: I have not heard back from the doctor yet but he feels fine (still hasn't had a fever) and is eating normal. He will most likely go to his first day of 4K on Friday! When I told him he said "Yes, Yes, Yes!" I can tell he is ready to see his friends and Ms. Elaine! Actually he said he wanted to see Lauren (his girlfriend)! They are sitting next to each other ALL year! And so it begins...!

Labor Day Weekend

Considering we ended the weekend a little rough we still had a great long weekend!

Saturday the boys stayed home with me and we watched the Bama Game together! When Bama would score the boys would cheer and then come running to me to give me a high-five! I got quite a few high-fives Saturday night!Above: Jake reminds me of Uncle JJ because he stood up to watch the game. I bet he would have paced too if the game had been close!

Sunday we went to the lake with the Cunningham's and the boys played all day! They were worn out Sunday night!

Sam has been asking for me to take him to a new Halloween Store in Alabaster so Monday we had lunch at Golden Rule and went to the Halloween Store. Sam picked out the coolest Batman costume for Halloween and we got Jake a Robin outfit! Sam wanted to try his on when we got home so I put both boys in their costumes and they ran around the house chasing each other! It was hilarious!

ON ANOTHER NOTE:

Tomorrow is Jake's first day at CCCE. I can remember when Sam started there 3 years ago! Wow how time flies! I am anxious to see how Jake does on his first day. Nana will be dropping him off for his first day and I hope it will go smoothly! I am worried that Sam may get upset when they drop Jake off because he can't go to school until Friday or Monday. OR he may be fine since he gets playtime with Nana without Jake interupting! HA! I have gotten some emails today from some of the Mom's of Sam's school friends that said the first day went well but that Sam was missed! I love CCCE...the teachers, parents, and kids! Oh and especially Ms. Amy (the director)!

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!!