Fun in the Ice??

Illinois has been hit with freezing cold weather, including ice and snow and below zero temperatures. Most of the ice was inches thick in most places. Right now, about a week after these pics it is sunny and in the 50s! Illinois weather is always crazy! Who knows! Steve got a cheapo sled for Colin and brought him out on the driveway to slide down it and into the street. Yes, we checked for cars each time! :) He had so much fun going down and then trying to make it back up with the sled. Dad ended up carrying him and the sled up again because it was so slippery. Colin really wanted Cade to come with him. So, I bundled him up (if you look closely he has no boots on, yes, bad mom I am! - his don't fit (from Colin) and I didn't have anything that would fit him, so we went out quickly with no boots on). He wasn't very happy (what is it with this kid lately!) I think they are hilarious though. Colin and Cade going down and Cade just screaming - probably due to the shear freezingness of the outside, not to mention he had nothing on over his socks. Well, we lasted....40 seconds outside, if that! Colin and dad only lasted about 4 minutes but had so much fun. It was way too cold to stay out longer than they did. I was freezing in the few short seconds I ran outside to take their pics. I guess braving the cold was worth it because after Colin thawed out, he wanted to go again!!

Santa visit

We made it out to visit Santa at the mall one afternoon. I knew Colin was very into Santa this year. Cade...well, I thought he might a) laugh hysterically at a man dressed in the red suit or b) pull his beard and then laugh. Cade never really cries at anything, except maybe when Colin takes toys away from him or he is tired. Little did I know...Cade did NOT like Santa this year and screamed very loudly at this strange man holding him. They caught Colin halfway smiling, but most of the time, he was looking at Cade with shear disappointment telling him to stop crying on Santa's lap and telling him that Santa is watching. I didn't really mean to laugh at my child (who is only 1), but I couldn't help it. My mom and I were both in the background by the camera and were just laughing. Poor Cade! Here is the pic of them...Colin halfway smiling and Cade, well, just screaming his head off!

The Cunningham Rewind...

I have been a terrible blogger the last month or so. It has been crazy around our house and I haven't had one moment to sit down and load pictures on the computer so I could blog. Then, I got so far behind, that I didn't have enough time to catch up. So, I am slowly doing a rewind of our last month. I caught up on 3 main events from that time and still have several to catch up on. People probably will get bored and not want to read any more, oh well! :) Enjoy your trip through October and November with the Cunninghams! Colin and Cade's birthday posts are coming next, so stay tuned!!

The Birthday Party

We had the boys birthday parties on November 15th this year. Since the boys birthdays are only 2 days apart, we will always have joint parties...at least family ones! We had a lot of people here and the boys had so much fun and got lots of fun things too!
Here are some shots of the boys opening presents. Colin loves opening presents, and wants to make sure he knows who each one is from. Cade got into it also. Once he opened one thing, he just wanted to walk away with that and left me opening presents. People would point him back in my direction and we would start all over. He did a nice job of not eating the paper, so I was impressed!

Colin and his cake. We have had a "CARS" party for the last 2 years. He absolutely loves the movie and all of the characters. He chose MACK to be on his cake this year. It turned out awesome and Colin couldn't have been happier. He just kept smiling and saying "Mack is on my cake!" When I went to cut it, he had to have his eyes...that was kind of hard, but how do you tell the birthday boy no??

I was hoping Cade would make a complete mess, but at least he ate some of it and got a little dirty. He didn't like the little cupcake I put in front of him, but once the whole cake was put in front of him, he was happier and started digging in. He kept putting his hands up to anyone that walked by to either pick him up or clean his hands. I don't know where my boys get that from!??

A few more shots from the party. Colin has been wanting a pinata at his birthday party for quite some time. I got his McQueen one at Walmart. I had never seen the pull string ones, and I was thrilled that no one had to beat him to death so it would open. I think if that is what had to happen, Colin would have been traumatized! Anyways, we had lots of fun with family and friends. Until next year...

Halloween weekend

So, Colin decided we were all going to be The Incredibles this year. I thought it was great, however, Steve did NOT. But, he is a great dad and went with it. We did have a Halloween party to go to so we could justify buying the outfits and having fun dressing up as a family. Colin loved it! Steve was Bob - Mr. Incredible, I was Elastigirl, Colin was Dash, and Cade was Jack-Jack. We are missing a Violet...maybe someday we will have a girl!

Here are the "Incredible" pictures...Steve is going to kill me for posting these of him! :)

Steve, Colin, and my brother, Brad carved pumpkins this year at my parents house. Halloween is my dad's birthday so every year we go over there to carve pumpkins and trick or treat. Colin doesn't like getting messy, so he wore a glove the entire time he was working with the pumpkin. I don't really think he actually did anything besides stand there and look busy!

Mini vacation to FL for Katie & Dalan's wedding

Erin, Kevin, Kim, Craig, Steve, and I traveled to Sarasota, Florida for Katie Hill's wedding on October 25th. We flew out of Bloomington early Thursday morning - I had to wake up at 4 and I am NOT a morning person. The only thing that was convincing me to get up and moving was the Florida sunshine! We got to FL and it was beautiful compared to our cold Bloomington weather.

We spent Thursday afternoon hanging out on the beach and exploring the resort. That evening, the girls went out and had lots of fun! We all slept in until around 11...I am blaming it on jetlag!
The wedding was on Saturday and was beautiful. The day was awesome and as you can see from the pics below, I got burnt and Erin got some sunglass marks from laying out! We had fun in the ocean and taking walks during the day. The wedding was on the beach and was gorgeous with the ocean as the background. We all had so much fun catching up with our friends from high school, some of who we hadn't seen in years!

It was a nice mini vacation, but we definitely missed the boys and were anxious to get back. We didn't get back in town until around 10 on Sunday night so we didn't get to see the boys until after work on Monday. My parents were wonderful and watched the boys for 5 straight days...they now realize why my house is always messy! :)

Colin at Homecoming

Colin was asked to walk the crown at Bloomington High School's Homecoming this week. A good family friend of ours works at the high school and her granddaughter was going to walk the "girl crown" and needed a friend to walk the "boy crown". Colin was there to help out. Ryane Engle and him walked together in a wedding last October and it didn't go so well. Colin cried the whole way down the aisle because Ryane wouldn't hold his hand. Well, with bribing and a little bit of maturity, Colin did awesome this time around. I can't believe he did so well...there were like 1500 students yelling and screaming in the gym!

This pic cracks me up! The crown was so big and tall, he couldn't see over it.

The sequence of the kiddos walking the crown down the the king and queen. I told Colin if the crown started to fall, to catch it with his chin because his hands were beneath the pillow. Well, the crown did start to fall and he had to catch it with his chin. He looks kind of funny in some of the pics because it looks like he is rubbing his face against the velvet or something. Overall, he did an awesome job. We are so proud of him for being such a big boy! Plus, the biased mommy I am...I think he looks so handsome (and old/grown up too!) :)

I had to throw in something of my little baby...who isn't so little anymore.

Rader's Pumpkin Patch

On Friday after school, my mom, Colin, Cade, and I went down the road to a local pumpkin patch. They had so much fun! We played on the hay stack maze, tunnels and slide, rode wagons, trikes, and played in the corn box. Cade was just amazed at everything around him. Colin had been there before, so he knew what to expect, but loved every minute of it. Cade was trying to keep up with Colin, he was climbing the hay stacks very quickly. I don't quite know if I am ready for that...he is only 10 months old!

If anyone knows Colin, you will be laughing hysterically when you hear this one... My child does NOT like to have messy clothing on. Nothing can be wet, dirty, etc. So, long story short...Colin found a pumpkin and wanted to help me carry it to the wagon. He wasn't watching where he was going and tripped over a rotten pumpkin. He ended up with pumpkin guts all over his jeans. He didn't quite know what to do so he just laid there for a few moments and looked up to me. I just stayed quiet, not really knowing how he was going to act since he was dirty. GG was in front of us so she got a great shot of it! :) He ended up being just fine after GG cleaned him up. Although, he did walk with a straight leg on the dirty pant leg side for the remaining time we were there. Who knows?!

Some more fun random shots.

Jameson Family pics

For Christmas last year, Steve and I gave my mom a photo shoot of the whole family. We decided to wait and have them taken during the summer so everyone would "look healthy" with their tans. Well, we did it at the beginning of August and it was record breaking temperatures. Seriously. It was on the news that night. Nice day we picked! Oh well.

We met Lynne at 6:30 that night at Ewing Castle in Bloomington and it was 99 degrees out. Within minutes of being there my hair was frizzy, all of the guys were sweating through thier shirts, and Colin was beat red in the face with wet hair. Regardless of the weather...the pictures turned out awesome and my mom was thrilled! Lynne, once again, did a wonderful job. We love her! :)

Some more of the family...notice the one of my parents with Colin and Cade. Colin was so hot, he didn't want anymore pics taken. He didn't quite know he was in the picture, so it is just hilarious!

Some of my family

The Doug Jameson family

Have you ever been this tired?

No need to say much about the pics below...

Cade was so tired the other night he literally fell asleep in his high chair while eating (doesn't look that comfortable to me)! Then he woke up a bit later and started eating again! Too funny not to share! :)

Thanks for the tip on the new collages Ali - I love them! :)

Little Bears Fans

Thought these were too cute not to post. A couple of Sundays ago both boys had their Bears gear on to watch the game. Well, they didn't end up watching the game per say, but saw a couple bits and pieces of it. Got to start some where, right? :) Colin had to hold Cade in most of the pics because he can't sit still! It is hard to hold a 9.5 month baby still, so Colin did a great job at trying for me!

You all know I love the potty, so here Cade is attempting to go potty! He never went, but the pics turned out cute! I love how he is "reading" his book on the pot. Such a man (already!) :)

Cade and Jenna on game day, both in their Bears gear. Jenna is my cousin in town going to IWU and so generously picking up Colin from preschool two days a week! You are the best Jenna!

My Baby is All Grown Up...

Colin started pre-school this week! Can he be old enough? It is hard to believe he is in fact old enough to go to school. He is attending a program at Normal Community High School 3 days a week from 9-10:30. From what we have heard from several people, this program (put on by a lead teacher and high school students interested in early education) is one of the best in town. We are very excited to have gotten in! We are also very fortunate to have people willing to take him to and from pre-school. My mom takes him two mornings a week and Jenna, my cousin, in town attending IWU, picks him up two days a week. Our sitter Lori, takes him and picks him up the other day.
The high school students are assigned a child (Colin has two) and they are in charge of picking him up and taking him to and from the cars (among other things). It works out great for the drivers...they don't have to get out of the car! :)

My mom, his GG, took Colin on his first day, Tuesday to school. She went in with him to help carry all of his supplies, etc. and took pics for me. I was doing so good until I saw these two below. I had tears well up in my eyes...my baby is in SCHOOL!

He had so much fun this week, learning, meeting new people, and trying new things. He can't wait until he goes to school next week. I think partly it is because he gets to wear his new tennis shoes there, but hey, whatever works! :)

The St. Louis Zoo!

The next morning, on Sunday, we went to the zoo. My mom, brothers, and my sister in law headed home that morning. My dad, Steve, the boys, and I stayed back to go go the zoo. Wade, Steve's cousin, joined us for the trip to the zoo. Of course, it was hotter than heck the day we went. We love that zoo. First of all, it is free, and second, they have so many different animals there. We didn't stay too long due to the heat, but we made it around to all of the animals Colin wanted to see.

Here are some pics from our day there.

Colin and a giraffe. See how hot Colin looks? :)

Lots of fun pics from the day. Poor Cade slept through the whole thing. I tried to keep the sun off him by putting a blanket over the stroller, that of course made it even hotter. Nothing worked! Colin did enjoy himself though, so that is what counts. At the end of the day, Colin really wanted to have his face painted. He picked the dog. We seriously got it done as we were leaving...by the time we got to the car, it was running off his face due to him sweating.


This is my son...exactly like his father...
"NO more pictures Mommy! "

St. Louis Trip

At the beginning of August, my family all went to St. Louis for the weekend. Steve, the boys and I went down on Friday night and stayed at the Hilton by the Ball Park. We got there around 8, so didn't have much time to do anything. We did walk the square and go get something to eat. We also found the fountain and played in it for awhile. The next morning, we met my family at the brewery for a VIP tour. We were pretty much amazed at how they do things there. It is all done by computers and machines now and it happens very quickly! We saw some pictures on the wall from when they opened the plant and it was all done by people and took so much longer. Amazing growth in technology, I guess!

After we got done with the tour, we headed to Grant's Farm. It, of course, was a very hot day and we were going to a smelly farm, but Colin really enjoyed it, so it was worth the sweat! We saw lots of animals and rode on the train around the grounds of the farm. We saw the Clydesadeles (however you spell it) both at the brewery and the farm. Colin was amazed at how big they were! He actually got really close to one and thought it was really neat to be able to pet them. I think we all thought that too! :)

After Grant's farm, we headed to the hotel. On Saturday night, we stayed at Union Station. We played around there for awhile, rode the paddle boats (yes, I am wearing a skirt, didn't plan to drive the paddle boats - real nice, I know!), walked around the mall and fed the fish in the little lake. We then went to dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Really good food! :) We then headed back to the hotel and got the boys ready for bed. My parents were nice enough to watch the boys so us big kids could go out for the evening. We met Wade and Karen (Steve's cousin and his wife) out. They live right downtown St. Louis. It was nice seeing them while having fun with Brad, Sarah, and Chris.

At AB brewery

At Grant's Farm on a very hot day!

Paddle boats and dinner fun.

All in all, great trip. It is always fun to hang with the family! The next morning, we went to the St. Louis zoo. I'll post those later.

New Addition

And, no I am NOT pregnant! :)

Sorry it has been forever since I have blogged. My life has been crazy with the start of school soon. All of my free time is playing with the boys and preparing at school...I promise to be better from now on. I have a ton of pics to put on if that counts!

My brother and sister in law adopted two new puppies. They are approximately 8 weeks old and they rescued them from a shelter here in town. They went for one puppy and came home with two! They are practicing for the twin babies they will have later in life! :) Anyways, they are both girls and are so cute! Morgan & Bailey are actually really good puppies. They slept through the night on the first night home and were dry too! If only babies could do that - life would be awesome!

Morgan (the little bit bigger one & black) is the more adventurous one. Bailey (the other one) is so tiny and timid, at least when I have been around them. Brad & Sarah might differ in opinions, but at least when I have been around, Morgan is always on the hunt for something! Seriously, they are two of the cutest puppies I have ever seen. So sweet and innocent looking...I hope for their sake they stay like that! :)

They are getting spade next week and are supposed to find out exactly what mix they both are. They aren't siblings though. They were rescued from Kentucky and brought to our shelter here in Bloomington.

Colin now wants a dog...I told him we could go to Brad and Sarah's house any time he wanted. I told him we could have a fish instead. Then he came up with the idea that Brad & Sarah could switch with us and they could have our fish (that we don't even have yet - poor fish getting traded before he even had a chance) and we could have their dogs. I have to give him credit, he was trying! But...no dogs for the Cunninghams!

Here are some pics of the newest additions to the Jameson clan. Cade just cracked me up, he didn't know what to think. The dogs were just about his size and kept licking him. They are so cute! Enjoy!

Fun at the Library

Colin loves reading more than anything. He constantly has books in his hands and even goes to sleep with a pile of books in his bed. Sometimes when I think he is asleep, I go in and check on him and find him reading his books instead! Little stinker! So, this summer we signed him up for the summer reading program. He had to read 5 books a week to get a prize. So, each week, we would go to the library and he got to pick a prize out. He usually went for the Steak & Shake milkshake coupons, Denny's Doughnuts doughnuts coupons, or McDonald's ice cream cone coupons. Once he did pick a free DVD rental from the library. My kid loves desserts! :)

Every week, he got to pick out 5 books to take home for the week. They also have a Discovery room to play in there. Here are some pics from our recent trip to the library. The reading program is now over and since he completed it he got a ticket for a free book to take home. He loved the whole program and definitely loved checking out books (mostly about cars, trucks, etc.) I need to make sure to make time during the school year to continue going there. We are fortunate that our sitter brings the kids to the library often, too. As you can see, even Cade enjoys the library, especially when Colin reads to him there.

Enjoy!

Colin & Cade's Photo Shoot

We had the boys pictures taken this summer by a very talented photographer, Lynne Sugai, who was actually a parent in my classroom last school year. She did an awesome job! I love taking pictures of the boys, however, mine never turn out this good! I love how she captures their personalities, innocence, and love, all with a photograph. I am so happy to have these pics to remember them both at this age.
We took them at a local park, Ewing, and she just followed them around and went with whatever they were doing. She joked with Colin and made him laugh and smile. I love all of them! These are some of my favorites, I knew I couldn't post all of them and thought the collage was the way to go (it took me forever trying to narrow them down to a 9 pic collage). It was really hard to choose which ones to put up, so imagine how hard it was for me to decide which ones to print and frame for my house (my cd had 350 to choose from!) All of the pics are amazing! I love all of them! Enjoy!

Sweet Baby Cade

Brotherly Love

Big Boy Colin

As you can tell, I love the close up ones...they seem to take my breath away. Everytime I look at them (the pics), just seeing how much they grow each and every day it reminds me to stop and enjoy each and every moment with them.