Toddlerhood

Ok, so I have been updating you on the whole family lately and I realized that we haven't had a whole of Gracie stories. Let me tell you, we are totally into the toddler stages. We have so many bruises I am not surprised that the daycare was wondering where they came from. Now don't get me wrong, they weren't worried, I am probably one of the few moms that expect a complete "download" of her day when I pick her up so I am confident that they know I don't harm my child. Not to mention I am sure 90% of her "owies" come from daycare. Well, I am pretty sure I told you about Gracie's big "owie" in the last blog. Let's just say she is a monkey who thinks walking on the couch is a good idea. Poor baby has a pretty bruise on the side of her forehead from when she fell of the couch and met the ottoman. She may look like her daddy but she has her mommy's klutziness. Today she fell at daycare and now has another red mark/bruise on the bridge of her nose. Did I mention we are hoping to do 18 month pictures next week?

Gracie is learning new things everyday. She is quite my little helper. She helps put her toys away, until today she helped with putting her cups out of the dishwasher (she broke mommy's spoon holder), she helps put her laundry away, she is just a good little helper. Gracie's vocabulary has grown a lot too. She can say up to about 15 words. Her favorite's are puppy, ma ma and da da. OH is she a silly girl. She will laugh at herself no matter if it is funny or not. For example, she likes to hit me....only me....not daddy or any of the daycare ladies...just me. As soon as she connects, she giggles. By the time I tell her no she is in full out laughter. Another silly thing she does is when she is walking really fast (almost running) she keeps one arm up to her tummy like it is paralyzed. It is too cute. It's almost like she is just saving that energy for later. The thing is she never has to tap into it! ha ha!

Gracie is back to eating us out of the house. We have found that she LOVES watermelon. Oh, and ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. I got Matt a DQ cake for his birthday and she goes banana's when she sees us getting it out of the freezer. She also eats all day every day. She is starting to ask for milk or juice too. Usually we ask her if she wants one or the other she responds with a yes or no. Now she is say "milh" or "uice."

Let's face it...she is just too cute. Well, it is almost my bedtime and I am ready for it. It was a long day today and tomorrow isn't looking any better. I will be so glad when Friday gets here. Enjoy the next 2 days. I will post some pictures later on this week. Matt is working late tomorrow so I am thinking it might be a park day tomorrow. Ciao!

Pics from the last week...

Gracie was all about the rocking horse this week at Gymboree! Between activities she ran straight for it.


Matt on MY new bike! ha ha! This is not his new one...just the one I inherited!


Gracie and Miss Mia...it was Miss Mia's last day at Gymboree, we are going to miss her tons!


Gracie being Gracie after a bath. She was running down the hallway in her towel screaming at the top of her lungs. The she lost the towel so she was naked as a jay bird!

Playing at Gymboree. You can tell she loves going.

Playing with Daddy...she loves when both of us are able to go.

Playing at Chuckie Cheese's for Ben's B-day party.

Gracie has slept in her crib for 3 weeks now. It was not a hard transition at all. We were lucky I can tell you that! I thought she looked too cute and relaxed!

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day to all of you out there. It is very hard in these times to find someone that doesn't have or know someone directly in the military or is a veteran. Being married to a soldier myself and experiencing loosing those we know, Memorial Day is very dear to my heart. Make sure you let veterans and soldiers you know that you are thinking of them today. Also don't forget those that are fighting for your country and those have lost their lives defending your freedom. They are never forgotten.

We have had a very busy weekend but relaxing in the same token. Friday was Matt's birthday and he got a BIG gift. We have been talking about getting a second bike because believe it or not I have gotten into motorcycles. I thought it would be fun for Matt and I to go riding on the weekends at some point in time when Gracie was older. Well, we actually had to go to the Harley dealership to pick up some paperwork for the Sportster. There was a bike Matt has been keeping his eye on...and they cut him a deal. So needless to say, I am now an owner of Harley along with my husband. Now we realize that we aren't going to get to ride all that much due to the fact that Matt is going to be gone most of the summer and Gracie is still small but we can still maybe squeeze some time in. I am not worried about having time....it will come later on. Everyone I have talked to on the phone is shocked that I want to ride motorcycles, but honestly, I am going to bring the fabulousness to motorcycle riding. I will come home in heels and put on biker boots and ride with the wind in my silver and pink helmet and my pink jacket as soon as I find one I like!!! ha ha!

Saturday we went to Gymboree (will post pictures as soon as I get them loaded on my computer) and then I went to a Pampered Chef party. It was a pretty laid back day but nice. Sunday was pretty much the same thing. Gracie and I ran some errands while Matt went on a benefit run for the Special Olympics. After Gracie and I went grocery shopping we came home and cleaned house. Gracie has turned into quite the little monkey lately. She has been climbing over everything she can. Well, it was only a matter of time before she fell off of something and sure enough she did. She fell off the couch trying to walk on it (which we have warned her about numerous times) and fell off, bumped the edge of the ottoman and now has a nice pretty bruise on her forehead. Once Matt got home from his ride, we went out to Olive Garden (thanks Mom's for the gift certificate) to celebrate our 8 year anniversary. Matt might have a color guard event tomorrow so we decided to celebrate early. We got dressed up a bit which was a nice change of pace. Dinner was great...nice and yummy. We then rented a movie so we could relax at home. It was a perfect way to celebrate our anniversary.

Today we are having a BBQ at our house. Some of Matt's work friends are coming over. I have gotten the beans, corn, and ice cream cake done. We are just having hamburgers and hot dogs. Nothing fancy. I haven't loaded pictures from this weekend yet, but I will tonight and post them later on. We here at the Cunningham household hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend. I will post more later on tonight! Tootles for now!

And I thought Monday's were bad!!!

Ok, quick post because I need to revisit my day, talk about one more time, and just move on. So why not share with as many people as I can because I cannot believe how crazy my day was. I mean we are talking chocolate cake with icing, ice cream on the side with whip cream, add some fudge, some nuts, and a cherry on top and that is my day...only it is not nearly as yummy as that! We had no less then 10 major issues at work and since I am the go to girl....I had my hand in ALL of them. Then my lunch ran late and over due to the fact Subway was majorly busy. Then I wasn't able to leave work on time to get to the Biggest Loser Challenge at the canyon...yeah we ran that bad boy again! So I had to change in my car. I only really needed to change my pants because I had a tank top on which was all I need considering it was 95 degrees out. So while I was changing and attempting to be discreet, I realized that I not only grabbed the wrong pants, but I grabbed the ones I wore when pregnant which means they were stretched out already. Not to mention that I have lost 15 pounds so we are talking it is amazing they were staying while standing...they did not stay there while I was running. What a sight it was to run while hold a bottle of water, my cell phone (just in case the daycare needed me) and my car keys. Which brings me to the next part of my day. I had to park on an incline sideways (think parallel with the hill) and I got out of my car to put on another tank top for the "layered" look. (Yes, it is necessary to look decent when I am working out.) Well, as soon as I stepped out of the line of the door a gust of wind partnered with the fact gravity was already against me due to the fact that I was parked on a hill, yep you guessed it, my car was still running and the doors where locked. I swear I watched the door close in slow motion as I was saying NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. So I had to call Matt to come and unlock my car. At this point I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. So I ran, went to go get Gracie, and low and behold, I left my keys in the day care room which meant after I enticed Gracie out the door which is hard to do since she thinks everyone has to admire her and her Elmo bag which she pushes like a pully suitcase it took forever to get out the door. Thank goodness that a mom recognized my keys and brought them out to me. I am now home fixing dinner patiently waiting until Matt gets home so we can eat and I can lay down in bed, watch TV, and RELAX! Oh what a day!

Gracie is on her way....

into toddler hood. Let me tell you, this weekend has been a struggling one. All weekend long, she has been whiny, throwing fits, and doing stuff that I have been dreading since she was born. Now, the thing is as soon as she gets her way, she is good, but the thing is, she can't always get her way. Even though it has been an exhausting weekend as far as the new toddler antics she is still so cute. She walked around screaming Ma Ma until I answered her and then she turned around and did the same thing with her dad. It is hard not to giggle at her when she is having a "break down" even though it is completely fake.

Other then that we had a good weekend. I had to work Saturday which was ok...it ended up being a short day, I was home by 1 but we had issues so it was still challenging. Matt and I had a date night after I got home. We went to the mall and a movie. It was really nice to spend time with him. I wasn't feeling well the first half (I ended up having a migraine today so that explains why), but we still had a great time.

It is going to be another busy week this week but I will try to post soon. I am going to do a day in the life of Gracie post here soon. I think it would be fun for all of you to see what she does all day. Enjoy your Monday and I promise to have pictures soon!

Mother's Day Pictures

So I forgot the pictures I took over the weekend. On Saturday we attended my friend Leda's college graduation....CONGRATS LEDA! There are a few at the bottom of that day. Then yesterday Gracie and I went to the park. It was REALLY hot so we didn't do the slides and swings because it would have burned her little legs. Although after shopping at the PX for awhile she was tired of not being able to run. So we just walked around for awhile. It was fun and I got some cute pictures...enjoy!!!

This picture is my favorite of the day...she looks like such a princess!


Another cute one!


Too cute...she was running all over!

She is so careful when she walks...

Giggly in the back seat at the carwash

Mom...stop taking pictures...I wanna play!!!

Me, Leda, and Gracie on Sunday

Running around with Daddy waiting for Leda

First time Harley and Gracie took a nap together!

Warning: It's going to be a long one!!

So I am going to start with apologizing again that I haven't been updating on the blog lately...especially since Gracie has started doing new things like crazy. We honestly have been super busy in our world and sometimes I would sit down on the computer to type a blog and I just didn't have enough brain power to form more then 2 sentences. So I will say sorry again and I will try to do better here in the future.

First of all let me tell you that we had a FANTASTIC vacation. The drive to San Diego was long but worth it. When we got to San Diego (SD) we attempted to go to a beach close to LA but they charged for parking and like we had any cash on us. We are debit card people...which means if we have cash on us you might want to make sure pigs aren't flying through the air. So we just headed to the hotel and begged for an early check in so we could clean off and nap. The boys did most of the driving so they were really tired. Then we headed over to Outback for dinner which was very yummy. On Monday we headed to the zoo. Gracie had such a great time looking at the animals. I think we all loved the polar bears the best. Gracie lasted a couple of hours then she pooped out and slept through the bigger animals. After we got through there, we headed over to Mission Beach where we laid out in the sun and relaxed. Oh it was nice to relax. The boys played a bit in the water but I was only brave enough to get my feet wet. The water was still very cold. I have to tell you though, Gracie did not dig the sand at all. She wouldn’t even walk to me. It was so cute…at first she whimpered a bit then she flat out screamed. Tuesday we headed to SeaWorld. It was so fun. When I was a child, I always wanted to be a marine biologist so I was really excited to see all the sea life. Gracie loved all the animals, but again she took a nap about 2 hours in. Shamu was her favorite. We headed back the next day (Wednesday) which meant that Heather and Chris were out the door the next day. We love spending time with them and are always sad to see them go. San Diego was so much fun…I love vacation but I am way glad to be home too.

So now on to Miss Gracie….it will be easier to “bullet” all the new things she is doing. She is so silly and cute. Every day she learns something new which is fascinating to watch. I am going to miss being around her all day after vacation. So here it goes:

· Gracie eats very well with her spoon
· She practically runs when she walks
· She only uses one arm to help her propel herself when she is running
· She knows what a fish is and points to it when you ask where it is
· Says about 10 words
· She understands a lot of things you ask like “are you done with lunch?” “Can you bring me your shoes?”
· Every time I prompt her to say “mommy” she says “daddy” but then she says mommy when she wants me
· She loves her puppies….a lot!
· She loves ice cream and frozen lemonade
· She wants to walk everywhere…she is getting so independent
· We have moved her into her crib which is in our room and she sleeps there about 75% of the night….pretty good considering she has never slept there that much
· Her favorite music is theme songs to Friends, Wonder Pets, and Grey’s
· We have had our first real boo boo….skinned knee….poor baby
· She is still the best thing that has happened to Matt and I…she is our girl!


Finally, HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all of you mommies out there. Each child is a blessing from God. We are so blessed to have Gracie after years of trying for her. It is one of the hardest things I had to go through, but I would do it all over again if I had too. For you mom-wanna-be’s, my advice to you, enjoy each day for what it is and know that God has a plan for you, you just have to be patient. (That coming from one of the most impatient people)!!!! I had a great Mom’s Day. We ate breakfast as a family, then I got to spend a couple hours with Gracie while Matt when for a bike ride, and then we had a mini family BBQ (just the three of us) and movie night. I couldn’t have asked for a better day. Even better Matt told me to order the bag I have been talking about ever since Heather got off the plane last week!!!! Love that man!!!

Well, I have talked your ear off enough. I will let you all go and enjoy your week! I have one more day off until it is back to work! Here is a slide show with all the pics from vacation!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I have been Missing in Action....

It seems like I am always apologizing about not posting in a timely manner and this time is no different. I did take a break from the blog but only because I have been so busy. It has been crazy trying to get ready for vacation. Heather and Chris did make it here which means we all made it to San Diego. We are having a good time. Yesterday we went to the zoo and today we are hitting up Seaworld. I forgot to put on sunscreen yesterday so I am a bit crispy...but I don't hurt too bad. Sunscreen will definitely happen for me today. Well, I have so much to post about Gracie and our vacation, but I am going to wait until later to do that. I just wanted you all to know that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Here are a few pictures from the past few days that are my favs. Don't worry more to come!

Heather and Gracie on the beach!


The three of us at the zoo!


Me, Heather, and Miss Gracie

Gracie was trying to help unpack!

Our stop at IHOP the morning after driving all night! She loves waffles!