Our Little Angel

Connor attended his first ever Christmas Program. His preschool set up a day where we could come see our little angels sing a few songs. Casey took the day off of work. Both sets of Grandparents attended. The actual "program" lasted about 12 minutes. Connor mouthed a few words. Like maybe 7 words max. Here is our little angel:
Notice how the teachers strategically placed the children who would sing and do hand motions in the front row. Connor is in the back row...mostly looking around, smiling. And truth be told I was proud that he was just willing to stand there smiling, mouth a few words, and call it a day. There was a time, not too long ago, that I am certain he would have been too shy to do even that. But after the concert was over there were happy faces, cookies, and a family photos by the big Christmas tree!

One Benefit of Twins

A week or two before Christmas (ya...I know I am a tad bit behind on the blog-o-sphere), our furnace quit working. On a Friday. In the dead of winter. So after the handy husband came up with nothing, we had to call the repair man. Their next appointment was going to be Monday night. NOT. GOING. TO. WORK. First, they asked if anyone was sick or injured. Ummm, no. So they declared that we were not an emergency case. After a few hours in about 55 degrees, we called back. Did we mention that we had infant twins at home? Who were dressed in many layers of fleece jammies, but still had freezing cold hands and red noses? Apparently the nice receptionist is also a mother, because she said, "Oh, my goodness. We will have someone out there in less than 2 hours." And they did. Thank God for twin babies.

Connor claimed that he was not cold at all, but did agree to wear his socks...eventually he got so warm that he wanted his hoodie off. Go figure.

Presents

As we prepare for the Holidays around here, I like to "Interview" Connor about stuff...

Me: Connor, what do you want Santa to bring you this year?
Connor: Handy Manny Tool Box. (A quick response. The boy know what he wants.)
Me: Ok. What should he bring Daddy.
Connor: Ummm...(taking a REALLY long time to thing)...I think Daddy needs A NEW SLED!!
Me: Yes, great idea. Daddy would love that. What should I ask Santa for this year?
Connor: I don't know, Mama. Maybe you can just share Daddy's new sled?
Me: Well, we'll see about that. How about your sisters? What should Santa bring them?
Connor: Nothing. They have everything they need.
Me: Really? You can't think of anything they would want?
Connor: Nope. They already have LOTS of toys and pajamas. (The boy speaks the truth, and well, let's face it they do wear their PJ's almost every single day because their parents are too lazy to dress them in real clothes that involve multiple pieces. However, they have WAY less toys than their older bro...but I guess that fact is lost on him.)

Although Connor is not shy about asking for what he wants this year, he is also quite grateful. Case in point: We wrapped some gifts & left them under the tree after the kids were asleep. When they woke up, Connor spotted them and started going through each one, announcing who each gift was for...

Connor: K for Kaia. G for Grandma (etc. etc.) Look! This one is FOR. ME!! Mama, you got ME a present?
Me: Yep, that one is for you.
Connor. Oh, Kank you, Mama.
Me: No prob.
Connor: Look! Another one for ME??!! Mama, you got me TWO gifts?
Me: Yes, there are two in there for you.
Connor: Oh, Kank you, Mama. I LOVE THEM!
Me: You haven't even opened them yet. You don't even know what they are.
Connor: Oh. I still love them though.

Zoo Lights

As is one of our favorite traditions, Connor and I headed out for a night at the Oregon Zoo Lights & met cousin Sophia. We were very thankful that it wasn't 5 degrees out like a few years ago, so Connor was actually able to walk around in his clothes/bundle this time. However, we were unprepared for the weekend crowds, and made some bad parking decisions* on our way there. But once inside the lights were just as spectacular as ever...especially for the people who were approximately 3. Connor was so excited to see the lights and show his cuz everything he saw. "Look, Sophia! A Monkey! Over there!" (Pointing frantically as if she doesn't have eyes of her own). He was also really big on holding her hand, although she wasn't really into it so much. Here's the duo with Connor's "natural" camera smile that he has superbly perfected.

* Note to self: Do NOT. EVER. go to Zoo Lights on a weekend again. It took us almost 1 hour to park. If the zoo lot says "Full" do NOT go to shuttle parking. It will not turn out well unless you enjoy standing behind 400 other people in the freezing cold waiting for the lone school bus that "shuttles" people to the zoo...at a snail pace through the same traffic that everyone else is sitting in. Finding an "illegal" parking spot at the actual zoo is a much, MUCH better idea.

A few gems

Just a few recent gems from our three-year old...

On our way to the OSU beaver game this past weekend:
Connor's Dad: "Connor do you want to be dropped off with Uncle Troy while we park the car?"
Connor: "OH BOY! Troy will be excited to see ME!"

While drawing a picture of yours truly:
Me: "Connor where are my arms & legs on your picture?"
Connor: "I don't know. Your head is just SOOO big. There's no more room."

In an attempt to get Connor to sleep in a bit later:
Me: "Okay Connor. Here's the deal. You can get up when the clock says 7:00. Don't get up before you see the seven."
Connor: "Okay, Mama. I willn't."

After Connor gets up, I hand him a sippy cup of milk...as has been our routine for ummm... three and a half years. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. One morning he replies: "OH! Kank you Mama!" as if I am the most thoughtful, most wonderful mom ever for getting him this super unusual, ultra special treat.

BUSTED!!

The girls have been into stealing each other's toys for a while now. But this is something new...Kaia just got busted trying to steal Ashlyn's sock. Seriously, K...there are plenty of socks to go around. I think between the two of you we have approximately 43 pairs. And gobs of them are actually clean without your sister's toe-stink on them. I guess we should just get used to the clothes stealing (or shall we call it "sharing"?) between these two.

Night Light

As Casey was putting Connor down to sleep for the night the following conversation took place:

Connor: I fink I need you to leave that light on.
Connor's Dad: No, its too bright. Don't you think it will be hard to sleep when it is so light in here?
Connor: I fink it is harder to sleep when it is so dark in here.

And thus, Connor's sad parents who have been making him sleep in the scary, scary, deep, dark bedroom all these years decided to purchase him a new night light. So far, Connor thinks that the new night light is "not that light" and could use a few more watts. However, it is light enough, apparently, to guide his little feet right out of his room whenever he wants to get up. 15 minutes into his nap...light enough to see him out. 7:00am...also light enough for him to get up and get on with his life, without any real notice (such as a call out) except a tiny squeak of the door opening.

Happy Halloween Mouseketeers!

FYI, Pictures where everyone is looking at the camera AT. THE. SAME. TIME.

are about as rare around here as 3 children quietly napping all together.

You'll have to take what we can get...

The tiniest mousekeeters just could NOT figure out what was on their sister's head...so perplexing, really.

"Oh, is that still you?"

Happy Halloween!!

Love Mickey, Minnie, & the other Minnie

Pumpkin Fun

Connor loves getting packages in the mail. In fact he loves it when ANYONE in our house gets a new package. Super fun! Recently we got a package from my friend with a gift for the babes & a surprise for Connor...a spider pumpkin kit. Super duper fun! But that was only the beginning of the pumpkin decorating/carving fun this year... Team Cunningham was back and better than ever sporting their "Halloween" orange for the big day.

It took a little coaxing to get CRC Jr. to dig into the pumpkin. Apparently he is not a huge fan of getting his hands slimy with pumpkin goo, but at last he tried it with his shovel.

We've got ears, say "Cheers!"

Stay tuned for pictures of the kids in their Halloween costumes...

The Boat is Back!

That's right folks, the boat is back in commission...with a tiny alteration. A brand new trailer! Complete with all the trimmings of the original model. Now the nice thing about the new addition is that everyone can be happy at the same time. No one gets left out. No one has to share space. Everyone gets their own unobstructed view.

The drawback, of course, is this newer model is getting quite heavy to pull. In fact, as much as Connor would like to be the driver it is just too much work for a little person. One full sized person is required to do the actual pulling. *sigh* Connor has to be the caboose, which is not nearly as much fun...really for everyone involved.

Check Us Out!

Yo Blog-o-sphere,

Check Us Out! We're big girls now. We pretty much roll all over the house and collect things to put in our mouths. In fact, we lost our privileges to hang on the floor unsupervised, because we just get into too much trouble. Our parents keep talking about getting some sort of corral for us, but we will strike if they do.

Sometimes we chill on our tummies long enough to make them think that we just might start crawling ANY. MINUTE. NOW. Connor might be the only family member excited when we do.

Here's a quiz for participation points: Which one of us is wearing Yellow?

Cheers!

KaAsh*

*Our latest "celebrity" nickname.

Reading

Connor currently has a few books that he can "read" (and by read I mean name all the pictures or read from memory). The best news of all to Connor...is that the girls are finally interested in listening. Well, by "listening" I really mean more like grabbing & sometimes mouthing the books. However, I have convinced Connor that they REALLY like to hear him read the books ALL. BY. HIMSELF. WITHOUT. ME.

P.S. I am going to invent a "Toy Vacuum" which picks up toys around the house, so my house doesn't perpetually look like this anymore. It will be a "hands-free" automatic type like the Roomba, that can be set to clean up when we are gone or napping.

Our Mistake

A few weeks ago Connor had an unfortunate vomiting episode. We really didn't know if he was sick or what, so we pulled out all the stops. We made him a little "couch bed" with his favorite blankie & pillow, gave him a "bucket" in case it happened again, and then put in a movie so he could rest up. As it turns out he wasn't really sick at all. No fever. No other symptoms. Completely fine about 30 minutes later. However, he apparently loved this treatment. Now, about once each day since then he casually tells me that he "might spit up again" (which is what he calls it). The other day the conversation went like this:

Connor: Mama, I fink I might need to spit up.
Me: Ok, then walk to the bathroom & use the toilet (because I know it is fake, so my reaction is super casual).
Connor: No, I don't fink so. I fink I need that bucket.
Me: Nah. You can just sit by the toilet if you think you need to throw up.
Connor: Well, actually I fink I need you to make be a bed right here (points to the couch), with that bucket. Then I will watch a movie. I fink it will be Monsters (as in Monsters Inc.).
Me: Umm, I don't think so, Connor. If you are really sick then you can sit by the toilet or lay in your bed by yourself to rest.
Connor: Umm, I don't fink I am very sick then.

Glad we got that all straightened out.

First Day of Preschool

Connor's been all smiles since he started preschool! Here he is on the first day with his "art project" from school. A dog. That he named "Daisy." So creative, that kid. We weren't too sure he was going to like preschool (or even actually GO to preschool willingly) but he has surprised us. I went with him for the whole first day (with all the other parents as required). However, he repeatedly told me that he was nervous. But on his real first day alone he woke up VERY excited. In fact he was up at 8am, dressed and ready to head to school by about 8:04am. The only problem was that school doesn't start until 9:00 and for the remaining 56 minutes he kept saying, "I'm ready for school! Is it time to leave?" You have no idea how hard it is for a 3 year old to wait for an entire hour. Turns out, it is quite difficult. I think we were in the car about 10 minutes early. At the school dropoff, he turned to me and casually said, "Bye Mom." grabbed his teacher's hand and off he went. It was a miracle, really.

P.S. Blurry picture was from a poor camera phone. Real camera still lost:(

The Flashlight Game

Bad News: I have lost our camera. So, for now there will be no pictures on the blog.
Good News: I have still managed to keep track of all the kids.

Here's a little story for you that requires no pictures. Sometimes when I am busy feeding the girls I'll play this fun game with Connor, which requires him to shine his flashlight on different things in the room. For example I'll say, "Shine your light on something red!" and Connor will rush around the room with his flashlight trying to find the perfect red item to illuminate. Recently I  have been giving him some new challenges, such as "Shine your light on something that floats in the air" (Balloon) or "Shine your light on something that swings" (Baby mobile toys), etc. Then, I tried this tricky one, "Shine your light on someone you love." (He shines his light right in the babies eyes, one at a time.) Ok, cute, but not exactly what I was going for there. "Connor, shine your light on someone else you love." He thinks this one through for a few seconds as if it is a trick question, and replies, "But Daddy is not here right now." Ummm, okay. Again, sweet but also not EXACTLY what I was thinking. "You are right Daddy is not here. Why don't you shine your light on someone who you love who is HERE. IN. THIS. ROOM." Again, he stops to think. "Oh, I know. Connor!" (Shines his light on his own shirt.) Let's try one more time. "Connor I think there is someone else who you love who you can shine your light on. Right in this room!" He replies, super confused at this point, "But Mama...I love Grandma, but she is not here." "Yes, you do love Grandma. But there is someone else left who is RIGHT. HERE!" Connor replies exasperated by this tricky riddle, "I don't know. Mama, just tell me!" Finally I give in, "Connor its me, your mom." (Shines the light right in my eyes.) "Oh yea. Kanks for telling me." No problem.

Newest Game

Our newest game...kicking the balloon. In case you have never tried it, you just clip a balloon on a short string to your sock and kick away. It can be pretty entertaining if you are 4 months old. Err well, also if you are 3 years old. In fact the 3 year old may have even had MORE fun. He was laughing, screaming, and rolling all over the place. Here Kaia is mesmerized by the speed in which the yellow balloon can fly! Oh, that big brother...he's just SOOO entertaining!

Hair Bows

They have not worn these in public yet...mostly because Daddy is not a huge fan. Well that and the fact that our babies do not generally like anything on their head for very long. Kaia's being a good sport, but apparently Ashlyn is not the hugest fan either. Maybe she will be a better sport once her head grows slightly larger than the flower itself.

Connor's New Bed

Connor finally graduated from his crib to a real big-boy bed. He staying in his crib for so long out of his mom's total fear that naps would cease, but she finally gave in and took the plunge. Connor has been nothing but excited. The best news of all is that Connor STAYS. IN. HIS. BED. and STILL. TAKES. NAPS.

So the first day after watching him on the video monitor for his nap, I said "Connor I was so proud of you that you stayed in your bed until I came to get you." His reply, "Oh no, mama. I didn't. I threw my blanket out and had to get it off the floor. I'm sorry. I did get out." Like for 1 second. So honest. Now when he wakes up he still calls me to come get him. He literally will call me for like 20 minutes as if he can not get up on his own. I have to wonder...when he figures out that he can actually climb out of his bed all by himself will all hell break loose? There is another family member who is also in love with this new bed and frequents it regularly. Although she has made it VERY clear that she wants her own room, apparently she is willing to share if the circumstances are just right.

You Decide

You decide. Holding hands...? Or arm wrestling...?

Meanwhile, Big Brother is up to this:

I asked him what he was up to...and his reply, "I'm teaching my baby sisters some new tricks!"

Let the games begin.

Conversations about School

Occasionally I drive by Connor's new preschool (which he hasn't started yet) and point it out to him, and tell him how much fun it will be to go to school. Today, will all the kiddos in the car we did the drive-by:

Me: Hey look! Connor there is your new school!
Connor: Oh, that is where I will go to school?
Me: Yep, and it will be so much fun!
Connor: Will my baby sisters go with me?
Me: Well, they won't go to school until they get older. School is just for big boys and girls, not babies.
Connor (to the girls): Don't worry, baby sisters. I will take you to school. Yes, you want to go to school with your big brother? Oh you do? MAMA! (shouting) They want to go with me. I will take them I think.

So, I am thinking I will take him up on his offer and send him with at least one baby strapped to his chest in the Baby Bjorn. Imagine how much I could do with only one baby at home...I could probably come up with a solution to stop world hunger with all that free time.

Wake Up!

We thought it would be fun to wake up the big brother by surprising him with his sisters snuggling in his bed: We enjoyed it, but Connor...not so much!

What would we do without our Big Brother?

Seriously...who would entertain us all day long? He brings us toys, lays by us, sings us songs, hands us our monsters (making sure that the right monster goes to the right baby girl as we obviously each have our own special monster), shows us how each toy works, and showers us with lots of kisses (even when we are sleeping and mom says not to).

A big smile for the camera from Ashlyn because her big brother is just SO. MUCH. FUN!!

Scooter Lessons

Although Connor has been "riding" his scooter all over the inside of our house ever since he got it last Christmas...it is finally time to take the outdoor ride OUTDOORS. Yes, that's right folks, Connor got his first real live scooter lesson...by none other than his good ole' Dad.

These two bad boys kicked it around our cul-de-sac for a few. Next up...riding to the neighborhood park. (We might need a few more "up hill/down hill" lessons before that outing, however.)

P.S. Dear Scooter Instructor: The Safety Police may frown upon the untied shoe laces and no helmet.

Summer Fun!

Summer just isn't summer around here with out some water fun on a hot sunny day. However, getting the whole fam out of the house is no small feat (trust me on this one...). It took us all morning to pack/get ready. (Seriously, we left the house at 1pm.) I think I packed approximately as much as we use to pack for a weekend camping trip minus the tent. But it was worth it...and so refreshing!

As it turns out all three of our children LOVE. THE. WATER. (or watching it at least). Not even a peep from the girls as they were apparently mesmerized by the water show, then dozed off in their front row seats.

Baby Beaver Believers

You can never be too young to sport your Beaver gear...and get your game face on!

Ashlyn (left, in pink) and Kaia (in white) - 2 months old.

The 4th of July

We don't really get out as much as we used to...

but who says you have to leave the house to have a little fun?

This 4th of July we had a few friends over for a BBQ...

of course we served the Cunningham signature dish - BBQ pulled pork.

Bryan was eating it by the spoonfuls. This is typical. Then we fed everyone some strawberry shortcake...
Connor was eating it by the handfuls. This is also typical.

Connor waved his first sparklers while Daddy lit some "bigger"

(and by bigger, I mean "Oregon legal") fireworks.