Chris' B-DAY! Coast Trip and Bailey (of course!)

It has been an eventful couple weeks. we took a family trip to Muir Beach one Saturday and had Chris' Birthday that next Wednesday. Then Chris went on a fishing trip with his dad and brothers this past weekend and Bailey and I spent a LOT of quality time together! (Needless to say I was super exhausted and anxious for Chris to get home by the end of the few days!) I also started summer classes this Monday! YAY! So I'll let the pictures do most of the talking since my last post was so wordy.

Bailey absolutely LOVED the beach! We hadn't been since last summer when she was only 5 or 6 months old. Chris taught her how to chase the waves and then run away when they were coming back. we built sand castles, scoped the tide pools, and then went over to the redwoods to have a look at all the beautiful groves (we don't have any pics of that part!)

Chris wanted rainbow chip cupcakes for his Birthday and so Bailey was in heaven! She has such a sweet tooth..I have no idea from where! (wink wink)chris got a new camera, and a couple books:) Plus an awesome chance to go on a fishing trip with the boys that weekend!




Bailey and I had a lot of fun while Chris was gone, shopping...



Exploring parks,



And waiting for the bus! (We had to ride the bike and take the bus all weekend since Chris had the car on his trip--but it was fun!)

Summer Fun

Well this wasn't exactly what you'd call "fun"...Bailey had Roseola (a form of measles) and was super sick for about a week. with a high fever and rash all over her body. The poor little thing was pretty lethargic (for one as active as her) and would just lay on the floor watching Baby Einsteins and sleep. I would just lay next to her and stroke her hair and she would sleep and then watch, and then sleep, and then watch:) It was so sad!



But she's all good now and ready to play again. (that's a sticker on her head..she's been obsessed lately)


She "helped" me make cranberry, orange muffins for breakfast one morning. She sat on the counter next to me and even stirred the batter (though lots spilled out:) She loves helping me do things now and feels like such a big girl:) She thoroughly enjoyed the batter licking at the end!

trying on Dad's new shoes:)


out for a stroll (she loves speed bumps and goes over them over and over again)

So, Chris and I have been trying to better understand each other's passions because sometimes when a couple has two totally different interests, you don't really appreciate what the other loves to do. This can eventually lead to not appreciating each other and growing apart, etc. So we've decided to make a special effort to prevent this and we each take turns about once a week sharing one of our passions with the other person:) For instance, we've had an "art" night where I taught Chris some simple techniques using the Chinese paint brush and ink. We had a "science" night where we made a homemade volcano with homemade play dough and then took it outside to erupt with baking soda and vinegar (dyed red of course:), and we had a music appreciation night, and now we are on a much bigger project! And don't get me wrong, it's not like we don't share ANY interests--we both love the outdoors, camping, biking, etc. but this has helped us get even closer. Especially because i don't always understand what Chris talks about when he comes home from work and tells me about what happened in the lab. And Chris doesn't always get it when I start rambling on about music, theory and what my students are learning. So ANYWAYS, we took on a new project of dissecting a frog. Kinda creepy, I know, but Chris has a little dissection kit, and ordered a frog online for us to dig into:) LOL I thought it would totally gross me out, but its so cool! I actually really enjoy science when it's anatomy and I took some courses in college back when I wanted to be a nurse. This last night was our first night and we only got the skin off and learned so many cool things about it! It's such a process that I've never really appreciated before! Like, did you know that frogs don't need to drink water because it just gets soaked up by there skin? So you can think we're weird, but we're happy being weird together:) LOL

wow, what a creepy picture of me...

the REAL scientist:)
We have yet to discover the gender of our frog...if it's a girl we will call her Frieda--a boy and he will be Freddy:) We'll keep you posted! (cause I'm sure you wanna hear all about it)

Summer Has Begun!

Summer has pretty much officially begun with all the kids getting out of school in the next few days and Chris finishing up finals, papers, etc. for the quarter. He is officially done with his first year of graduate school--only 3 or 4 more to go! haha wow that sounds depressing...LOL No, he is really enjoying it and loves doing research in the lab. He is done with classes for forever and will now just work on his main PhD research project for the rest of the time. I'm just so happy that he is happy in what he's doing and what he's accomplishing! He's also excited for the summer to spend a bit more time with Bailey and I and go on his week long fishing trip this month with his dad:)

I love Sundays because it's my "sleep in day" and Chris takes Bailey birdwatching while I get ready for church:) Then he comes home and makes a big Sunday breakfast (we have church at 11am). He is such a sweet guy:)

Bailey loves to sit by Chris and stretch with him before he goes running. Bailey and I usually ride the bike next to him while he runs each morning after Bailey has her breakfast.

Bailey is about finished with gymnastics for the summer and has had so much fun doing it. It's so cute how excited she gets when we go and she gets to bounce around on the huge long trampoline, play in the gigantic ball pit, and go through all the obstacle courses with her little buddies. It has been really fun for both of us. She also has enjoyed Music Makers every week that they have at the church. It is so cute to see her dance to all the songs and play the instruments. She is a very active child and so I'm always doing things like this to keep us busy:) She weighs 23lbs. now and is getting so big and growing into her little personality. She does the funniest things that make her seem more and more like a little person instead of a baby.

Bailey loves shopping with me. She has never liked staying in the cart and would always run around and it was a disaster, but now she stays with me and pushes the cart underneath me and puts things (like her blanket) into the little basket at her level:) When I go to check out there will be tons of random stuff in there if Im not careful and checking.

Bailey loves to swim! We go to the public pool a lot because there is a big toddler splash park and wade-in pool, but when we're just at home she likes to get naked and sit in her own little giraffe pool:)

I just love this little mini skirt and tank top--the wedge sandals complete the look! LOL ;)

I begin school this month and am super excited! I've worked out classes so it's when Chris can be home with Bailey (he's pretty flexible with working in the lab in the summer) or I have an awesome neighbor named Paola who will watch her sometimes if Chris can't. I've officially decided to make teaching piano an official business. I am just loving my little students (there are 6 now) and I love teaching kids the best! Piano is just so awesome and such a passion of mine--and my dream is to one day have my own studio at my home and teach piano for low, affordable rates or do trades for lessons so that kids who ordinarily couldn't afford it, could. My Dad did yard work for an older piano teacher in exchange for me and my sibling's lessons before I went to high school/college and was able to pay for my own professional lessons. Without those lessons when I was younger, I wouldn't have this passion for piano and the ability to play. I don't think that just because someone doesn't have money that they shouldn't have the same opportunities to take piano as the wealthier families. So one day, I want to make this dream happen and Chris has been so supportive of me in teaching and dreaming:)


Reading to Bailey and her little buddy Savannah:) Aren't they so cute?

Well, sorry this was super long...lots has happened lately. And there is even more to catch up on later! Love, The Cunninghams