Brady's first birthday!!!!

Brady I can't believe you are one! This has been the fastest year with so many changes! You are truly a blessing to our family. It was hard getting you here, then you were in the NICU for a week but are a strong fighter and have been ever since we brought you home. You bring so much joy and laughs to our family.

Your milestones:
first smile- 3 weeks old
first laugh - 6 weeks
rolled over- 5 months ( a little late!)
sit up- 5 1/2 months
NEVER CRAWLED
Scooting 10 months old
taking a few steps- 11 months to current

Only has slept through the night a handful of times! Need to work on that!

You are cute scooting around! I don't think you will ever crawl. You are taking a few steps so you might be our quickest to walk.
You are a people person, you don't like to be by yourself much. You are also a busy bee- have to be moving. When you were really little we used to have to stand and walk you around, as soon as we stopped you would cry!
You have us all (including Eliza now) wrapped around your little finger. We all spoil you because its so fun too.
This next year I'm sure will go by just as fast with you doing more and more cute things. We love you so much. Happy FIRST birthday BRADY BOY!

Beach Week was a BLAST

We had a GREAT time at the beach this year. We went with two of Eber's brothers (Calvin and Mike) and their families and lots of cousins, it was so fun! We were able to do some fun things, like of course go to the beach a lot. Courtney and Sam became experts on boogie boarding- well they tried but they had fun! A few times the waves were pretty choppy. Sam got wiped out once really bad and then when we were coming onto the land he got caught in the undertow; so you have to be careful that is for sure! Eliza mainly had fun playing in the sand and chasing Uncle Mike with buckets of water! Brady ate sand, so he didn't go to the beach much with us!

Besides being beach bums we did Go-Karts for the first time. My kids didn't have a clue how to drive! They have only driven their little power wheel cars and bumper cars at Busch Gardens- so braking was a new experience. I don't think Courtney ever learned to brake! It was the best laugh though, it was crazy. Little Eliza raced in her car too- she was passing everyone and then she would giggle! She got a little mad when someone ran her off the track!

One day we hiked up the dunes in the heat! It was sooo hot. We bought the kids kites so they could fly them up there- it was a lot of fun. Kids have so much energy; Eliza kept rolling down then climbing back up. One time of climbing was enough for me!

The kids also played laser tag and went putt-putt golfing and movies.

We are looking forward to next year. A HUGE thanks to my sister-n-law Darlene for everything that she did to make this trip possible, it was great memories for us and for the kids- we love you guys!
Here are a few pictures from the week. There is more posted on facebook under Courtney Cummings and Sonia White Cummings.

99 balloons

If you need an uplifting story...go to you tube and type in 99 balloons. Its a touching story. I thought it puts life into perspective to live everyday to the fullest.

Answer to a prayer

I'm documenting this so one day Sam will remember this....

This morning Sam woke up sad because he couldn't find his glasses. He looked everywhere and just couldn't find them. He asked me to look. I also tore up the bed, looked under things, no sign of them. He went back one more time to double check. Still no luck. I could tell he was still upset and I kept telling him he's just going to have to go to school without them. ( it was almost time for his bus). I finally asked Sam if he would like to say a prayer and I'll go look one more time. I was hoping he would say it, but he asked me to. So after the prayer I went back up to look and I was panicking because I wasn't having any luck still. As I was walking by the bathroom (after checking in there before) I checked one more time before going down the stairs, and as I was leaving the bathroom I looked behind the door and on the floor there they were!!! It was amazing to me and I felt the tears coming and I thanked Heavenly Father for helping us find them, but most importantly for giving Sam the faith that prayer does work and he can help us when we need him. I could barely talk to Sam after wards for being overwhelmed with the feeling that I had. A small little prayer was answered but probably a life changing moment for my Sam.

Brady Scooting from point A to point B

Brady's nickname is now SCOOTER.... We've never had a "scooter" before. He is cute getting around this way. He has NO desire to crawl, but shows interest in walking....we'll see if he walks before he is one. Only ONE more month until then though so the count down is on.

preschool days are almost over for Eliza!

Its hard to believe that Eliza only has two more days of preschool left! She has had a great year making a lot of new friends and growing academically! Its sad to say good bye to these precious years. She will however be going to the same school for kindergarten and will ride the bus with Sam so she will have fun doing that. She was a late talker but her teachers now feel like she is "caught up" with the rest of the gang so we are proud of that. I got to enjoy many days with her at her school this year. We love you Eliza and hope by chance you will remember some of these early days of school. Good luck in Kindergarten!!!

Brady trying to stay awake for dinner but he didn't quite make it. He is 9 months old in these pictures! He is a joy to have. He is a very good baby and loves to be around his older brother and sisters. He also loves to chase the doggie around the house now.