Fall 2007

Sorry for the long delay... The Cunningham Clan has been busy!
My dad's health deteriorated quite a bit over the past year & he was hospitalized for a while this fall. Tests revealed that a few minor strokes in his past have left him with Alzheimer's disease, or some form of dementia. My parents have moved down to Florida full time & they have sold the Queens house. Dad is working with a local neurologist & doing really well, he seems really happy & is still able to do most things on his own. With Mom's nursing background she hopes to keep him home for a long time, but it is a tough disease that we are all learning way to much about these days.
Aside from that Katy, myself & the boys are all doing great (even Bailey)! Katy is the best & continues to whip her men into shape. She is constantly on the go & the boys are always smiling when I get home. We are still waiting for our Baby Girl... nothing has really changed there. From what we read on the Internet sites, we are now expecting to travel & finalize the process this time next year or perhaps even into 2009. Still we are very excited & can't wait till she is here with us. The boys are getting big quickly so I will focus on them for a while... After my last post, we only had a few more weeks to catch up on sleep & play around in the pool. We also had a real nice visit from my little brother Jose, who helped the boys get started on their Christmas lists introducing the boys to "PSP" & "MEGA-MAN".


After "Uncle J" left, it was back to school & Sean's 1st time riding the bus... Ryan was NOT real happy about that!
But he has one more year at Pre-K & will be riding with his brothers next year!
Here he is saying "Mom, I want to get on that Bus!"
Ryan is in his last year of Pre-K, and the school was short on teachers. We have become close to all the teachers & parents so they asked Katy if she would help. Katy knew she would enjoy it & became the 2yr old 3 day a week teacher. It has taken away some of her free time but the schedule works out great & I can tell she is really getting a lot out of it. Ryan still wants on the Bus though!

Even with school in full swing, it is all about play time with these 3. We still get to enjoy the beach and practice surfing on our boogie boards (That is Ryan there), We all like to fish
a little in the yard (we even catch one every so often)... It is nice that the weather stays warm down here & allows us to do all this pretty much year round. Though, we cant make snowman!


Then we had Halloween to look forward too, so we went to find the great Pumpkin... The 3 boys were very helpful in our quest. You can see what they thought of the Pumpkin I liked best. We have a lot of costumes, so when the big day finally came, I was not sure who would wear what. For 2007 this is what they decided. Kyle was Harry Potter, with glasses & his robe, Sean was DK (Donkey Kong if you do not have a game boy) & Ryan was the evil Black Spiderman (with extra big muscles).

The next morning we were on a plane to Aruba for Tara & Adam's Wedding.
She became Mrs Tara Zickerman on Nov 3rd at the Westin Aruba... It was fantastic! We spent the whole weekend getting to know Adam's family and all of Adam & Tara's closest friends. The boys made quick friends with Adam's nephews & it was not hard at all to have fun on the beaches of Aruba. The wedding itself was beautiful as the sun set behind them barefoot on Palm beach. The reception was a blast with great food & lot's of dancing. Even the boys were on the dancefloor most of the night. Adam is a great guy & we were so happy to welcome him, his family, and his friends into the Cunningham Clan. Tara looked stunning & I must admit to sibling bias, but even the majestic sunset behind her could not compare.

CONGRATULATIONS Tara & Adam.

May God be with you and bless you;

May you see your children's children.

May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings,

May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.

A few weeks after returning from Aruba, we enjoyed a long weekend at Disney thanks to Grandma + Grandad Ryan. They have been dreaming of taking their grandchildren to Disney since Katy & Mary were little girls. We did the Magic Kingdom, Epcot & Animal Country. Grandad was brave enough to go on all the roller coasters, even the ones that only Kyle was tall enough to ride. Grandma became very familiar with the Buzz Light year ride (hitting that 4x's !) With all the walking Katy had to resort to renting a stroller for all 3 of our BIG MEN... The picture to the right is our proof.

The rest of November was spent wrapping up Kyle's Fall Baseball season, which I was able to help coach again & Kicking off the Soccer season for all of them. Sean & Ryan were very excited to play on the same team & start playing in the "big league". Katy is helping coach Sean & Ryan's team, trying to keep the two brothers from slide takling each other on the field... I always tell them they are on the same team!

Finally, Katy & I hosted Thanksgiving with members of the the Cunningham's, Ryan's, Woods', Salerno's, & Hannah's. All together we had about 20 relatives enjoying the day. Everyone helped with a side dish or desert, so we will think about doing it again! We finished our dinner celebration singing HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Sean who turned 6 on 11/28th. The Pumpkin Pie was good, but Sean's birthday cupcakes were the big hit! We hope everyone is enjoying the holidays.



Clan Cunningham

Summer 2007

Hello everyone!

The Cunningham's have been busy this summer. We have been in full "Summer Swing" since the middle of May. Katy started off taking the boys on a nice long road trip to meet their new cousin Burke. Mary & Ron are living in Boone, NC & Burke joined us back on march 12th.
We all wanted to get up to see our new cousin but work was crazy for me, so Katy took all 3 of the boys on a road trip! Her parents followed them up & they all had a real nice visit. The boys got to do a little mountain & boulder climbing with Uncle Ron & we have some incredible pictures of a very beautiful part of the country. Burke seems to be a natural climber & appears to have logged many hours already. Of course, everyone enjoyed spending time with Mary & Burke the most. On the way home I was able to meet up with Katy & The boys on Hilton Head Island for memorial Day Weekend. We are only about an 6hr drive from Hilton Head so it was a perfect place & we had a really nice time up there. We rented a condo right on the ocean & basically just did the beach thing. The boys enjoyed the Atlantic Surf as they are used to the much calmer Gulf of Mexico & the built in entertainment allowed Katy & I to relax a bit. Then it was back to the grind for me... But I am enjoying every second. In early June my sister Tara & her fiance Adam came down to visit & we got a chance to spend some time together. We enjoyed the beach & he was able to spend a lot of time with the boys. With his family around him, Adam surprised Tara on Passover this year with an engagement ring! We are all so happy for both of them & can't wait for the wedding in November. Since A+Ts visit, Katy has kept the boys busy with a combo of friends, grandparents & various camps at the preschool & YMCA. The Ryan's (Grandma & Grandad) are full timers down here in (Paradise) Florida and have already settled in nicely. My Mom & Dad (Nan & Pop) have been down here since the middle of June, so it's been a lot of fun to see the grndparents all enjoying (or at least putting up with) the kids. We have been doing a lot together, especially on weekends & it has been real nice. I do think I have mentioned once or twice that it does get kinda hot down here thru the summer months. This is the worst stretch thru the end of July & early August until they get back to school. But with the AC & a few thousand spiderman ice pops, we will make it thru the next month. Kyle will be heading into second grade, Sean wil be joining him on the bus this year as he will be in Kindergarten at Cypress Woods, & Ryan will be in 5 days a week pre school at Young Days (They are honestly all excited!). But, the boys will not be the only one's from Clan Cunningham headed back to school this year at the end of August... Katy has taken a job teaching the 2 day a week 2yr old pre school class at Young Days. All 3 of the boys have had great experiences there, so It is a wonderful & special place for us as & Katy is really looking forward to being part of the staff. So all is well down here in the land of the sun... let us know if your gonna be down this way. Big Tony Tedesco stopped in for the world famous Tampa Bay July 4th festivities... we watched the single A Yankees beat up on the single A Phillies & then enjoyed a little BBQ at the house & a super crazy sparkler show out front on the 4th.

Unfortunately, the wait for our baby girl continues to grow... a combination of the surge in applications & a slowdown in the matching process has delayed things. Our application was received by the Chinese gvt on 5/30/06 & we were anticipating traveling to finalize the adoption by this time. However, our adoption agency & all the talk we see from the various Internet groups now indicates we should expect our "referral" somewhere around the summer/fall of 2008. It is a very complicated process & the actual time could speed up or lengthen based on many details. I would be happy to go into it if anyone wants to e-mail me.

We are all getting excited about Aunt Tara's wedding coming up in November. Her & Adam will be getting married on the beach in Aruba, the whole clan will be flying down (Ryan's 1st flight). We are starting to think about a trip up North next summer... we are thinking about renting a beach house somewhere up there close enough to visit... I will let everyone know if it happens.



Until then... Later days from the Cunningham Clan (Gene, Katy, Kyle, Sean, Ryan & Bailey too!)

Happy New Year - Jan 2007

Hi everyone... Happy New Year ! We hope all is well.

The Cunningham Clan of Tampa Bay officially welcomes Katy's Parents Jim & Madeline to our little slice of Paradise down here off the Gulf of Mexico. They finally saw the light & moved down to Tampa Bay full time from chilly New Jersey this past October. No more shovelling for them ! They are a few minutes away and we couldn't be happier to have them down here to watch the family grow with us. Time has really gone by quickly with all the holidays and all that since their arrival, but they have a great place & are quickly getting settled in.

We are all doing well & getting back into the swing of things after a fantastic holiday season. Santa stopped here Christmas Eve & I guess the boys somehow all managed to find themselves on the GOOD BOY & GIRL list. This will be a memorable Christmas for us with them at this stage. Katy is doing terrific & keeping herself very busy. Somehow she brings order to the house, keeping the boys on schedule to school & sports. I am indeed a lucky guy & I believe me, I do know it ! The Adoption process continues to drag on, we have completed our application & everything has been sent overseas... now we just have to sit & wait. Unfortunately the wait time is increasing as the China program has become very large & they cannot process the applications any faster. We know that when our daughter is ready for us, we will get our "Call". The boys are all getting big very fast... I love to just sit back and watch them when all is good & they are playing together like best buddies. With only 3yrs between the 3 of them there are only a few moments of this type of behavior each day, but it is very special when it happens & I get to watch.

Anyway, we hope all is well with all of you. Let us know if you will be down in FLA.

Clan Cunningham

Christmas 2006

Hello from Tampa !

This is by far the oddest time of year to be a New York Native Floridian.
Not that you want to hear complaints about endless days of 78 & sunny, But...
Think about how strange it would feel to be stringing up Christmas lights in shorts & flip flops... You get so hot, you need to jump in the pool for a while...
It's very tough living down here this time of year.

Aside from that things are really going well for Clan Cunningham. My job is going great, I really enjoy all the people I am working with. Katy is doing fantastic, she is helping at the boys pre-school as a substitute teacher & at Kyle's elementary school as Class Mom. This has been a great year for her as the boys are old enough that she can just enjoy having fun with them. Another big part of our recent happiness is that Katy's parents have left Allendale, NJ & moved down here full time. They Built a really nice new place just about 10 minutes north of us. They are still unpacking a little (So are we), but have wasted no time getting busy in Tampa Bay. Mr Ryan is now Kyles private soccer coach & the assistant coach for Kyle's soccer team. Kyle is extremely proud of how much he is learning this year playing for the East Lake Arsonel. He is also doing really well in 1st grade & we are amazed at how quickly his focus in school has improved. Sean has some real big news since our last report... He is now riding a 2 wheeler !!! Thats right, a few weeks before his 5th B-day mom took off the training wheels & he hasn't looked back !!! It was not easy for him & he is very proud that he can ride on the grass now. He is doing great in pre school & has been working hard to learn his songs for the big Christmas pagent this Wednesday... We can't wait. Ryan will also be singing his songs at the pagent & he is really going to be a fun one to watch. He is quite the character that Ryan Jameson Cunningham... very fortunate to be blessed with a smile you could never be mad at & very smart to know that he has a smile that you could never be mad at. He is a natural at just about everything & we love our big little man. I know we say it all the time but we hope to get the entire clan up north at some point this spring/summer. Katy's sister Mary is expecting this spring and we are looking into an extended family Road Trip to meet our soon to be new cousin. As far as our baby girl the recent news from the e-mails groups is a little discouraging as the wait time from application to match continues to grow longer. It is very hard thinking about the whole thing & knowing that our trip & match are still so far away. We do however think about her every day, hoping the wait time will speed up, trying to pick the perfect name for her, or finding a cute little outfit for her. The boys are very excited about the whole thing & we just feel that the wait is meant to be. Bailey Cunningham has gotten big very quick... Katy just told me she was weighing in at 40lbs (so much for the small non shedding dog we thought we found). She is however very gentle & somehow puts up with the abuse of 3 very active boys. I think she sleeps deeper than Katy & I after the lights go out.

Anyway, I am rambling now, have a wonderfull Christmas & thanks for reading our update. We look forward to seeing everyone soon... Clan Cunningham

Big news for the Clan Aug 2006

Hi all,

I had hoped to update this blog a bit more frequently but.........
We have had a very busy month and there is lot of new things to let you all know.

I have a feeling the Steelers will repeat as world champions... Woohoo!!! Very glad football is back. On that note Fall baseball will be starting up in the East Lake Little League. Kyle is very excited as he is moving up to coach pitch & I am glad that I will once again be able to throw some "lefty" BP to help the team prepare. I will not be managing the team this fall as I am unsure of my weeknight work schedule, but will help coach & plan to return to manage in the spring.

The boys have been back in school since the beginning of August so we are getting settled into the regular routine. Kyle is in 1st grade & has been doing real well.
He seems to have quite the following, we are also signing up for the soccer season & Grandad is excited to see that. Grandad (& Grandma) love their soccer & After some brief work in the yard last fall with Grandad, Kyle's 1st soccer season turned around & now he loves it. Sean is in the 5 day a week pre-K 4 program & he is doing great... He wishes he had school on Saturday & Sunday (Much like his mom & dad used to???). He really enjoys getting to see all his buddies. Ryan is in 3 days a week & all we can say is God bless his teachers. He is a handful, we will leave it at that.

Katy continues to uncover new baby girl names, for our little girl in China. I think it is safe to say that there is typically 5 or 6 names a week that we have to "discuss". As all of you know she likes to stay busy, she is having fun helping out in the boys schools & working out at the YMCA. Sean & Ryan also join her there at the Kids Gym or in the Rookie sports programs they offer.

As far as our little girl... Unfortunately there is really nothing new to report.
We continue to track the "anticipated" wait to match, but it still seems like we are very far away. Our best guess at this point is that we will be traveling to finalize everything about 12-14mths from now (Fall 2007). Here is a link to our adoption agency if you want to take a look see: http://www.chinesechildren.org/
Still we are very excited & working on getting everything in order... time always goes a lot faster than you expect.

We all hope you are doing well... The Cunningham Clan