Christmas videos!

I figured we better get these up right away! More exciting info to come soon... But for now, enjoy Emma's first piano recital and a few other antics with her daddy!

Clifford Christmas Movie

Here is a movie that was put together documenting the Clifford family in 2007...



Merry Christmas!

Where is Emma?

Sometimes her daddy forgets and leaves her on top of the fridge!

Just Showing Off!

Emma finally fits into her Canada Maple Leaf shoes! Thanks so much Judy and Christiansen and Co.!

Emma can spend hours (minutes, actually) entertaining herself with a little game of Peek-a-Boo!

ok, FINE!

We finally gave in and bought Emma a high chair. It is very hard to accept that she is such a big girl! Luckily that chair is pretty big and makes her look tiny, so we all feel better! Emma absolutely LOVES the chair and the food she gets to eat while in it. Sweet potatoes are a favorite, but tonight she dove right into the green beans. Hopefully, unlike her poor example of a mother, she will be a good vegetable eater!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year Tom, Emma, and I spent Thanksgiving Day at the Meherg's home. They are wonderful friends who we like even better now that they have introduced us to the beauty of a deep fried turkey! What an amazing little slice of poultry heaven! We had a relaxing day which was wonderful as Emma was on the verge of her first cold.

Our Teenager!

On November 11, Madeline became a teenager. Her parents, all four of us, seriously considered just having a 12^th birthday all over again. Madeline seemed to be the only one excited about the milestone! She was a good sport about our denial and eventually we gave in.

It was great to have Grandma here to enjoy the special day!

Only a Grandma...

One morning Tom and I received an email from Grandma and Emma telling us about their morning. It seems that Grandma loaded bagfuls (bagsful?) of leaves into the kitchen so that Emma could have her picture taken in the Fall foliage! The kitchen was spotless when we got home and we would have had no idea she had done it if we didn't have these pictures for proof! Grandma’s can get away with just about anything!

Solid Food (finally!)

Emma received a special treat from the kids. Her first solid food—PEACHES. Sadly, she was not particularly impressed. She made some very interesting faces but would open her mouth for more.

Since then we have tried rice cereal and applesauce. Emma gets more solid foods at Sarah’s house. Good stuff!

Halloween

Just a week after Grandma’s arrival it was Halloween and time to break out the Duckie costume. As much as she loves sucking on the beak of her little stuffed duck Waddles, she was NOT impressed with having her own duck bill. She dressed up and Grandma brought her to school and Daddy’s work, then Trunk or Treat at church, and last but not least she was all dressed up on Halloween to go to the kids’ house and celebrate!

October???

Holy Cow!! Where did October go? It was a busy month that seemed to pass in a blur. The very best part of October was Grandma Cunningham’s surprise visit! She came to play with us for 3 weeks. Luckily that was enough time to get all our laundry and ironing caught up!

First on her list of things to do was going shopping for Emma. At the brand-spanking-new Babies-R-Us we had Emma test out some exer-saucers. True to her Cunningham blood, Emma picked the most expensive one… making Mom and Grandma so proud!

We just told Emma’s daddy it was a door prize!

With the autumn comes cooler weather and that means new CUTE outfits for Emma! She has learned that tights and shoes can be fun! I think we may have a shoe girl on our hands—when she has on her church shoes she just stares at her feet! She is nearing 5 months and at her last appointment she weighed in at over 17 pounds and well over 2 feet long! She is growing SO fast! She is working so hard to roll all the way over and to sit up. She even sat in a high chair for the first time—at Maggie Moo’s with the Sanofsky’s no less!

She still loves (demands) to be the center of attention and we are more than happy to give her all the attention she wants. We have discovered that she has a fantastic laugh that comes straight from her belly! It is just the very best sound!

Madeline, nearly a teenager, worked her first Oktoberfest with the Appleton 1^st Ward youth as a fund raiser. It was a long day for her, me and especially for Tom, since he worked two shifts, but it was worth it! It was especially fun to see familiar faces when Tom brought Emma to visit Madeline and me and then Mike showed up with Hannah, Sadie, and Clara. We thought the fun was over, but our next activity night will be cleaning up all the equipment! UGH!!

Tommy has turned into quite the grown up young man this month. He started playing flag football and loves it! He runs and plays with the best of them! He also joined Cub Scouts and is already heading up is first fund raiser (popcorn goes GREAT with football….!). It is great to see him taking such pride in both new activities.

September has been a very busy month for the whole Clifford Clan! It all started with heading back to school… Madeline is in 7^th grade a Little Chute Middle School, Clara is in 3^rd grade and Tommy is in 2^nd grade at Little Chute Elementary School. So far they are all doing very well and seem quite happy with new teachers and classrooms. Emma goes to the Taylor’s house everyday and has adjusted perfectly (Mom is adjusting fine also!). She goes to story time at the library and play group every Thursday. Its no surprise she is so tired in the evening!

Labor Day Weekend

This is the last weekend before school starts so we just relaxed at home and got some good camera time. Emma, being the big girl that she is, loves sitting on the couch playing. And, of course, after her bath she is always in a great mood!

Sunday Best

Emma is finally growing into some of the beautiful dresses that she was given. She was certainly the Belle of the Ball at church today. Note her darling bracelet (Thanks, Sister Strong!).

While the Big Kids are Away...

Madeline, Clara, and Tommy are off in a cabin in the woods for the week so we figured we needed to have some super-quality time with Emma so she didn't feel left out! These videos are from Saturday, August 18. How cute is she!?!?!

Four Generations

While in Idaho we had the opportunity to take pictures with both of Emma's Great-Grandmothers. It was such a blessing.



Great Grandma Edna Cunningham, Grandpa Cunningham, me, and Emma at the Cunningham Family Reunion in Warm River, Idaho.






Great Grandma Opal Nadauld, Grandma Cunningham, me, and Emma at Grandpa and Grandma Cunningham's house in Eagle, Idaho.

Boating on Lake Butte des Morts

On Saturday, August 11, the whole family went boating on Lake Butte des Morts. Randy Bauer, who works with Tom, and his sweet wife Chris invited us out to ride his speed boat and pontoon boat. After a great dinner and incredible thunder and lightening storm we saw a gorgeous sunset from the pontoon.

Randy let each of the kids drive the pontoon boat--well not Emma, but she had a great time anyway!

Captain Tommy was our first underage driver...

then Clara took the wheel.

Madeline is bringing us on home!

Emma loving the ride!

Jellystone Park

On Friday, while Tom was busy working away, I took the kids to Jellystone Park in Fremont to hang out with the Sanofsky and Flores families who were there camping for the week. Brother Sanofsky took us all for a ride on his father-in-law's pontoon boat on Partidge Lake and the Wolf River. It was a beautiful day and a GREAT ride! We had a few minor technical difficulties, but Captain Keith and Captain Roberto handled things like seasoned professionals! We have the BEST friends!

Playing in the water at Partridge Lake

At the sandbar most of the passengers cooled off in the shallow water. Madeline, however, was a bit hesitant...

Emma had her first swimming experience and was NOT impressed. Oh well, Kathy tried!

Emma relaxed on the boat while the kids played in the water at a sandbar. Tommy was also on hand to entertain her!

Big Girl Bath!

Emma graduated to the Big Girl Tub and she LOVES it!!!


Careful... NSFW :)

Just Hangin' Out...

Emma loved having a swing while on vacation!

Kicker!

Here is Emma kicking on the ottoman at Grandma and Grandpa Cunningham's house.

Home Again!

Tom, Emma, and I made it home safely from Boise! Emma was a fantastic traveler, much more patient than most of the people on the plane. It was hard to leave Grandpa and Grandma Cunningham after they took such good care of us, but it was time to hit the road!

Speaking of road hitting...
On Wednesday, August 1st, Grandpa Cunningham took us all for a beautiful drive in the Idaho mountains. We shopped in Sun Valley, lunched in Stanley, and had ice cream in Idaho City. Once again Emma was a great traveler, MUCH better than her mommy who basically had a 30 minute panic attack while we drove through Galena Pass. Mountain switchbacks are NOT my thing! But it was gorgeous, even if I did have a death grip on the door handle and the head rest of the seat in front of me the whole time!

Cunningham Family Reunion

Emma and I traveled to Eastern Idaho with Grandma and Grandpa Cunningham for the annual Cunningham Family Reunion in Warm Springs, Idaho. Emma met so many relatives and we can't wait to bring Dad, Madeline, Clara, and Tommy out for the reunion in the near future!