Party Like a Rock Star!

Friday, June 27 we attended an amazing little fiesta with the Flores family and about 200 of their closest friends! Savannah Flores celebrated her Quinceñera and she was absolutely beautiful. For those of you who may be a little culturally challenged- a Quinceñera is a traditional Hispanic coming out party for a young lady turning 15 (Google it!). It usually has a ton of great foods, billions of children running wild, a piñata or two, and, of course, a ROCKIN’DJ! This event was all it should have been and more! We had a ball, especially Emma- who can dance with the best of ‘em!

Thank you, Grandma!

We knew Sarah was going to have her baby in May so we planned for Grandma Cunningham to come take care of Emma until I finished school. What a treat that was. Emma and Grandma certainly created a bond. And I don't know who had more fun with who! They took walks together, read books together, rocked together, and even went to the chiropractor together (well, I drove).
It took Grandma about 2 days to completely throw out her back from lifting Emma. So while her visit was filled with a lot of pain, discomfort, and ice packs, we know it was filled with more kisses, hugs, wind chimes, strolls, and love. We were so blessed to have Grandma here and we look forward to seeing her- and grandpa- soon!

(the Emma-Grandma gallery is quite extensive, so if you want to see more of their time together, go check out the pictures at the Clifford Gallery link on the left!)






Licking the beater! Yummm! Nothing like baking a cake with Grandma!














Cleaning out the cupboards...










Time with Grandma was not ALL fun and games. Time had to be made for piano practice!















Okay, so maybe it WAS mostly fun and games!


























Mmmmm, sticks!

Shopping with Grandma!

Sing a Song for Emma!

And then she was ONE!

Emma was SUCH a good sport on her birthday...
The night before, her beloved babysitter Sarah had decided to have her own baby, Henry. So Emma started her big day at a brand new babysitter- THANK YOU JOANNA! That certainly upset her little applecart. Then, to shake things up more, her daddy brought her to mommy's classroom and Emma spent 30 minutes partying with 19 adoring 5th graders. I was so blessed to have an entire class that just loved all things Emma. Once we got home and Dad came with Madeline, Clara, and Tommy, we had about one hour to eat dinner, open gifts, have cake, take a bath, and get everyone to the Mutual.
All Emma really wanted was her 3 B's- bath, binky, and bottle! She was a little trooper!
















The kids were GREAT with Emma and she was given some very thoughtful gifts. Thanks, guys!

Like mother (and father) like daughter, I guess!

Go team!

Not sure if Emma really knows or not, but she is a Northwestern-er at heart! Go Mariners!

FINALLY!

We began to wonder if Emma would EVER give up her stroke-victim army crawl! Once she figured out that the correct form is actually faster-- there was no holding her back!

March Madness?

March was a busy month, but we tried to take things nice and slow and only eat soft foods, as Tom turned 40. It was hard on him, luckily his back didn’t go out and we have yet to schedule hip replacement surgery, so really, he must be doing GREAT for his advanced age…

Seriously, can anyone make green beans looks cuter? I think not.

Easter

Easter was a big Sunday, with new shoes and socks with ruffles that lasted, oh about 10 minutes! Emma wore her beautiful Easter outfit from Great Grandma Nadauld. She looked darling but she was NOT too impressed. Maybe the shoes were a little tight, maybe the ruffle socks weren’t her style, maybe she was just worn out from putting on a dress AND a coat. Who knows. Oh well, it’s never too early to learn that we must suffer for beauty! Easter is the perfect day to learn such a valuable lesson.