Halloween Festivities

Halloween was so much fun!!! We started the festivities off a couple of weeks ago with a Fall/Halloween party that our friends Andrew and Nicole Pourchier organized. It was our first run with the costume, and minus the refusal to wear the hood, Madelyn was a trooper! We got to go on a hayride, roast marshmallows, and enjoy the company of some great friends!

Below Madelyn is laughing at Brady Mayhue (aka Johnny Cash). Brady was having so much fun making different faces at Madelyn to get her to laugh!

Next on the list of festivities is the annual Pumpkin Carving Night! Really this is Mike's night! He is the master carver (with the help of Mr. Dremel)! This year Mike carved Madelyn's monogram - it was so cute!
Finally we come to 10/31...Halloween! Once again Madelyn was not a big fan of the hood, but she wore her Ladybug costume with pride! Oh, and we learned that she likes quite the variety when it comes to candy! We sat her next to our candy bowl and she pulled things out one at a time...and of course, each and every piece went straight to her mouth. The funny thing is each time she pulled another piece of candy out of the bowl, she picked something new! Guess you have to try them all to know what you like!

Madelyn's first Halloween Eve!

Madelyn with the Pumpkin her Daddy carved for her! Madelyn with Mallory Daniels!

It's hard to get a good shot of these two girls on the move!

Happy Halloween...more later with Madelyn in her costume!

Out of order beach pics

A few more pics from the beach...

Madelyn playing in the sand...and Mally bringing the frisbee in the background!

Madelyn is blowing bubbles in this one...too funny!

Daddy and Madelyn in the hammock!

Ear Bling!

A few pics of the new earrings!

Here Madelyn is talking on the phone to Nana...

Warning...piercing ears hurts!

Friday was a BIG day for us! Madelyn had her 9mo check up, and this time Nanna came along as Daddy had appointments at work. Thank goodness Nanna was there...Mommy needed her support as we all three went through the trauma of getting Madelyn's ears pierced - OUCH! I was hoping this experience would be similar to getting a shot...hmmm....not exactly. Madelyn doesn't really like people to hold her in place or mess with her head/ears anyway - we've learned that before. So, just the part where the doctor was trying his best to mark the piercing locations was hard. Then, add to that the actual sound and pinching pain of piercing and we had one poor little girl in pain and in tears. AND we still had to pierce the other ear!!! Don't worry, we didn't leave her with only one piercing, but it was all together a rough time. Later Nanna read some lady's blog that said her two month old slept through the piercing - I'd love to know how that happened! It's done now, and I can honestly say I believe the worst is behind us. Madelyn has hardly reacted to the cleaning and turning of the earrings (for you males out there, you have to clean and turn the earrings on a regular basis - it's part of the basic care). Best of all, she's not messing with them with her own hands, and sleeping does not seem to be a problem at all (she sleeps on her side).

On to the good stuff...Madelyn weighed in at 20lbs 8oz and is 27 1/4 inches long! She's in the 80 percentile for weight and 45th for height. Madelyn is developing right on track. She's definitely crawling all over the place now, and she'll stand up when supported by mom, dad, or the sofa! She's clapping, eating finger foods, and mimicking mom and dad's funny noises and faces. She says Mommy, Daddy, and Hey...although it's not completely purposeful or clear. She loves her Blue Bear, being outside, and her new personalized CD from Nina and Grampa! Really, that CD was a life saver! It sings songs that has her name inserted. On our way home from getting the ears pierced, Madelyn started crying again. We tried every toy and every trick we knew and couldn't get Madelyn calmed down...then Mommy played THE CD...it was like magic! Madelyn heard it and immediately calmed down and stayed that way the rest of the way home! Thanks Nina and Grampa!!!

On another note, Mommy and Baby #2 had a check up a little over a week ago. Things are progressing just fine...we heard the heartbeat (186bpm this time) and we'll go back in another month!

Here are a couple of pics from our beach trip...stay tuned for pics of the pierced ears!

This one is Aunt Steph and Madelyn - although Madelyn's not smiling, she is clapping!!

Here's one with Gramps!!

Our family on the beach!

October News and Updates

Madelyn will be 9 months old in 2 days! We just can 't believe it! We are dismayed that in 3 months she'll be digging into her first birthday cake! This weekend we are enjoying our second trip as a family to the beach. We are staying in our cousins' beautiful home outside of Georgetown, SC. The weather is beautiful, Daddy and Gramps have already been out golfing, and Madelyn loves riding around on the golf cart! After the last two months of jammed packed Tully Markets activities, we all needed this vacation! Oh, I guess I didn't clarify - we're here with the Tullys - Gramps, Nana, and Aunt Stephanie. AND we can't forget that Mally joined us on this trip - she's the happiest camper here!!

Well, we tried unsuccessfully before to make announcements to family and friends through this blog but for some reason we're trying again. We are excited to announce that Madelyn is going to be a BIG sister!! Yes, we are pregnant with Baby #2!! The baby is growing and developing just fine - we're almost 11 weeks along. This new addition will be joining us at the end of April 2009. Please keep us all in your prayers as we prepare in all sorts of ways for this wonderful new life!

Here are a few of the latest pictures of our little girl!!!

This is Madelyn playing with her favorite friend, Mallory Daniels! They have such a blast together!
Here's Madelyn playing with a burp cloth on her head! She loves to play "Peek-A-Boo" and pull it off her head! It makes her laugh every time!

This is our family at Texas de Brazil in Fort Worth. This is where we celebrated our 1st successful Western Apparel and Tack Texas Market in August.

Stay tuned for more updates on Madelyn and more info on our Baby on the way!

Love,
Mike, Allyson, Madelyn, Baby #2, and Mally

It's been a while...

So, our little blueberry is now almost 6 months old!! We can't believe how fast the last 5+ months have flown by. We are enjoying every second with Madelyn. Lately, we've been experimenting with all sorts of things to get her to belly laugh. The token trick for the last few weeks has been sit-ups! Sometimes we just get big smiles...sometimes we get a full out laugh!

We've focused most of our efforts on Madelyn's Baby Site - there's lots of pictures, journal entries, and her growth chart all posted there. However, we may just try to keep them both updated moving forward...we'll see.

Little Blueberry

This is our first view of Baby Clifford!! Our baby is tiny - only the size of a blueberry at this point, but even at this tiny size, there's a heartbeat!!! It's so incredibly amazing!! I got to see and hear the heartbeat at my first appointment with the doctor this week...I am now counting the days until Mike gets to go with me to the next appointment and hear it for himself!!

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support! We love you all!

Poem

This is the poem we posted in our first attempt to share our news with Stephanie. Too bad she missed our desperate attempt to get her to check out our blog space!! We ended up sending the poem to her in a text message instead.

Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
Dear Aunt Stephanie,
I can't wait to meet you!!!

Love,
Baby Clifford (Coming....1/11/2008)

Fertile Water

So, really, there's nothing new to say. I just thought blogger might kick our account out if it showed no activity for much longer!! However, since I'm here, I suppose I should provide an update for you, our loyal readers. What's funny is that you, our loyal readers, don't even know who you are yet at this point!!

So, we've officially been trying for a few months now. There are pregnancies and babies all around us!! I have been drinking the water...and nothing yet! All in God's timing - I know. In fact, as much as I have a habit to over think and research things, I am trying my best to not do that in this situation. I have heard all too many times how obsessing over getting pregnant typically delays the process. I guess it's written on my face or something though, because everyone seems to be asking us lately if we're pregnant yet! So, in spite of my best efforts to not obsess I seem to keep coming back to the topic. So, at this point, we've become a little more relaxed about letting people know that we're trying - in hopes that maybe the questions will dwindle. The family doesn't know though - at least I don't think they do! If at all possible, we want to be able to come up with a grand and unique way of telling as many people as possible. In fact, we come up with new ideas weekly!! I personally think they are all assuming we're trying, but it has not been officially confirmed.

Here come the holidays. Bring on the shopping, eating, presents, traffic, baked goods, wrapping, homecomings, cold weather, decorating, etc...and bring on some fertile water to the Clifford home!! We pray for patience as God has already completed the family planning for this household.

The Gift that keeps on giving

Wow - I'm not even exactly sure what it is that we have, but my co-workers are amazing! Who told them that we are trying anyway? I've always said Jill has intuition like no other - case and point. Today the Sales team at work took me out to lunch for my birthday (belated...but not forgotten). We always all pitch in for a gift, and we always try to think of the perfect gift. I've received jewelry and Spa Sydell gift certificates - both of which I LOVED - but this year's gift was so special, so thoughtful, and so perfect. The Sales Team (plus a few adopted members) pitched in to open a College Saving Fund for the future Clifford children. Again, did I mention that not a single one of them knows that we are trying? Shellie has a clue as I consulted her about our maternity leave benefits - but I told her at that time that we weren't trying yet. Anyway - I am floored. It means so much to me that they truly found the perfect gift - not only for me but also for Mike and our family. So, THANK YOU to my wonderful sales team - Jill, Kim, Stephanie, Shellie, Sandy, Ellen, James, and Lauryn. I can't wait for you all to see this fund put to use years down the road!

Are We Ready?

So, here we go again - another attempt at "blogging." As I sit here wondering what to write, I am trying to remember why we created this blog site in the first place.

Ok - I remember now. So, with that in mind, this blog will be dedicated to that theme.

Are we really ready to have a baby?

First things first, let me clear the air. NO, we are not pregnant...not yet! Now, back to question...Hmm - I guess that depends on who you ask...and maybe even when you ask. We have family that was ready for us to make them grandparents and great grands the day we got married. I can't say for sure that any of baby Clifford's future aunts or uncles have been particularly vocal either way - and when I say either way I also mean that they have not commented on their readiness to be Aunts and Uncles really either! However, I know that each of them will embrace their aunt and uncle roles with pride, joy, and love.

But are we ready - for a baby - to be mommy and daddy?

Well, Saturday night Mike and I attended the wedding of our neighbors, Todd and Rachel. Their flower girl was our adorable 5 year old next door neighbor, Emese. She was precious. Yes, she did a wonderful job as a flower-girl...a flawless performance. But, that's not what was so adorable to Mike and I. While we were enjoying our dinner at the reception, Emese went on about wanting to dance when the band played. See, Emese had surgery just 5 days earlier - this was the first day she'd been out of the house for an extended amout of time, and she was still on doctors' orders to take it easy. So, needless to say, for a 5 year old - she was devastated that she would not be able to twirl on the dance floor. Now to the adorable part. When the band did finally start playing, most of us were standing - bouncing and swaying to the beat I guess you would say. Well, at some point, I felt a little hand tugging on my arm. When I turned to see what she wanted, Emese's arms were stretched out toward me and anyone could read the expression on her face begging for me to pick her up...so, I did. "Ouch" Yep - not quite ready to be a mom I think as I hear the pain in Emese's voice after I accidentally rubbed her surgery wound when picking her up. That didn't stop Emese though. We just had to re-position. Then, all of a sudden, the world felt perfect. Emese's dancing dreams were a reality. As I swayed and bounced to the music holding Emese I looked at Mike. His face was priceless - gleaming with an expression I can hardly explain. He likely said something like, "so cute" or "so adorable" - honestly I can't recall...but the sweet face I remember. I could hear his thoughts, and mine were the exact same. I want a little girl just like this one, and I can hardly wait to have our very own.

So, here we are in the very early stages of what is most commonly referred to as the "we're trying" months. We're anxious, I won't lie. We're excited. We're scared. We know it could happen this month, and we know it might take months. But, are we ready? I guess only time will tell. I will say this though. We have FAITH, and He will carry us through what lies ahead.

Insider Edition

Well, since this is the introduction the Clifford Blog site, we thought we'd take a second to get you all caught up on our family. We live in Woodstock, GA - referred to locally as Towne Lake. Here's our home! This picture was actually taken about a year ago. We have the best neighbors that truly help make our house and neighborhood HOME. Even Mally's best friends live close by - Zoe, Haley, and Maggie! As most of you know, Mally's favorite activity is catching the Frisbee. What many of you don't know is that she also headlines as a contortionist - exhibit A - cuddled up between the desk and the legs of the desk chair. Mally, is that really comfortable?
She truly brings joy to our lives each and every moment we're with her.

Mike update: still at Regions Bank and enrolled at Kennesaw State full time. Mark you calendars though - graduation is quickly approaching. The big day is December 14th. There will no doubt be a large celebration soon there after! Until then, Mike is trying to hone in on exactly what type of job he'd like to pursue, and he's actively building his book of contacts.
Allyson is still a sales representative for HealthSouth's Physical Therapy division. While she maintains her Athletic Trainer credentials, she is not currently covering any teams.

So, everyone always asks what's new...and we always say we've just been busy...well, here's what have we been doing lately...a 6 month flashback...
December 2005 - Destin trip for the wedding of Eve Toledo and Nes Santiago, Georgia BullDawgs win the SEC Championship, and Mark and Christy Mortimer welcomed their sweet son, Logan, into the world on Christmas Day!
January 2006 - Joyce's birthday (New Year's Day), MLK Pass It On TEC retreat weekend, and Ally's hand burn (pics available upon request)
February 2006 - Valentine's Day-Allyson was sick :( and Ally visits Stephanie and family in Charlotte.
March 2006 - 3rd Anniversary - ski trip in Keystone, CO!!! Erin, Dave and Emma welcome David Mark Johnston III into the world. Also, Beth and Clint Mayhue add to their family - welcome Brady Max Mayhue. More weddings, showers, and house warmings. Debbie's birthday. Brookshire inaugural softball season begins (Mike is team manager).
April 2005 - many birthdays (Kevin, Aaron, and MIKE to name a few) and Aaron visits for last time before deployment. Third Day Concert!! More wedding showers. Spring Cul-de-Sac party!!
May 2006 - Ally's birthday! Weddings, baby showers, and graduation parties (congrats Amy, Shay, and Tara). Andrew and Nicole Pourchier welcome Ella May Pourchier into the world on 5/13. Memorial Day weekend at Steph's place on Lake Wylie!!
June 2006 - Birthday celebration for Josh (neighbor), Braves game, weddings, Fathers' Day celebrations, etc...

So, now that we have bored you over what we've been up to, let's conclude with the juicy stuff. Allyson stopped taking her pill in May. So, for all those inquiring minds out there...yes, we are trying!! This entire concept brings a multitude of emotions - but mostly it brings excitement for what is to come. We pray for patience as God reveals his timing in this process! More to come on this in future blogs!