"The Great Pumpkin"

We were recently surprised by the arrival of the cutest little outfit in the mail from my Aunt Jackie, Uncle Bill, Cousin Mike "Mitch", and of course Bosley. As you can see, it is a little pumpkin outfit that Ava feels right at home in.















The funniest part is that Ava doesn't even know that the hat is on her head! She looks up at us, and sees us smiling and laughing, so she just smiles back.

Thanks Schulers!!!

-Doug

Ava Kisses

Two Sundays ago we learned that Ava knows what the word “kisses” means. Trust me, she has no shortage of receiving kisses. We’re constantly smooching her sweet, chubby cheeks and her little belly. I occasionally will ask for a kiss back: “Gimme kisses”. When I say that now, she has been grabbing both sides of my hair or my cheeks, and pulling my face close to her (ouch), opening her mouth, and slobbering me all over one cheek. She makes a little “aaah” sound, too. (Normally when I kiss her on the cheek, I make a loud smooch sound and she’ll smile).

No need to shower on days when I get “Ava kisses,” Ava takes care of the “shower” part for me…

Sometimes she randomly does this after I pick her up and hold her. It's the sweetest thing! She likes to give hugs when she needs them, too. She will put her arms around my neck and snuggle like a little Koala bear. It’s adorable. She isn't the super snuggle-bunny I imagined a baby would be yet (she's a very "busy" and active baby, crawling on you when you hold her), so the few times she does want to snuggle, I cherish!

When I asked if she would “gimme kisses” a few weeks back, she did. Doug was holding her at the time, so I then asked if she would “give Daddy kisses,” and she did! It melted my heart! It was the first time she has made it obvious that she knows the meaning of a specific word we've said. How cool that the word was "kisses". :-)

Other words:
I think she also knows the meaning of the word "more". She also gives big smiles and lights up when we cheer her on and clap. She gets a smirk on her face when I say the word "Mama" or "Dad-da", too. She's started to "talk" by using lowering her voice a little more and saying "oh". It's pretty cute to watch.

With love,
Shelly

Our Little China Doll

Ni Hao!

As you may recall from a previous post, our friends Jeremy and Marsha Duncan recently went to China to finally meet the little girl they adopted. They returned a few days ago, after a grueling 31-hour day of traveling, with their sweet little one in tow. Aidyn is now officially an American and a Duncan! To view pictures of the Duncans’ adoption experience in China, please visit the Web site below, where they kept a daily diary. What an amazing experience! I’m sure they’re glad to be home now, with Aidyn safe and sound.
http://www.adoptionvoyages.com/Aidyn.htm







While in China, the Duncans thoughtfully picked-up a sweet pink Mandarin dress for Ava!

Let me just say I am a fan of Mandarin collar fashion. :-) I actually bought a blue Mandarin dress for myself a few years back, for which I endlessly dragged Doug through Chinatown (here in Atlanta) to find. Poor guy, he really is a trooper! I don’t consider myself an “Amazonian” woman, but I am an XL in a Mandarin dress, and there weren’t many in that size to begin with…



I digress. Doug needed to drop something off at the Duncans tonight, so he went over after work. The Duncans surprised us with an Ava-sized Mandarin dress. Of course Ava had to try it on! She looked SO cute! (She wanted to eat it before she tried it on). And it fits very well. Thanks to the Duncans for the sweet gift!








With love,
Shelly, Doug and Ava

Ava Plays the Xylophone

Taken a few weeks ago. I think she's grown taller since this video was taken. She sits up on her own now, without the aid of the "Boppy" pillow. She now tries to pull up on a few things, and her balance is getting better.

Ava Plays the Xylophone
Video sent by thecareyclan

Ava In The Pack and Play

One happy little girl!

Taken a few weeks ago...

Ava In the Pack And Play
Video sent by thecareyclan

Daddy’s Concerts

Daddy Plays Guitar
Video sent by thecareyclan

Doug really enjoys playing guitar. Whenever he has a spare moment, he picks up one of his guitars and strums. In the video, he is playing his Baby Taylor (a back-packing guitar). He played music when we were dating and I would fall asleep to the full sound of his guitar. He played Pachabel’s Canon D (recorded it), to which I walked down the aisle on our wedding day. He played music for Ava before she was born. He plays for Ava now.















When Ava was first born, I think the sound was just a little too loud for her tiny new ears, but she now loves to hear her Daddy play. She seems very calm when he plays. She scoots over to where he is playing and holds her arms up, hoping that he’ll pick her up. She can’t get close enough to her guitar-playing Daddy.

Diva

When looking up the word “diva” in the dictionary, Mariah Carey’s picture might soon be replaced with Ava Carey’s picture! Ava loves her sunglasses. Miss Hollywood. Interestingly enough, she doesn’t claw at the sunglasses, like I would think most babies her age would. The picture of her with her sunglasses and pacifier says it all: “I am pampered!”

It seriously looks like she is posing for some of these pictures...








































































































This one cracked me up. She is actually grabbing for the camera, but it looks like she's trying to stop the "stalkarazzi".

Ava Hangin' Out

We bought this crazy bouncy contraption at a consignment sale this past weekend. It was originally $10 and then half-off that price, and just needed a little cleaning up. I’ve heard that kids really seem to enjoy Jumparoos, so this seemed to fit the bill. When we first put Ava in this seat, she loved it immediately! She bounces everywhere. When she is in this seat, she tries to walk toward you, but the elastic band pulls her back. So, she is in a state of perpetual motion, always trying to walk toward you, never getting there! She ends up spinning around, instead. It’s pretty funny…

Our house isn't falling apart; this door is near our laundry room, so you'll hear the dryer running during this little video clip.

Hangin' Around
Video sent by thecareyclan

Roots

Doug, Ava and I took pictures near church, at one of the oldest trees in the Dunwoody, Georgia area. This tree just happens to be on the church's property. It's absolutely beautiful, and HUGE! The span of the limbs is very long. The root system for this tree has got to be incredibly deep, to support a tree with limbs that far-reaching.

It really is a cool tree.
















Ava wore a dress to church today, which Uncle Danny and Aunt Linda were kind enough to give to her a few months ago. It is the sweetest, girliest dress you've ever seen! Ruffles for days! And of course, pink. (Is there any other color? :-) Her little chubby feet almost don't fit in the very fancy shoes already, so we had to take pictures while we had the chance!

The Ava Times

This video was taken on or before September 6th. Notice the weird thumb trick... She has this strange habit of putting her thumb on things. I have no idea what to make of it! :-)

The Ava Times
Video sent by thecareyclan

Ava is Five Months Old

This post is a bit delayed, but better late than never...Ava will soon be six months old!

Separation anxiety set in a few weekends back. It seemed whenever I left the room while Ava was watching me, she would start crying. The bottom lip would come out in full force. Real tears. It was pitiful! She did this when Doug left the room, too. Why do babies do this? Why do they equate a parent's leisurely walk to the kitchen with their own complete and total rejection and an expected lifetime of loneliness? Very strange.









She's also beginning to repeat sounds over and over. I think (wishful thinking) she could be close to saying "Mama". A few times she actually said it, but it was definitely coincidental.

She does this thing lately where it looks like she's chewing. Doug calls it her "air-gum" (instead of playing her air-guitar, she's chewing her "air gum"). It makes noise with her chubby cheeks when she closes her mouth. It's pretty funny to watch. She's also found that she can suck on her toes. MMM, yum ;-)








She has been an absolute angel lately. She is really sticking to a schedule very well. We've been doing the "Babywise" schedule since she's been born (aka Let the Children Come Along the Infant Way, aka Prep for Parenting). She now eats at 7 a.m., 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. She's eating her veggies and fruits very well. I think she likes bananas the least. She seems to like carrots the best. She tried carrots today for the first time and gobbled them all up (what carrots she wasn't using for accessorizing).

She can now sit up unassisted. Looking at her sitting up makes me realize how fast she is growing!

I guess you could say Ava is officially crawling, although not yet Speedy Gonzales. She gets wherever she needs to go. I have a feeling the table-runners and many home decorations will soon be enjoying a nice new home in a box somewhere for a while!

She has grown so much already!

Love,
Shelly

Trying To Crawl

This video was taken approximately two weeks ago.

Trying to crawl
Video sent by thecareyclan

Dr. John's New Competition

Ava plays the blues
Video sent by thecareyclan

We discovered a new interest of Ava's today at daycare. Shelly decided to bring the camera with her while picking Ava up and caught the fun on film. We found out that Ava loves to tickle the ivories on the toy piano. In the video you can see her really get down and boogie. Will she be the next Ray Charles? We'll have to wait and see...........

Doug

Not So Nuts About Bananas...

Ava loves sweet potatoes. She REALLY loves carrots. She loves applesauce. She's not so keen on bananas, though. She, like her Mommy and Daddy, will eat whatever you put in front of her (with the exception of salmon patties for the parents... we're hoping Ava doesn't follow in our footsteps on that one!).






Waiting for some food















EWWW? What is that you're trying to feed me?














Ok, let's pacify Mom and just eat it...















Enough of this stuff already... Where are the apples I love so much?















Her true feelings on bananas shine through in this one...

Aidyn Landreth Duncan to soon become an Atlantan!

Isn't she beautiful?


Our dear friends Jeremy, Marsha and Spencer Duncan have been in the process of adopting a little girl from China for many months now. The Duncans have amazingly huge hearts and have been through the ringer with the adoption process. This week, they got THE call they have been anticipating for SO long; they received their travel dates to go to China. They leave this Sunday!!!


Aidyn's birthdate was estimated as January 9th. On January 11th, Aidyn was taken by local police to an orphanage in Tonggu, China. The attached pictures were taken some time ago, at the Social Welfare Institute. So, she is about 2 1/2 months older than Ava, and right around Kylie Shaw's age.


We know big brother Spencer has got to be super excited about meeting his new little sister!

We can't wait to meet her!

Love,
Shelly, Doug and Ava

The Sweetest Thing...

... I think I've ever seen is any little baby (they're all beautiful!) in their footed-pj's, especially pj's with horizontal stripes. The "diaper-butt" look is too cute. They all look like little teddy bears. :-) And the horizontal stripes make them look that much more roly-poly!








We were previously not putting Ava in long sleeved / footed pajamas, due to how hot it gets in her room, the extremely hot weather these days, and her "warm" nature. (Her room seems to get quite a bit of sun during the day). We were used to putting her in a comfy outfit for bed, such as a onesie with some light pj pants. Always wearing socks, she seemed to wiggle out of the socks and kick off the blanket at her earliest opportunity.

About a month or so ago, Doug thought we should start putting her in jammies before bed, so she might sleep better (without waking-up in the early a.m. due to being cold). His idea worked. She seems to be snuggly-warm (and not overheated) in her crib while wearing her jammies.


She looks so sweet when she wakes up and has "morning" face with her jammies. Too cute to not smooch!

When we wake her up in the morning, I greet her with a "hi!" and she has a sweet, eager smile. She is a happy girl.

:-),
Shelly




P.S. - Ahhh, the joys of a 1:30 a.m. conference call with my customers... I don't have them often, so when they do need to occur, I D-R-E-A-D the calls. Fortunately it allows me to create a few rough drafts of blog material for future postings. It makes it easier to keep up with the blog, if I have a few up my sleeve, to post at another time. :-) (That's a smile with one eye open, at this time of night, though!)

Sitting Patiently...

This video is from a week or so ago.

Sitting Patiently
Video sent by thecareyclan

A Walk At The Park

We went to the park this past weekend to take a stroll. Ava really seemed to enjoy herself. We decided to try out using the stroller without the baby seat attached. This meant she had to face forward while we were pushed the stroller. She LOVED it! She wouldn’t sit back / recline, so she enjoyed the sights and grabbed her toes all-the-while. Because it was a hot day and she became worn out a bit quickly, we didn’t stay too long. As she gets older, I can see her enjoying the outdoors more and more. Even when she was little, if she was crying and we took her outside, the crying would stop. She just LOVES the outdoors. This is a good thing, as much as Doug and I both enjoy camping, and going on walks.



















A happy little camper!














Has toes, will travel






















































P.S.-How cool is this? There is a hawk that lives somewhere near our house. I saw it sitting out on our deck yesterday. What a huge bird! It didn't stick around long enough for me to take it's picture, but it was really neat to see!

We LOVE Consigment Stores

I have a favorite consignment store, which is located fairly close to our house. When my Mom visits, she and I tend to frequent this store for clothing items Ava might need. When Mom was in town last, we bought a bathing suit at this store (thus the silly pictures posted earlier in the blog).









A little history...When I was born, I weighed 9 lbs ~ 5 oz. YOWZA. Everyone I knew thought we would have a big baby, as I don't think Doug and I would be considered on the "shorter" side of the spectrum. (He's 6'0 and I'm 5'7). My sister
weighed over 10 lbs. Pa was 13 lbs! (OUCH) So, my Mom suggested we forego investing in too many 0-3 month-sized clothes, being that Ava probably wouldn 't fit in them for long, if at all. Guess what? We had a peanut, who surprised everyone, born weighing 6 lbs ~ 15 oz and fitting into PREEMIE clothing. Needless to say, we had to make a few shopping trips for clothing which would fit. PB&J Kids Consignment and Maternity Clothing came to the rescue. Not only are the clothes at PB&J Kids well-kept and low-priced, they seem to have quite the variety from which to choose. (Okay, anyone working for PB&J reading this blog can write the check out to Shelly Carey, that's spelled S-H-E-L-L-Y....)


Ava didn't have many pairs of pants. She's been wearing onesies and other cute outfits, but of late, I thought the kid needed some pants. So, we went on a "pant" shopping-spree at PB&J. I found a pair of Ralph Lauren bootcut jeans that were well-priced, and still had the tag on them! Ms. Jane from work (Sprint) would be ever-so-proud, being the Ralph Lauren fan that she is... (She bought Ava a cute little Ralph Lauren polo dress a while back).












Kristy, my sister-in-law (Joe's wife), recently told us (when we were both looking through a pile of girl clothes Mom Carey received from a co-worker) to snatch-up any "plain" blue jeans when we find them... Kristy said it seems all girl jeans have some sort of decoration, embroidery, ribbons, etc. Seeing the plethora of ribbon-infused, embroidered and flowered jeans with purple-stitching I have seen in Ava's short lifetime, I agree with Kristy. So, when we found the plain-Jane (I mean Ralph) jeans, we splurged.










We purchased a few other items (yes including more pants!) from the store. We came out with some great deals, and Ava will be ever-so-stylish! One outfit included a pair of leopard print pants :-) This poor kid... I think I am probably living vicariously through her, buying cute clothes that I would wear. (Okay, minus the leopard print pants...) But the denim coat (with mandarin collar) in the pictures is something I could definitely see picking up to wear myself.




It was a fun shopping trip! The kid has pants! Mission complete.

Shelly