Christmas / Holiday 2007 Pictures

Our tree in GA


Ava playing in her new kitchen for the first time




She played with this gift (her kitchen) for 7 hours straight, foregoing a nap when she opened it. As is evidenced by this picture, she didn't stop moving while playing with it.


Daymian


Jordan with heelies!


My cousin Ginger and me


Candy cane pirates


When this green toy busted, it got put to good use with Daymian, Jordan and Doug...


Ginger and Grammy


Like I said, it got put to good use...


Shane and Sherry celebrating Christmas


Grandma Pam and Ava


Is this an advertisement for this kid's kitchen, or what?


Yet another advertisement...


Yet another advertisement...


A happy girl...


A happy girl


A very happy girl!


When asked, "what does a baby say?", she replies "waah!" with this face...


Kisses for Momma...


The Carey Christmas


The Careys gave this bowling set to Ava. She seemed to really like it! When she didn't hit the pins with the ball, she kicked the rest down. Spare!


Celebrating Christmas Eve


Ava playing with the cash register that the Careys gave to her. She looked like an official grocery employee, donning her apron. Grandma Carey played with a cash register when she was little, too!


Grandpa Dean harassing Ava


Grandma Dolly and Ava checking-out Rudolph


My sister and me on Christmas Day. She wasn't feeling good that day at all, but was nice enough to take this picture...


An ornament Dad made for us this year on his lathe...


Olivia


Sophia dressed ever-so pretty!


Sisters: Sophie and Olivia


The Griffith Christmas tree this year


Jordan (he looks SO grown-up in this picture!)


Kristen and Chris


Aunt Freda and Uncle Dave


Paul and Rachel with little one Luke


Kristen and Adam


My littlest cousin Rebecca, looking so grown up!


Grandma Burnis showing off the ornament that my Dad made for her


The Griswald's live near Rochester, MI!


Couldn't resist, we had to have our picture taken near the crazy place!


My sister's nickname for me since high school has always been "Peace", because of the hippy clothes I wore...

It’s official: Carey kiddo # 2 is on the way!

We had our first doctor’s appointment on 11/07. We were able to see the baby, by way of ultrasound. It’s crazy, because we were also to see the baby’s heart beating on the ultrasound, as well. How tiny that little heart was at that time!

I’m feeling well now. At first I was little more sluggish and often nauseated, but not to the point of up-chucking. :-) When I asked the nurse-midwife what I could do about not feeling “motivated” she said I needed to cut myself some slack, because I was running around after a 19 month-old. Okay, I give. :-)

A funny story about our first appointment… The nurse-midwife turned-off the lights and turned-on the monitor for the ultrasound. Ava, who was also in the room (Daddy held her), started excitedly proclaiming “Elmo!”, before anything got started, thinking we were all in store for an episode of Sesame Street. When I asked Ava what she wanted to name her little brother or sister, she said (in the same excited little voice) “Elmo!”. When I said, “So, you’re saying you want to name your little brother or sister Elmo?’ She said “Yeah, yeah!” Oh boy, there’s no hope for kiddo # 2, already. Can you see kid # 2 walking across the stage at his / her high school graduation “Elmo blah-blah-blah Carey”. Sure to be taken seriously at a job interview… :-) Apologies to anyone out there reading this, who is actually named Elmo...

In our subsequent appointment, we saw a VERY active baby who seemed to be running in place. It was very cool to see how quickly the baby grew from 11/07 to 12/07. Although still half the size of a pinky-finger, we could make-out a jawbone, arms, legs, a backbone, etc by that point. Very interesting!

The baby’s due date is July 3rd… Daddy Doug’s birthday! He was elated to hear that great piece of news. I’m praying for a June baby already. I told the nurse-midwife that I DO. NOT. WANT. TO. GO. 10 DAYS. OVER. MY. DUE. DATE. ever again. I truthfully think that Ava was a c-section because we (my body, I should say) waited too long to have a natural birth. She said “Don’t worry, we won’t let you go over 42 weeks.” (Um, doesn’t that equate to 14-DAYS-PAST –MY-DUE-DATE?) I would like to have this baby naturally (instead of c-section), but in the state of Georgia they won't induce women who have had previous c-sections, out of fear that the c-section incision could potentially rupture (can occur in 1% of previous c-sections).

So, I'm praying that I can go into labor naturally and have this baby on my own, if possible. I may need to buy a pogo stick and hop around on it for months 7-9. If you see me frequenting the neighborhood on a pogo stick, please don’t pay any attention.

If you’re doing the math, we’re a little over 3 months pregnant now.

We’re excited and looking forward to our little family becoming bigger. We know Ava will make a great big-sister, too. Please keep the health of this little baby in your prayers.

All our love,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and the littlest one

Admiring from afar, But THIS is a little too close

Today was Ava's Christmas party at "school" (aka day care). It was cute to walk into the auditorium to see the kids (all ages) lined up, ready to sing songs at their teacher's direction. Ava gave me a big wave which showed me where she was sitting. We watched the older kids SHOUT Christmas songs, which was too cute. One little girl was especially loud, and seemed to lead the group as she knew the words. They sang "Deck the Halls", which was especially funny, when they couldn't remember the words to the end of the first verse.

We ate a nice meal of chicken fingers, cole slaw, macaroni and cheese, biscuits and green beans. It was nice to talk to two other moms of girls in Ava's class.

Then came Santa. The other kids in Ava's class were a bit leary of Santa, sitting on his lap with a very questioning / perplexed look on their face. Then it was Ava's turn. I tried to prep her by being super-excited about Santa, and telling Ava she should give him a hug, etc. No can do. The minute she sat on his (or was it her? :-) lap, she freaked-out. The other parents that looked on got a big kick out of Ava shrieking while in Santa's lap. It was pretty funny. What was even funnier was each kid's reaction that followed Ava. I think she set the tone for her classmates. :-)

Much A “Do” About Nothing

We comb it. Cut it. Style it. Perm it. Straighten it. Highlight it. Shampoo it. Condition it. Slick it back. Braid it. Put it in a ponytail. Do it in a French Twist. We hate it. We love it. Hair.

I remember my Pa recalling my Grandma Nila losing her hair due to chemotherapy when I was in 2nd grade. He always said “a woman’s pride is in her hair”. I guess I can agree with his statement.

Since Ava’s birth, I haven’t highlighted my hair. Not purposely. Just to save a few bucks, I guess. I FINALLY made the decision a few months ago to grow my hair out for “Locks of love”, which is a non-profit organization that provides wigs to financially disadvantaged children under 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss (any diagnosis). This decision worked out well, as Locks of Love doesn’t make wigs out of highlighted hair. I guess my decision was further confirmed by seeing my friend Melissa’s hair (already cut) alongside the donation envelope. The hair donation must be a minimum of 10 inches in length to be used for a hairpiece. So, if at any point in my life I could do this, the time is now.

When my sister told me she cut her hair recently, I told her about said donation. She embraced the idea a little too much, saying “Well, you HAVE had the same haircut your entire life.” This statement is true, too, minus the two perms with which I’ve tortured myself, and another time I cut my hair above shoulder-length (at which time Doug didn’t recognize me – another story for another day). My hair is just not perm-material.

Hair gets to a certain length, and it definitely becomes unmanageable. Mine has gotten to that point. I’m a no-fuss girl here in GA. Unless going out for a nice dinner, my hair usually gets pulled back into a ponytail fairly soon after showering. Not the most aesthetically-pleasing look, but functional none-the-less. A friend of mine years ago would cringe at the idea of another “chicky” not “doing” her hair daily. Not I, said the fly.

And 10 inches of hair to cut is no small feat! I get the tape-measure out occasionally to see how long my hair would be when I cut it. Nope, still too short. Still resisting the urge to frequent any place where shears might be found. It does become quite the time-consuming ordeal to blow-dry so much hair. I feel like Cousin It from the Addams Family! (I’m really exaggerating here). I also think, if I cut it today, that any winter trip to Michigan would be that much chillier.

So, if you see me around town looking like a Neanderthal hippie-woman who would be a great candidate for the “What Not To Wear” show, know this is only temporary. (Don’t volunteer me for the show, just yet). Or, if you care to join me in this endeavor, please DO (pun intended) :0)

http://www.locksoflove.org/

Peace, love and hair pomade,
Shelly

The Wiggles Quota....

We've officially reached our "Wiggles" quota. While in MI, at the Careys' house, we watched the same Wiggles movie 2 1/2 times. Kudos to the Careys, for putting up with so much saccharin-induced children's television. No more Wiggles. Ever.

As much as it pains me to refrain from putting a Wiggles DVD into the DVD player (NOT), we're onto bigger and better things. These days, Frosty the Snowman has taken up residence in our DVD player. Ava affectionately requests the DVD by asking "Noman?"..."Noman?" Fortunate for us, Frosty is of the seasonal variety!

She also asked for "Jesus" today on DVD. We have a children's first bible story DVD, which shows a cartoon drawing of Jesus and children on the face of it. I thought it was terribly sweet that she requested "Jesus" with such a pained look on her face, like she had to watch it immediately. Who would deny their kid of "Jesus"? ;-)

I'm curious what DVD will hold her attention next? (Note: Teletubbies and Doodlebops are not in our future. Period!)

Cool Australian accent or not, the Wiggles gotta go...

Shelly