Ava's Fifth Birthday: An Heirloom Bracelet?

I was notorious for losing gifts of jewelry given to me while growing up.  I actually lost a tennis bracelet (that was a gift from my Mom), on the way to play tennis at Marmon Park.  I think it slipped off / unlatched as I got out of the car.

I'm hoping Ava doesn't follow in her Mom's footsteps... We bought this bracelet for her for her birthday, in hopes that one day she can pass it on.  It has her initials engraved in a heart.  I have a similar bracelet that I love to wear all the time, also engraved with my initials, but mine is oval-shaped.  I figure we'll let Ava wear this to church and promptly remove it when she gets home, in hopes that it doesn't disappear too quickly!

  

Peace, love and heirlooms?

Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Prayers: My Stars!

Ava has been fascinated with planets lately.


A recent prayer of Ava's:


"Dear Heavenly Father,


Thank you for everything that you've given to us.  Thank you for Mommy and Daddy and Liam.  Thank you for the planets, thank you for Jupiter, even though it doesn't have any air on it, thank you for it. 


In Jesus Name, Amen."


Peace, love and astronomical prayers,
Shelly, Doug, Ava the astrologist, Liam

Ava's 5th Birthday Party

Ava's birthday party was a blast! 

The birthday girl turns FIVE!

When I asked her where she wanted to have it this year, she kept saying "at home, in our back yard".  Last year, it was SO CHILLY outside on her birthday.  It also seems we spend just as much money on a non-home birthday party.  We went through the list... Monkey Joe's?  Jeronimo's?  Chuck E. Cheese?  She was happy with Monkey Joe's.  I had forgotten about her day care going to the skating rink, but when I remembered, I asked her if she wanted to have her party there.  She was super happy about having the party at the roller rink.  We struggled with the "how many people do we invite?" question... To include school friends, or not to include school friends.  The school's policy asks that if one classmate is invited that all be invited. 


At first I'm sure people thought we were crazy...A skating rink party for a 5 year-old?  How many five year-olds have been skating?  (Ava's been twice before this party).  It couldn't have worked out more perfect, actually!  Sparkles Roller Rink in Kennesaw has a soft play area perfect for little ones.  The skating rink is concrete, so they allow most skates (including the over-the-shoe Fisher Price type).  Ava brought her adjustable skates.  I bought a pair for Liam, too, so he wouldn't be left out.  See pictures below for his first run with the skates... ;-)


When we arrived, Ava, Liam and Doug all did a few loops around the rink.  It was cute to watch them all skate together.  They got to skate to the Black-Eyed Peas "Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night," one of Ava and Liam's favorites.  After 10 minutes or so, Ava and Liam played in the soft play area (3 levels or so?) for most of the time.  The kids had a blast.  On Monday at school, I told Veer's Mom thank you for letting him come to the party.  She said Veer had so much fun.  When she asked him how fun it was, on a scale of 1 to 1000, he said "6,000."  Cute.  :)


For quite a few of the kids, it was their first time on skates.  Matthew, Olivia, Veer, Avery, Alana, Mekhi and Liam had their first skating rink experience.  This was Ava's third time skating.  I don't think she fell once?


Party attendees included:
Veer (from school)
Sara (from school)
Avery (from school)
Lily
Mekhi
Ryan-Ashton
Kylyn
Alana
Parker
Caleb
Zoey (neighbor)
Lucy (neighbor)
Olivia (neighbor)
Nicholas (neighbor)
Matthew (neighbor)
Liam


It was a good thing we had the party indoors.  It rained the entire day and hasn't seemed to stop since!  Ava wanted a princess cupcake / cake combo with whipped icing from Sam's Club.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the cake.  It was yummy!  Ava helped with the labels for the goodie bags, printing her friend's name on each one, drawing a happy face on it, as well. 


I made different colored chocolate roller skate suckers, too.  It was an afterthought, but I was able to order the molds from a place in New Jersey in time.  They arrived on Friday night, so I was able to QUICKLY make the suckers for the party the next morning.  The kids seemed to enjoy them.  Ava took the left-overs to school on Monday.  Because these suckers were an afterthought, I wasn't too stressed about them getting here on time.  Between not stressing about sucker molds and not needing the house to be spic-and-span for a birthday party, it was nice.  The only requirement:  Cake and showing up at the roller rink with goodie bags.  Bonus!


After the party seemed to be well-controlled, I decided to go for a few laps around the rink myself.  So I put on the rental skates and did my thang.  I ended-up ALMOST falling when I switched from skating backward to forward.  Lucky me, Doug got it on tape. :)  It is pretty different skating on concrete than on wooden floors.  I felt like I was going to fall at any minute, the wheels were so fast on the concrete!   Other parents (Christy Craig, Melissa Baillairge and Amy Hoffman) seemed to have fun on skates, as well.  It seemed like everyone was able to enjoy themselves.  Even our neighbor friend Zoey was able to enjoy the play area with some help from her mama (Kristi). 


After the party, we opened gifts at home while Liam was sleeping.  We didn't want him to be TOO upset about Ava's gifts.  Poor thing, he doesn't understand why he isn't getting the same number of gifts. :( 


Peace, love and FIVE birthday candles!
Shelly, Doug, the birthday girl and Liam

Trying out his skates pre-party, minus pajama pants?

Bedhead Liam missing his pajama pants

Party favors

Ava helped with the invitations and inserts.  She signed each of them "Love, Ava". 
This was her first attempt at a comma. ;-)
She also wrote out each of the labels for her friends' goodie bags.
After opening her gifts, she also wrote out the thank you cards. 
Tough work for a just-turned-five year-old!

The invitations

Ava with her first project at her "activity center"

Liam has a side he can use, too! 

This gift was PERFECT for Ava this year, given her love of crafts.

One happy girl!

Ava Turns 5!

To my sweet girl, Ava.

Ava, everyday you continue to amaze me with your gentle, determined, giving, pensive, laughing spirit. I can’t believe you are turning FIVE already! It seems just yesterday that Daddy and I were going on our final “pregnant walk” with Grandma Pam, with you still hitching a ride in my belly, us talking about your arrival. Before you came into the world, I had no idea my heart could hold so much love in it. You have taught me to love more than you could ever imagine! I ache for you when you hurt, I am beaming for you when you are happy.

I love to hear you sing. You have the sweetest voice! I pray that you use it for God’s glory. You have quite the vibrato when you sing "Once Upon a Dream" from Sleeping Beauty.  You have grown so much in the past year… Where to begin? You have always been a learner, but within the past year, you appetite for learning has increased tenfold. No longer does your world only consist of dolls, pink and princesses. We’ve added dinosaurs, planets and (your brother’s) trains to the list. :)  I love to teach you about new things in the world. I pray that I am relaying the right things to you at the right time.

I was recently watching PBS when something about Pearl Harbor and sunken Japanese submarines came on t.v. You were FASCINATED with this, and wanted to know more about it. I am trying to use discretion with what I tell you and when. Your voracious appetite for knowledge makes it hard to temper the information I relay to you. I pray I relay what God would have me tell you. I am so happy that you’re so curious about the world! I saw a book on the universe on clearance and bought it. You were so eager to look through this book, that when we got home, we cracked it open and spent quite a while looking at the planets, sun, moon and stars. We went through the entire book.  I have so much fun looking at these things with you!

In the past year, you have started to ask more questions of me, as to how things work, what they mean. I am so grateful that you feel comfortable asking me questions. I pray you always feel this comfortable. We’ve been playing the They Might Be Giants “Science” CD in our mini-van lately. It’s amazing how quickly you catch onto new concepts and ideas.

Ms. Barb told me about two weeks ago that you are MORE than ready for Kindergarten. It makes me so proud to see what a great student you are! And how kind and thoughtful you are to/of others. I know you’ve been learning how to read in Miss Ebony’s classroom over the past year. Ms. Trollie says you are the best reader in school! Right now you are in a BEKA program at school. You are sounding out letters, words and blends.  I think in a few months you’ll probably be reading on your own!


The other day, you and I pulled out Daddy's map with state quarters on it.  It's the biggest map of the United States that we have.  You like looking at the map and learning about the states.  You mentioned a few of the state names.  When I asked you how you knew how to read it, you said "I didn't sound it out with my mouth, I sounded out the word in my head."   Wow. 

At school, you seem to enjoy having fun with Tommye-Elyse and Sara. You’ve talked before about the girls being on “one team” and the boys on another. You’ve said that the boys chase the girls’ team on the playground. You seem to be good friends with Jack and Eli, too. All of your friends seem very nice and seem to treat you very well. It’s hard to believe that you’ll be in kindergarten in five short months. It doesn’t seem possible that much time has flown by. I know you will LOVE school, as you love learning.

I love how you quietly come downstairs in the morning, into Mommy and Daddy’s bedroom, and wait for a hug. You still LOVE that “pink blankie” of yours! You are such a good big sister to Liam, too. Whenever he needs help, you always seem to help him out even without being asked. I know he is learning so much from you, by you showing him things and just by him watching you.


You seem to adapt easily wherever you go, occupying yourself with whatever is available and have fun.

I love to watch you on the playground. You are SO FAST! Even Alana’s Daddy commented on how fast you are, that you were running circles around the other kids. To see you running and laughing is one of my favorite things ever.


We recently went to Disney, where everything seemed magical to you. The electric parade at night seemed very special to you, as you waved at each of the princesses as they drove by in their parade float.

You have been taking swim lessons for over a year now, with Miss Meg. You now can swim underwater and come up for a breath, and then swim about 20 feet from the middle of the pool to the edge. You’re our little mermaid! Daddy and I think that we won’t sign up for swim lessons this next session, so you can just have some fun in pools over the summer.

It doesn’t seem like things scare you as much anymore (with exception to dogs). We always talk through things when you are scared, though, and let you know when things “aren’t real”. I also reminded you recently that we can make ourselves scared if we want to, but we can also decide not to be scared. Hopefully over time you won’t be scared of dogs. You come by this honestly, though, as I was scared of them when I was a little girl, too.

You are so giving. It seems like one of your favorite things to do is color pictures and make crafts for your friends and family. You spend many hours at the kitchen table, cutting, taping, gluing, coloring and constructing gifts for people. You are very crafty. You were so anxious for your birthday and to help Mommy with the birthday invitations. You signed "Love, Ava" on the inserts we put in the envelopes with invitations.

You've been counting the days until your birthday, and I think you might believe the world will be a different place when you are 5 and "bigger". I hope it is an empowering, fun world for you!

I am so thankful to be your Mommy. I know Daddy is very thankful to be your Daddy, too. I know Liam is so glad he has such a sweet big sister, too. We are so proud of the sweet , beautiful, pretty, thoughtful person you are. Above all, your beautiful heart shines through.

Daddy and I pray for guidance in raising you to be the person God wants you to be. We pray for your future and all that is in it.

Favorite movie: She-ra (Princess of Power)
Favorite colors: pink, red, blue, orange, yellow, green, black, white :)
Favorite thing to do: Be crafty, cut things out, put stickers on things, make crafts for your friends.
Favorite place to go: Disney World or Monkey Joe’s
Favorite food: Little Caesar’s Crazy Bread.
Favorite book: ?????
Favorite song: “Dog Days Are Over” – Florence and the Machine
Height: ???

Weight: ???

I pray that this year is a fun, exciting new chapter for you, sweetie. Keep that beautiful smile and always look to God for help.

Daddy and I love you with all our hearts!

Happy birthday!

Love,
Mommy, Daddy and Liam

Ava Carey, MD

Grandma Pam gave Ava a Birthday Barbie for her birthday. Complete with many different outfits, one a doctor's outfit.

Ava, with her new Dr. Barbie doll, gets a call from Dr. Barbie on Dr. Barbie's cell phone.


The phone: "Dr. Barbie, please go to the ER, you are scheduled to see two patients."


Ava, speaking into the Dr. Barbie phone: "Please hurry to emergency, there is a guy dead."


Wow, do I need to be concerned?


She also wrote out some prescriptions for me, her patient. I told her, in my best doctor's voice: "Please come back and see me Sunday." Her prescription for me?


"Sunday, please."

















































"Doctor Ava. Sunday, please."

Peace, love and MDs,
Shelly, Doug, Dr. Ava and Liam

Rockin' Out On The Way To School

To capture our rides to school in the morning.

Lately we have been rocking out to Florence and the Machine (Track #1) on the way to school: "Dog Days Are Over". I do believe we've played this song in our vehicle more times than Florence and her crew has performed it during her career.

If Liam notices that Ava isn't dancing while music is playing, he'll say "Rock out, Ava!" This song specifically is good for some "rockin'-out".

In these pictures, though, they both remained calm, as I asked them to stay still for the camera. My camera in my HTC Evo Shift 4G phone (which I'm sure will date this particular blog entry in coming years) doesn't do too well with any movement.

Peace, love and rockin' out,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Swim Lessons

Ava has taken swim lessons at the Atlanta Swim Academy for a little over a year now. Ms. Meg was normally her teacher. She has done SO great with these lessons! When we first got inot the lessons, Ava didn't even like water being poured over her head in the bathtub. My, how things have changed. She is now our little mermaid, doing underwater "torpedos" and swimming strongly.

Normally the classes at the academy have 4-6 kids in them. They try to get them to swim on their own by the end of the Seahorses class, in which Ava was enrolled.

For the longest time, Ava would use a #1 floatie, which was the thinnest floatie they had. These floaties are tied around their waist, with the floatation part on their back. Ava would say that she just couldn't swim without the floatie. Ms. Meg told us that if she got to a #1, that she could do it on her own. She now knows how to swim underwater, kicking her legs, come up for air to take a breath and go back under and swim the remainder to the wall. She does like to try to swim on top of the water more, at this point, but since we've told her it is easier to swim underwater, she seems to be more inclined to go that route.

I know Ava would absolutely flourish in dance classes and gymnastics, but I really felt like we needed to get this "basic" started with her first, before getting into something superfluous like dance or gymnastics.

We decided to take the summer off of swimming, so Ava can have a break and just enjoy the water. Our pocketbook likes the break, as well. :) Liam was such a sport. He would sit on the bench with us, watch the kids swim, eat his snack and play with a small train he brought from home. Thanks for being such a trooper, Liam! Your turn will be here soon.

Check out the link below, which I took with my phone. We couldn't often take a great picture in the pool, as the humidity would fog up the camera instantly, before we could get pictures. Here is Ava in ACTION! :)



Peace, love and lots of chlorine molecules,
Shelly, Doug, the mermaid and the voluntary bench-sitter

Miss Crafty

Ava is unbelievably crafty. So much so, that we have papers and artwork strewn throughout our entire house. I think she has a future in recyclable art! She can take absolutely anything and make a craft out of it.


When we first started talking about her upcoming birthday and party, she immediately began making art and crafts for her friends, as invitations. I think it's sweet that she really enjoys making things to give to others. It seems as if it is her favorite thing to do. She started decorating paint stirrers / shims, coloring them with different colored markers. She put stickers on them and put them in a pile to give to friends.


Ava could spend HOURS at the kitchen table doing crafts. We've figured out the perfect gift for her for her birthday. You'll just have to wait a week or so to see what we picked. :)


One thing I've enjoyed is seeing how she phonetically spells things on her artwork. She wrote the following on a piece of paper and taped it to a box:

As you might be able to tell, it is her "Birthday Box," in which she puts all things "birthday". :)


She also recently wrote a letter to her sweet school friend Jack Passman, to give to him with his gift at his 5th birthday party last weekend. I wish I would've taken a picture of it! She wrote a note telling Jack "Happy birthday" and asking if he could come over for a sleepover party sometime. Adorable. Ava and Jack have been classmates the longest, out of all of Ava's school friends. Jack's Mom asked Doug if Ava wrote the note on her own. She was really impressed when we told her Ava didn't need any help. :) Mrs. Passman said she had to concentrate to figure out what it said, but eventually figured it out. Jack's Mom said she was going to keep it, as it was Jack's first "sweet note from a girl". She thought it was utterly adorable.
See below for samples of Ava's artwork. Who knows, maybe one day these will come with a high price. :)
Peace, love and Crayola stock,
Shelly, Doug, the artist formerly known as Ava, Liam

She's really been drawing quite a few "swirlies" (my term) lately. Kind of Van Gogh-ish, don't you think?

Writing out her name and birthday

One of her favorite shows: Tom and Jerry

I'm not sure exactly what this is, but it does say "From Ava". It looks like a bridge of some sort.

July 3: Daddy's (Dade) birthday

Quite colorful, which is very typical of anything she colors

For a while there, Ava was fascinated with how to spell things. She would sit at the kitchen table for hours and ask us "How do you spell ___?" She often asked how to spell "brainhorse". I'm not sure why. I told her it was two words and that most people probably wouldn't put both of those words together. Today I asked her again where she heard it. She said no one told her the word, she made it up. So below, you will see a few pages dedicated to "Brainhorse".

Brainhorse again.

Yep, Brainhorse again.

Ava's collage of plants, cut from a mail-order seed catalog.

I Luv U

What appears to be a castle and swirlies.

I will have to ask her what these two people are doing. I'm wondering if is two people on a playground / swings.

A few bats and a bear. She did pretty well with the bear, I'd say!

I believe she told me this was a castle.

She wrote this quite some time ago. Sodr, for "Island of Sodor," from Thomas the Train.

Self portrait? I see what looks like a belly button, too. I remember my nephew Daymian drawing those, as well, when he was about her age. I thought it was hilarious that he drew them, as clothes normally cover belly buttons. But he insisted on drawing them. Cute that Ava includes them, as well.

I think she started drawing a princess here.

Piggy

I will have to ask her what this was about. I'm sure that is a self portrait, though.

She sounded out "Pegasus" by herself.





























Drawn with the help of the Lego table at school.

Schoolwork.

Another one of Ava's colorful creations.

We're busting at the seams with toys, crayons and the like. This is my tower of organization, in hopes of trumping the insanity. :)