Happy Father's Day!

Daddy and Ava















The Carey Clan















Mommy and Ava















Ava and her Daddy Hangin' Out on a Saturday Morning



















The Many Faces of Ava...
In some of these pictures she might look a little upset, but she was actually "talking" to Doug and blowing raspberries :-)
















































































































Ava's Feet Don't Touch The Ground (When in her Activity Seat) Just Yet...



















Shelly and Ava After Small Group




















Happy Father's Day!

Doug was able to enjoy his VERY FIRST Father's Day yesterday!

He woke up to an 8x10 photo of himself holding Ava on our kitchen table. He also found a giftbag with the same photo in a smaller size (for work?), and a memory book on "A Father's Legacy". It is a book he can use to record his thoughts on his life experiences, etc. I gave a similar "Grandpa's Memories" book to my Pa (Fred Griffith), who graciously filled one of these books out for me before he died. I am so grateful Pa did! So, I told Doug that the book might not necessarily be the most fun of gifts for him (he seemed to dig it, though), but eventually a gift he could give all of our kids when they're grown.

We went to late service at church and ate at Boston Market afterward. (This is a dream not often realized by Doug, as I got a REALLY BAD case of food poisoning from Boston Market about 9 years ago... We're talking 7 lb weight loss in like two days...) We then went to Target for some odds and ends, picking up Ava's first Disney DVD's for viewing. I tried to pick the "limited release" DVD's, because I always seem to miss those I'd like, when they are out of the "Disney Vault". (quite the effective marketing gimmick, this vault idea!) So, we picked up "Bambi", "Cinderella", and "Lady and the Tramp". I've been singing "Bippity, Boppity, Boo" quite a bit lately, so it seemed fitting to purchase "Cinderella".

After small group last night, we went out to eat with some friends at El Nopal (I think that's the name of it) on Highway 9 in Roswell. It was GREAT Mexican food, and wonderful company!

We went to the Collins' house to help Jay Collins celebrate his 32nd birthday on Friday night. It was a nice time. We also played "Shout" (a DVD game about movies), while Jeremy Duncan schooled the rest of us... He could be on his own team, I swear!

Doug and I watched "Firewall" on Saturday night. It was a pretty good movie starring Harrison Ford. Some things in it were a bit far-fetched, but we both thought it was pretty good.

Ava is talking up a storm (she squeals, coos and makes a noise with her slobber like radio "fuzz" - see video clip previously attached) and rolling over immediately after you put her on the floor.

We hope all the dads out there had a memorable and enjoyable Father's Day. You are ALL important to us! As I've heard it put before, "it takes a village to raise a child." Thank you for being a dad!

With love,
Shelly, Daddy Doug and Ava

Video: Ava Talking

This video is Ava "talking" this morning.

Can anyone translate?

Ava Talking
Video sent by thecareyclan

Love,
Shelly, Doug and Ava

Shake, Rattle and ROLL!

We put her to bed on her back. How did she manage this? :-)



















She has definitely found her fingers these days, to suck on... No thumb yet, though!















Ava with a bit 'o morning face (she looks a little excited?)















More morning face...















On her tummy under her activity center















Ava on her tummy under her activity center















Rolling under her activity center















After rolling over















Ava in a bit of a pickle...















Having fun under her activity center















In her bouncy seat















In her bouncy seat















Hey folks!

We're enjoying some nice weather here in Georgia, although it is supposed to be in the 90's this weekend! How 'bout your neck o' the woods?

We have exciting news to report on the kiddo-front... Ava has now learned how to roll over! This past Tuesday, I was jonesin' for some coffee (we don't typically make coffee in the morning, unless it's a weekend, for some reason). I put Ava under her activity center on her back, so she could play with the hanging toys (a gift from Mrs. Flanigan and Grandma Spangler- merci beaucoup!). I walked into the kitchen to put cream in my coffee, and came back into our family room. Lo and behold, I find Ava OFF of the activity mat entirely, and on her stomach!

That night when Doug got home from work, she showed off her new skills for Daddy, too, by rolling over on our bed.

Last night we put her to sleep on her back. We watched her turn (via the baby video monitor we have) over to her stomach. Doug woke her up to feed her this morning and found her still on her stomach. He put her back into her crib on her back. When I woke her up to feed her again this morning, she is on her stomach! How does she do it? :-) So, for the record, she was 11 weeks exactly when she started rolling over on her own.

The scary thing about her moving around so much? I just put her in her bouncy seat, which also has hanging toys (see pictures). I didn't strap her in, and she finagled her way out of it by inching down so that only her head was on the seat, and her body was on the tile floor... All within a few seconds (of course my back was turned...). I now have her strapped into the bouncy seat and she is HATING IT. Guess we've got to watch her like a hawk, now that she's goin' mobile!

She is also grabbing for things very well lately. I gave her a little toy (a plastic star that hangs from her swing) and thought she might drop it, but found it in her hand like 30 minutes later... I'm crossing my fingers that she's a righty, but her Dad has other plans for her...

She fit into her first three month outfit this week. Still swimming in it, but it fits...More wardrobe possibilities! More clothes she'll spit up on! :-)

She is also cooing quite a bit these days and squealing, as a way of communicating. It is adorably cute! She likes to talk to Doug when he gets home from work. Maybe she's asking how his day went? "So what kind of building did you work on today, Daddy?"

Ava also was laughing this week when I was singing "Doe, a deer, a female deer" to her, and moving her feet. Poor kid, she has no idea how many songs from "The Sound of Music" are headed her way... Along those lines, and I know you're all out there... What are / were your favorite songs to sing to babies? Our repetoire currently includes:

Doe, a deer, a female deer (from The Sound of Music)
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Daisy, Daisy, Give Me Your Answer, Do...
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Close To You (by the Carpenters)
Under the Sea (from The Little Mermaid)
You Are My Sunshine (probably my all-time favorite)
The Itsy-Bitsy Spider

The others slip my mind right now. Just wondering what your favorite songs are?

Hope you're having a GREAT FRIDAY!

With love,
Shelly, Doug and Ava

"Constructing" Friendships

The Birthday Boy: Spencer















The Birthday Boy: Spencer



















Spencer And Buddy Maggie



















Spencer Van Gogh painting "happy little trees"















Ava Dons Her Construction Hat (“Does this come in pink?”)















Spencer’s Cool Birthday Cake















Spencer Blowing Out His Birthday Candles (All Two!)















Spencer Opening Birthday Gifts















Ava and the Motley Crew (Kylie Shaw and Ryan Ashton Fletcher)















Ava and Crew















The Crew















The Crew















The Crew















The Crew















Ryan Ashton and His Ladies















Ryan Ashton Fletcher and His Momma Anna















Ava Partied-Out















Hey everyone!

We were fortunate enough today to attend Spencer Riley Duncan's second birthday party! The Duncans (Jeremy, Marsha and Spencer) are friends of ours from church. Spencer is the smartest little two year old I've met so far! He has quite the vocabulary and is ever so polite. He can even say "Doug" and "Shelly" (Shelly always seems to be a tough one for little kids to say).

Jeremy and Marsha are very crafty folk. The theme for Spencer's birthday party was "construction". Each child was supplied with a festive hardhat. Spencer walked around wearing his manly tool belt. Marsha made a really cool strawberry cake with strawberry frosting. The frosting was tinted to look like dirt / pavement, oreos were crushed to look like a road meandering along the top of the cake, and candy corn was used to look like construction cones... Too cute! A great time seemed to be had by all.

This was the first birthday party Ava attended. Her Daddy was all smiles knowing his little girl has already worn a construction hardhat. I'm sure she'll have a pink tool belt before she turns one, at this rate!

At the party, Ryan Ashton Fletcher (born in November), Kylie Reese Shaw (born early in January but due at the end of March like Ava) and Ava all posed for the camera together. Ryan Ashton was a big flirt with the girls... You should've seen the parents making a fuss over these little ones (myself included), trying to keep kiddos propped-up on the couch all while preventing any baby-mauling from occurring.

It is in the 90's here today! We hope you found a cool place to kick back and relax today... with a cone of a different sort... maybe an ice cream cone?

Love,
Shelly, Doug and Ava

"Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On"

Ava Talking To Her Friend the Ceiling Fan





























































Hello, everyone!

As you can see, I'm having too much fun taking pictures of Ava these days... I guess I'm trying to capture the moments while I am able to see her during the day, before she is in daycare.

Ava finally fits into her first pair of jeans! The jeans are 0-3 months, but I think they're big for that size. She is still swimming in them (I had to cuff them up like a foot or so :), but I couldn't resist. Just wanted to post some pictures of our "all-American baby"!

In the picture where she is looking up (in our bedroom), she is talking to the ceiling fan. She cracks me up... She LOVES to look and smile at most ceiling fans.

She also dislikes going to bed covered with a blanket. Whenever we cover her up to go to bed, in a Houdini-like way, she inevitably finds a way to kick off "covers" within seconds. I am now resolved to the fact that she hates covers, and let her sleep this way. She fell asleep in her bouncy seat (see pictures), and scooches down until her legs hang off of the seat. She also likes to sleep this way.

Summer is almost here!

Have a great day!

Love,
Shelly, Doug and Ava

The Laugh Factory

Good Monday, everyone!

The weather here in Georgia has been beautiful the past few days! We had a cold front come through that has kept the weather mild and sunny, thwarting off the heat and humidity for a few more days! With such nice weather, we were able to enjoy a good walk yesterday afternoon.

After our bout last week with a stomach virus, all are well in the Carey household! Ava never did get a full dose of whatever was going around, thank goodness.

Daddy would be so proud. While uploading pictures for this posting, Ava is stomping her feet to the song "Jessica" by The Allman Brothers Band!

Doug and I went shopping for a computer desk on Saturday, as I will be working from home full-time when I return to work on June 21st. In fact, Doug helped me clean out my cubicle at the office a few weekends ago, as I won't have an office to which I could return. (The lease was up on our building on June 2nd and not renewed).

While shopping for a desk, at the LAST STORE we were browsing through, Ava LAUGHED OUT LOUD for the first time! It was absolutely hilarious! Doug and I both noticed she was laughing and egged her on a bit more. She continued to laugh! It was really cute. She hasn't since laughed that loud, but we'll keep making our "crazy-parent" faces and sounds in hopes of some more laughs! No computer desk bought, but well worth the trip! :)

After thinking Ava looks like Doug Jr., I'm convinced she now has SOME of my physical traits... On Friday night, Doug and I watched some home movies taken when I was a baby. At two months of age, Ava looks quite a bit like me, which was surprising. She also now has a little bit of blonde hair. Maybe she'll be a blondie after all? Only time will tell.

We finally managed to choose a daycare for Ava, also. We're going with a Montessori school which is located about five miles away from our house. In this way, I can go to see Ava at lunch if my schedule permits. We were very impressed with this school and the woman who runs the school. Day care isn't cheap, but we think the school we chose is the best value for us. It is a relief to have that choice off our backs...

Doug's Dad officially retired yesterday. We're glad he will now be able to rest and enjoy his days without the stress of Home Depot!

We hope you have a GREAT week!

With love,
Shelly, Doug and Ava