Zoe and Ava

A Very Carey Christmas

Ava's First Christmas Ornament, Hand-stitched by Great Aunt Marlene












The Carey Christmas Tree, 2006


















Santa in His Sleigh


















Ava Sitting in Santa's Sleigh

In Georgia After Christmas
Video sent by thecareyclan

Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits...

While in Michigan, Aunt Linda agreed to cut Ava's hair (just to tidy it up).

These are some pictures from Ava's first haircut. What fun it was to watch! For Aunt Linda, it was some work, I'm sure! Aunt Linda, we appreciate you being the very first hairdresser of Ava's!

With love,
Shelly, Doug and Ava

Happy Holidays!

I will post pictures later...

Wow, what a Christmas it has been! We thoroughly enjoyed every minute of time with family and friends in Michigan. We hope Santa was good to you this year!

Big news! Ava took her FIRST STEP on Christmas Day at Grandpa Dean and Grandma Dolly's house. (that date will be easy to remember...) She got brave enough to take one step without holding onto anything, in between two ottomans. I'm betting she'll be walking more within the month. Yesterday she took a few more steps to me and flailed herself into my arms.

Ava has really been a "Mamma's girl" lately, wanting to be held by Mommy most of the time. While in Michigan, this seemed to be the case. By the end of the trip, Ava was reaching for grandparents wanting to be held by them. As long as Mommy or Daddy aren't in the line of sight, Ava seems to do well with whoever is holding her. It's interesting how babies go through phases such as this.

Our holiday celebrations started when we hosted the appetizer / dinner portion of our sub-division's progressive dinner party. We have THE BEST neighbors! Some neighbors have lived here since the sub-division was built in the 1980's. The neighbors are very tight-knit and wonderful people. In our court, we will soon have three kiddos. Ava was born this past March, some neighbors just moved in with a three year-old boy (Matthew), and our neighbors Tony and Elaine are due to have a baby girl at the beginning of this month. Kid-central! I joked that we'll soon have a baby-sitting triad, which I am serious about implementing! :-)

Ava then seemed to do very well riding the 11+ hours to Michigan. She slept for most of the ride, and was only awake for 3 hours of the ride. We visited with Ava's Great, Great Aunt Jean in Kentucky on the way, bringing lunch to her. While in Michigan, Ava was a night-owl, staying up some nights to 10 pm. Now to get her back on schedule....

We've never rocked her to sleep. We basically put her down in her crib, zipped up in her sleep-sack, put "Bun" next to her, pacifier in her mouth, and she'll go to sleep. She really was a trooper during the entire trip, taking naps whenever and wherever needed. Lately she doesn't enjoy being laid down to have her diaper or clothes changed. She also doesn't like her carseat. I'm not sure if the long car-ride up to Michigan traumatized her, but she has had a few melt-downs in the car seat. The only common factor on any of these "melt-down" rides are the car seat, so I'm thinking she hates to be strapped in and unable to roam freely. She is her own little independent gal, not preferring to be held but likes to enjoy crawling and scooting about on her own.

While in Michigan, we stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Carey. Ava enjoyed play-time in the floor. Toys and new outfits galore! I don't know where we'll be putting all of the toys? We celebrated Christmas with the Lawsons on the 23rd, with the Careys on the 24th and with the Griffiths on the 25th , loving every minute of it. We also celebrated by eating dinner with Grandma Burnis, Aunt Janice, Aunt Freda, Uncle Dave, Adam, Kristen, Grandpa Dean, Grandma Dolly, Sherry and the kids the Friday before we left.

A recap on our Michigan adventures:

-This was the first green Christmas I can remember, for some time. No snow the ENTIRE trip. It felt kind of strange!

-Took more four generation pictures, this time including Ava's Aunt Sherry and cousins Daymian and Jordan with Grammy Lawson and Grandma Pam.

-Shelly and Sherry were able to spend "sister-time" together, getting pampered for a day. We both got a massage, facial, manicure and pedicure. Sherry got her make-up done for the four generation pictures. Daddy Doug was nice enough to watch Ava (with Grandma and Grandpa Carey and Aunt Tracy's help) while Mommy was out with Aunt Sherry.

-About Ava's holiday food: She loves bananas. She now eats practically a whole mashed banana in one feeding. She is enjoying solids more. She eats faster, which is a good thing! She tried sauerkraut for the first time and actually seemed to like it. She seemed to like the nibbles of chicken sandwich we gave her, too. Ava could turn into a fruit puff, she enjoys them so much! She also eats her fair share of oyster crackers. Her 1 1/2 teeth are coming in handy, now.

-Ava got her first haircut! Because Aunt Linda is a beautician, we asked if she could trim Ava's hair. We're glad she agreed! Aunt Linda basically cut the "Donald Trump" long-hairs that covered Ava's ears. All of the hair cut was equal to one "lock" of hair, so not much. I'll have to post the video of Ava's haircut. She kept looking back at Aunt Linda as if to say "Um, do you mind? Why do you keep touching my head?" She was a wiggle-worm. Ava was able to play and enjoy time with baby Laura twice because the Lawsons kept Laura for the week.

-We played the "Left / Right" Christmas story "game" at the Griffith Christmas celebration. Six adults and four kids played. Sophia didn't really understand the concept of "left" or "right", so Aunt Sherry ended-up getting the gift from Sophia each time it should've been passed. It was pretty cute. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. We all had our pictures taken for the first time with a stand-up Santa cut-out, too.

-Ava got to meet our sweet friend Molly's little girl, Zoe, too. Zoe is two months younger than Ava. Zoe had a surplus of smiles and is as tall (if not taller) than Ava right now. It was great to finally meet her.

-Ava didn't completely understand how to rip a present's wrapping to shreds, yet. She'll get there. She loved opening "Mumble" (a penguin from happy feet), which cousin Mike gave to her. She couldn't wait to get Mumble out of the package, and had big kisses for him.

We're back home safe and sound and missing everyone already. We're thankful to have been able to spend so much time in the great white / green north!

I will be sure to post pictures later.

Enjoy this new year! I genuinely hope and pray that the years only get better for each of you, and that you're able to cherish each moment God gives to each of us.

With love,
Shelly

MMM, oranges!

Ava Eating An Orange
Video sent by thecareyclan

Christmas Pictures

Ava's Six Month Pictures

The posting of these pictures is seriously overdue... These are Ava's six month pictures.

She's a sweetie pie!





























































































Great Grammy Lawson














Grandma Pam















Four Generations

Santa Visits Marietta, GA

Two Fridays ago, Santa flew in to visit the Montessori school where Ava attends. Ava stayed home with me Tuesday through Thursday last week. I worked while she got some much needed rest, as she was getting over bronchiolitis. Her cough has since gotten much better. She had a recurrence of the stomach bug we battled, too. So, we've been laundry-washin' fools around these parts...












She seemed to be doing well enough by that Friday, so Doug and I both dropped her off in her Christmas finery. (Thanks to Great Uncle Bill and Great Aunt Jackie). Santa had white hair and a natural beard! He looked so authentic! And was very sweet, too. Ava sat in his lap and did great! We then all had our picture taken with Santa.








We dropped her off for the day, after pictures with Santa. She seemed happy to be with all of the other kiddos again, too.

I hadn't planned on getting my picture taken with Santa... I just planned on Ava sitting with him. (I'm happy to simply get a shower before getting to the day care...) So, with my wet hair, we all took our first family picture with Santa Claus. We squeezed in for a cozy picture.

The principal told me that Santa came last year, too. She said that his other job is working for UPS, delivering packages. HOW FITTING IS THAT??? :-)

Anxiously awaiting another visit with Santa,
Shelly, Doug and Ava

Visiting with Old Friends

I grew up with Alyson (Case) White and her brother Aaron Case. Alyson and I competed in Lads to Leaders / Leaderette conventions together, lifeguarded at camp together, were in the Metro Detroit Youth Chorus together, we were sweetmates at Harding.





Alyson was pregnant with Keagan while I was pregnant with Ava. Keagan was born two weeks after Ava. So, it was fun for Keagan and Ava to finally meet each other. A match made in heaven!





Keagan is about the same size as Ava (Keagan may be a little bigger). This was a good thing, because Ava isn't "gentle" when playing, yet. If she is interested in a toy, she will barrel her way through a crowd to lay claim to the toy. So, they made great playmates!









Ava's head-in-the-box...

Keagan has a growl that is an absolute riot. He growls at everything! We enjoyed hanging out with Keagan, his parents (Andy and Alyson); Aaron and Melissa; Andy, Kathy, their kids Will and Sophie; Brian, Hanna, Brycen and Julia, Aaron and Alyson's parents and Gayle Flanigan.



It was a quick, mini-reunion of sorts! We had fun, and it was good to catch up with everyone. My how times have changed. We're not the crazy, cool teenagers we used to be! Now we're running after drooling children... :-)


Watching how the head-in-the-box trick is done













Ava's head-in-the-box













Ava didn't like the head-in-the-box trick













Alyson and her hubby Andy














Sophie Flanigan














Old friends: Andy and Aaron













Kathy, Sophie and Melissa














With love,
Shelly, Doug and Ava

Sundays Are Rough

We comiserate with other parents about how tough Sundays can be. Church in the morning coincides with Ava's first nap of the day. There hasn't been one Sunday where we can leave her in the nursery without getting the dreaded "page" (vibrating pager, to let parents know their little one is needing parental attention...). She is just worn-out and won't go to sleep in their cribs. I think the nursery workers' protocol is to page the parent as soon as the child cries, not giving the child a chance to settle down.

This past Sunday Ava ended-up taking only one nap between Sunday morning service and small group. We were lucky that the nap was a very long nap.

I dream of the day we can take Ava to church in the morning, she smiles and hugs on teachers, plays well, and we don't receive the "page". We would take her home for a nap, and she would be smiley once again for our small group that night, sitting through the adult lesson, quiet as a mouse. And then I wake up! Hopefully one day we'll get there.

She does like to sit still for singing, wherever she is. I guess we'll just have to sing around the clock! She is always our angel, though.

With love,
Shelly, Doug and Ava

Ava is Eight Months Old

Ava is Eight Months Old
Video sent by thecareyclan

It's hard to believe that Ava is now eight months old. Time flies!

She has been super-smiley the past few days. Doug said she couldn't wait to get down and play when he dropped her off at day care recently. A few days ago, one of her teachers said that they haven't seen her smile more than they saw her smile that day. She is a happy little girl.

She's crawling faster these days, too. 'Starting to get into things, too. She is starting to pull her books down from the stairway "shelves", now.

She loves books. When I recently read the "Touch and Feel" book to her, she kissed each animal on each page without prompting. That book wasn't previously her favorite, but she seems to enjoy it now, along with "Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?". She sits amazingly still for books, believe it or not. As active as she is, she sits for a few books at a time.

For weeks now, when I say "Ava, can you turn the page?", she will take her left hand and turn the page of the book if I lift it a bit for her. She is beginning to know one book so well, she knows when the page should be turned, so she turns it without being asked.

Amazing that she'll be a year old before we bat our eyelashes...

We love you, little one!

Mommy and Daddy

It's Getting Hot In Here...

We went to Michigan last week for the Thanksgiving holiday. While in Michigan, we bundled Ava for naps and sleeping at night. When I checked on her once, she had somehow wiggled her way out of her pants (a nearly impossible thing to do). I guess she was a bit too warm to sleep while wearing them?

"Death Warmed Over"

Wow, what a weekend. We caught what Ava had last week. Some sort of stomach bug. I have no idea where it came from, because we don't know anyone that is sick???

Friday night I had a conference call at 11 pm for work... Before the call I started to feel semi-icky. I ended-up throwing up while on the call. (Thank goodness for mute buttons). The call lasted an hour and a half... Doug caught the "bug" later that night, so we were both feeling miserable. Up every hour.

Friends have previously warned us about how tough it is when both parents are sick and a little one must still be watched. Little did I know how rough it would actually be! I haven't been sick like this in years (if ever). I didn't even have enough energy to be in the floor with Ava for part of the time. Fortunately Doug felt okay enough to watch her when I couldn't, and vice versa. She was an angel for cooperating while we were sick. Fortunately, I think she getting better after being sick earlier this week.

Doug slept six hours during the day on Saturday. I slept about the same! When I checked on him I had to make sure he was breathing, he looked that sick. We were absolutely wiped out. Pretty bad when drinking water causes you to get sick...

Our weekend, needless to say, was uneventful. We were able to put the tree up Sunday afternoon and get some Christmas decorations out. And that was no small feat, but I guess you'd say it made us appreciate it even more. Ava LOVES looking at the tree. She smiles and gets excited each time she sees it. We've pointed to pictures of Santa and tell her that "Santa says 'ho ho ho'." She is now able to say "ho ho ho", (and rock forward and backward) when we say it! When we introduced her to Santa today (a stuffed animal), she grabbed him and kissed his face over and over again. It was cute.

I am so happy we're getting to show Ava the fun things that go along with the holidays. If it was possible to listen to Christmas music year-round, I'm ashamed to say I probably would! It doesn't seem right to play Christmas music on the radio before Thanksgiving, but... There's just something special about holiday music that reminds me of good times at Christmas with family and friends.

I tried my hand at the first batch of holiday cookies: peppermint cookies in the shape of candy canes. Doug took them into work today. So, we're officially in the Christmas spirit, now!

Wishing you the happiest of Decembers yet!

With love,
Shelly, Doug and Ava

Humorous, But Not So Funny

A long, long time ago, as far back as ancient Rome, doctors like Hippocrates termed bodily fluids "humors". Science and medicine revolved around the four "humors". Fast forward 2,500 years. Now, the conversation of one Doug and Shelly Carey revolves around humors. Ava's humors. :-) Did she poop today? Just pee? Was it a big diaper? How many times today? Hard to stay chique when these types of conversations are necessary.

Wednesday night was humor-ous, but not so funny. We were so excited. Ava ate her first jar of "pasta vegetable medley". Almost like "big people" food! She ate it up. Seemingly loved it. I had previously fed her a bottle with some cereal in it, but she appeared to be hungry enough for Doug to continue feeding her the pureed pasta. Not such a good idea.

I had a conference call at 2:30 a.m., Thursday morning. (Hopefully the last of that kind for a while...) I heard Ava coughing (yes, THAT cough lingers), but thought she might've been roused by my phone conversation with customers at that time of night. When the conference call ended, I went to check on Ava. RED TOMATO SAUCE everywhere. Humorous? No. Disgusting? Yes. It was on the sheets, on "Bun" (the bunny), on blankets, on her face, her hands. She looked to be sleeping so soundly, but I had to get her up... When I got her up, her little stomach got rock hard and she puked more. I felt so bad. She was heaving. The poor thing! I then told Doug Ava was sick. While I cleaned Ava, he cleaned her bed. She was extra-snuggly, sitting and snuggling with me while I rocked her. When she saw Daddy come back downstairs, she gave him a big grin. I guess this is her way of saying "thank you".

When we got her up later that morning, she ate breakfast and proceeded to make the messiest diaper in her career of diaper-making. I picked her up, and let's just say that the diaper was mostly missed. The pasta had not completely had it's way with her yet, I guess. Off to the bathtub we went, to clean up.

I think the pasta was too much for her stomach. Doug thinks it is a stomach bug of some kind. Maybe it's a combination of both. She was super-tired when I was running errands with her yesterday. She’s still recouping. One thing is certain, the remaining pasta won't be on the menu for a while...

I'll take the humorous "ha ha" over humorous "bleeechh" anyday...

With love,
Shelly, Doug and Ava