What a Weekend!

Grandma Pam came down from Michigan and stayed with us this past Wednesday night through Sunday night. We packed more into this trip than ever! We had a picnic at the park once, went to the park once more, took a few wagon rides, went to Chuck E. Cheese, saw the Sesame Street exhibit at the Atlanta Children's Museum, ate at Frankie's, went to the Atlanta Zoo to celebrate Mei Lan's first birthday (baby panda), visited the bookstore, watched the Wiggles (DVD) and just had some great fun playing.

It was in the low 90's when Grandma Pam visited, but it didn't stop us from visiting the park a few times or going to the zoo. Ava was a trooper through our many excursions this weekend. Naptime was definitely delayed more than not; we had so much to see! It was really cute to look in the back seat and see Ava making googly-eyes at Grandma. (Ava would say "boo" to Grandma Pam, and they would go back and forth scaring each other and laughing!) Ava will definitely miss her back-seat buddy, now that Grandma has gone home to Michigan.

Rockin' Out and Singing in the Car (and this is one of her more "tame" responses to this song... It's definitely a favorite!)


Sesame Street Exhibit at the Atlanta Children's Museum


Too Much Fun!


Can You Tell Me How To Get To Sesame Street?


Ava, Grandma Pam and Elmo FOUND Sesame Street!


Gone Fishin'


Hangin' Out on Sesame Street


Okay, the Careys will love this one... Hi Mousie!!! ;-) Like Father, like daughter?


Playing with some "moon sand" at the Atlanta Children's Museum


The Farm at the Children's Museum


Gettin' Down On The Farm


A Bulldozer ride at the Children's Museum


Two actors put on a really cute skit for the kids at the museum


Blowing Kisses to Elmo and Zoe


Daddy and Ava at the Park


Hard at Work!


Ava will now open her mouth and show her teeth when you ask her to say "cheese", or inquire of her to "show me your teeth". If you enlarge this picture, you'll get a better view at those choppers...


The Zoo Crew


A Bird's Eye View of the Zoo


Zebras and a Giraffe at the Zoo


Three Girl Elephants, Up To Their Tricks


Happy 1st Birthday to Mei Lan!


Excited About Pandas!


Gorillas


These Kangaroos Were Slacking On the Job (who wouldn't in 90 degree weather?)


Walking Around the Zoo


After a Full Day at the Zoo!


Having Fun with Grandma Pam


Pointing Out the Panda Bear


Ava loves her "bee" (her bear). She was ecstatic when we saw the pandas at the zoo and laughed and danced with great excitement. She seemed to enjoy the elephants, kangaroos, monkeys, and REALLY liked the piggies at the petting zoo. As long as Daddy was within arm's-length, she felt courageous enough to pet the animals (in the petting zoo).

She LOVED the "Bob the Builder" bulldozer at Chuck E. Cheese. It didn't really matter whether we put in a token, or not. It was just her size. This made Daddy a very happy guy...a daughter interested in the building trade! She also really liked Chuck E., as he sang and danced on stage.




I think she has the title to this car somewhere...at least she thinks she does!


At the park, she is now daring enough to climb up the slide and slide down by herself. (This wasn't the case last week!) She LOVES a racecar that stands on a spring-type post. I think she thinks she owns the car... When other kids come near the car, she just runs away and plays with something else. She now fully enunciates "Dad-dy" and "Mom-my". She also said "all done" very well the other day (no longer ahh-duh). She says "My Daddy", "My Mommy", "Happy", "Open", quite often.

Slip-slidin' Away


We're looking forward to a happily busy Fall, filled with pumpkins, cool weather, crunchy leaves, fun events and family!

With love,
Shelly

Ava is 17 Months Old

It has been so much fun to watch Ava, especially lately. I can see the gears working when she watches something, trying so hard to learn all about the big wide world.



I've been determined that Ava won't become a tv junkie. We've tried to limit her tv-watching to one video or DVD a day (30 minutes total). I thought that was generous, but not to the kiddo! She LOVES Elmo! She will walk up to our tv, grab the remote, walk it over to me, walk back to the tv, point to it and say "Moh Melmo", all while doing the sign for "more". Oy! We're fortunate that the dvd's we do have are educational, but I really don't want her to rely on television for education. So, we just redirect her attention, if possible.



We bought tickets to go to Sesame Street LIVE in a few weeks. Hopefully she'll get her Elmo-fix there!



She is beginning to form short sentences. This past weekend, we repeatedly heard all about "Melmo". She now likes to repeat things over and over again, practicing. She is much more deliberate now about saying things, such as "Mama", "Dada", "Melmo", "More", "Happy", "Chomp", enunciating more and using the "appropriate" word for something. She's been great about letting us know what she needs. She looks at us directly when she is trying to communicate things, instead of babbling into thin air. Don't get me wrong, she does like to babble when she reads her books, but she also talks to us directly when she wants something.



She knows how to use a handle to open and close a door, now, too. We've had some thunderstorms lately, one which spooked her a little. She now says "dun-der" (thunder), and "awn-mower" (if she hears a lawnmower, leafblower, etc). She says "bye-bye, airplane".



This past weekend I went with a friend to some consignment sales and a garage sale. I found a Sit-and-Spin for $2. Recalling my own fond memories of the sit-and-spin at Grandmother Lawson's house, I had to buy it; she LOVES it! It also plays some fresh techno beats, surprisingly. She lugs the entire thing around the living room. I got some REALLY cute high-end smocked dresses and outfits, a Winter coat, three hand-made sweaters and some other nice clothes for her at the sales. Always good to get a deal on cute clothes! From what I understand, Atlanta is AMAZING for consignment sales compared to many other parts of the country... Not sure why? Here are some pictures of some of the finds...

















Ava seems very well-adjusted, and is ever-so-social. She says "Hieee!" to most everyone when we're out in public. She loves to kiss and carry her dolls, and enjoys taking care of a babydoll in the church nursery. She loves to know how things work. She's really into carrying purses and bags around lately, as you can tell below...



We babysat a friend's baby on Saturday. I went to check on him while holding Ava, telling Ava we needed to be quiet, "shhh". When we left the baby sleeping and closed the door, Ava would say "shhh". It was cute.

She doesn't sit still for very long. The doctor advised at her 16 month appointment that, as long as she is sitting still long enough to eat dinner, that is great; babies don't sit for long at this age, in general. It's funny, if she is interested in something, she could sit forever!



She is 22 lbs and in the 30th percentile for height and weight. This seriously surprised me, because she doesn't seem to be small in my opinion, eats well and has some meat on her bones. I guess this isn't such a bad thing, considering the obesity "epidemic" with kids these days. I'm not stressing about percentiles, but regardless of them, Ava is eating very well and seems to be growing so quickly! She has 12 teeth. I had a breakthrough yesterday when I was able to hold her down long enough to figure out how many teeth she has! I think she's working on #13, too. When we ask her to say "cheese", she now shows all of her teeth. It's a hoot! ;-)

We really try to feed her as many healthy foods as we can, with the occasional treat. I'm also determined that she will not be a picky eater, aka the "chicken nugget kid". She has been eating everything lately we put in front of her! She LOVES any kind of fruit. I would venture to say her favorite food is grapes. We have to remind her to eat only one at a time, as she gobbles them up! Occasionally she won't prefer ground beef or some meats. We just try to disguise them and she's fine with them.

(She's got a shiner on her cheek in this pic... Two on the same cheek, in one day...)


Doug and I both don't prefer salmon, so other than salmon, she's eaten quite a bit...tofu with spaghetti sauce, Fish sticks, avocado, black bean salsa, shrimp, scallops, blueberries (LOVES these), chicken breast, honey-glazed carrots, peas (loves them), chicken nuggets (I know, I know), tuna salad, egg salad sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, Nutri-Grain bars (an all-time favorite), ravioli.

Truth be told, it has been difficult to keep her menu varied and healthy. We've been told on more than one occasion that her food is the "best" of all kids at day care. That makes me feel great that others think she has good food... Being a first-time Mom, I would never know! She LOVES milkshakes, too. Knowing she is in the 30th %, I don't feel so guilty giving her one every once in a while... The straw doesn't leave her lips for at least 5 minutes!!!! ;-)

She's 17 months-old, and growing every day!

With love,
Shelly

Visiting Bulloch Hall

As mentioned in an earlier post, we went to Bulloch Hall when my Mom visited. Bulloch Hall is the childhood home of Teddy Roosevelt's mother. Teddy Roosevelt's parents were also married in the dining room of this house. Built in 1839, it was one of the first houses built in Roswell, GA.



Doug and I have both wanted to see this house for some time. We pass it every Sunday on the way to and from church, so it's practically in our back yard.



Before our tour...


The grounds were really beautiful! We also got to see the slave quarters on the property, where we read about the lives of slaves in the Roswell area. Very eye-opening! I didn't realize that wealthy families actually had a "shadow" for each of their children. The "shadow" was a child-slave, around the age of the master's child, who would go wherever that particular master's child went. The "shadow" slave also slept at the foot of the master's child's bed. It makes me so sad to think that a child could be born into such a life!



It was very cool to see one of the first houses built in Roswell, and understand how the area was developed. Cotton was grown in the area, and mills were built for textiles, near the Chattahoochee River. It was very cool to see another piece of the "old South".

Inspired by Scarlett herself, I was eyeing the curtains to see how I might fashion for myself an uber-trendy, bohemian-chic sundress... Security got to me first. No luck. :-) I kid. I kid...



Around Christmas, there is a historical reenactment of the wedding of Teddy Roosevelt Sr. and Mittie Bulloch, done completely in period regalia.



Only a true architect would take a picture such as this! ;-)


Corner Detail


http://bullochhall.org/page5.html

Rockin' Out on Her Guitar

Rockin' Out On Her Guitar
Uploaded by thecareyclan

Grandma Pam's Visit to Georgia

My Mom came down and stayed with us August 1-6. Ava, Doug and I each enjoyed our time with Grandma Pam. The weather was a bit hot, so we kept most of our activities indoors. We went to visit historic Bulloch Hall, took a trip to Costco (always fun!), and hung-out at the pool. Grandma took Ava to the park to play, while I worked one day.

Thank you for coming down to visit, Grandma! We look forward to seeing you again soon!

(I will be sure to post additional video on future posts).

Giggle Box 1
Uploaded by thecareyclan

Giggle Box 2
Uploaded by thecareyclan

With love,
Shelly

The Giggle Box

Da Bears

A New 'Do

About a month ago, we went for Ava's first kiddo "salon" haircut. Thankfully, Aunt Linda has been able to cut her hair in the past. I have cut her bangs a few times in recent months (isn't "bangs" a funny term?), but she needed a little more shaping-up than I could offer.



Ava didn't appreciate having shears in her face, or a complete stranger attempting mane-management, but the stylist was able to cut her hair nicely. Sucking on a dum-dum sucker always helps!





It's now only a month later, and her hair has grown back! We might be opting for pig / pony-tails in the near future, and just keep her bangs under control.

The Finished Product!

'Still Dating After All These Years

Eleven years ago today, Doug and I went on our very first date! He walked up to me after church and asked if I wanted to go to lunch with him. I couldn't resist a charmer such as Doug. As we began dating, my protective friends (at the time) thought "Who is this new 'Doug-guy'?" "Is he good for her?" It didn't take long for Doug to win them over, too.

We went to Chili's on that Sunday afternoon, and the rest is history. He recalls my asking him who his favorite architect was... He said he was pretty impressed by that question. ;-) I recall him telling me he had to get home fairly soon after lunch, because his brother and sister were in town, visiting from Phoenix and Vegas. The picture of Doug's family below was taken the day we started dating, before Joe and Kathy returned west.



I fell for him, hook, line and sinker. Doug then interviewed with Georgia Pacific in Atlanta, while living in Michigan, as he wanted a more stable job (than framing houses in Michigan, when weather would cooperate) before he married me. After landing the job with GP, he proposed to me on November 6th and was asked to report to work in Atlanta on November 10th. After a year and a half of living the fairy-tale life, we got married in Rochester, MI on January 24th, 1998. They had to snowplow the parking lot; it was so COLD! (We actually had both wanted to wait until Springtime, but both couldn't bear the thought of being apart from each other for that long.) The day after we were married, we drove a U-Haul truck down to Marietta, full of our belongings, setting-up life in a nice two bedroom apartment that Doug found. Two years and nine months later, we moved a few miles away, into our current house. Here we've stayed since, on our "honeymoon".

I thank God that he sent such an amazing man into my life! Here's to many more fun years filled with smiles, haunted houses, jazz festivals, train trips to Chicago, camping trips, kamikaze 150-mile bike rides, fun and romantic dates, and lots of guitar-playing.

I love you, Duggers!

With all my heart,
Shelly

Cheering a bit early for the Pistons

Aunt Freda and Uncle Dave were sweet to give Ava a Detroit Pistons cheerleader outfit for Christmas this past year. She finally fits into the outfit, and we think she'll fit into it this coming season, as well.

Here's the little cheerleader, cheering pre-pre-season!

(These pictures were taken about a month ago)









Ava's Version of Cheering...

The Word Bank, Part II

Grandma Pam came to visit this past week. She was able to serve as translator for Ava, also. We learned that Ava says a few more things, some of which we weren't recognizing at the time:

Almost home
Amen (may-mem)
Beep
Daddy home
Get down (not to boogie, but because she likes to stand on the couch)
Green
Hair
Hat
Green
Light
Nail (she points out EACH nail in wood, on the steps in our basement)
Rain
See it?
The end (when we reach the end of a book)
Tree
Whoa! (it is SO funny when she chuckles and says "whoa!")
Yellow (not sure, but she points to yellow street signs and says this???)

The list continues to grow...

Grandma Pam was also able to help Ava with differentiating between signing "please" and "more".

Thanks for deciphering the code and visiting, Grandma Pam!

With love,
Shelly, Doug and Ava