Spa Day (or Spa Hour?)

I had a light workload last Monday, so I decided I would keep Ava at home. She LOVES to color, paint, etc, so I pulled-out the washable markers. More than coloring with the markers, she enjoys trying to replace the cap for each marker. (Somehow this creates more of a mess than the actual coloring; go figure?) Cleaning her marked-up hands somehow turned into "spa day". This is a tribute to Aunt Linda, who invokes a weekly "spa day" with the little girls she watches daily.

Ava sat still with her feet in the sink while I cut her bangs. (Not yet in her eyes, the bangs have definitely encroached upon eyebrow-territory). I'm trying to figure out how to grow-out the sides, top and back of her hair, but keep some wispy bangs, too. She sat still, fortunately. I tried to make them as un-blunt as possible, so they will fall to the side naturally.

The Cast of Characters


While I was cutting her hair, she LOVED to turn the sink on and off, so she got a good "foot-soaking", and brushed her teeth. I asked her if she wanted her toenails painted, and she shook her head "yes". I never thought I WOULD ACTUALLY paint her toenails this early in her life, but I did... (Hear me out before you slap my hand...) I found a color (I already had) that is very sheer and looks like the same color as her toenails. (Without this light of a color, I wouldn't have painted her nails at all). So, after drying-off her feet, I painted her little toesies with this sheer pink color. I asked her if she wanted some lotion on her feet, and she shook her head "yes". So, I got out the yummiest smelling lotion I had, and put it on her feet, legs, hands and arms. She squirms when I put it on her arms. She liked to smell it while it was in the tube. We then put on some Chap-stick, dry clothes and a purple hair-bow (her others were wet from the sink) to complete the look.

The Pedicure: L'Oreal's Sheer Suntan nail polish (can't you tell?)


I asked her if she felt special being pampered, and she shook her head "yes".

Feeling marvelous!


After we got done with a mini-haircut, foot massage, pedicure, hair-do and Chap-stick application, she went back to playing in her tent and tunnel in the living room.

Back to the daily grind...


I think I might have to start a regular spa day of some sort, with a good foot soaking, all things girly, fun, pink, and good for the soul.

Full of zen-ergy,
Shelly

Family Reunion 2007

We traveled to Corbin / Rockholds / Faber, Kentucky on October 5th for the Claxton family reunion. It was, as always, a beautiful weekend for my Grandmother's family reunion. This year, the weather was a bit warmer than we expected.



We met my Mom, Grandmother, Uncle Danny and Aunt Linda in Kentucky, while Doug, Ava and I stayed with Great Aunt Jean (Grandfather's sister). Ava LOVED staying with Aunt Jean and her many stuffed animals and dolls. She followed Aunt Jean around the house, acting as her shadow.



We always eat VERY WELL at Aunt Jean's house. She is quite the cook! This time around, I believe she had sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, chicken, rolls, two jello dishes (which don't count as dessert, on her table), two cakes, corn, etc. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. She will be turning 80 next year, and still manages to cook quite a dinner for us.

I love to look at her photo albums and hear stories of her childhood and my Grandfather's. She loves her big brother. She was actually a twin, too, but her twin died at 13 (?) months of age, of pneumonia.



At the reunion, Ava's favorite pastime was pushing the swing at the Claxton's. She would put her bunny / blanket on the swing and push and push and push. Grandmother remarked on how "clean" Ava stayed all day. When we got back to Aunt Jean's and I pulled-off Ava's sandals, I had to show Grandmother Ava's black (with dirt) feet. Grandmother chuckled. Ava was scared of her own dirty feet, and wanted them washed pronto. :-)



We went to church at Brummett Church of Christ, where Ava did really well. (It is a small one-room church, so I was somewhat apprehensive on how she would fare during service). My Great-Great Grandparents worshipped at this church. (I think I was once told that my Great-Great-Great Grandparents also worshipped here). So, Ava's G-G-G-G grandparents might've worshipped at this church. How crazy is that? I know my Grandfather rode with his grandparents (Josh and Alie Murray, who raised him) to church / town in a horse-drawn wagon. Josh was a farmer and would bring produce into town, to sell, in the same wagon.

Ava also enjoyed hangin'-out with Grandma Pam in the back seat, wherever we drove. She also got tickled by Aunt Linda, and was quite the giggler.

I think my Mom might've taken more pictures of the entire crew, so hopefully we can include more extended-family pictures at a later date.

We hope Fall is treating you well!

With love,
Shelly

1.5 - An Un-birthday!

Ava's official "un-birthday" is today... 18 months old!

Doug and I were talking the other night about someone whose birthday is near Christmas. His family celebrates his birthday in June, on his "unbirthday". Doug had never heard of the concept, so I explained the reason for the Mad Hatter's party in Alice in Wonderland. I guess we'll need to watch that movie soon!

Ava has been quite the bee-charmer, lately. She is very loving, giving big hugs and kisses and enthusiastically yelling "hi" to friends and family. It's been fun to experience the world through her eyes, especially over the past few weeks. Mel-mo is no longer, he is now "Elm-o". "Mama" is now "Mommy", "Da-da" is now "Daddy". She now says "bu-uy" for "bunny". It's kind of scary when I can understand what she's saying. "Mey-ch" is "mess". She LOVES the Wiggles, Elmo DVD's, drawing and coloring on an easel, dancing and singing. I LOVE to hear her sing. She likes to sing "Row, row, Row your boat", and a few other songs.

Height: ??? (60th percentile)
Weight: 23 lbs (40th percentile)
Head:

Learning To Co-exist with Halloween Candy

The world has been full of learning opportunities for Ava, lately, as you might guess. Hating to pull-out holiday decorations only for a few weeks, I jumped on decorating the house for Halloween early this year. Funny how non-threatening Halloween decorations have become at our house these days; no scary witches or creatures, just very happy-looking ghosts! (Ava makes the sound "oooh" when she sees ghosts).

I pulled-out the decorative Halloween candy dishes, also. And what purpose would an EMPTY Halloween candy dish serve, anyway? So, we took the obligatory trek to the grocery store to fill the dishes (yes, plural) with candy. Bright, silvery-wrappered, tooth-rotting candy. The nougatty /caramel-ly kind that gives you "sweater-teeth" (i.e.-immediate coating o' Dentist-dollars).

Upon placing the candy dish on our trunk / coffee table, Ava stood in stupified wonder and looked on. The brightly gleaming, multi-colored, reflective wrappers egging her on. Fortunate for us, she hasn't been so inclined to rip them open like her parents might...

I guess we're all STILL learning how to co-exist with Halloween candy? Is there any hope for us? ;-)

What was your favorite candy to receive while trick-or-treating? Come on, fess up! For me, mini-Snickers. For Doug, it's the Reese's peanut butter cups.

Happy decorating!

Shelly

Elmo Live!

Our little girl's dream come true. Fuzzy monsters dancing live, from Sesame Street!

Bootleg Sesame Street Live...


It looked like a toddler convention, walking through Phillips Arena. Ava was entirely geeked to see Elmo. We had seats on the main floor, second section back, fifth row in the section. Ava seemed to enjoy the crowd even before the show started. She was waving up into the stands like a little cheerleader, dancing to the pre-show tunes. She would mimic the vendors who yelled "snow cones" (boh-boh!), in her loudest little voice. She loved the atmosphere. You would've thought she had arrived.


She stood up on our laps the entire time, peering over other spectator heads in front of us. I couldn't believe she stood still for that long (one hour, then a 15 minute break, plus an additional 30+ minutes).





I leaned over and told Doug that we must officially be considered parents now, if we have attended an Elmo "concert". :-) I also had to chuckle when the entire audience (adults included) sang the ABC's together. Twice. Where else would an entire arena of adults be caught dead singing the ABC's? Out loud? Only if Elmo is involved! ;-) Doug did say he caught the eye of a few dads that were "too cool for school - aka Elmo" who tried to avoid eye contact with him by putting their arms over their eyes? Hilarious!

The Cast of Characters


Loving the Show!


A sea of Elmo balloons, most of which ended up on the ceiling

Ava kept pointing at these balloons, saying "Mel-mo!"

My personal favorite, Bert's number. He reenacted John Travolta's "You Should Be Dancin', Yeah!" from Saturday Night Fever!


I'm still stumped as to how Big Bird's mouth moves. He's too tall for someone to fit in his costume from head to toe. If someone knows how Big Bird works, let me know! (okay, so I had to look it up... this is what I found out: "Muppeteer Caroll Spinney wears Big Bird as a costume. Spinney works the mouth and eyes with his right hand and uses his left hand to control Big Bird's arms. Spinney has a microphone inside the costume and a monitor that allows him to see what he's doing." Source - http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/how-elmo-works1.htm)



The friendliest of monsters!


Oh, by the way, the letter of the day is "J", and the number of the day is "8". :-)

Sunny day, sweeping the clouds away,
With love,
Shelly

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