The Careys' Visit

Doug's Mom and Dad were nice enough to drive down from MI and spend a week with us in mid-October. We enjoyed every minute of their visit! Ava seemed to gobble up each minute she spent with Grandma and Grandpa. She giggled with delight when Grandpa would rub his scruffy beard against her face, and liked being held by Grandma, too.

Sliding at the park - and yes, her hair naturally does this. No brushes, hairspray, curlers involved.


Anticipating the slide


Grandma and Ava at the park


Ava spends lots of her waking hours in front of this easel. She can draw circles now.


We kept busy, going to our favorite park, Chuck E. Cheese, and even took a two-day trip to Savannah, GA. Grandma and Grandpa fed the ducks with Ava, while Doug had an appointment. Doug was also able to show his parents one of his completed projects. On some nights, after Ava went to sleep, we played a new dice game they taught us. It was fun! We also picked-out a pumpkin while they were in town, which Doug nicely carved. His carved masterpiece went well with the Elmo pumpkin that Grandma and Grandpa brought for Ava.

Shelly and Mary, while dining at Spanky's on River Street.


Doug and Jim, while dining at Spanky's on River Street.


View of River Street


Watch for falling taffy!


Mmm, bear claws! (chocolate, caramel, pecans; need I say more?)


Taking a break on River Street


In Savannah we went on a trolley tour of the city, walked the entire length of Bull Street (to see as many of the city's squares as possible), walked along River Street, treated ourselves to some sweets in the Candy Kitchen, ate at Spanky's, and just had great fun. The weather was very humid the first day, and in the high 80's. The next day it was unseasonably cool, but it was a nice trip.

This is my favorite building in Savannah. Ironically it looks like the oldest, but isn't.


Ava loves to wear my sunglasses. Fortunately these are indestructible...


Ava hangin' with Grandma during the trolley tour. Notice Ava's bare feet. This started the beginning of Operation Sock Removal in Ava's life...


One of the most beautiful houses in Savannah, the Kehoe House. (Joe Namath owned this house in the 1990's).


Savannah's Cotton Exchange. It looks like it is sinking in the middle, although you probably can't tell from this picture. This place was like the NYSE of it's day (setting the price of cotton), up until 1930 or so, when Wall Street came into existence in NY.


Paula Deen's Restaurant: The Lady and Sons


We also tried to get into Paula Deen's restaurant (Lady and Son's). We dropped-off Doug to put our name in, and they were ready to seat us right then, but our entire party needed to be there. While we were parking the car, a bus-load of 47 people ("blue hairs," as Doug likes to say) put their names on the list, so our chances at lunch were nil, by the time we found a parking spot. Better luck next time!

Mary and Jim in Savannah


The church from which the feather drops, in the beginning of "Forrest Gump"
(Savannah, GA)


Grandpa, Grandma and Ava, sitting on the bench where Forrest Gump sat


Grandpa and Grandma


The Haunted Hearse Tour: Very Scary! :-0


They look spooked!


The eerie oaks with Spanish moss in Savannah


Gravemarkers purposely misplaced / defiled by Union soldiers

Doug and his parents were also able to enjoy a haunted "hearse tour". Yep, that's right. You ride in the back of a hearse (decked-out with 8 or so seats), with the roof of the hearse cut-off, so tourists can view the haunted sights at night. Doug and I have gone on this ride before with Doug's brother and his wife (Kristy), so I volunteered to put Ava to bed and hold down the fort while the rest of the Carey clan got spooked!

The Mercer mansion, famous from the novel "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"


We were told that it was good luck to touch these "fish" downspouts in Savannah. Ava took the advice to heart.


Ava ran after this nice dog in a square in Savannah. The guy was nice enough to stop, to let her pet his dog. He turned-out to be from Michigan, having moved to Savannah.


Forsyth Fountain


At Forsyth Fountain in Savannah, GA


A boardwalk on the Atlantic Ocean, 16 miles from Savannah (on Tybee Island)


Grandma and Grandpa at the ocean


Doug, Ava and Shelly at the ocean


Along the boardwalk, Tybee Island, GA




Caught in a rainstorm under a pavilion on the Atlantic, we hunkered down with a few fishermen and fisherwomen (!) until the storm passed


Tybee Island lighthouse


Ava loves Chuck E. Cheese - this picture took no prompting


Picking out pumpkins



Carver Doug did a fantastic job



Ava and Grandma feeding the ducks (Ava wanted to eat the bread pieces herself :-)


Ava, Grandma and Grandpa fed the ducks. I was surpised she got this close!


One of Doug's finished projects (West Village)


Other angles of the finished product (retail stores below, condos above).




It was a very enjoyable week! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for driving down to visit with us!

With love,
Shelly, Doug and Ava

15 Sweet Things About Ava

I tried to come up with a list of 10, but the list kept growing. So, 15 things about Ava...

1. She LOVES her babydoll. She calls it her "bay-be-dah". She likes to give it (and all stuffed animals) a drink, or feed them. She brushes their teeth with her toothbrush, too.

2. She LOVES her oatmeal with dried cranberries, every morning. When we "slack" in the morning, she reminds me that she wants her "oh no" (oatmeal).

3. Lately she has been turning on her sound machine in the morning, which is within arm's length of her crib. (I wondered how it was still playing in the morning, when it automatically shuts off at night, after 30 minutes). Knowing she can reach this sound machine now (on her dresser), I have a feeling we'll have a "climber" soon. We may be destined for a big-girl bed soon...

4. She LOVES to pray, and actually requests that we pray (how sweet is that?). Before we eat, she puts one hand on top of the other while we pray, waits until the end of the prayer and says "may-men".

5. She sings her ABC's (and other songs) in the crib before she goes to sleep, plays with her babydoll and pats it on the back. Right now she actually knows to sing the letters A,B,C,D,E,F & G, but the rest of the letters all sound alike.

6. Every morning we give her an infant syringe full of Norwegian cod liver oil (in her mouth). We've been doing this as long as I can remember. She opens her mouth willingly and downs it without flinching. Some people think this is torture... Most people are amazed that she does this without fighting it. I tried it myself and almost gagged once. She seems to do fine with it! And I saw on Oprah yesterday that adults should be taking a daily dose, too. Yikes. I might have to work up to that one...

7. She loves to brush her teeth by herself, and could do this for 30 minutes every morning, if we let her...

8. At night, before she goes to bed, she'll often stand on a stepstool in the middle of the living room, dance and says "Ta-da!"

9. She is ALWAYS pulling her socks and shoes off. I hope this phase ends before Winter gets too cold!

10. She loves Elmo and The Wiggles. Whenever familiar songs come on, she tries to sing with them, dance, and spin in circles.

11. She recently started saying "hello", and now says it repeatedly. When she says it, it sounds like "hah-ro". (Think "A Christmas Story" the movie, the Chinese restaurant, "Deck the halls with balls of ha-ree, Fa Ra Ra Ra Rah, Rah, Rah, Rah, Rah").

12. She loves apples and pears. We frequently can't make it through the grocery store without Ava pointing out the apples or pears (both termed apples, at this point). I give in, letting her have an apple while I'm getting some much-needed grocery shopping done. When at a local store, Ava started crying when I momentarily took the apple away from her for it to be weighed with the rest of the apples. A woman behind me was amazed that a kid would cry for an apple. The woman asked if Ava knew what candy was, yet. We give her some very occasionally, but for some reason she just LOVES her apples, and requests them by name. :-)

13. Whenever we tell Ava we're going to the park, her eyes light up. She says "par!, par!". When we pull-in the driveway of the local park, she gets CRAZY happy with excitement.

14. When she is ready for a bath or ready to leave the house with Doug in the morning, she says "bye" to me, all the animals and objects in the house, separately. "Bye-bye, Mama," "Bye-bye, babydoll," "Bye-bye, doggie", etc. It's funny when she does this before a bath, because she'll see these things again in a matter of a few minutes... Too funny.

15. When she hugs, she often gives you a good squeeze, shakes from side to side and says "oh oh oh" (think "Ho Ho Ho" backward).

She's been some serious fun lately!

With love,
Shelly, Doug and Ava

Lots of Treats

On Halloween night, we took Ava trick-or-treating for the first time. The weather was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! Our friends (the Hoffmans) came over to trick-or-treat with us for a few houses, and then headed home.

Ready to trick-or-treat




The insurmountable steps


We then tagged-along with Matthew Quinn, a very sweet three year-old boy who lives in our court, and his Dad. Matthew dressed as Captain Hook, and was very confident in his trick-or-treating abilities (rightfully so). (We didn't get any pictures of Matthew, unfortunately). We wheeled Ava around in her red wagon, and she walked up to each door. Matthew would ring the doorbell and yell "trick or treat". Ava's "trick or treat" sounded more like "Tee-tee".

Olivia, Ava and Mekhi


After Matthew received his candy, Ava would hold out her pumpkin and pick some candy (per the candy-givers :-). She then turned around and said "tay-tu" (Thank you), and "bye-bye" at each house. Her candy-filled pumpkin was her most prized possession. Nevermind that she doesn't really know what is in the wrappers... :-)

Ava and Mekhi


Ava was also more interested in the cat or dog at each house, than the candy. She would laugh into the window, looking at the cats and dogs, and would say "woof". People got a chuckle out of her excitement toward their pets.

Jackpot!


We then went to a few houses after Matthew went home. Matthew was a good teacher, because Ava knew to ring the doorbell, say "Tee-tee", pick-out some candy and then say "Tay-tu". She caught-on very quickly! Because our sub-division is past a "dead end" sign, we get very few trick-or-treaters. Our neighbors spoiled Ava (and I'm sure all kids) with LOTS of candy.

Candyland


Yesterday she was pointing up to her pumpkin, so she picked-out a tootsie roll sucker and a fun pack of M & M's. Savoring every bite. :-)