Liam is Eight Weeks Old / Grandpa Dean and Grandma Dolly's Visit to Georgia

Grandpa Dean and Grandma Dolly came down to visit the last week in August through Labor Day. We had a great time hanging out with them!

It rained for the first 3 days they were in town, but after that the weather seemed to get better. It still seems too hot / humid to be outside with Ava playing for a long amount of time. I’m looking forward to Fall and some cooler weather!

Ava really seemed to enjoy Grandma and Grandpa visiting. She loved to be tickled and rough-housed by Grandpa Dean. She loved to run and give Grandma Dolly big hugs. They both were a great help, feeding Liam, changing diapers (okay, Grandma Dolly took this on ;-)) and loving on the grandkids.

Liam wasn’t shy about snuggling with both of them. He continues to be such a snuggle-bunny! Liam is the smiliest (is that a word?) baby ever! If you catch his eye, he will smile right back at you. He was giggling this week, and seems to show more of his ever-so-content personality by the day. It's such a blessing to see how happy he is. He tries to talk and coo, almost as if he’s holding a conversation with his captive audience. About a month ago, Doug and I woke up to him “talking” in his crib.

I think Liam will probably be a big kid. He measured 24 ¼ inches at 8 weeks. That is already over two inches taller than Ava was at that time (22 inches). Liam continues to eat very well. I have been feeding him more bottles than nursing him; he seems to get too comfy nursing and not eat enough (which leads to snacking, rather than eating “good meals” less frequently). :-) I’m hoping that will work itself out soon.

Ava really enjoyed the time spent with Grandma and Grandpa. It is unbelieveable how well she seems to reason and form sentences. She has quite the little personality - all girl! Interestingly, when you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up, she will answer "a cowboy".

While Grandma and Grandpa were in town:

We hunkered down during tornado warnings / Hurricane Faye
Went to McDonald's Play Place
Doug and Dad went to Harbor Freight for a tool run
We danced to bluegrass tunes in our living room
Had ice cream at Bruster’s
Went to Johnny Rocket’s and the candy store
Went to Harry’s Farmer’s Market
Went to the park
Ate a "Southern Supper" at Relish
Made fleece blankets
Had "grandparent pictures" taken
Watched Charlie Brown's "The Great Pumpkin"
Played!!!
Visited Atlantic Station
Shopped at Ikea
Doug and I got a night out (Kohl’s, coffee and a nice drive)
Bought fresh noodles at Via Elisa – worth the drive! (shown on "Road Tasted")
Dolly and I went to TJ Maxx for a bit
We endlessly searched for / bought a beanbag
Ate at the Marietta Diner (shown on Guy Fieri’s “Diner’s, Drive-In’s and Dives”)
Ate at the Cheesecake Factory
Doug turned pens made a penholder with Dad on his lathe

Thanks for visiting, Grandma and Grandpa! We all had a great time. We hope you did, too!

With love,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Grandpa Dean and Liam snoozin'
















Grandma Dolly and Liam























Hanging out at Pway Pwace (Play Place)
















Ava comes down the "curly slide" at McDonald's Play Place























Doug having fun on the curly slide, too! :)
















Ava enjoyed a chocolate chip cookie...as you can see :-)
















Ava and Grandma having fun at Play Place
















Grandpa and Liam
















Liam has these huge "mouth-open" grins. There is no denying when he's feeling smiley!
















A happy little guy
















One of our more recent pasttimes... Dancing to the music on the cable music channels. This started as a way for me to buy more time to prepare dinner. We get wild and crazy in the living room while dinner cooks... On this particular night, we threw down some bluegrass tunes. Ava was slapping her leg and saying "yee-haw". She had to don her "cowboy" boots (she never says "cowgirl", just "cowboy") and my "cowgirl" hat. Grandma and Grandpa got a big kick out of her dancing around!
























Going to Target, Grandma and Grandpa let Ava pick out some fruit snacks. She decided to forego the Dora snacks, Sponge Bob snacks and Lego snacks... Instead she chose the John Deere snacks. I thought this was nuts, because the box doesn't look kid-friendly compared with the other obnoxiously colored boxes of snacks...

Liking her John Deere fruit snacks























Cowgirl























Marietta Diner- you should see the size of the desserts at this place... The cakes must be 12-15 inches high!?!























At the Marietta Diner
















Dad and Dolly at the Marietta Diner
















Ava and Grandpa relaxin'























Out for ice cream at Bruster's























Liam hangin' out in the kitchen. He LOVES this bouncy-seat!
















Grandpa and Ava shopping at Harry's Farmer's Market. They have kid-sized grocery carts with flags that say "Customer In Training". Ava LOVES pushing the little cart.
















At Blue Moon Pizza... One of the businesses in the mixed-use project Doug drew / completed.
















Doug standing at West Village, in front of the design development excellence award. He worked on this project from start to finish. Kind of cool to see and walk through something that he drew!























Miss Personality
















This picture says it all... Ava is VERY independent, but as you can see, her shoes often make their way onto the wrong foot...























Grandpa and Ava























At "Monk-a-Cheese" (Ava can now say "Chuck E. Cheese", but calls it "Monk-a-Cheese")
















Shelly and Liam at Chuck E. Cheese
















A little Griffith skeeball (Doug actually instructed us to help out in earning "tickets" for Ava to win a prize... We're working hard here!)
















Liam and Grandma Dolly boogie-down to Chuck E's music























Liam looking behind himself... Is he winning the race?
















Liam and his frequent grins
















Our family, at our favorite park
















Grandma, Grandpa and the kids at the park



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Grandpa Dean and Liam on Doug's lathe. Grandpa Dean is ready for Liam to become a woodturner, too!























Girls can turn wood, too!
















At Cheesecake Factory... Ava was one tired girl, from the week's festivities!

Liam is One Month Old

Liam at one month. To keep him propped-up for this picture, I actually hijacked the gripper-pad from the kitchen, which we normally use to open jar lids. For this application, I used it under Liam's derriere, so he wouldn't slip all over the chair. Look closely and you'll see it under his toosh :0)
























3 weeks old

































He's one tall drink of water, for such a little guy! :-)

It's hard to believe that a month has already gone by with the addition of Liam to our lives. It seems like we JUST came home from the hospital yesterday! We count our blessings that he has been so healthy. I've been brought to tears a few times thinking about how blessed we've been to have two healthy and thriving kids. We definitely don't take it for granted!

Today I took Liam to his one-month appointment. I officially learned that we have a "good eater" (should I say "great"?) on our hands. Since birth, he has grown from 21 1/2 inches to 22 1/2 inches. He weighed in at 11.1 lbs, almost 3 lbs up from his birth weight of 8 lbs 3 oz. The doctor was amazed at how much he eats and how well-developed he is.

He currently eats 3-5 ounces every three hours. Like clockwork. He sleeps from 12 a.m. -5:30 a.m. (ish) every night. We're trying to slowly stretch that out so we can ALL get more sleep. The doctor said she will probably want him eating cereal before the typical four month mark, due to his size. She said that he's a big boy...not overweight, but just a big little guy. (It's funny to hear her say that, when everywhere we go people say "Oh, he's so tiny!") Doc Gaspard thinks he will be sleeping through the night by two months...Let's hope sooner, aye? (Ava slept through the night at 8 weeks).

The doctor asked how long I carried him after term. (Answer = 40 weeks + 6 days.) She was amazed at how well he followed her with his eyes, how much control he had over his neck, how alert he was, how he smiled at her "socially" (per doctor) and how he "talked" to her. He's a very alert little guy, I'll say that much. The doc said that he is "acting" more like a two month old than a one month old.

He continues to wear newborn-sized clothes, although he is getting a bit long for the newborn size already. I think it's hilarious that he has to grow into a pair of 0-3 month jeans. Right now they're HUGE on him.

Within the past 3-4 days, Liam has really been smiling quite a bit. When we talk with him face to face (and he's awake), he has what I will refer to as his "smiling fits". He seems to smile for 10-15 minutes at a time. I love when his entire face smiles...He seems to smile with his eyes and cheeks and forehead, up to his ears! (I know that sounds funny, you'd have to witness it to believe me, I guess :-). It cracks me up when our entire family is busy, only to look at Liam to catch him smiling his gummiest-smile. He is a happy baby. He does like to "talk", too. He continues to be a snuggle-bunny.

His strawberry-blonde hair is really filling-in, especially on the back of his head. I'd say he definitely will have blue eyes. Given his current complexion / coloring, I have a feeling we may need to buy stock in a sunscreen company!

Peace, love and the gummiest of baby smiles,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam :)

Ava's sayings

Hangin' out at the pool
Ava has really become verbal within the past month or so. I wonder if it is because of Liam's presence, and because she knows she can verbalize her needs. Her day care teacher asked me last week if I knew that Ava talks in complete sentences. DEFINITELY! (Of course they haven't been around her for 3 weeks or so). Ava has been doing this for at least a month, and seems to say any word, using most of them in the right context. Here is a list below of some of the funny things she has said in the past few weeks...

Ava feeding Liam














Ava feeding Liam breakfast
























-"I'm not going to the store, either." (She uses the word either quite a bit).
-"No, I'm not tired. I just took a nap last week!" (everything in Ava's world occurred last week).
-"Chocolate is my favorite color." (Note: when she uses the word "chocolate" it is clear as a bell).
-"I love you, Daddy. You're my friend. Can we watch Potty Power?" (a dvd about potty training).
-"He not talk" (when referring to stuffed animals or baby dolls).
-"I don't have to go; it's just gas." :)
-"That's not MY church" (whenever we pass by any building resembling a church).
-"Let's go to monkey-cheese's" (this is how she pronounces "Chuck E. Cheese's")
-"I want to watch Cinder-lella?" (this is how she pronounces "Cinderella", her all-time favorite movie. She is the girliest girl, LOVING her pink nightgown that Aunt Kathy and Uncle Jeff sent recently).
-"Can I have some mata-melon?" (this is how she pronounces "watermelon")
-She spells things. When Doug and I think we're being crafty and try to talk about something without letting her in on details, she somehow figures it out. Maybe we spell things TOO much!
-"It's coming off." (When referring to nailpolish on her toenails).
-"I wan lolla-pop." (When she wants a treat of a lollipop. They give her lollipops at the bank, so this is now the ULTIMATE treat for Ava).
-I eat GOOD! (When we've told her she needs to eat good / well in order to be able to have dessert. She says this even if she's eaten two bites of dinner...).
-"Can we go to Pway Pwace?" (McDonald's Play Place)
-"Ariel's Dad is not nice at all." (She LOVES The Little Mermaid, but we entirely skip the parts with Ursula, the sea witch. Because of this, she now thinks Ariel's Dad is the "meany" in the movie...)
-"No, you're silly!"
-"You're my sweetie pie."
-"I want a braid, please?"
-"I want some pink cereal, please?" (She LOVES strawberry frosted mini wheats).
-"Mommy, I'm in charge?" (She knows Mommy is in charge. I think it's funny that she actually ASKED me if she was in charge...)
-"Daddy, you're my best friend, ever, ever, ever. Can I have a chocolate chip cookie?"
-"I want to be Queen of the Rainbow."
-"I miss Grandma Pam SO much right now." (I thought this was quite a few words to string together, for her).
-"Mom, I love you SO much!"
-"I love you SO much!" (when we ask her what grandparents' cards say, when she opens them).
-"I try it?" (Whenever she wants to sneak a bite from your plate...)
-"Pocahontas" (One day, the Pocahontas movie was on t.v. She asked who Pocahontas was. She repeated Pocahontas' name four times, and said it right after that.)
-"Got to go pay" (When she's ready to leave the store with something. I've told her in the past that We have to pay for it first.)
-"I love my Mommy and Daddy and sister and Liam SO much." (I guess she says "sister", because we've told her she is a sister?)

Ava helps Daddy do yardwork (in her tutu)
























Dancing in her purple tutu (Thanks, Aunt Kathy!)
























She is a chatterbox! I know there are other funnies that I can't recall right now. I just wanted to be sure to capture these, for now.

Another funny... One day a few weeks ago, I put her down for a nap. When I went to check on her, I noticed that she had a pair of FLANNEL pajamas on. I definitely wouldn't have put her in flannel p.j.'s in the middle of July. I was confused, because I put her down for a nap with her regular clothes on, not pajamas. She was sacked out on a blanket on the floor. I then looked at her back, and noticed that the cupcake, which is on the front of her shirt, was on her back... Upon closer examination after her nap, I noticed she put the pj's on OVER her regular clothes! I got a good chuckle out of that one.

Mommy sneaks a kiss while making breakfast
























Today when she woke up, she actually brought a shirt and jeans downstairs to wear today. When I told her that we needed to get underwear to wear, too, she went upstairs by herself and got a pair out of her dresser drawer. I can't believe how grown-up she is!

Peace, love and baby talk,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Waffles for breakfast
























Ava LOVES to help cooking / baking
























With her hippo bubblemaker

For the grandparents...

This is a little video taken of Liam this morning. He has become quite the talker, lately! I hope everyone has a great week!

With love,
Shelly

Liam's Birth Announcement

Peace, love and goodness,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam