Mr. and Mrs. Brandon Howell

We went to my second cousin Tiffany's wedding during the month of May.  It was a beautiful wedding!

Although she is actually my Dad's cousin (my Dad's Dad's sister's daughter), she is only a year older than I am.  Because we are so close in age, I grew up with her more like a cousin than "second cousin".  We were part of the same youth group at Royal Oak Church of Christ, part of Lads to Leaders together, went to Freed-Hardeman one summer for their Horizons youth camp, were in the Metro Detroit Youth Chorus together, packing partners on tour together, had many a sleep-over together, were fellow NKOTB fans (wait, did I just admit that?), and also attended Fraser High School together.  She was nice enough to DRIVE me to school for the card-marking I attended that school - the first of my junior year - before moving to Rochester / Rochester High School.  She is a sweetheart. 

After high school, she went to Lipscomb and I went to Harding.  We both kind of went our separate ways, so I haven't been as close to her (geographically or otherwise) as I would like.  I definitely wanted to be sure to attend her wedding.  It was beautiful.  She had GORGEOUS(!) shoes and dress.  She was beaming.  She picked a pretty light-green color for her bridesmaids.  Her sister-in-laws were two of her bridesmaids, along with her two sister-in-laws to-be and her best friend. 

Doug stayed out in the lobby with Liam while Ava and I watched the ceremony. 

I got a complete "money shot" of her, as she and her new husband were announced as man and wife to the wedding attendees.  Super cute.

The reception was at a nice hall in Columbia, Tennessee.  They had some fun dancing (Ava boogied) and even had FAYGO POP in bottles!  Very cool.  My cousin Chris (my Dad's Dad's youngest sister's son), with whom I actually attended high school at Lincoln (and is only a few months older than me) helped cater Tiffany's wedding reception.  It was well-organized with yummy food.  Aunt Anita looked like she was floating on a cloud all day, she was so happy.  I know Tiffany's Daddy couldn't have been more proud.

Wishing Mr. and Mrs. Brandon Howell a lifetime of happiness together.

Peace, love and wedded bliss,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Doug is Now Employed!!!!!

Back in March, Doug interviewed for a job as a Projects and Portables Coordinator with Fulton County Schools, in Atlanta, Georgia. Doug was referred for this job through a previous co-worker at Preston Partnership.

He was so well-prepared for the interview. He practiced a 90-second "elevator speech" with me. He looked sharp. It sounded like he interviewed well. They called him a few weeks later and mentioned that he didn't get the job, but that he was a strong #2 candidate. We thought the case was closed. Doug became very busy with the Rwanda project about that time.

Doug got a call from the hiring manager for the Fulton County job during mid-May. They wanted to know if he was still interested, as the candidate they chose to hire had not yet agreed to accept the position. They gave the other candidate 24 hours to respond and accept their offer. The other candidate never accepted. They asked Doug if he wanted the job!

They offered him $2k more than he earned before salary cuts at Preston. (That's what the job paid.) Wow. We were just hoping he would be able to find something that would at least pay for the kids to remain in day care. God answers prayers!

It is a hike for Doug. He drives 56 miles round-trip everyday. Fortunately they've offered a flexible work schedule to him. So, he chose to start work at 7 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. every day, in hopes of avoiding Atlanta rush-hour traffic. It takes him about 45 minutes to get home. I take the kids to day care in the morning. So far it has worked out really well.

He will be responsible for any projects within Fulton County Schools, and also for any "portables". These are the mobile / trailer classrooms they add onto schools if there isn't enough room in the actual school building. He is busier during the Summer than Winter as they want the portables to be installed before the school year starts. He will be driving to quite a few schools to check them out and make sure everything is going well. I think there are 100 schools for which he is responsible.

It's definitely a change of pace for him. He doesn't feel quite as much pressure as he did when dealing with deadlines at architecture firms. He is still learning the ropes. He is the youngest employee there. A 66 year-old man, who is also a Viet Nam vet, works for him. I've heard this man has quite a few war stories.

His benefits are amazing. He has a pension, doesn't pay into Social Security, quite a few given days off (due to school calendar) and good vacation time.

The office is located in College Park. They told him that if he is the last one to leave the office, he should close the blinds, turn off the light and lock the door. It doesn't sound like the safest place to be after midnight...

God works in mysterious ways. I didn't realize this detail until Doug told me... Doug wouldn't have been able to work on the Rwanda job if he had immediately been hired with Fulton County Schools! But, he finished the Rwanda job and then got a call from Fulton County. Amazing timing. Better than we could've planned it. God sure has taken us on a wild ride, but we're grateful.

So I joked to Doug about his change in employment... He went from working on skyscrapers to working on trailers! He had to laugh.

Peace, love and the projects,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Mother's Day 2010

Happy Mother's Day to our moms! We hope your day was absolutely amazing.

This year's Mother's Day was the best. I opened up cards and some gifts on Sunday morning. The kids gave me a card each, Doug gave me a card, and other relatives sent them as well. They got me a nice James Avery buckle ring, too. Ava likes signing her name to cards now, and likes to put happy faces on them, as well. Ava signs Liam's name for him, too.

Doug asked where I wanted to go for lunch after church. I didn't want to brave the crowds, so we got take-out fish-tacos from Houlihan's. I actually got a nap on Sunday afternoon. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Cool but breezy and sunny. So I watered-in the sod I planted the day prior and just enjoyed a nice, lazy Sunday afternoon. It was just what the doctor (or the mommy) ordered. :-)

Ava's project from school:


A project she did while at church:

The James Avery ring the kids and Doug bought for me. (Note: I had no idea who James Avery was until I got this ring. Doug mentioned we received a catalogue in the mail and he thought I might like one of the rings, so he bought it in a local store.)

Ava's artwork:

Artwork on Liam's card for me, courtesy of Ava:

Peace, love and Mother's Day goodness,

Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Mrs. Barb's Class

Since Ava returned to school on April 12th, she has been attending in her old classroom. All of her other friends, including her best friends Emma and Hillary, moved up to Mrs. Barb's classroom around their birthdays, March timeframe. (See post which mentioned Owen: "Ava Turns Four".)

As I mentioned, I didn't want to push Ava into the Mrs. Barb's class, but wanted her to go when she was ready. I mentioned to Ava that she might be able to learn to read like her buddy Matthew (who is 6) more quickly if she went into Mrs. Barb's class. She enjoys trying to sound things out, so I thought this might get the point across. Her current class was sometimes combined with an even younger class, too, so I felt like Ava could really benefit from moving up to the 4-5 year-old class. Again, I didn't want to pressure her at all, so this was the only time I mentioned it.

In that same brief conversation, I told her that we could make a treat to celebrate going into the new classroom, whenever she was ready. Without any prompting, the next morning at school, she asked (on her own) if she could go into Mrs. Barb's classroom (on 05/11). Later in the week, Ava and I went shopping for cupcake supplies and then made them on Thursday night. She really enjoyed decorating them! We took them into school on Friday 05/14. They were a big hit with everyone at school. This is the picture from the Betty Crocker Web site. We used different colored cones, too.



http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/surprise-cupcake-cones/cfa34a11-41ca-4259-9df1-95b62631f81a?WT.mc_id=taf_recipe_BC

Mrs. Barb pulled me aside when I went to pick-up Ava on Monday (5/17), before I got Ava. She said "I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of how Ava is growing up. She is such a sweet girl. She listens so well and follows instructions, and she has only been in my class a few days. I just wanted to let you know how proud I am of her."

She said that Ava cleaned up without being asked to clean up, and another time she sat down on the mat because she knew it was time, when Mrs. Barb asked everyone. (I guess it took other kids a few times to follow directions.) Mrs. Barb says she reached into the treasure box and reached past the standard stickers, to give Ava a more substantial reward because she felt she deserved it.

What makes me even more happy is that Mrs. Barb told me she had pulled Ava aside earlier in the day, to let Ava personally know how proud she was of her. I am so proud of Ava, and let her know this, as well. She is so thoughtful and caring. I love that she does this on her own, and not because she is prompted in any way. She is certainly growing up. I love to see her embracing her responsibilities, and owning the process "of growing up". Such a big girl!

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

Trader Joe's

In the interest of cheap entertainment, one day I got a wild hair and decided it might be fun to take the kids to Trader Joe's. They have mini-grocery carts there, so I thought it might be fun for the kids to push them around while we QUICKLY shopped. ;-) I attempted this feat on my own. Not unusual. At 5:30 in the afternoon. Before the kids ate dinner. Probably won't be doing that again.

Ava is an ace with the carts; she has used them at Whole Foods in the past. This was Liam's first time driving a cart. Entering the store, all was fun. The kids each picked out a cart and we headed on our merry way. The kids picked out some fruit leather (fruit that has been pureed and dehydrated) and we picked up a few other things. I felt like a cart-wrangler. And we avoided the wine aisle like the plague... New cart-driver Liam + stacks and stacks of glass wine bottles = impending catastrophe. Disaster averted.

We went to the check-out line, where I then saw a neighbor (from the next street over in our sub) standing behind me. I said hello, but I wasn't sure if she recognized me. I then turned my attention to the cashier, so we could check-out. In the meantime, Liam is straying with his cart. Somehow he took Ava's (as I later found out), and Ava grabbed it back. With a vengeance. Neither would let go. With both kids wailing, the cart ended up on its side with a crash that only a grocery cart can make when turning over. :-) WWF Smackdown just about ensued. (I kid, but Liam was crying VERY loudly). I had to be "that mom" that day in the grocery store, grabbing my kids by the elbows and whispering what might look like death threats into their ears. Fortunately I remained calm and didn't yell at them. Serenity now!

With (what seemed like) all eyes on me, I didn't sink into the floor this time. The neighbor behind me says "Oh but you'll miss this when they're older." :-) Hmm. I told her I would doubt that... In the past I would've melted into a puddle, but for some reason, I didn't. I'm learning not to sweat the small things, I guess.

Liam and Ava play SO well together, for the most part. The only issue is if someone takes a toy from another (or someone wants a toy the other one is holding - of the 50,000,000 toys within the perimiter of our house). It happened, though. I don't think I could've helped it.

We then made our way to put the carts back, but Liam was upset when we had to return it. He wanted to keep it. He started wailing again. I had to carry him out of the store as he attempted to escape my grasp. I guess that's what I get for taking them there before dinner time.

We went back as a family last weekend. We didn't go at dinner time. So much easier! Liam EVEN ventured down the wine aisle and didn't bump into anything. (I still might suggest bumpers in this aisle to them sometime... :-) Doug took the picture below on our family trip there. These are our professional shopppers!

As a sidenote, a few days after said incident, I took the kids to Pike's Nursery by myself. It was pretty hot and humid that day. Each of them wanted to pull one of the Radio Flyer wagons and put a plant in their wagon. One of the workers commented that she was very impressed that I was able to coordinate two kids both pulling wagons and simultaneously direct traffic. There weren't any plants that spilled over, no wagons overturned. It was a fun and uneventful trip, until Ava's nose started bleeding in the mini-van on the way home! :-0 Small victories, I guess.

Peace, love and kid cart calamity,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Ava's First Dental Appointment

After spending months passively trying to whittle down pediatric dentists, I decided we should probably just take Ava to our regular dentist. Laura, who schedules the office visits and takes care of insurance and billing there, originally suggested I take Ava there. I struck out with pediatric dentists that would cover dental cleanings 100%. So, I finally scheduled her appointment for 05/14.

I was a bit curious how Ava might react to having instruments and gloved-fingers inspecting her teeth. She did SO WELL! She couldn’t have done better. I took a few pictures outside of the dentist office building to document our adventure. When we went in, she didn’t want to go into the waiting room, but wanted me to carry her. We met Amanda, the hygienist who took care of her, and we walked back together to the dental chair.

Ava got into the chair, and flopped down with her head on the lower part, while she leaned on her elbow. I had to laugh. Amanda explained how she was going to clean Ava’s teeth (in a kid-friendly way). She then had her get down and showed Ava how her “squirty” water tool worked and showed her the straw-suction hose. She showed Ava the toothbrush that rotates like Ava’s toothbrush does. She gave her a choice in toothpaste flavors (bubble gum? Grape?). Ava chose grape and hopped back into the chair.



Amanda told Ava she was going to count her teeth and asked her how many she had. Ava counted seven. Amanda counted 20. ;-) The cleaning began and Ava was a champ about it. She giggled when the toothbrush tickled her. Amanda flossed her teeth and then gave her a choice in fluoride flavors. Grape it was. :-) Amanda knew the bite tray wouldn’t fit in Ava’s mouth, so she just put the fluoride on a cotton swab and applied it that way. Amanda was SO GOOD with her! She has worked as a pediatric dental hygienist in the past, so we were in good hands.

She gave Ava a choice in princess toothbrushes, put some heart-shaped gingerbread cookies (a staple at this dentist’s office, made by the dentist’s wife) in the bag and told Ava what a great job she did. The dentist (Dr. Gavric), who was equally as sweet, checked Ava’s teeth and said they look great. No cavities.

Passed with flying colors! Great job brushing, kiddo!


Sparkling clean teeth!


We had a few other errands to run before I had to take Ava back to school. Ava chose where we went for lunch, so we dined at Panda Express. We followed up lunch with a trip to Target to buy a nightlight. It was a fun girl’s lunch date.

Peace, love and no cavities, Ma!
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Dean!

My Dad turns 57 tomorrow. We've been talking about it all week! :-) We sent birthday cards out earlier in the week, but Ava continues to want to draw things to send to Grandpa Dean for his birthday. This last picture was entirely too cute. She wanted to spell out Happy Birthday for Grandpa Dean. She's now at the age where she attempts to sound-out the words she wants to write. I think "Happy" is spelled "H-P-E" on this picture.



Here are some pictures of Grandpa Dean, Grandma Dolly and kidlings (and other just-plain-favorites) through the years. Be sure to click on the slide show, to open another browser and see the full thing screen-wise.

Happy birthday, Dad!

Peace, love and 57 Grandpa birthday candles,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Doctor Visit: Ava at 4 years / Liam at 22 months

Poor Ava! Yesterday she had FOUR shots during the course of one visit to the doctor. Liam squeaked away with only one shot. Ava went for her four-year appointment. Liam went for his 18 month (turned 22 month?) appointment. Honestly, they've been so healthy recently (aside from a cold here or there), we luckily haven't had to visit the doctor.

Ava is around the 50th percentile for height and weight for her age. She is 34 lbs. It seems she will be our dainty and petite little princess, with her "little big brother" to protect her. ;-)

Liam is in the 95th percentile for height (that's what the doc told me, but looking at the chart, it appears that he is off the chart?) and 90th percentile for weight. He is 31 lbs. I looked back at his growth over the past few months. He has grown 6 1/2 inches in the last 8 months!

Ava had her first (big girl) eye and hearing test at the appointment, as well. She had to tell the nurse what shapes she saw on the eye chart. One looked like a coffee cup. Ava told the nurse "teacup". It was cute to see what names she gave the shapes. She was allowed to get two shapes wrong before they would get concerned, but didn't get any wrong. She had a hearing test, as well. It was cute to watch her try to figure out in which side / ear the sound occurred while she wore headphones. She passed.

Liam was first to get his immunization shot. He was squirrely by shot-time. (We wonder if he got a short nap yesterday). So as soon as he received his one shot, Doug took him out to the waiting room.

Ava, the poor girl... I had to hold her while she got two shots in one leg, followed by two shots in the other leg. Not fun. Doug said he thought they might've been able to hear her outside of the doctor's office, in the shopping plaza. That loud. I can't blame her. I felt so bad, like she was expecting me to protect her, but shot after relentless shot, I just held her. I don't normally have an issue with this, because shots are over so quickly and big hugs soon follow, but FOUR shots. Oy vay. We stopped by Chik Fil-A on the way home and let the kids split a small strawberry shake. That somehow seemed to make it better.

On the way home, I told Ava about polio and how she got a shot to prevent it from happening, that one shot that hurts for a minute is much better than not walking forever. Hard to explain long-term benefits to a four year-old. Fortunately she won't need any more shots (aside from flu shots) until she is 11.

As soon as we got home, both kids were playing outside in the cul-de-sac with the neighbor kids, with no mention of the shots. Ava fell a few times and scraped her knees while playing. Thankfully, I think those boo-boos are the ones that are more memorable today.

Peace, love and lots of Band-aids,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Monkey Joe's

We headed to Monkey Joe's with our friends Anna and Alicia this past weekend.  It was fun to let the little ones run around and bounce. 

We're thankful for friendships like these.

Peace, love and bouncehouse fun,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Conversations with Liam at 22 months

Liam is starting to say simple sentences lately. Most all of our conversations revolve around firetrucks or cars.

We have a book "How Thing Work", which has pages that include an airport, harbor, construction site, space shuttle launch pad, firehouse and gas station. Liam's two favorite pages are the firehouse / rescue page and the gas station page. Once I pointed out that there was a car that was "broken" and was being fixed by a mechanic, I now hear "Uh-oh! Bow-ken! Fix!"

He says "Look at that!" while pointing at something. "That's a ball!" "That's a car!" "That's a firetruck!" Other phrases include: "I do it!" "I no like it!" "Stinky diaper." "1-2-3-4-5-6". "Peez" and "Tinks" (please and thanks). He likes "diggers" and "dump trucks", too. He points out "piddy fowers" (pretty flowers) whenever he gets the chance. When we ask him what a motorcycle sounds like, he'll say "vroom!"

The other day, as we pulled out of the day care parking lot, he said goodbye to Ava's teacher (over and over again!): "Buh-bye, As-lee!" When we pulled away from neighbors in the cul-de-sac, he said "Buh-bye, Zoe!"

He knows some of his colors, but points out the color "yewwow" (yellow) most often. Whenever we hear a siren of some sort, he thinks it is a firetruck. The other day he finally said the word "police car" after we let him know there is a difference.

Last night I held up a small ball that has a happy face on it. I said "Liam, what is this?" He said "Dat's a ball!" (with a look that said "duh, Mom? Don't you know?") I pointed to the face on ball and asked what it was. He said "Dat's a happy ace!" :-) He can say "basketball," and now says almost any word you might say.

He wanted to get some balls out of a box in our living room. I told him that we had to put the cars back in the car box, and the play kitchen food needed to go in the "food box" first. When I asked if him he would help clean up, he said "Sir" (sure). THAT cracks me up. He learns SO MUCH from Ava. He went around the living room, picking up toys and putting them in their respective boxes. I was surprised he was able to decipher what toy should go where. But he is definitely an organizer. He stacks cars on top of each other, lines them up next to each other. It's interesting to watch...

Liam and Ava continue to share a room. They both seem to like it. (Ava would prefer that Liam is still up in his crib when it's her own bedtime...) Liam is still in his crib, and doesn't yet know he has the might to get out. :-)

When Ava comes downstairs in the morning, Liam will yell for her, in his gruff little voice, as if using all the air in his lungs: "A-BUH!" A-BUH!" It's hilarious to hear. Ava and I just sit and chuckle together and wait for him to say it again. Sometimes he will yell for Doug in the morning. When Liam yells for Doug, he doesn't yell for Daddy, as you might think he would. Because Ava calls Doug "Dad", so does Liam. We hear "Dod! DOD!" We think it's pretty funny.

Liam is all boy. It's funny to watch, as I didn't grow up with boys / brothers. He is a sweetie pie. It's so fun to see what he is learning these days. He's got me wrapped around his finger, that much is certain... And thinks he can get away with anything if he flashes his toothy grin at me.

Peace, love and firetrucks,
Shelly, Dod, A-buh and Liam

Poison Ivy!

I've been fortunate enough in life to have avoided poison ivy, to date.

Unfortunately, when ripping out some trees near our neighbor's yard last weekend, I must've run across some poison ivy or sumac. Ugh. It started on my hands. I've had it on my hands before, I think, but it never went further. It has now made it's way up my arms, neck, face, onto my forehead/temples and face. Not fun. I'm hoping it doesn't last too long, but it definitely will slow me down for the next few days. Even carrying Liam, the blisters on my arms rub against his clothes and don't feel too nice. Yuck.

Here's to hoping it goes away, and soon. I'm already wondering how I'm going to manage pulling out other trees, cleaning the yard, etc, without touching the stuff?

WARNING, WARNING: Graphic pictures ahead, move along if you're faint of heart!

What started out with a few little specks like this....

Turned into this... check out under my chin (and this picture doesn't really seem to show the full extent) :(
Peace, love and lots of calamine lotion,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

April Showers Bring May Flowers

I love snapdragons!  I couldn't resist getting some for our back deck.  They are so colorful and seem to cheer up an otherwise drab area.
Peace, love and rainbow-colored flowers,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Family Movies

About two weeks ago, Ava mentioned something that made me think she didn't realize that she was an only child for a few years. I think she thinks she and Liam were both always around each other. I thought that showing her some old family movies might make her realize that she was born earlier than Liam (29 months, to be exact).

I put in the video of Ava's birth and plopped down on the floor with her, in front of the t.v. She saw the video of her birth via c-section. It wasn't too graphic. I watched her face to see if she could handle watching something like that. She seemed completely fine and very interested. We watched video of them weighing her, measuring her. She saw Doug holding her hand (she held his finger) when they were attending to her, when she was first born. I think it was eye-opening to her and made her realize that we've always loved her, even when she couldn't talk, etc. She saw video of herself looking up at a mobile, laying in the living room floor. She saw Doug show "the baby's room" on video, as we prepared for her arrival.

After we watched that video, I showed her the video of Liam when he was born. She got to see herself sitting in my hospital bed, cuddling with me, while she ate my hospital cafeteria cake :-) and when she met Liam for the first time. She giggled. I think it put things in perspective for her. She saw how old she was when Liam was a new baby. She saw all of her grandparents on video when they came down to visit around both birthdays. I think it is always a good reminder to see how much we're loved by our family members, never to be discounted.

Peace, love and being the "big sister",
Shelly, Doug, Ava and little brother