The Careys

Monday, November 19, 2007

Fall Colors

As of this weekend, Ava recognizes and can say the names of some colors. I bought a pack of simple flash cards at Wal-Mart, which she seems to really enjoy. I think her confidence level increased as she saw that she knew many of the words of the items and colors on the flash cards. She got excited when she would look at each one and be able to say the name of the item. “Kitty cat!” “Airplane!” “Bunny!” “Bear!” “Doggie!” "Ball!" One card has a boy and one card has a girl on it. She is able to confirm the card with the “boy” on it, and which has the “girl” on it.

On Friday, it seemed like everything was blue. “Boo”, “boo”. We would hear. “Boo car”, even if the car wasn’t blue. She’s now sorting out the difference between blue, red, yellow and purple. Saturday fewer things were blue, and more were “red” or “purple”. It’s kind of hard for her to differentiate between blue and purple right now, but she’s getting close. Green isn’t on the radar screen yet, as green lights are still "blue". :-)

We went to a local shopping plaza and bought some books at the book store. We then walked over to the candy store, where I thought I might buy Ava a little treat. While filling a little bag of candy, I looked down to see a toddler (namely mine) with a mouth full of something gummy. Yes, she stuck her hand in the candy container, pulled something out and ate it. Of course when I noticed it, she had a case of lockjaw, and wouldn't open her mouth. I can only assume it was a gummy something-or-other. Let's hope so?

While driving, we also frequently hear “big truck”, “car”, “balloon”. She’s very vocal these days, talking to herself CONSTANTLY in the back seat, while we’re driving. Another fun phrase she learned at day care? “I NO WANT IT”. Lovely. We hear this phrase most often at meal time. Amazing how quickly kids pick things up from other kids.

She’s also becoming a little more opinionated with the repertoire of songs we sing. When we sing a song she doesn’t prefer, it’s “n-n-n-n-n-no”. She likes to say this to Doug when he’s giving her a bath and singing songs. He said that Ava wanted him to sing a particular song, but she couldn’t communicate the specific song to him. She tried, though, by singing “la-la-la” to him. He couldn’t figure out the song. I wonder which song it was?

She LOVES to sing “Who made the fishy swim?” and does all of the hand-motions that go along with the song. When we sing the part that goes “God in heaven above,” she points upward and says “above”. She’s coming close to singing the words to some songs, and knows “row, row, row” while singing “Row, row, row your boat”. She also rows when she sings it.

She also likes to stay in the tub after all of the water has drained from the tub. The other night when I was bathing her and the tub water had long disappeared, she just sat there. She looked up at me with the sweetest, most innocent look on her face. No agenda. Happy to be in the tub. I wish I had a camera to capture the look on her face.

With love,
Shelly

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Feeling "Wiggly"

As if our attendance at Sesame Street Live wasn't enough confirmation that we're now part of the official parenting community, we attended another toddler convention (aka "The Wiggles" live show) this past weekend. Ava affectionately calls them the "Wooh-Wooh's". Whenever she wants to watch a dvd, it's normally a "Wiggles" dvd, or Elmo.

A while back, a friend told me that her son LOVES the Wiggles. So, I thought we'd see what they were all about. Interestingly enough, three of the four Wiggles are married with kids; something I completely didn't suspect. :-) (My curiousity was piqued, so I looked them up on-line. They are that - ahem - "colorful"). The remaining Wiggle (Jeff, the purple Wiggle) is single. Doug thinks these guys don't have as much testosterone coursing through their veins as the rest of the male population. I beg to differ. I think these guys MUST have higher levels of testosterone, in order to live with themselves on a daily basis, after dancing around and singing songs like "That Chicken's Got the Hiccups", "Fruit Salad", and "Hot Potato".

Extra kudos go to Doug, who sat directly in front of an uber-excited row of screaming 3 year-old Wiggles fans (boys). I think his ears might still be ringing today....

WIGGLES PANDEMONIUM:

Ava didn't really seem to know what was going on even after the show started, although she's always up for entertainment. We told her that we were "going to see the Wiggles", but I don't think it registered. It was only when the four "Wiggles" appeared on stage that she figured out what was going on. She was in awe during the entire show, seeming to soak in every piece of information possible, filing it away for future reference. It was cute to watch. She especially enjoyed watching four teddy bears dance on stage, and motioned that she wanted them to come over to her. Pretty funny.

Pre-show excitement

Ava fixated on the Wiggles

The Wiggles first appear on stage...

"Toot-toot-chugga-chugga Big Red Car..."

Waving goodbye to the Wiggles

Some of the kids were even dressed-up in a Wiggles costume of some sort: Dorothy the dinosaur, Captain Feathersword, Wags the dog, etc. And boy, the Wiggles don't need a work-out regimen. Seeing how much they danced all over the stage while singing, etc, wore me out! I must also give them credit... All four Wiggles traded-off, playing the drums at different times. The blue Wiggle (Anthony) produces all of their songs. Two of them played guitar at different tines throughout the show, and they all sang. When I looked them up on-line, I saw that they are the top grossing performers hailing from Australia. (Their accents are cool, I must admit). They are talented, I'll give them that, even if they are singing about "cold spaghetti" and "mashed bananas". :-)

Peace, love and Wiggles,
Shelly, Doug and Ava

Monday, November 12, 2007

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.