Ten Years!!!

Today Doug and I celebrate TEN wonderful years of marriage! We're in the double-digits, now! I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by. Each day is a new adventure in life with Doug. We plan on celebrating with a couple's massage (a pre-natal one for me) and dinner out on Saturday, as some good friends have offered to take care of Ava for the night. On a future anniversary, when living closer to grandparents ;-), we may try to get away for a cruise or nice trip somewhere. Saving that for another year or so, possibly.

It all started with getting married on Superbowl weekend on a super-cold day in Michigan. The church parking lot had to be plowed for the wedding! We both wanted to hold-out for an April wedding, but because Doug was already living in GA and I was in MI missing my man, we decided on a January wedding.

It was bittersweet, saying "hello" at the wedding to so many faces of those that we loved, and literally driving away in a moving truck, moving to Georgia, the next day. I wouldn't trade our time spent together here in Georgia for anything. It's been quite the extended honeymoon, in my opinion. We've learned to depend on only each other and ourselves during good times, and difficult times. I think it has only strengthened our marriage.

It was cute...today our anniversary cards to each other were very similar. They both referred to all that we've been through within the past 10 years. Here is the quick list: Getting married, moving to Georgia, honeymoon to Cancun, acclimating ourselves to a new city (where roads are never straight and all are named some variation of "Peachtree"), getting new jobs, continuing on with school, apartment-dwelling, many fun road-trips to new and interesting places, scrimping every last penny to save for a house (Taco Bell and the dollar theatre were quite the reserved treat!), moving into our new "treehouse", more schooling, GRE exams, ARE exams X 11, PMP exams, real estate exams, two college graduations, job changes, long walks by the "Gog" (the synagogue) and back, an amazing trip to Europe, finding out we were pregnant, the birth of Ava, adjusting to life as new parents, loving our little baby-turned-little girl, finding out we are pregnant with a second child, and just enjoying every minute of life together.

With each passing day I love Doug more and more. I look forward to 80+ more years of marriage, and an eternity spent with him. He is, and will always be, my sweeetheart! I have learned so much from him, his attitude toward life, and what a devoted family man he is. I lucked-out when he came into my life.

Doug, I will love you forever. I hope you have the best of anniversaries yet, today!

All my love,
Shelly

Snow in Georgia!

Hillbilly Ava

Ava has been an absolute hoot lately. Her affection for tearing-off her socks and shoes has not waned. In the chilliest of temperatures, off come the socks. A true hillbilly. Even funnier, she was wearing a pair of denim overalls the other day, rolled-up six inches as they're too long, pulled-off her socks and shoes and decided to take-up harmonica. She seems to do pretty well at it. Watch out, Elwood Blues!






Her growth seems to occur in explosive spurts. It's as if she's taking everything in for a few weeks and finally decides to confidently relay her newfound learnings. Over Christmas she started counting and could recite all colors. At day care, they say she "knows her colors like a rock star", better than all other kids in the class. Over Christmas she could say Grampy and Grambee (Grandma), but the week after she could say both "Grandpa" and "Grandma" very clearly. (Of course after we returned home from the Grandmas and Grandpas! :-) She can now jump with both feet off the ground. She knows an increasing number of shapes (currently knows circle and square), and actually counted to four the other day.

She is entirely amazed by the story of Naaman (the blind man) in the Bible. She has an illustrated children's Bible in which there is a picture of Naaman with mud on his eyes. She continually flips to that page (specifically) and repeatedly asks "what's that?" (uh-dat?).

Her tolerance for repetition is unmatched. Over the Christmas holiday, Grandma and Grandpa Carey got to experience the Frosty the Snowman DVD on a daily basis, almost to the point of exhaustion. Whenever Sesame Street is mentioned (or is on t.v.), she consistently asks for "Count". She LOVES the Count, and enjoys immitating him ("One! Two! Three! Ahh, ahh, ahh!").

Ava is ever the girly-girl, applying lip gloss (Bonne Bell lip smackers) and hand lotion whenever possible. She likes for her hair to be put in a ponytail or pig-tails. She loves to brush her teeth on her own (she crawls up the stepstool, reaches for her toothbrush and turns the water on/off by herself). Whenever she gets out of the bathtub at night, she runs into the living room and announces "I'm naked!" (sounds more like "I naked!"). It's pretty funny :-)

She is a bit more insistent lately on being independent, especially when going down the stairway. She doesn't seem too hung-up on doing things "her way" yet, fortunate for us! She does well with her manners, too, saying "please" and "thank you" often. It has been entirely too cute to watch her become "responsive" verbally. One day in November I made a request of Ava and followed it up with an "okay?," and she responded "okay". It was the cutest thing. She is much more into responding verbally these days.

She jibber-jabbers and holds conversations with us, thinking that we understand "Ava talk". She knows the word "church" and when asked who we learn about at church, she replies emphatically "Jee-jah!"

She giggles with glee when watching our friends' baby slide down the slide at the park. It's cute to watch her be happy for other kids. I don't know if I've mentioned this on the blog before, but over Thanksgiving, I mentioned to Doug that "maybe we can go to the p-a-r-k later." Ava said "the PARK! YAY! The PARK!" Yikes. Maybe we've spelled that word a little too often around her?

She is very courageous in the food department. She will try most anything that is on Mommy or Daddy's plate (at least once). She LOVES corn on the cob, rice, any kind of pasta, oatmeal with dried cranberries (our usual breakfast), cookies, crackers, most vegetables (corn, carrots, green beans, snap peas, squash), and any kind of fruit. She eats a very varied diet. She eats mixed vegetables by the handful, as if they are candy. She hasn't yet learned to appreciate broccoli or cauliflower, but we haven't exposed her to broccoli very much, either. I recently heard that a child needs to be exposed to something 15 times in order to acquire a taste for something. We're working on the broccoli...

Because this blog serves as Ava's baby book, I'm also noting that Ava weighed 24 lbs 3 oz at a doc appt when she was 21 1/2 months old. This after a very full belly of Wheat Thins and juice! ;-)

With love,
Shelly

Christmas 2007

What a fun holiday it was this year! We hope you enjoyed the holidays with your family, as well!

Ava was excited about the holidays this year, watching “Frah-tee the Noman” at every opportunity. On a sad note, we ACCIDENTALLY left the DVD at Grandma and Grandpa Carey’s house, before returning to Georgia. (Can’t you tell I’m torn-up about it? ;-) Ava enjoyed looking for “Tanta” in every nook and cranny of her grandparents’ houses. While opening presents, she looked like an old pro, ripping into presents, although pieces of wrapping paper came off in one inch increments.

She immensely enjoyed playing with the kitchen that Grandma Pam and Grandpa Bill bought for her, even foregoing her nap. I think we counted that she spent seven consecutive hours playing in her kitchen. She also liked everyone running around the coffee table. If we weren’t running, she would point at the table as if to say “Get down here… you need to do this, too!” Of course Grandpa and Grandma complied, even if already in a dizzied haze.

She giggled with delight while Grandpa Dean tickled her. When he would ask where she wanted to be tickled: “Here, or here?” she would reply by pointing to the place she wanted to be tickled. Nothing like volunteering for it, huh? She was overjoyed while dancing with cousin Sophia, who liked to swing her around, dancing to Christmas music. Ava danced like she had done this before somewhere? Grandma Dolly lovingly fed Ava spaghetti, which was quickly gobbled up. After Grandma Dolly treated her to a few Reese’s pieces, Ava was amped-up and ready to party! I think she surprised all of her grandparents with the sheer quantity of food she can eat. She definitely works it off!

Ava enjoyed playing with the cash register, the crazy musical Christmas decoration, and miniature xylophone at Grandma and Grandpa Carey’s house. She liked watching cartoons with Grandpa Carey and loved when Grandma Carey fed breakfast to her. Grandma Carey says she may need to get a part-time job to pay for the groceries Ava eats! :-) Aunt Tracy helped Ava color with her markers at the kitchen table, too. Ava seemed to really enjoy the peanut butter cookies on their table, requesting them by name: “Cookie! Cookie!” Ava also liked to bowl with the plastic bowling set the Careys gave to her. When all pins didn’t come down, she would kick them down. She would hand her guitar to Grandpa Carey, prompting him to sing in his loudest voice. Ava always wanted him to sing more! :-)

Before we left yesterday, Ava was calling the grandparents by name: “Grampy”… “Grandma” sounded more similar to “Grampy” than not, but is somewhat decipherable. She also was able to say “Tracy!” She would quickly run toward each grandparent with a smile on her face for a big hug, too. Ava definitely has her colors down-pat by now, and she EVEN COUNTS! While laying in bed each morning, we would hear Ava reciting what she knew while laying in the crib: “one, two, three”… “grampy, grandma”… “red, yew-woah”, orange, white, byoo”. I couldn’t believe that she actually started counting. We'll definitely have to get this on video tape. She also holds up her fingers to display the number one. Putting her hand up for two, she curls her fingers and crosses them. It’s pretty funny!

She officially puts two words together now, too. In the past she has said phrases like “thank you,” “I don’t want it,” “hot cocoa”, etc, but she started putting two words together herself now, repeating “yellow car” over and over and over again… She will turn to you and babble jibberish, like she is holding a conversation with you. She now responds vocally when we ask her a question by saying "yeah!" or "okay!" enthusiastically.

We stayed in Michigan for a good ten days. While there, it was amazing to see how much Ava grew physically (I think she got taller), as well as how closely she seemed to bond with everyone. It warmed my heart to see her grow closer to family.

We were able to enjoy two nights out, going out for dinner one night, and out for New Year’s the next night, thanks to the Careys. Doug and I didn’t know what to do at dinner, as we’re so used to shoveling food into our own mouths while trying to prevent potential Ava spills, etc. It was nice to act like an adult for a few!

We’ll be sure to post pictures later.

Happy New Year!
Shelly

Christmas / Holiday 2007 Pictures

Our tree in GA


Ava playing in her new kitchen for the first time




She played with this gift (her kitchen) for 7 hours straight, foregoing a nap when she opened it. As is evidenced by this picture, she didn't stop moving while playing with it.


Daymian


Jordan with heelies!


My cousin Ginger and me


Candy cane pirates


When this green toy busted, it got put to good use with Daymian, Jordan and Doug...


Ginger and Grammy


Like I said, it got put to good use...


Shane and Sherry celebrating Christmas


Grandma Pam and Ava


Is this an advertisement for this kid's kitchen, or what?


Yet another advertisement...


Yet another advertisement...


A happy girl...


A happy girl


A very happy girl!


When asked, "what does a baby say?", she replies "waah!" with this face...


Kisses for Momma...


The Carey Christmas


The Careys gave this bowling set to Ava. She seemed to really like it! When she didn't hit the pins with the ball, she kicked the rest down. Spare!


Celebrating Christmas Eve


Ava playing with the cash register that the Careys gave to her. She looked like an official grocery employee, donning her apron. Grandma Carey played with a cash register when she was little, too!


Grandpa Dean harassing Ava


Grandma Dolly and Ava checking-out Rudolph


My sister and me on Christmas Day. She wasn't feeling good that day at all, but was nice enough to take this picture...


An ornament Dad made for us this year on his lathe...


Olivia


Sophia dressed ever-so pretty!


Sisters: Sophie and Olivia


The Griffith Christmas tree this year


Jordan (he looks SO grown-up in this picture!)


Kristen and Chris


Aunt Freda and Uncle Dave


Paul and Rachel with little one Luke


Kristen and Adam


My littlest cousin Rebecca, looking so grown up!


Grandma Burnis showing off the ornament that my Dad made for her


The Griswald's live near Rochester, MI!


Couldn't resist, we had to have our picture taken near the crazy place!


My sister's nickname for me since high school has always been "Peace", because of the hippy clothes I wore...

It’s official: Carey kiddo # 2 is on the way!

We had our first doctor’s appointment on 11/07. We were able to see the baby, by way of ultrasound. It’s crazy, because we were also to see the baby’s heart beating on the ultrasound, as well. How tiny that little heart was at that time!

I’m feeling well now. At first I was little more sluggish and often nauseated, but not to the point of up-chucking. :-) When I asked the nurse-midwife what I could do about not feeling “motivated” she said I needed to cut myself some slack, because I was running around after a 19 month-old. Okay, I give. :-)

A funny story about our first appointment… The nurse-midwife turned-off the lights and turned-on the monitor for the ultrasound. Ava, who was also in the room (Daddy held her), started excitedly proclaiming “Elmo!”, before anything got started, thinking we were all in store for an episode of Sesame Street. When I asked Ava what she wanted to name her little brother or sister, she said (in the same excited little voice) “Elmo!”. When I said, “So, you’re saying you want to name your little brother or sister Elmo?’ She said “Yeah, yeah!” Oh boy, there’s no hope for kiddo # 2, already. Can you see kid # 2 walking across the stage at his / her high school graduation “Elmo blah-blah-blah Carey”. Sure to be taken seriously at a job interview… :-) Apologies to anyone out there reading this, who is actually named Elmo...

In our subsequent appointment, we saw a VERY active baby who seemed to be running in place. It was very cool to see how quickly the baby grew from 11/07 to 12/07. Although still half the size of a pinky-finger, we could make-out a jawbone, arms, legs, a backbone, etc by that point. Very interesting!

The baby’s due date is July 3rd… Daddy Doug’s birthday! He was elated to hear that great piece of news. I’m praying for a June baby already. I told the nurse-midwife that I DO. NOT. WANT. TO. GO. 10 DAYS. OVER. MY. DUE. DATE. ever again. I truthfully think that Ava was a c-section because we (my body, I should say) waited too long to have a natural birth. She said “Don’t worry, we won’t let you go over 42 weeks.” (Um, doesn’t that equate to 14-DAYS-PAST –MY-DUE-DATE?) I would like to have this baby naturally (instead of c-section), but in the state of Georgia they won't induce women who have had previous c-sections, out of fear that the c-section incision could potentially rupture (can occur in 1% of previous c-sections).

So, I'm praying that I can go into labor naturally and have this baby on my own, if possible. I may need to buy a pogo stick and hop around on it for months 7-9. If you see me frequenting the neighborhood on a pogo stick, please don’t pay any attention.

If you’re doing the math, we’re a little over 3 months pregnant now.

We’re excited and looking forward to our little family becoming bigger. We know Ava will make a great big-sister, too. Please keep the health of this little baby in your prayers.

All our love,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and the littlest one

Admiring from afar, But THIS is a little too close

Today was Ava's Christmas party at "school" (aka day care). It was cute to walk into the auditorium to see the kids (all ages) lined up, ready to sing songs at their teacher's direction. Ava gave me a big wave which showed me where she was sitting. We watched the older kids SHOUT Christmas songs, which was too cute. One little girl was especially loud, and seemed to lead the group as she knew the words. They sang "Deck the Halls", which was especially funny, when they couldn't remember the words to the end of the first verse.

We ate a nice meal of chicken fingers, cole slaw, macaroni and cheese, biscuits and green beans. It was nice to talk to two other moms of girls in Ava's class.

Then came Santa. The other kids in Ava's class were a bit leary of Santa, sitting on his lap with a very questioning / perplexed look on their face. Then it was Ava's turn. I tried to prep her by being super-excited about Santa, and telling Ava she should give him a hug, etc. No can do. The minute she sat on his (or was it her? :-) lap, she freaked-out. The other parents that looked on got a big kick out of Ava shrieking while in Santa's lap. It was pretty funny. What was even funnier was each kid's reaction that followed Ava. I think she set the tone for her classmates. :-)

Much A “Do” About Nothing

We comb it. Cut it. Style it. Perm it. Straighten it. Highlight it. Shampoo it. Condition it. Slick it back. Braid it. Put it in a ponytail. Do it in a French Twist. We hate it. We love it. Hair.

I remember my Pa recalling my Grandma Nila losing her hair due to chemotherapy when I was in 2nd grade. He always said “a woman’s pride is in her hair”. I guess I can agree with his statement.

Since Ava’s birth, I haven’t highlighted my hair. Not purposely. Just to save a few bucks, I guess. I FINALLY made the decision a few months ago to grow my hair out for “Locks of love”, which is a non-profit organization that provides wigs to financially disadvantaged children under 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss (any diagnosis). This decision worked out well, as Locks of Love doesn’t make wigs out of highlighted hair. I guess my decision was further confirmed by seeing my friend Melissa’s hair (already cut) alongside the donation envelope. The hair donation must be a minimum of 10 inches in length to be used for a hairpiece. So, if at any point in my life I could do this, the time is now.

When my sister told me she cut her hair recently, I told her about said donation. She embraced the idea a little too much, saying “Well, you HAVE had the same haircut your entire life.” This statement is true, too, minus the two perms with which I’ve tortured myself, and another time I cut my hair above shoulder-length (at which time Doug didn’t recognize me – another story for another day). My hair is just not perm-material.

Hair gets to a certain length, and it definitely becomes unmanageable. Mine has gotten to that point. I’m a no-fuss girl here in GA. Unless going out for a nice dinner, my hair usually gets pulled back into a ponytail fairly soon after showering. Not the most aesthetically-pleasing look, but functional none-the-less. A friend of mine years ago would cringe at the idea of another “chicky” not “doing” her hair daily. Not I, said the fly.

And 10 inches of hair to cut is no small feat! I get the tape-measure out occasionally to see how long my hair would be when I cut it. Nope, still too short. Still resisting the urge to frequent any place where shears might be found. It does become quite the time-consuming ordeal to blow-dry so much hair. I feel like Cousin It from the Addams Family! (I’m really exaggerating here). I also think, if I cut it today, that any winter trip to Michigan would be that much chillier.

So, if you see me around town looking like a Neanderthal hippie-woman who would be a great candidate for the “What Not To Wear” show, know this is only temporary. (Don’t volunteer me for the show, just yet). Or, if you care to join me in this endeavor, please DO (pun intended) :0)

http://www.locksoflove.org/

Peace, love and hair pomade,
Shelly

The Wiggles Quota....

We've officially reached our "Wiggles" quota. While in MI, at the Careys' house, we watched the same Wiggles movie 2 1/2 times. Kudos to the Careys, for putting up with so much saccharin-induced children's television. No more Wiggles. Ever.

As much as it pains me to refrain from putting a Wiggles DVD into the DVD player (NOT), we're onto bigger and better things. These days, Frosty the Snowman has taken up residence in our DVD player. Ava affectionately requests the DVD by asking "Noman?"..."Noman?" Fortunate for us, Frosty is of the seasonal variety!

She also asked for "Jesus" today on DVD. We have a children's first bible story DVD, which shows a cartoon drawing of Jesus and children on the face of it. I thought it was terribly sweet that she requested "Jesus" with such a pained look on her face, like she had to watch it immediately. Who would deny their kid of "Jesus"? ;-)

I'm curious what DVD will hold her attention next? (Note: Teletubbies and Doodlebops are not in our future. Period!)

Cool Australian accent or not, the Wiggles gotta go...

Shelly

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Happy belated Thanksgiving! We had a great time in Michigan with family, and hope you were able to enjoy time with your family, as well.

The lights in downtown Rochester




Ava seemed to be overjoyed hanging-out with all grandparents, some cousins and other family. She enjoyed the big-girl bed at Grandma Pam's, the cardboard Princess Castle at Grandpa Dean and Grandma Dolly's, the fun Elmo-ride at Grandpa and Grandma Carey's, running around with Jordan at Aunt Sherry's, all of the holiday decorations and everyone's hugs and tickles.

We were able to take a ride through downtown Rochester to view the holiday lights along Main Street. Each building is lit in a specific color. So many people were out enjoying the snow falling and the holiday festivities! Ava pointed out the colors of buildings, although (as usual :-) most buildings were "blue", per Ava. Grandpa Dean and Grandma Dolly taught Ava "see ya!". She now likes to say "see ya!" when she says good-bye. :-)

Grammy gives Ava's wagon a push


Ava and Lora fit into the tiny wagon


The drive up was 11 hours. Ava was a trooper. She slept from her normal bedtime until we arrived (2 a.m.), at which point she woke-up and partied a bit. We drove through rain from Dayton, OH on, but were fortunate that it didn't freeze. Upon arriving, Ava quickly went back to bed. She enjoyed showing us the "big girl bed" where she slept, in the morning.

We didn't take many pictures this time around, but just thoroughly enjoyed being with family. Ava and Lora were able to play together on Friday night. They're both blondies and about the same size. It was cute to see them both playing together.

Grammy and Shelly


Two little dolls


My sister cooked a nice dinner for us on Monday night, before we left. We were able to see snow at her place (the boys built a snow fort), but also have nice weather for driving back the next day. We ate entirely way too much, but all dinners were wonderful... Let the holiday season begin?!?

On the way back from MI, it took us 12 hours to get home. We had a tire blow-out in the middle of Kentucky... Fortunately Doug was able to guide us over to the side of I-75 with ease. When he tried to change the tire, the cheap-0 jack buckled under the weight of the truck (on uneven pavement). We then had to call 911, but a Kentucky highway assistance vehicle came first (just happened to be driving along, he said). He changed the tire to the spare for us (with a better jack) and let us inflate all tires with the air compressor from his truck. We were lucky to have a full-sized, fully-treaded spare. Nice! We were off again, but our return to GA was delayed by an hour. We were thankful that no one was hurt, and that it didn't set us back too much.

Doug wanted to take a picture of the tire. I didn't know why? For your viewing pleasure :-) Notice the entire sidewall is ripped apart.


Entertainment, holiday style :-)


The tree is now up, and decorations around the house. We're plannning on decorating the tree tonight, and baking some cookies. Ava already seems excited about all of the holiday decorations around the house. She pointed up at the stairway banister and smiled this morning, noticing the railing wrapped in garland. She already figured out how to turn the lights on and off on the Christmas tree (we step on a button on the floor to turn then on / off). I'm really looking forward to celebrating tonight!

Aunt Linda cracking Ava up


Having some fun


I think this is the first year I'm super-geeked about Christmas. Last year Ava went with the flow and seemed to enjoy Christmas, but this year I think she's really appreciating all of the decorations. It's fun to be starting our own little family's traditions!

Our family Christmas Tree Cookies


This year, we'll try our hand at making "frosted Christmas tree cookie stacks". You put green food coloring in the cookie dough, cut out the cookies with different sizes of snowflake cookie cutters (you can also use a star-shaped cookie cutter) and then bake them. After letting them cool, you frost the top of each cookie and stack them (alternating placement) from largest to smallest, creating a tree. Drip frosting on the tree (to look like snow). Sprinkle with green sugar and add red hot candies to look like ornaments. This is a picture of what it might look like: http://www.candylandcrafts.com/images/xmastreekit.jpg. I'm not sure where my recipe came from, but this recipe / set of instructions looks similar: http://www.wilton.com/recipes/articles/cookietreeinstructions.pdf

Happy holidays!!! Enjoy the season!

With love,
Shelly