Mrs. Carey, Can you please hold?

Wow. A major disaster was averted yesterday...

I picked-up the kids from day care yesterday afternoon, after working in the office. By the time we got home, I had to go to the bathroom. Before heading to the bathroom, I checked the door leading to our basement, to be sure it was locked. It was. Thinking all would be safe, I ran to the bathroom for a QUICK potty break. :-)

Liam and Ava were both in the bathroom with me, momentarily. Liam then left, followed by Ava a few seconds later. Within a few seconds, I heard someone moving Ava's potty chair one floor up, in our upstairs bathroom. Normally Ava does that. I called Ava's name and she answered, but her answer was MUCH closer than the upstairs bathroom. PANIC! PANIC! I then realized that it was probably Liam that was in our upstairs bathroom, and that the gate in front of our stairway (leading upstairs) was probably open when we got home. It is normally shut.

I sprinted to get upstairs as fast as I could. In the meantime, I think I tripped Ava, whose head's trajectory would've met the door jam. While running, I put the palm of my hand out to catch her forehead. Fortunately she didn't hit the door jam. I apologized to her while running upstairs, noticing Liam's shadow coming out of the bathroom and heading toward the top of the stairs. I scrambled up the steps just in time to watch Liam step off the top and FALL directly into my hands (I caught his waist). He was smiling the entire time, of course. :-)

He has NEVER climbed the stairs by himself. EVER. I've only let him climb up the stairs a handful of times in his life, right before his bath. I had no idea he even had the time to climb up the stairs, let alone the skills to make it to the top all by himself.

No more bio-breaks for me, I guess. :-)

Peace, love and Speedy-Gonzalez stairclimbers,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Mr. Mobile

Diamonds on the soles of her shoes...

As stated in a previous entry, Ava is becoming more perceptive every day.

One night, while brushing her teeth, she mentioned that "some people have diamonds in their teeth".

I agreed that, yes, some people have diamonds in their teeth, but we don't want to go that route.... We want to keep the white, pearly, shiny ones that we already have. I went through the whole schpiel, mentioning that people who have diamonds in their teeth probably didn't brush their teeth well, so they had to have their teeth replaced with something, so they could still chew their food...I mentioned that the diamond ones probably weren't real teeth...

Her response? Yes, so someday I want to have diamond teeth."

We've had the conversation twice, and somehow she still thinks diamond teeth are the bomb-diggity. :-)

So much for that conversation!

Peace, love and gold teef,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

P.S. - Update: Ava mentioned, while watching t.v., "that girl has diamonds on her teeth." I didn't catch what the girl looked like, but had a sneaking suspicion that they weren't diamonds, being that Noggin was the channel of choice... When I asked Ava if she saw diamonds in the picture below, she said "yes". I had to set her straight (ha ha) and let her know that the girl wasn't wearing diamonds on her teeth, she was wearing BRACES. :O)

Doug's Mom and Dad Celebrate 40 years together!

Doug's Mom and Dad are fortunate enough to celebrate 40 years of marriage together this year. We are so thankful for their love and guidance through the years. Their example is an amazing and respectable one that will stand the test of time.

Each of their four kids (Joe, Doug, Kathy and Tracy) and their families went to a local Portrait Innovations portrait studio and had their own family's picture taken. We all requested the same khaki-colored backdrop. Once the pictures were done, they were all assembled in the same large frame for Jim and Mary. Tracy presented the frame to them. They were extremely thankful for the pictures / frame and seemed to enjoy it.

We hope they have 40 more years of marital bliss together. Jim and Mary, I am so proud to call you my in-laws!

Peace, love and 40 more,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Grandma Pam, Aunt Sherry, Daymian and Jordan Visit Georgia

Grandma Pam, Aunt Sherry, Daymian and Jordan drove down on June 24th and stayed through July 3rd. We had fun with them while they were here! Ava really seemed to enjoy hanging out with EVERYONE, and continues to ask why they all can't come to our house more often. :-) (She must've forgotten the 15 hour drive to Michigan last Christmas! :-)

While they were in town, we visited the Georgia Aquarium, spent the day at Stone Mountain, saw the Stone Mountain laser light show, and spent a day at Whitewater (a water theme park). Doug even took the boys (minus Liam) camping for two days in Cloudland Canyon (northwest area of Georgia, next to Lookout Mountain).

The day we went to Stone Mountain, it couldn't have been hotter or more humid! Fortunately that seemed to be the only really hot day. The kind of day where you can't help but sweat in the SHADE! Of course the Michiganders might disagree with my statement about that being the only really hot day ;-) While everyone was out on top of Stone Mountain, I hung out in the building at the top with Liam and Mom. Poor little guy was so thirsty... I gave him some water from our water bottle.

While at Stone Mountain, we all took the tram to the top. The boys hiked down with Doug. Sherry, Mom, Ava, Liam and I took a trainride around the park to cool off. We then hung-out on the lawn, had a picnic and waited for the laser light show to start. Doug and I haven't seen the show in at least five years, so we were pleasantly surprised to see the new things they added to the show. Quite a few really cool fireworks, set to the music of the show! Ava rocked out to the first few songs with Aunt Sherry and then fell asleep on Daddy's lap. Quite a big day for everyone!

We played some ladderball in the backyard while Ava and Jordan went wading in our creek. Both Jordan and Daymian were really helpful with Ava and Liam. Jordan would help Ava in the creek. Daymian helped push Liam around in the stroller.

The boys had really nice weather for their camping trip and had fun shopping / preparing for the big adventure. They bought freeze-dried food, camelbacks (backpacks that carry water), etc. While there, they hiked down to see the bottom of the waterfall, probably going up and down 1,200 steps that day! Needless to say, they slept well that night. I will be sure to add those pictures some other time.

While the boys were camping with Doug, Grandma Pam got extra snuggle time with Ava and Liam back in Marietta. Sherry had to work on Monday night, so she flew back to MI. We put a little pool in the backyard and cooled off in it. Liam is so active, I couldn't take my hands off of him while he was in the pool, for fear he would slip somewhere... We also went to Monkey Joe's (I think this is Ava's favorite). Liam enjoyed watching Ava bounce all over the place. We also went to Play Place. Liam seems to have just as much fun as Ava, running around the place.

Everyone seemed to love Whitewater. Ava went down a waterslide that was intended for children seven and up. She is a little daredevil, but as you can see in the picture of her sliding down (the second time), she decided to cover her eyes the entire way down... There was an overhead shower at one point on the slide... in anticipation, she covered her eyes down the entire way. :-) Daymian, Jordan and Doug hit the big slides (dragon's tail, the tornado). We all hit the wave pool together for some fun. Everyone (including Ava) enjoyed the lazy river. We only live a few miles from this park... we somehow forgot it was so close and how much fun it was!

It was hard to say goodbye to everyone, but we really enjoyed spending time with family. Thank you Grandma Pam, Aunt Sherry, Daymian and Jordan for taking the time to visit us! We love you all!

Peace, love and mini-family reunions :-),
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

P.S. - I apologize if the pictures aren't formatted nicely... There were so many I wanted to include!

Grandma Pam and Liam at Whitewater


















Grandma Pam, Liam and Ava at Whitewater


















The Dragon's Tail (slide at Whitewater)


























Daddy gives Ava a kiss after he and the boys return from camping



















Monkey Joe's - as you can tell from Ava's hair, she is in a state of perpetual motion at this place!


























Monkey Joe's



























Liam's curls.


























One very thirsty kid. At the top of Stone Mountain


























Taking the tram to the top of Stone Mountain



















Catching some "rays" at the Georgia Aquarium



















We woke Liam up at night to see them when they first arrived. :-)



















Liam at Whitewater


























Shelly and Ava in the lazy river



















Ava goes down a "big" waterslide


























Ava, on her way down the waterslide



















Doug and Liam at Whitewater



















The wavepool at Whitewater:
Shelly, Jordan, Ava, Doug, Liam, Daymian



















The boys return from camping. I'm not sure who was more excited about getting to go camping... Doug or the boys? :-)

Ava having fun in the backyard pool.

Liam sliding down the slide in the backyard pool

Liam fishin'

Liam and Mama

Notice I can't let go of Liam... This was a full-time job, making sure he wouldn't slip under / fall out, etc. :-)

Monkey Joe's

Ava doing her thing at MJ's

Liam at MJ's

Liam at MJ's

Liam liked watching Ava

Ava at Playplace, climbing up a slide...

Liam, wishing he could do the same. :-)

At Stone Mountain, taking a break from the heat. Ava called Gatorade "the rainbow color drinks". At first I didn't know what she was asking for, while we were sitting on the lawn, but then figured out that we had one Gatorade in just about every color... :-)

Liam finally slept.

Ava riding the train at Stone Mountain


























Shelly and Liam riding the train

Sisters

Aunt Sherry letting her buddy on her shoulders :-)

Our family, at Stone Mountain

Shelly and Liam

Sherry and Daymian (at the Georgia Aquarium)

At the aquarium

Jordan, Sherry and Daymian

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree...

Ava, from the backseat:

"Hey guys, do you want to go to Taco Bell or something?"

We had to laugh. She sounds so grown-up these days?

Peace, love and extra value meals,
Shelly, Doug, Ava (the soft-taco eater) and Liam (lover of bean-burritos)

Liam Is One Year Old

And we danced.

This past year has been jam-packed full of activity, with both kids. Packed in a great way. Today Liam turned one year old. I don’t know where the time went! It seems just yesterday we were heading to the hospital, Doug VERY ill, me in labor, our lives about to change once again, our family about to grow by one.

Fast forward to today. Liam woke up as he normally does, in his own cheerful way, with his sweet, sweet smile. When I mentioned to Ava that it was Liam’s birthday, she gave him a big birthday hug and kiss. Tonight we had a homemade baby-friendly carrot cake (with a homemade three-tiered miniature smash cake for Liam). Liam enjoyed every bite. He loved the balloon of Elmo’s face and the birthday cards. He liked the little cars we gave to him.

I honestly can say that I don’t think I’ve ever met a baby as genuinely happy as Liam. We sent him and big sister Ava off to school for the day, something they haven’t done in a few weeks.

Stats at 12 months:
Length: 31 inches (80th percentile)
Weight: 25 lbs 6 oz (80th percentile)
Head circumference: 19.02 inches (92nd percentile)

As you can see, Liam is a big guy! And he leans so far away from us when we carry him, that it makes him seem even bigger than he is... :-) He is really getting around well these days, and seems to have a new bump or bruise every day, as proof of his independence. :-) (Even though I could be holding him in my lap and he would find a way to bring on a new scrape of some sort).

With his “roll-with-the-punches” demeanor, he handles everything in stride. I’ve told Doug in the past that I think Liam will be content with whatever comes his way in life, and will handle even monumental tasks as if they are no big deal. I am so thankful for this, and consider it a gift.

To be truthful, I don’t often cry. (At least I don’t think I do. :-)) Last night, while holding a sleeping Ava on my chest, I quietly cried. The kids have an instrumental lullaby cd that we play each night at bedtime. One of the songs on the CD is Pachabel’s Canon D.

In 1997, Doug recorded himself in a friend's studio, playing Canon D on guitar. I walked down the aisle to his recording of the song on our wedding day. Doug played it to Ava when she was still in my belly, before she was born. Last night, I saw Ava content and resting on me. I heard the song playing upstairs in Ava and Liam's room. I thought of our soundly-sleeping and healthy, happy, about-to-turn one year-old sleeping in his crib. The world was right. And so I realize how insurmountably we are blessed in our lives. I cried.

Tonight, when tucking Ava in, Liam woke up. I picked him up from his crib. Of course the same song played on the cd player at that moment. And so we danced, Liam and I, in the middle of their bedroom. My mind fast-forwarded to his wedding day, where he might dance once again with his aging, proud and beaming Mom.

And until then, I pray that we dance every day.

Peace, love and ONE big birthday candle,
Mama, Daddy, Ava and Liam

July 4, 2009

We went to the Marietta Square for their annual fire works on July 4th. We took the stroller, our camping chairs and prepared to camp out. It was fun to people watch! Ava and Liam both seemed to giggle and point whenever a dog would walk by us.

This was Liam's first out-of-utero experience watching the fireworks. I held him while he would point up at the fireworks in the sky. Ava and I enjoyed a frozen strawberry lemonade to make ourselves cooler. A band played live music until the fireworks began. It was a nice night.

I bought some neon necklaces on super-clearance at Michael's craft store a few weeks prior, so I brought them for Ava to use when it got dark.

Writing this post, I recall how seriously sick Doug was last year when we went to the fireworks. He really didn't want to go. We had been cooped up in the house for so long with him sick (and my uber-pregnant self trying to avoid the humid summer heat of Georgia). I really wanted to go. He decided he could probably hang with it, so we went. It turned out to be fun. This year, I am happy to report that we were all healthy and happy while watching the fireworks!

Peace, love and healthy firework-watching,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Her Own Person

Ava cracks me up with some of the things she says or does lately.

I think I've seen it all, now. Ava, just like every other three year-old, LOVES ketchup. I've heard of people putting ketchup on eggs, on potato chips, but never APPLES. Yesterday she had an apple after dinner. I looked over and saw bite-marks all over her apple, with a nice coating of ketchup on it. No, it didn't fall into the pile o' ketchup on her plate, she kept dipping the apple in the ketchup for each and every bite. Eww. :-)

On the way into church on Sunday morning, after passing by a man outside church going the opposite direction, Ava says "That man has no hair." Doug replied saying "Sure he does, he has lots of hair on the back and the sides." She then added, "Yeah, just not on the top." Luckily we were out of earshot...

One of the teacher's at Ava's day care has recently taken to wearing a wig. (Wow, I would think that would be torture in this GA heat...) She is from Nigeria, I think. When Doug was dropping the kids off at school today, Ava said (while fortunately in the confines of our mini van) "look at Miss ____'s hair, it's crazy." Doug mentioned that we shouldn't ever mention anything like that to her, though.

By these comments, you probably think we sit around talking about people's physical appearance all day. Not the case! I think this stems from us bringing attention to Ava or Liam's hair after they wake up from a nap... we'll often say that Liam has "crazy hair". It's all in good fun, but obviously we need to pull the reigns back a little bit!

Yesterday at (Publix) grocery store, an older grocery store employee (a man) helped us to our van with our grocery bags. (A service Publix provides free of charge). I was carrying Liam, so the man pushed the cart in which Ava was sitting. After Ava, Liam and I were in the van, Ava said "why does that man have wrinkles on his face?" Plain as day. Her brain amazes me... I had to explain that that is what happen to everybody as we get older... wrinkles appear on our face. She responded with "But Mommy and Ava don't have wrinkles on our face." I had to respond with "Well, not yet." But secretly I was thinking THAT'S my girl! :-)

Peace, love and hair peace,
Doug, Shelly, Ava and Liam

Since Daddy's Been Home...

Now that Doug is home more during the day, I thought I would share a few pictures of the fun he and the kids have together.

We're all thankful for this time he has to connect with the kids so much.

Peace, love and "Daddy-airplane rides",

Doug, Shelly, Ava and Liam

Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head

About a week ago, I read the book "I Love You More Than Rainbows" to Ava at bedtime. I think it's my favorite book I've read to her, yet. One page mentions catching the snow on your tongue, and letting the rain fall on your face. When we read those pages, Ava said "I want to do that!" I told her that the next time it rained, we would see if she could catch some rain.

























Saturday we went out for ice cream. Just as we pulled into our sub-division, it started to downpour. It was raining so hard, we couldn't help but just watch it from our garage for a few minutes. I asked Ava if she wanted to try to catch some rain. She giddily agreed. So, with her shoes off anyway (this is the way she rolls... During any ride around town, the shoes come off of her and Liam both. Ugh!), she gingerly inched her way out into the rain. Before we knew it, she was jumping through puddles and splashing around. It was so fun to watch how genuinely happy she was at that moment, splashing around.

Doug, Liam and I stayed in the garage and watched her having such fun.

When we got back into the house 15 minutes later, she said "Thank you Mommy for letting me play in the rain." :-) Good times.

Catching rain...

Mid-jump. She looks suspended!

Splashing away...

Doug and Liam in the garage...

A happy girl...

Peace, love and puddle-jumpers,

Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam