Wild Wild West

We went. We visited. We returned. I have been praising and thanking the Lord for not only blessing us with a safe trip to Utah, but allowing us to have a wonderful time with my grandmother and family. 

As many of you know, my grandfather passed away the morning we were supposed to fly out to Utah last month. It has been hard on everyone, but I would venture to guess that his passing has been most difficult on my grandmother. After almost 67 years of marriage, his absence in her life must seem enormous. Hopefully, Ava, my mom and I were able to lift her spirits while we visited with her this past week. Below, you'll find a picture taken shortly after we arrived at my grandma's house. Ava is very aware of new people, and it generally takes her a while to warm up to strangers. Ava spent a few minutes studying my grandma, but quickly turned on the charm!

Ava and my grandmother spent plenty of time playing together. After being cooped up in the Baby B'Jorn in the airport and confined to my lap on the plane, Ava was ready to spread out on the floor. Ava loved laying on her Boppy Pillow and gazing up at my grandma. Plenty of laughs were shared between the two of them.

I have been very excited about capturing the following picture for quite some time now. This is a 4 generation shot of the Shaw/Smith/Gardner Gang. From left to right: Margo Ann Smith (my mom), Margaret Louise Shaw (my grandma), Melissa Ann Gardner (me... I would hope you know that) and Ava Louise Gardner. Notice that Ava and my grandmother have the same middle name? Yup. That's how important my grandparents are to me. Matt and I decided early on that if we had a girl, she would take my grandmother's middle name. If Ava had been a boy, her name would have been Jack. My late grandfather's name.

This is a great photo. Ava with her Oma and Great-Oma. Boy, Ava loved all of the attention she got on this trip! What am I talking about? She gets a ton of attention no matter where we are. Utah or not.

My cousin Jenny took some time out of her busy schedule to spend the afternoon with us. It was great to catch up with her and hear all about her adventures in substitute teaching. I was thrilled that Ava got to meet her as well!

Take a look at this adorable hat! One of my other cousins, Hillary, made this for Ava. I LOVE it. It may be difficult to see in this picture, but the hat has braids coming off of the ear flaps. Too cute. I am a sucker for homemade gifts and this one is in my top 5 favorites!

I have lived in Utah twice. I was born there and lived in Kaysville, Utah until I was 5. My family and I moved around the country a few times and then returned to Kaysville when I was in middle school. It tugs on my heartstrings every time I return to The Beehive State. Let me share with you some of the things I miss most about my former stomping grounds.

#1-My family. It is hard being on the other side of the country from family. Most of my husband's family lives right here in Greensboro. I love the tight-knit relationships everyone in his family has with each other. I consider myself blessed that I have married into a family that not only has great relationships with one another, but that live relatively close to each other. It is a difficult thing to know that I can't just hop in a car and drive over to visit my family. Below is a picture of some of my mom's family. Left to right: Aunt Gwen, Cousin Jenny, Mom, Uncle Scott, Aunt Lynn, Uncle Mike (holding Ava) and my grandma in the foreground. This picture is missing one uncle and 7 cousins.

#2- Mountains. I know I live just a few hours away from what many people call "The Appalachian Mountains." I prefer to call them "The Appalachian Hills." You may understand why after seeing this next picture. If you've seen The Rocky Mountains in person, you'll know that this picture doesn't even come close to doing them justice. This particular shot captures the Wasatch Mountains. I used to live just at the bottom of these bad boys. I miss them. I could stare at their beauty all day long. These mountains give everything from the world's best skiing to the world's most amazing sunsets. I find myself getting chills when looking at the mountains... God's power and majesty are overwhelming!

#3- Fry Sauce. No, it's not ketchup, it's Fry Sauce. This glorious concoction is served at any eating establishment where french fries can be found. My middle school used to have bottles of Fry Sauce at the tables instead of ketchup. What is Fry Sauce, you may ask? Imagine being able to dip your french fry into a slice of heaven... That's Fry Sauce, my friend. I made sure to get Fry Sauce every chance I had while out in Utah. Arctic Circle (where this particular batch is from), has the best!

Let me show you what my husband thinks of Fry Sauce.

Ha ha ha! That picture was taken in December of 2008. What can I say? The boy's not from Utah. He doesn't appreciate Fry Sauce Goodness. Matter of fact, I sent him the Arctic Circle picture on my phone while I was gone. His response was, "Since when did Arctic Circle start serving little cups of vomit?" 

#4- Raspberry Filled Donuts. Do you have a food that takes you back to your childhood when you eat it? This is it for me. These donuts take me back to picnics in the park with my mom. Honestly, they're not the world's best donuts... It's more of a sentimental thing for me. For whatever reason, Hostess only ships these donuts to grocery stores in Utah. I have never found them in any of the other states I've lived in. My trips to Utah are never complete until I get my box of Raspberry Filled Hostess Donuts.

Our time in Utah was great. The trip went by very quickly. As much as I hated to leave my grandma, Ava and I were ready to get back home. Ava was such a trooper on this trip. She had to deal with Daylight Savings Time, a 2 hour time change and a full day of traveling all within a 24 hour period. She slept like a champ on the airplane (Thank you, Lord) and melted everyone's hearts in Utah. I wanted to give the girl every possible chance to stretch her legs on our way home. Here she is lounging in the Chicago airport. We were just 2 hours from being reunited with the best dad in the world!

Ava's First Birthday Party

No, no, no. Time doesn't fly by that fast! :) It wasn't Ava's party, it was Tucker's! Ava had a blast celebrating Tucker's 3rd birthday with him, his family and friends! Ava was definitely the youngest guest in attendance. She was outnumbered as well... Of all of the guests at the party, I think there were only 3 girls, including Ava!

Here is Ava with the Birthday Boy! Can you tell that Tucker had a Mickey Mouse themed party? Look at those ears!

Tucker made out like a bandit. He received more toys than he'll know what to do with, I'm sure. This party is definitely making me think about Ava's future birthday parties. Her birthday is only 22 days before Christmas. Birthday presents AND Christmas presents that close together? I think not! I'm going to have to get creative and figure something else out!

Check out Tucker's cake! His mom, Lauren, is known for her awesome cake decorating abilities. I think she has done every cake for every baby shower, birthday party, etc. You can certainly tell why she's called upon to cater the cake needs for such events! I'm in charge of the cake for Lauren's upcoming baby shower... Great! No pressure on me! :)

I love this next photo. Matt and his little lady. Stylin'.

After several hours of hard birthday partying, Ava crashed. She was really just checking out Finley's future crib (Finley is the baby in 'cake decorater Lauren's' stomach).

Ava has rolled over several times! Has she done it for dad? Nope. Has she done it for any other person who can vouch for me? Nope. Has she done it for the camera? Nope. Hopefully she'll figure out that all cool babies roll over, and she'll show off her skills to other people.

Ava, my mom and I head out to Utah tomorrow! Keep us in your prayers for safe travel. Can't wait to share our pictures with you!

3 Months of Pure Love

So, I'm a few days late in getting Ava's 3 month pictures on the blog... You have my guarantee though, that the latest teddy bear shots were taken on her actual 3 month birthday, March 3rd. 3 months. Wow! It sounds even harder to believe when you say, 'a quarter of the year!' Matt came up with that one the other day. I know it's still just 3 months, but when you actually have the word 'year' in there... it makes it sound much longer! :)

So here's our girl, with her teddy bear, at 3 months. What a cutie!

Here she is with her teddy bear at 2 months... She's definitely a little bigger now!

And here is the biggest change... Ava with her teddy at 1 month. Holy smokes! She definitely went through a growth spurt from month 1 to 2. I already can't believe she was ever that tiny!

These next 2 photos are from the '3 month photo shoot.' I thought they were hilarious, so of course I had to share them!... 

On this first one, can't you just hear Ava saying, "Is all of that MY stomach?" What can I say, she's a healthy girl!

This one was just so funny to me. She looks like she's in a milk coma.

Let me introduce you to one of Ava's newest friends. It's green, it's a frog (already has my approval) AND it's a humidifier. Yes, you can see the humidifying vapors coming out of his eye balls in the following picture!

About a week ago, Ava wasn't eating well, didn't look like she was feeling well, and she just wasn't herself. We took her temperature (at 10:30 at night) and found she had a fever of 100.7. This was the first time she had a fever, so of course, we were a little paranoid. Long story short, she ended up having a nasty little cold. The doctor recommended that we put a humidifier in her room. "Where are we going to get a humidifier at 11pm?" Marc and Lauren Holbrook's house! That's where. Thanks guys, for letting us borrow Tucker's, and for letting us get it at such a late hour. Now that we have our own humidifier, we won't be calling you at 11pm anymore... That is unless, we need something else in a jiffy! ;)

Matt and I have slowly come to the realization that Ava is a Balding Beauty. When she was born, she had a head full of hair! This was a pleasant surprise to us since Matt and I had as much hair as Charlie Brown when we were born. Take a look at the back of Ava's head on the day she was born...

Now take a look at the back of Ava's head, present day. Yeah, a bit of a difference. She still has a good bit of hair on the top of her head... But it seems that the car seat, crib, bouncy seat, bathtub and swing have secretly been collecting hair samples from the back of her head over the past 3 months. 

We hope you all are doing well out in Blogger Land! Please keep Ava, my mom and I in your prayers. We have rescheduled our trip out to Utah for March 15th. Please pray for safe travel and that Ava's cold is over and done with by the time we leave! I hope to have lots of great pictures from our trip posted shortly after we get back!

95 and 5

Tonight, family gathered at The Harbor Inn, in Burlington to celebrate Nannie's 95th birthday! Nannie is Matt's great-grandmother (Ava's great-GREAT-grandmother). It's unbelievable that 1) Nannie is 95, and 2) She is doing unbelievably well for her age. Happy Birthday Nannie!

This next picture is one of my favorites! This photo captures 5 generations of family. Right in the center is Ava, then her Dad (Matt), her Mimi (Kim), her Mema (Judy) and her Nannie (Lucille).

This is a picture of Nannie with her grandchildren (left to right): Robyn, Kim, Penny, Chris, Lisa, Laura, Britt and Brian.

Next is a picture of Nannie with her great-grandchildren (left to right): Josh, Ashley, Anna, Matt, Owen & Adam (we missed you Erin)!

Finally, here is Nannie with her great-great-grandchildren (we missed you Jack and Finn)! Ava is the youngest addition to the great-greats.

It was a packed house. I believe there were about 35 people in attendance to celebrate Nannie's birthday. All of these people and families... All because of one wonderful woman!

Ava was cooing and babbling up a storm with Tim and Lisa. Of course the picture I took doesn't show the talkative side of Ava. What a great picture of Tim and Lisa though!

I am so thankful that Anna not only loves Ava, she loves holding Ava too! Thank you Anna for taking such great care of Ava tonight... and for giving me a chance to eat! :)

On to some new toys Ava has been fascinated with recently...

We bought her a mobile for her crib this past week. It's pretty fancy... The animals spin in circles, the leaves open and close and there are 4 different music/sound options. Ava loves looking at it and listening to it's music before falling asleep for her naps.

Ava also loves this musical toy. Ideally, this toy is used to help little ones sit up. Ava is definitely not ready to sit on her own yet, but she enjoys kicking the instruments with her feet. She also likes being held in front of the toy, or sitting in her Bumbo in front of it. Maybe along with those long fingers, she also inherited my musical abilities. Who knows, we may have a piano prodigy in our midst!

Earlier this week, Matt asked me if I thought Ava would be ready for her Exersaucer. My immediate thought was, "No." I quickly remembered though how well she did in her Bumbo seat well before I thought she was ready for it. So, in the Exersaucer she went! You can tell by her first reaction that she wasn't quite sure what to think about all of the toys...

Once she realized that the toys weren't going to jump out and hurt her, she really became quite interested in everything. By far, her favorite parts of the Exersaucer are the sun....

The animal sound/musical toy. Don't you think it looks a bit like the old school 'Simon Says' game?...

And the spinning thing. Real technical name, I know. Give me a break here. It is 11:30, I am tired, and I think I'm getting my daughter's cold. 'Spinning thing' is the best I can come up with at this point. :)

Say Cheese!

While down in Bluffton this past weekend, Matt's sister surprised us by setting up a photo shoot for our family. One of Erin's friends met us at this BEAUTIFUL church on the May River near Downtown Bluffton. I honestly can't say how much this photo shoot means to me. I love pictures. I love family pictures. I love that I will forever be able to look back on this day, and this time in our lives through these pictures.

We had a beautiful setting, beautiful weather and a beautiful baby for the pictures. Take a look!

Photo Shoot

Erin, we thank you from the bottom of our heats for setting this up for us!

A Lot of Ground to Cover...

...I mean that both figuratively and literally. It has been a while since our last post, so I have plenty of pictures and stories to tell. We also just returned from our biggest road trip with Ava. A 300+ mile drive to visit Matt's sister, Erin, and her family in Bluffton, SC! So, let's get started...

A few weeks ago, Ava got to spend some time with her Oma and Opa. With only a 2 hour drive separating my parents from their grand-daughter, they don't stay away long! :) I am very thankful that Ava has both sets of her grandparents relatively close to her. I spent a pretty decent amount of my childhood on the opposite side of the country from my grandparents. It was hard on me, and even harder for my grandparents, I'm sure.

While my parents get to see Ava pretty frequently, I'm sure it isn't as often as they'd like. Every time Oma and Opa visit, they can't get over how much Ava has grown and how much more she is able to do.

I finally got a picture of Ava in her Baby B'Jorn. She no longer looks like a limp sack of potatoes like I had mentioned in a previous post. She does a great job holding her head up while facing the front. For the past few weeks she has been facing forward and let me tell you, it's a whole new world for her. Her eyes dart back and forth looking at everything the grocery store has to offer. The Baby B'Jorn is the reason that I am able to go grocery shopping. It's a wonderful thing.

Matt and I can't seem to get enough of Ava, period. This is especially true when she is smiling and laughing. I guess you could say it makes us feel good to see our little girl happy. It also doesn't hurt that it makes us feel like we're at least doing something right as parents. Hopefully.

Could this next picture be any cuter? I think not. Chubby cheeks. Pudgy fingers. Toothless grin. Button nose. Squinty eyes. She sure does make us happy!

You know that pudgy finger I just mentioned? Yup, Matt is getting wrapped around it tighter and tighter everyday. I am so thankful that the Lord gave me such an amazing and Godly man as a husband and father to Ava. He's the best!

This past weekend, we took Ava to see her Aunt Erin, Uncle John and cousins, Jack and Finn. A normal drive (without a baby) from Greensboro to Bluffton takes anywhere from 4.5 - 5 hours. The drive with a baby takes a bit longer. We had to make 2 stops on the way down so Ava could eat and be changed (yet another blowout). 

Fortunately for us, the minute you put Ava in her car seat, she falls asleep. This made for a very peaceful drive down to Bluffton and a not so peaceful evening once we arrived. I think that being asleep for roughly 5 hours really messed up her routine. Go figure. If I got to sleep for 5 hours on the drive down to SC, I'd be a happy camper. Baby sleeping in the car for 5 hours on the way to SC = baby crying for the rest of the evening. Our apologies Ussery family! Hopefully our next visit won't be so tearful!

In between crying spells, Ava did manage to put on a happy face. Here she is with Aunt Erin. Ava and Erin certainly have one thing in common... they are both surrounded by BOYS! Erin's household consists of her husband, 2 sons and her MALE dog, Scout. Ava has almost all boy cousins and most of our friends with children have... boys! Erin and Ava appreciate the bond they share with each other... estrogen!

Ava also enjoyed spending time with her cousins, Jack and Finn. Here she is lounging around with Finny-Finnster. Somehow Matt and I did not get a picture of Ava with Jack. That will be a must on our next trip. 

Not only did Ava enjoy spending time with Jack and Finn, Matt and I did too. Those little nephews of ours are stinkin' adorable! They both have the biggest hearts and they say the funniest things! Being around them this past weekend really makes me look forward to when Ava can talk. Below is a quick list of some of the funny statements made by our nephews this past weekend. With or without the context of the situation, their words are hilarious!

Jack & Finn-isms

- "Fergie, stop licking me! You're going to lick the citrus off of me!"

- "What in the tarnation?"

- "Uncle Matt, you and I had such fun times in the bathroom!"

- "I don't want to talk to Ava. She's just shy."

- "Why can't you hush that baby up in there?"

Last, and well.... least, is a picture of Fergie and Scout. They're kindred spirits. Compatible companions. Best buds. Why? They both know how it feels to be neglected after children enter the picture. Oh Scouty! Fergie misses you and can't wait to see you again soon!

In Loving Memory

This blog post is dedicated to my wonderful grandfather, Jack Shaw. At age 93, he passed away early this morning. Opa (the name my brother and I called him), was one of the people I loved most in this world. 

I have always had a very special relationship with my grandparents. After I was born, my grandparents kept me during the day when my mom went back to work, until I was 2 years old. So many of my first memories take place at my grandparent's house, while under my grandparent's care. My Oma and Opa were great at being grandparents. What does that mean? They spoiled me ROTTEN! Anything I wanted, I got. Anywhere I wanted to go, we went. Did my parents appreciate how much Oma and Opa spoiled me? Absolutely not. (Although, with the arrival of Ava, I think my parents understand how easy it is to spoil a grandchild.) Here is a picture of my Oma and Opa with me as an infant.

The following picture is probably one of my all-time favorites. I vividly remember wanting nothing more than to sit on my Opa's lap. No matter what time of day, what kind of mood he was in, or what he was doing, my grandfather was more than willing to offer his knee for me to sit on.

I could write a novel filled with all of the wonderful memories I have of my grandfather. Whether or not a novel gets written, the least I could do was publish this post, sharing a few pictures and a few memories to give you a glimpse of my loving grandfather. 

The last time that I was able to spend time with my Opa was Christmas, 2008. The following picture was taken at my grandparent's house during our trip. 

My mom, Ava and I were supposed to fly out to Utah this morning so that Oma and Opa could meet their first great-grandchild. Without getting into all of the details, we were advised by my grandmother not to fly out because my grandpa wasn't feeling well. It was a tough decision, but my mom and I opted to cancel our trip and reschedule for sometime next month. Sadly, when we do make our trip to Utah in the coming weeks, Ava will miss the opportunity to get to know her wonderful, loving Opa. My mom and I are thrilled however, that Ava will surely lift the spirits of my grandmother!

Here is yet another picture of our family taken during our December 2008 trip to Utah. Left to Right, Top/Bottom: My Dad, Oma, Opa, My Mom, My Brother (Ryan), Me and My Hubby!

Jack Maurice Shaw

June 1, 1916 - February 11, 2010

Love you, Opa!

(Your "Little Girl")

Who Does She Look Like?

So, when babies are born, one of the first questions people ask is, "Who do they look like?" Initially, most everyone thought Ava looked like me. The first picture below is a picture of me while I was still in the hospital. The second picture below is Ava right after she was born. We both have full lips, puffy/closed eyes and similar skin coloring. I had some meat on my face, but clearly she did not get those cheeks from me. Actually, she didn't get them from Matt either. We're not quite sure where those bad boys came from.

The next two pictures are my hunky husband, when he was a baby. I'm usually not the best at determining which parent babies look like. I think it's pretty safe to say in this case, that Ava looks like her Daddy! Take a look at the third picture (Ava). She has Matt's eyes, lips,.... ears! 

The other night, Matt and I were looking at old home movies from his childhood. While Ava definitely favors Matt, she really looks like her aunt Erin (Matt's sister). I found the following picture on Matt's computer and couldn't help but post it. So stinkin' cute! I'll be thrilled if Ava turns out to look like autie Erin. Erin was beautiful as a baby and is even more beautiful now! 

I can't believe it, but Ava turned 2 months old this past Wednesday. She's growing up so fast! Her 2 month check-up isn't until Monday, so I'm not exactly sure of her current measurements yet. I do know that she is only 2 months old and already fits in her 3-6 month old clothes. Poor kid... I can already tell she will have some of the fashion dilemmas I had as a child. Her legs are so long, she'll never find a pair of jeans that fit just right. Her feet are so big, I will have to buy women's high heels for her to play "dress-up" in. True story. My mom had to do that for me when I was little. My feet were always too big to fit into the pretty pink plastic shoes that came with dress-up costumes. Haunts me to this day.

Anyway, below are 2 pictures taken next to the same teddy bear from one month ago. How time flies!

On a side note, I have heard from a few people that the video link from the last post doesn't work unless you have Facebook. I will try to get the video posted to the blog in the near future for you non-Facebookers out there. Happy Friday everyone!