Trip to Philly

We had a great trip to Philadelphia!! The weather was perfect - sunny, 75 degrees during the day, and 55 degrees at night (without any humidity). Upon arrival on Friday night, it was only fitting that we experience the true Philly Cheesesteak. I must say...it is all that it is cracked up to be. My preference was the shredded meat with Cheese Whiz on top. Yummy!! I devoured the whole thing!!

We were able to go to a Temple University football game on Saturday. They play at Lincoln Financial Field (where the Eagles play), so it was definitely a treat. What a HUGE stadium!! The Owls won which was really exciting since that put them at 3-0 on the season!! It was a great day filled with fun (which is always the case when sports are involved for

us).

On Sunday, we drove to New Jersey to visit some friends (Tim, Megan, and their boys - Justin, Gavin, and Ryan). Ava Grace had a ball playing with the boys and we enjoyed watching football while eating some yummy homemade vegetable soup and sandwiches for lunch.

The Philadelphia Zoo was also an adventure for us. This is America's First Zoo and a very large one at that. They had animals there I had never heard of before. We spent almost 3 hours there before it was time for an afternoon nap. Our mode of transportation to the zoo was the subway and the trolley. Needless to say, Ava Grace was all eyes when it came to the movement and looking at all of the people boarding each stop.

While in Philadelphia, we also walked to Penn's Landing to

see the Delaware River and the boats. Since the weather is

getting cooler, there wasn't much action, but it was beautiful to look at. We walked most everywhere in the city - the park, to lunch, to supper, to Temple University, to City Hall, etc. It was quite the adventure!!!

Big Girl Bed

Ava Grace has entered the world of toddler-hood. She is officially sleeping in her very own Big Girl Bed!! Actually, she has been sleeping in this bed for about 3 weeks now, but I am just now posting about it. The bed is very sentimental as it was the same bed that my grandparents slept in, my dad slept in, my brother slept in, I slept in, my nephew slept in, and now Ava Grace gets her turn to sleep in it. As you may be able to tell, the big girl bed is a 3/4 bed. If you have never heard of that, a 3/4 bed means that it is 3/4 the length of a twin bed. It is the perfect size for a little girl who moves around a lot when she sleeps. Ava Grace simply loves her new bed (as you can tell by the picture).

No More Poppy

YAY!! Ava Grace gave up her poppy this weekend!! We talked to the Poppy Fairy about coming on Friday night because she was going to leave her a small present and we wanted Ava Grace to have time to play with it (instead of rushing out the door to school and Nanny's). The Poppy Fairy showed up as planned! Going to bed on Friday night took a little big longer, but it really wasn't that bad. Ava Grace was worn out (thank goodness), so after 5 minutes of intense crying - wanting her poppy - she laid down, listened to three stories, and dozed off to dream land. She woke up "ready to go" on Saturday morning as she didn't have a poppy to make her feel sleepy. I think Ava Grace asked for her poppy 3 or 4 times during the day on Saturday, but when given an answer - "you gave them to the Poppy Fairy so that other babies might use them because you aren't a baby anymore" - she was satisfied. Since then we have had wonderful, easy transitions into bed and sleeping all night long. I didn't think it would be horrible for her to give up her poppy (since she only used it at night anyway), but I didn't think it would be "no big deal" to her. I'm so proud of her!!! Way to go, Ava Grace!!

The "taggie"

Ava Grace has a "taggie" and she absolutely loves it. When she is falling asleep at night, she rubs the little tags on her eyelids. She has sweet dreams for the rest of the night (most of the time). I have to be very careful when I wash and dry the "taggie". In other words, it has to be washed on the weekends in between getting up in the morning and taking a nap or between taking a nap and bedtime. One particular day, the dryer buzzed and I heard "My taggie ready!" As I opened the dryer to pull it out with the other items, my cell phone rang. I went into the kitchen to answer it and came back to find.....

yes, my child went into the dryer for her "taggie". It was too cute not to take her picture!

Shaw Beach Week

Well, Shaw Beach Week has occurred for the 50th year in a row. I'm not totally sure the exact number of years that the Shaw family has gotten together for fun and sun at the beach, but I know that it HAS to be close to 50 years if not a little more. Not only has it been that long, but there are over 100 family members that gather for a week together. I am not exaggerating this - it is truly amazing!! We were able to go to the beach to hang out with our Shaw family this year. It was a blast as always!! It was a grand time with our family!! Ava Grace and I were fortunate to stay the entire week with Cece, Uncle Doug, Aunt Stacey, and Luke. Unfortunately, Tim was only able to join us for part of the week.

Most days were spent at the beach during the morning

hours and the pool after lunch and Ava Grace's nap. She LOVES to water!!! She was able to walk to the ocean's edge by herself (I wasn't that far away) and get water in her bucket and bring it back to add to whatever she was making in the sand. She definitely liked the independence!! Uncle Doug, Daddy, and I carried her into the ocean a few times and she played with Cece a few times at the edge of the ocean. Ava Grace loves jumping the waves, but will definitely tell you when she has had enough. At the pool, she is everywhere! With her new found freedom (called swimmies), she swims all over the pool "by myself" and jumps off the side into both the shallow and deep ends. She is a little dare devil!!

Uncle Doug took Ava Grace fishing one morning too. Although it was difficult to hold her attention for long due to the patience of a 2 year old, she was sort of fascinated with what she was trying to do. She listened carefully to Uncle Doug, so hopefully one day she will be able to really go fishing with him (and catch something this time).

The Shaw's always have a golf tournament. Yes, the family is so incredibly big, that we can field our own tournament with relatives!! This is always a fun time for all since most of the family really stinks at playing golf. It is all about the camaraderie though! Uncle Doug claimed he had the worst team in the field and after hearing about their game, I'm not so sure that he wasn't right. Daddy's team, on the other hand, wasn't so bad. Needless to say, neither one of their teams won, but it was a good time.

Really the majority of our time was spent outside at the beach or the pool. It really is a special week!! Our family grows yearly as there is usually a new baby and/or a need in-law. I am very lucky to be a part of such a wonderful family (both sides of my family)!! There is something amazing about being the 24th grandchild and being close to all of your cousins. I believe Granny and Papa knew how incredible their children were and how wonderful their big family was going to be, but I think they would be amazed at how we have grown and how much being a Shaw still means to every one of us. I am definitely proud to be a Shaw and I hope that Ava Grace will understand fully what it means to be a Shaw.

Happy 2nd Birthday Ava Grace!!

Well, out little girl has turned 2! It really is amazing!! These have been 2 of the best years of our lives!! She has learned so much in the last year and talks nonstop (where does she get that from?). I could list everything she has learned, but you would be reading for hours, so I will limit this to her birthday celebrations (and you can read about her accomplishments in other posts). At the end of June, we had her birthday party with friends and family. Unfortunately, most of our family could not come due to being out of town or on vacations (but we made up for that). Aunt Deb, Uncle Evan, Brittany, Drew, and Rebecca were able to come up from Spartanburg though. Most of Ava Grace's friends from Nanny's came as well as Nanny, PawPaw, Mrs. Marcie (Nanny's daughter) and her children. Also, Ava Grace's cousins (Davis, Fisher, Callie, and Carson - and their Moms) came up from Greenville along with our friends Kristen, Laney, and Jen from Charlotte. We are sorry that some people were unable to attend, but understand there is a lot going on in the summer time. Her birthday party was held at the East Flat Rock Park where there are lots of swings, a tire swing, basketball courts, and a huge jungle gym. We had pizza and cupcakes along with other snacks in between play sessions for the kiddos. Ava Grace had a ball and I think played with everyone that was there at some point!! She referred to her special day as "my birthday party day" and talked about it for weeks (still does sometimes). She loved when everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to her and definitely enjoyed the cupcakes!! It was a grand day and party (I must say)!! Thanks to everyone who came! You helped make my little girl's birthday special!! Unfortunately, some of Ava Grace's birthday pictures from her party have been erased off of the computer (we have been having issues with the computer for a while). So, these are the only two left on my camera (don't worry I have printed some out).

Ava Grace's birthday was actually stretched out over about a 3 week period. We had her birthday party early due to other planned activities, so we had another "mini-party" on her actual birthday!! For her birthday, we were in G

arden City Beach, so we all went to Myrtle Waves Water park. Cece, Uncle Doug, Aunt Stacey, Luke, Ben (friend of Luke's), Daddy, Mommy, and Ava Grace all went. We had a blast!! Ava Grace went down the big slides (well, big for kids). I wasn't sure that she would go to them (not sure what I was thinking there given her "no fear" attitude), but she surprised us all. She went down the slides numerous times and managed to learn (thanks to Luke and Ben) how to climb up this net to get to the top of the slides. Ava Grace also enjoyed playing in the small pool with Cece. It was a really fun day and we knew she would love spending her birthday at the water park!! That evening Uncle Doug cooked Low Country Boil for everyone. Ava Grace loves shrimp, potatoes, corn, and sausage, so this was the perfect bir

thday supper for her. I think she ate 3 ears of corn, several potatoes, and some sausage. She also ate shrimp as fast as Tim, Lee (cousin), and I cou

ld peel it. Needless to say, she said "I enjoyed it" to Uncle Doug after she ate and she definitely meant it!! We had a birthday cake (really a big cupcake) for her to enjoy. Thanks to Paige (and Price) for baking and fixing the beautiful and yummy cupcake!! A few presents were open and there ended her birthday celebration!!

WOW....it was quite the birthday for her, but she truly loved every minute of it (and so did we). Happy Birthday Miss Priss (Mommy's nickname) and Pumpkin (Daddy's nickname)!! We love you very much!!!

July 4th Fun

We had a fun 4th of July with friends. The fun began as we traveled to Columbia to visit with Mark and Jessica on Saturday late afternoon. We went to the pool in their subdivision (which has an incredible kids' wading area) and then cooked out at their house. It was pretty low-key, but so much fun to hang out and catch up. Ava Grace always enjoys seeing Uncle Mark and Aunt Jess and loves playing with their dogs, Coach and Boss.

On Sunday, we all headed over to Grammy's and Papa's (Mark's Mom and Dad, Larry and Susie to some of you) to eat, swim, and play with the Bonnette family. It is always a good time to hang out with all of them!! They are such an awesome family! Ava Grace swam all day only stopping to each a hot dog for lunch. The Bonnette's have a sliding board and diving board like we used to love when we were little. Ava Grace had no fear of either as she climbed by herself up the sliding board and came down by herself about 40 times during the day. She also jumped off the diving board to her Daddy. She loves to swim, especially when she has her swimmies on and we don't have to stay right with her. The Bonnette's pulled out a Slip-N-Slide in which the adults (Tim and Mickey) decided they would show the girls how it w

orked. Chloe (Mark's niece) was a little hesitant at first, but Ava Grace decided she could "hang" with the big boys. She walked over to it and dove right on it. She scooted down the slide until she reached the pool at the end. She loved it!! Grammy and Papa gave her a Dora Slip-N-Slide for her birthday so that she could continue to fun at

home. She was excited about that of course!!

We returned to Mark's and Jessica's house that afternoon for a cookout with some other friends. It was a fun evening filled with cornhole (excuse the Gamecock logo for you Tiger fans....can't help it that is Mark's and Jessica's team), ladder golf (again Gamecock stuff), yummy food, and fireworks from the neighbors. Ava Grace had a ball playing the games (her way of course) and watching the fireworks. She commented "how pretty" or "bootiful" after each one. Of course the fun had to end, but we are so thankful to have such wonderful friends that we could spend this time with!!