We're Movin' On...

Curt has finally gotten the news of his next assignment and Team Dougherty is headed back to the beautiful USA to the wonderful state of North Carolina! He is going to another operational assignment which he is really happy about and this brings us close to "home", or Pennsylvania so that makes me really happy as well. Oh-and he won't be deploying for a 3rd time...yay! :)

Not sure when we head out yet, but we'll be sure to keep you posted!

What Will We Do Without TLohse?

Tara did just an amazing job with Ava's newborn pictures. I love them ALL. Yes-every single one is perfect. Here are just a couple from her blog, but you will have to make your way over to her site to check out the rest. www.tlohsephotography.blogspot.com

There is something about Curt and this little girl together that just melts my heart...

I'm so happy for Tara and Morgan as they get ready for a big move back to the states, but who will take our pictures? Is that selfish? :) But seriously, I will keep hoping that they are headed back to NC after their next assignment to be with Curt and I, most importantly because she's just such an awesome friend- her photography skills are an added bonus!

So, here ya go! And don't forget to check out the rest of the pictures on her blog! www.tlohsephotography.blogspot.com (again!) :)

Sneaking in a smile!

What In The World Are You Feeding This Baby?!?!

Yesterday Ava had her 2 week wellness check up and the first thing the Pediatrician asked me when she walked into the room was, "What in the world are you feeding this baby?!?!" Here Curt and I were nervous that she wasn't going to gain enough weight because of her love to sleep 4+ hours at a time and refusal to wake up for a meal, but obviously that's not the case. Miss Ava packed on 1.5 pounds in two weeks, putting her at a healthy 9 pounds. To me that sounds pretty good but the Doc said that in most cases they hope by the time two weeks have passed the baby regains their birth weight. Hmmmm.... Well, to that I say, "Whatever!" Squishy babies are the cutest!

Ava also has developed some thrush inside her mouth which I was unaware of until yesterday. For all you Mom's out there, did you have a similar problem? I hate giving her antibiotics at such a young age but what can ya do?!?! I also find it "interesting" that a foot cream was prescribed for me to put on my...ya know, so we don't pass the infection back and forth when I'm nursing. :) Thoughts??? I feel comfort in knowing others went through the same thing, so anything you have would be great! Oh, and even though the medicine is fruit flavored she HATED it. Not a happy camper after her first dose.

Other than that, she is fabulous. She wasn't too happy with the fact that she was stripped down to her birthday suit, poked, squeezed, and given another shot in her little heel---so she slept the remainder of the day. (This lead to a LONG NIGHT with my wide-eyed baby...) I should be sleeping with her right now but my house needs my attention so hopefully tonight it a little better.

Just for fun, here's another picture of Miss Ava. If she could talk I think she would say, "My hat doesn't match my outfit...":

"You Are My Sunshine..."

I'm not sure where this came from, but I am constantly singing " You Are My Sunshine" to Ava and because of that I found myself giving her the nickname "Sunshine" :)
For Gretchen and Deena...and all my other blog readers out there, here is a quick update while Ava takes a nap!


So, I have quickly learned that my life now completely runs on Ava's schedule. She is the boss-no question about it. The days of running out for some quick errands, hopping in the shower, or even quickly checking my e-mail are a thing of the past. Trust me-no complaints here! I feel like if stop to blink I might miss some the amazing things that she does each day. She's already a completely different little girl from the one we brought home from the hospital.

These past two weeks have been amazing. I have to attribute most of those glorious days to Miss Ava AND the fact that my Mom and Dad were here to help Curt and I take care of her. Oh-and for those of you that didn't know, Grandma and Grandpa came here as a surprise to me. Curt was in on this again and did an excellent job keeping the plans under wrap. Either he's really good at surprises or I need to pay attention more to what is going on around me. :)


So while they were here, Grandma was on Night Duty whether we liked it or not. (Trust me, we LOVED it). It pretty much went like this: I would nurse Ava and then Grandma took her to change her and put her back to sleep. It was awesome. Grandpa was great as well. He was always ready to hold her on the couch while the rest of us moved all around trying to get some chores completed. I was so upset to watch them go, the 10 days they were here just went way too fast.

Curt and I had a big dose of reality last night when we realized that Ava wasn't feeling like her normal self (aka: gas and such...) and was up for quite some time testing out her crying/screaming skills. Of course this happened right after my Mom and Dad left. Ava planned that one well. :)

Life is settling down now, as much as it can, and now that Curt is back to work Ava and I are holding down the house. Life is good...

Oh- Gretchen and Deena wanted the scoop on my Labor and Delivery but because I talked to them on the phone yesterday and gave them the "good, bad, and the ugly" I can give everyone else the shortened version! I must say that I was so impressed with the way the hospital took care of Curt and I are from start to finish. We had an EXCELLENT experience and I'm so thankful! Anyway, here is the timeline of Ava's trip into this world:

Monday: October 6th, 2008
5:15am- My water slightly breaks...
6:30am- Breaks a little more...
7:00am-Curt gets THE CALL at work and immediately darts home.
9:00am-Head to Lakenheath Hospital.
10:30am- Admitted into Labor and Delivery with confirmation that my water did in fact break!
11:00am-Pitocin started to get my contraction's moving along faster...dilated at 4cm.
5:00pm: Six hours later I'm STILL only at 4cm...
6:30pm: Start the epidural and I proceed to read magazines for the next few hours while Curt takes a nap. :)
9:00pm: Now at 5cm during what is starting to feel like the LONGEST day ever...

Tuesday, October 7th 2008:
2:25am- Finally at 10 cm!!!
2:53am- Miss Ava arrives kicking and screaming and we love on her immediately! (9.9 on the Apgar, BTW!)

Here are a few pictures that my Mom took while she was here. We have a brand new fancy-pants Canon XSi camera that Curt picked out and even though we're still pretty clueless on how to work all it's great features, we still managed to take a few pictures of the newest love of our life. Enjoy!

Ava and Dad playing:


Wrapped up like a Caterpillar:


Trying to let me know she's hungry:


Ava loves her Daddy time!!!:


4 Days old at First Friday:


I promise her mouth isn't covered:


Yawn!!!!:


Hangin' around...looking like her Dad:


Me and My Sunshine:


Curt, Ava and I out and about:

Meet Ava Elizabeth...

She has her Daddy's eyes, that's for sure...

Curt and I are adjusting well to our new and improved life and we can't seem to get enough of Ava. Even though she is up every 3 hours to nurse we still feel like we miss her while she is sleeping. She's already taken it upon herself to be on a schedule, which is awesome. Today she was ready to eat at 1:46, 4:48, 7:40...and it goes on!

Yes, just as many of you predicted, she already has Dad wrapped around her tiny, little finger.


We had our 2-day check up at the hospital yesterday and all is well! We will be back there in about a week or so for her 2-week check up to make sure she is right on track. My Mom and Dad are still here to visit and we are SPOILED! Grandma takes Ava immediately after her middle of the night feedings and orders me back to sleep, which I can't fight! She has also made us some excellent meals and helped clean (a lot!) so we can give Ava 110% of our time. We are blessed, for sure.

I haven't had much time for the computer but as the days go on I assure you I will be one of those parents that has many posts and pictures about this little girl. We just love her so much, that's all there is to it.

Ava Elizabeth Dougherty

She Is Here And She Is Beautiful!!!
Official Arrival: October 7th, 2008. Born 7 lbs 10 oz.


Here is Ava getting ready to go home from the hospital. More pictures will be up soon, we're too busy loving her and doing all the amazing things that go along with being parents to upload...

Thank you for all the warm messages so far-we officially have the best family and friends out there and simply feel on top of the world.

In other exciting news, Curt managed to get my Mom and Dad here, now known as Grandma and Grandpa Quigley,from Pennsylvania for 10 days to visit with our newest addition. She has been in someones arms all day long, and she loves it.

Awesome...

"Did You Have The Baby Today?"

Curt calls home everyday before he leaves work and the first thing he now asks is, "Did you have the baby today?"

As you can see, BGD is a lil late---she was scheduled to arrive on Thursday, October 2nd, but looks like she has other plans! Did I really think she was going to be here on her actual due date? Of course not! Apparently she will be more like me than her Dad, who is always prompt and on time. I'm more into the fashionably late arrivals so my only answer is that she is just going to come whenever she pleases! I constantly find myself in limbo saying "MAN! I hope she comes today"...followed by "But, only if she's really ready!".

Curt and I plan to be moving around a lot today. We're giving into all those suggestions on how to "hurry her along"...so we'll see how that goes.

October Is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Make sure you read the feed along the bottom of this clip for some facts!!!



www.komen.com