30th Birthday Fun

I bought a dress! Thank you, asos.com. I think I might switch up the belt with a black one and I see some sky high black patent pumps sealing the deal. Who's turning 30?!?! Not this girl!!! ;)

Now onto some big things. Mariel and I have some fun things up our sleeves as we plan the night for all our friends. We are still trying to decide on what hotel to stay at and where to eat dinner. Better get on that! What I do know is it's going to be a great night! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!

Ebay WIN!

So, Ebay kinda makes me nervous. I'm all for finding some good deals but let's face it. You never know what you're gonna get if you can't see it in person, especially when you're buying something that's "gently used". Well, one of my fellow FAVORITE bloggers has this amazing faux fur Juicy Couture Jacket. Now, I know this look isn't for everyone, but what I do know is that it's for me! MUST.HAVE.NOW. The bad news is the jacket is from last year so it's not longer available. The good news is that there were a couple (2!) on ebay. Decisions, decisions.

The verdict? I took the word of this low key seller who wrote in the description that she wore her jacket ONCE for her engagement photos and was now looking to send it, in excellent condition, to a loving home. How could I resist. The best part is I only paid about 25% of the original cost. Yes. Yes. YES!

Here's a picture...kinda! I scoured the internet looking for a picture of this coat and was out of luck. This is the little girl version, but, basically what mine looks like. Yipee!!!

(And a fun bonus pic at the bottom from my New Years Eve outfit. Love me a lil faux fur, and pearls, AND my Chanel bag!)

Ava Funny!

I just asked Ava this morning while cleaning up her toys, "Is this your toy?" and she responded, "It sure is...". Ha! Where does she learn to talk like this? I LOVE it! What a big girl!

Also, when I ask her a question where she has to make a decision she always starts with a, "Ummmm..... Uhhhhh...... Hmmmm.....", until she makes her final decision. Lolllll.

A Time For Change

There are so many new things going on in our house these days, I'm not quite sure where to start! I guess the first place would be that Curt and I have decided to wait a bit longer than we had originally planned to have baby #2. This is a bit heartbreaking for us as we were really hoping I would well on my way but as we all know, some times things are just out of our hands. We simply ran out of time and although we could keep trying and have a baby in the midst of a deployment, we decided that waiting would be much more comforting than going about something so big, alone. So, instead of being really sad that I'm not pregnant, I'm happy to say that I'm really excited to be going back to WORK! We decided that since we were planning on enrolling Ava in preschool next year regardless of whether I had a new baby or not and since Curt would be deployed, I should get back into the classroom. It's been about 2 years since I last worked so my certificate is about to expire. Thankfully, the state of North Carolina is more than happy to give me provisional certificate in the mean time. This means I will applying for a NC State license and by taking 6 credits this summer I can get my PA license activated and current again. The credits will also help me get a permanent NC license and go towards my masters degree. Sounds like a plan! I have to update my resume and maybe pick up a few more letters of recommendation for a big job fair that's being held in the beginning of April. I'm really feeling pretty great about going back to work and although I can't wait to grow our family, I think this is a great way to hold us over until we can make that happen. So, what a turn of events, right?

Also big news in our house is that I enrolled Ava in a Montessori School here in town. I've been told by so many people that this school is just wonderful! It's a bit on the pricey side but Curt and I are okay with putting some good money towards Ava's education. So many parents just swear by this type of instruction and after much research and few visits to the school, I think it's going to be great for Ava. We did a quick, informal assessment on what she knows already (think numbers, letters, etc...) and although they think she's ready for the 2.5-3.5 yr old classroom, they weren't sure how she was going to do socially since she's never been in a daycare setting before, which I can understand. However, yesterday while at CRUD practice I let Ava run off with the other kiddos that were there and didn't see her for TWO HOURS. Oh, and when I went to put her coat on when it was time to leave, she kept screaming, "I wanna play with my friends!". Sooo, I'm thinking she's gonna be a-ok with the other kids in her class. :) She is starting in February and will only be going 3 mornings a week for three hours a day. I hope and pray she really enjoys it! It seems a little crazy to send her school now, at only 2, when I'm still home but here's our rationale. This school normally has a WAITING LIST. For preschool. Fo'real? If I put her in the school now and give them a small deposit at the end o the year, they'll hold her spot for the fall. This school also offers early morning and afternoon care, which I will need. I can't put her in the school that requires a 1pm pick up when I work. This is just a great way to ease her into something that will ultimately become permanent next year when Curt is gone and I'm at work. With some many changes coming in September at least we will know that school is something she will be familiar with and not completely caught off guard. Also, if it's not a good fit, we have time to change it. Plus, gives me a little "me" time in the mornings to get some things done that would otherwise be really complicated with a 2 year old running around! Which brings me to my next update...

I have started a new workout plan! Helllllo, P90X. Let me tell you something, friends. This program is NO JOKE. I'm literally gimping around my house like I was hit with a mac truck. Each workout is about an hour long and although it's intense while you're doing it, it's not too much to handle. The next day, however... That's when you see how tough of a workout it really was and how much your body needed that exercise. I'm happy to say that I've been doing moderate exercise since college and I've never really had a problem with my weight, working out or not. (And, Yes. Hate me. The only exercising I did pre-college was community sports and I could eat whatever I wanted and still be a size 0 and under 100 lbs. Good genetics, I suppose.) But, these days I guess you could say that my luck has RUN OUT. After I finished nursing Ava my body decided that I needed to work out and watch what I eat. LAME. ;) So, here we are with a new workout plan and the determination to get myself in shape by my 30th birthday which is March 5th. Wish me LUCK!

Let's see what's new with Curt. This next year and a half is going to be somewhat hectic as far as his travel schedule is concerned. He's got many TDY's planned before he deploys in the fall. We have a big one coming up in March and then a few random ones here and there. I'm a little anxious about all the changes coming up for our family but we've been here before and I know we can handle it. Curt's also going to find out if he's a Major select in a few weeks which means he will be promoted to Major in about a year. (FYI for my non-military friends. It's pretty much a given that you will be promoted to Major so although we're really proud of him, we're not too worried about it. Still exciting though, moving up in the world!)

I mentioned before that the BIG 3-0 is looming upon me and I have to say, I feel really good about it! I still get carded at bars and for when I buy the occasional lotto ticket (hello, powerball! who can pass up a shot, albeit a "small" shot, at 100 million dollars? not, me...) which you only have to be 18 to buy. So, do I feel 30? No. Do I look 30? I don't think so. I guess what I'm saying is although this is meant to be a big, monumental birthday, I guess I just see it as another year older and wiser...and happier! My twin sister and I are meeting up with all our closest friends in Atlantic City one weekend in March to celebrate in style. I can't wait! It's going to be a weekend to remember! I've already started scouting the perfect dress for the occassion, but that should come as no surprise. Really, really looking forward to seeing everyone!

Lastly, let's do an Ava catch up. She is doing GREAT! Ava is growing up so quickly, I hardly have time to remember it all and write it down. Here's some highlights!

Just some cute Ava convo for you... When she yawns she follows it with an, "I'm tired!". When she trips and falls she says, "Oopsie Daisy!". When I tell her, "I love you" she says, "I love you too a lot, Mommy.". Hmmm, what else? She asks questions all day LONG! "Where are you going?", "What are you doing?", "Where'd Daddy go?", "Where's my tools?". Ha! I love it when she answers her own questions, too. She follows it with an, "Oh-there is it!". Too funny! She also has turned the table on me with the questions! "What color is this, Mommy?", "What letter is this?".

One of my most favorite things about Ava is her love and dedication to music. She loves to dance, sing, and tumble all over the place. Her cousin AJ bought her a microphone for Christmas and she likes for me to play Carrie Underwood on the itunes so she can sing along. She knows ALL THE WORDS to "Cowboy Casanova" and many, many more. She makes requests for songs while were driving in the car like I'm her DJ. "Mommy! Play Dynamite? Billy (Currington)?...and the list goes on. The more hip hop beat the song has, the more she likes it.

I also just signed Ava up for 6 months of gymnastic classes! (Thanks, Gretchen!) The idea of running and jumping and tumbling around in a padded room is so up Ava's alley, how could I not? She's enrolled in a "Mommy and Me" class because she's not three yet so it looks like I'm going to be joining her. I'm really excited because I know she's going to love it! I'm sure she'd do okay without me there just based on the fact that she's been successful dancing in ballet with a group and her teacher for months now, but rules are rules! Plus, Curt will be able to take her some days and that's a great bonding opportunity for them.

What else is new with Miss Ava? Of course the teacher in me still likes to make learning fun as often as I can! Here's some of her latest accomplishments. She can count up to 20, name opposites, read the names of the people in her family and even tell me what letter their names start with, it's crazy. We play games in the car with the stop lights and she tells me to stop when it's red and go when it's green. We like to name the colors of the cars as we're driving by them. I mean, anything to pass the time while we're driving works for me! She still really enjoys reading books and has quite a few that are her favorites. Her memory is pretty great! I love peeking in her room and seeing her lying on her belly reading a book. Makes this Mama proud, I can't deny it! Her new favorite thing to do is "big girl" puzzles. I have about 6 cardboard puzzles that are 9 pieces and she can dump them out and put them back together all by herself, and fast! There's no outline or set spaces so she has to "problem solve" all by herself. IT'S AWESOME. I'm searching for more but I already bought all the different ones at Target.

She loves emptying the dishwasher, cleaning up her toys, and "helping" fold the laundry. She can't stand the sound that the vacuum cleaner makes and the second it goes on she says, "Don't be scared!". :) She is good at taking off her clothes and putting them in the hamper, taking her shoes off and putting them on by herself, and we've gotten really good at washing our hands with SOAP when using the step stool. I always hear the water running in her bathroom and while it's okay that she wants to wash her hands, it gets quite messy! I try to keep that door closed these days!

She's growing like crazy and she's just about 30 pounds right now. We had quick weigh in when she spiked a fever a few weeks ago so who knows where she's at now. She loves to run around outside playing on her trike, kicking soccer balls, playing hopscotch, and going on a rock hunt. She's all but grown out of her 2T clothes and I'm certainly not going to buy her anything new until the warmer weather hits. She's eating a little bit better lately. Thankfully, Curt and I are happy that she'll pretty much attempt to eat any raw fruit and vegetable we give her. The favorites are grapes, cucumbers, and carrots. She's still opposed to any and all pasta and bread. The doc assures me that we'll have a breakthrough eventually but in the mean time, most things she eats are fortified I shouldn't been too worried. God bless Cheerios. (Of course, I'll still worry. I am her mom, after all.) I'm debating leaving her in school until 1pm so she can eat lunch with her friends. I'm thinking if she sees other kids eating different kinds of food she'll be more willing to try new things! It's worth a shot!

She loves prancing around the house in my high heel shoes and carrying my big ol' purse. It's super cute! We've painted her toe nails and even a week later, it's still super exciting to her when she looks at them. Love it that she's becoming a "girly girl". She's my little shopping buddy and she loves to throw things up on the check out belt when I'm not looking. I've managed to buy A LOT of candy without knowing about it. She just tosses a candy bar up there and before I can see it, it's been bought. Sneaky! Curt still makes sure she gets her rough and tumble time when he plays with her and she has been known to watch a little bit of football with her dad on the couch.

Overall, I really couldn't be happier with the little girl Ava is becoming. She's so bright, she's well behaved, and she has the BEST MANNERS OF ANY TODDLER I'VE EVER MET. You'll never hand something to her without hearing a "Thank you" and you'll always hear a "You're welcome" when you offer her a "thanks, Ava". It's more like a, "Oh! Thank You, Mommy! Thanks!". We live in a world now where Ava remembers it all (which has it's pluses and minuses, ha!) and we can pretty much communicate in a conversation 90% of the time. It's awesome. Girl is growin' up!

I have so many videos of Ava on FB so be sure to check her out! She's my little FB star and I'm proud of it! I love being able to share her daily cuteness with my family when they're so far away!

Well, Friends, that's all I have for now. I wish I had the time and motivation to post weekly so I could tell more stories and although I'm going to try, that's a tough promise to keep! Sorry the updates have been few and far between. We'll see what happens!!!

Here are just a few pictures from the past two months that most have already seen on FB, but just incase here are a couple that I really like!

Baby News

Well, Friends. The news is that...there is no news. It looks like we won't be having a pre-deployment baby in the Dougherty house. Thank you all so much for your sweet comments and emails. They really meant a lot. I think we'll be taking a (very) short break from all the baby efforts in this house as we've decided that having a baby in the first few months of a deployment would be quite challenging. I'm sure we'll have more success in the spring!!!

On a lighter note, I started a separate blog post yesterday and hopefully will get it done by tonight. Ava permitting... ;)

Spare A Prayer

My Dear Friends,

For those of you that have children of your own, children on the way, or plans to have some...some day, remember when you first started "trying" to have a baby and you kept it a big 'ol secret until that 12 week mark and then practically screamed it from the hilltops so the whole world would know? I definitely do...

Well, here's our story.

After a couple months of trying for baby # 2, I'm still not pregnant. This isn’t necessarily a problem and we surely don’t think something is “wrong”. But, Curt will be deploying with his squadron next September and if I'm not pregnant by Christmas, I'll be delivering this baby while he's away. We're completely prepared to do this, but of course would love to have him here at least for the delivery.

My request is this...

Please pray for our family over the next month in the hopes that we can get a "bun in the oven" before the new year!

Lots of Love and Thanks- C, M, and Miss A.

PS: So, technically I "named" Ava, as that was my first choice and the agreement was that Curt would win out on naming #2 as a fair trade. I, of course, have to like the name but if it's a stand still in the delivery room, as it was with Ava, he would win. Blah, blah, blah.

However... I've already fallen in love with potential baby girl number 2's name. (Which means I will naturally being having a boy...) ;)

Noelle Marie Dougherty.

"Marie" is in Curt's family as middle names passed down just as Ava "Elizabeth" is from my side of the family.

Soooo..... C'mon Noelle!!!!!!! Hurry up!!!!!!! ;)

Lastly, Tara did yet ANOTHER amazing job capturing our family in photographs and here is just a couple that I just LOVE! It’s so hard to choose... Tara is so talented!

www.tlohsephotography.com

www.tlohsephoto.com

Some Of This, Some Of That

It's been a couple weeks since I said "Hi!" to my blogger friends, so here's a random spattering of what we've been up to lately! I'll try and stick to the highlights, so I don't ramble on too much!

But, let me start by showing you what we're trying to teach Ava these days. Getting a toddler to smile on cue is tricky and I wish she learned this about 4 days ago when we took some pictures with TLohse, but what can you do. She gets it now, so, that's all that matters! (The second picture, well, I just liked it. She looks like she's up to no good!).

We made it back to PA without any problems (Thank you, Lord!) and started a whirlwind trip in the northeast. We spent about 48 hours in Pennsylvania and then three days in Baltimore. It went so quickly and we were exhausted by the time we made our long trek back down to NC. Drew and Sharon's wedding was simply perfect, from start to finish. Sharon made a beautiful bride, as if there were any doubt, and she and Drew were just as calm and cool as could be for the entire thing. It was gorgeous! I took over at the wedding and reception with my Mom's super fancy Canon and I'm still waiting for her to send them my way so I can post all 700+ of them! (Well, I won't really post 700, but evidently that's how many were taken.) Ava did a fantastic job as a flower girl and she made it down the aisle all by herself without any stage fright! She made for a darling addition to the wedding party. Now, the fact that she tried to climb the alter to reach her Daddy once she made it down there, well, that's another story. I think it went something like this, "Hi Daddy!!! Hi Daddy!!!" (as she tried to climb the alter, only to be stopped, which ended up in tears. During the procession. Oopsie!). I think all was forgotten though, once the doors were opened and the bride came in, phew! I'll be sure to give more updates once the pictures come my way! (Ahem, Mom!) :) In the meantime, here's a few I have from my handheld Canon, and maybe one I stole from Curt's cousin on facebook. ;)





Also while we were home, much to my surprise, the "small" birthday party I tried to throw for Ava was planned to be something much bigger than I knew about, sneaky family! My Mom and sisters went out of their way to plan a big ol' party for Ava's 2nd Birthday which included some of my friends, and lots of our immediate and extended family. It was wonderful! I honestly didn't want to take any of the excitement away from Drew and Sharon's big weekend so I thought throwing a big party would be too much! So, what they did was have the get together on a Thursday night and made it possible for as many people as they could get to come. It was great! Ava was a trooper, too! She yelled out, "SMILE!" when there was about 10 cameras pointed in her direction! (Hmmm, wonder why she's so comfortable in front of the camera?!?!). She refused to eat much of anything, including some of her Tigger and Pooh cake, but I think it was in part to her yucky cold and the overwhelming excitement of all that was going on. It even took her a few minutes to stop and realize the awesomeness that is opening presents! She cried for the first couple minutes but once she realized that under all that wrapping paper there were toys galore, she was just fine with opening the rest. She managed to learn the "Birthday Song" which she likes to sing over and over again, and even treated Poppy to a quick version last night when we did our iChat for his birthday! (The birthday pictures will come in a different post, still waiting to edit!)

We have another quick trip up to PA planned in a few weeks, but just for Ava and I this time. Curt is headed to Texas for work so we figured we would take a trip up to see family since we won't see them again until Christmas. It may seem like a lot of driving for some, but, this why we chose Seymour as our home and we plan on making many, many trips up I95 over the next few years. Who knows when we'll be within driving distance once again! November proves to be a busy month for us as Curt's parents are headed down our way for a weekend to visit. Lots of family time makes us very happy!

Curt and I are making a conscious effort to take more time for ourselves lately. We have another concert to go to this weekend! That makes three in the past 2 months! I'm also headed out to see Carrie Underwood at the end of the month with Gretchen and I can't WAIT!!! We have seats 11 rows from the center stage. HECK YEA! It's going to be a great time for both shows! I love me some live music! We are trying to take Ava to a corn maze this weekend as well as carve some pumpkins that I bought. Rumor has it, if you cut the pumpkin open too early and leave it outside, the critters have themselves a little feast on your fall decor, so we're trying to wait so we can enjoy them as long as possible!

Finally, Miss Ava is doing well as a brand new two year old! She's doing more each day, talking a million miles per minute, making requests, demands...you get the gist! She's smart as whip and soaks up more than we ever thought possible. I'll leave you with a few Ava-ism's and A LOT of pictures!

-Ava's newest phrase is, "Ta-Da!", and she uses it after she's accomplished something out of the ordinary. It's pretty funny! For example, she stacked up a couple books, climbed on top, and then jumped to the ground! So, therefore that stunt deserved a "Ta-Da"!

-Playing Babies is Ava's most favorite thing in the entire world to do. She cares for them just about as much as I care for her! Lately, if they're sleeping, she whispers quietly and says, "Mommy, SHHHH! Baby sleepin'...". Or, if she's holding one and has to run into her room, she politely asks Curt or I to "hold baby, be right back". So nurturing!

-As soon as Ava wakes up in the morning, she's immediately asks, "Where's Daddy?", to which I either say, "Sleeping", or, "He's at work.". It Daddy's at work, she likes to list all the things he has to be wearing that day in order to be at work. Goes a little something like this, "Daddy at work. He wear 'fight suit', an socks, and boots.". So observant!

-Ava still loves her dance class more than anything else! She's learned a couple songs there which she sings over and over again! Her latest favorite is, "5 little monkeys swinging from a tree, teasing Mr. Alligator, can't catch me...", along with all the choreographed motions. She loves to sing this for her cousin, AJ. He's surely thought she's lost her mind! He's still cute, though!

-Even after our trip home, Ava still has a massive crush on my sister in law's fiance, Warren. She talks about him non stop. Well, when she finally saw him again at the wedding, she freakin' lost it, and not in a good way. She saw him in the hotel lobby and immediately started crying! It was just too much for her! Never has she acted this way about someone we know, ever! It's so crazy! She's too little!!!! Ha! :) It didn't get better over time, either. She cried every time she saw him and in an effort to soothe herself in his presence, she kept her eyes closed the entire time he was there. She's crazy about him!

-I've finally got the ABC's on video and plan on posting it on FB today! It's kinda cheesy, since I had to video it myself. It's so much more fun when Curt does it with Ava so if I have time and remember to video them tonight, I'll try to post that one instead. Be on the look-out!

So my friend, Amy Duncan, is extremely talented and took on the project of making a 2nd Birthday outfit for Ava, and it turned out AMAZING! We were planning on using this little number in the photo shoot we just did with TLohse but unfortunately, it was the most fall-like weather that morning and it was only in the low 60's and windy! Curt and I thought it would make for a very unhappy Ava if we had her romping around in a skirt and t-shirt, so much to my dismay, we had to wait and do the pictures on another day. I think it's safe to say that I'm not photographer and since I only got these 7-ish pictures out of the 90+ that I took, I have the evidence to back it up. I'm happy that it was almost 80 yesterday and that we were able to get some pictures of Ava in this outfit! It's SO CUTE!

Here is Ava lovin' on her babies. She as two. The both have very different needs as she only give the one baby a bottle and the other gets a sippy cup. One baby is always in the high chair and the other is always in the crib. So particular! ;) (You may not notice it, but of course there's some baby powder on my couch. Of course!).

My house is officially decorated for fall, ya'll! I'm sure I could have gone overboard but in order to make both Curt and myself happy, this is what we came up with... He was not all about the fall-like explosion on the front porch. He's all about the festive decor, but only to a certain extent. I'm pretty happy with the final product!