It's Officially Summer!

We finished our backyard project, now let the summer fun begin!

All American Weekend

Hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend...we sure did!
We had an all-American sort of a weekend -- boating, baseball and BBQ...who could ask for more.

Saturday evening we took Addison on her first boat ride. We really had no idea what to expect but were pleasantly surprised by how well she handled it all.  We had bought her a life jacket during the winter sales and when we had initially tried it on she just hated it.  But she has grown a little since then and when John tried it on her Friday night she was actually all smiles...  So off we went Saturday evening to the boat and despite the horrified look in most of the pictures, I promise she did appear to enjoy it.

Sunday we went to an Arkansas Naturals baseball game. It was a 6 o'clock start so it worked pretty well with Addison's schedule and we were able to stay for about 2 hours of the game. There was plenty to watch at the ballpark so Addison was happy.

This sundress is the first thing I bought last year when we found out we were having a girl!
A little Ralph Lauren number from TJ Maxx...

She has already start to roll her eyes at me -- maybe that's
because I took no less than 50 pictures while at the ballpark!

Cruising in My Yellow Lamborghini!

This week I had the pleasure of making a cake for a little boy's sixth birthday.  His mom called me on Monday and asked if there was any way I could make a cake for today...and her little guy had his heart set on a yellow Lamborghini cake!  I was honest and said I had never done anything like it but was up for the challenge and she had seen the RV cake I had made a couple of weeks back.

The birthday boy came to pick the cake up this morning with his mom and the look on his face when he saw the cake was all I needed to know that we had hit the jackpot...he was grinning ear to ear!

Walmart Spark

Before the family invasion last week, I squeezed in one more cake order.  It was for a Walmart Spark. It might seem like a strange request, but not if you live in NWA.  It was another Walmart Anniversary cake...

Weekend Recap

Yes it's Wednesday and I am just getting around to recapping the weekend, but it was such a GREAT long weekend that it took me a couple of days to regroup and recover.  Sorry it's going to be picture overload too...I want to remember everything :)

It started Thursday when my mom, dad, sister (Anne), brother in-law (Ryan) and niece (Claire) arrived in Arkansas.  They drove through the night and landed on our door step at about 6:30 am.  I didn't really except them to make it here so early so when I got the call that they were 30 minutes out, I jumped out of bed and scurried around the house to get a couple of last minute things done.  Addison was also very excited for their arrival and woke up an hour early to greet them...or maybe I woke her up because I started vacuuming at 6:15 in the morning -- oops!  We had a relaxing day, the girls went shopping and ran a few errands and the boys went to the lake for a quick ride on the boat.  John's mom also made it into town Thursday afternoon, so it was nice spending time with her and Bill as well.



It was great to reunite these two cuties!
So much has changed since they last saw each other over Christmas.

Friday morning started before dawn for John and Ryan as they headed out for a little fishing.  The rest of the crew slept in a little bit (well maybe not Claire) and waited for the rest of the crew to arrive.  Abbey, Kyle and Mallory made it in around 10:30 and then the fun really started.  We hung around the house Friday afternoon and enjoyed the beautiful weather on the back patio.

Of course, we had to get the girls dress alike and take lots of pictures.

Their aunties really spoil them and got them cute neon dresses
and new flip-flops...because what under 1 year old doesn't need her
very own pair of Old Navy flip-flops!
Also, notice that Abbey and Mallory decided to dress alike!

Saturday morning we split up and the boys went to the lake again and the girls went to the Farmer's Market and for a quick walk around the museum trails.

Addison fell asleep on the car ride so Claire got the short straw and had to go into the carrier.
But Auntie Abbey and Auntie Mallory were happy to carry her.

Claire got a little ride in Sam Walton's red truck outside the Walton 5-10 museum.

Lots to look at...

Probably her favorite things was the big fountain in the center of the Farmer's Market...
I think she could have played with the water all day!

We took a quick break from all the fun and Auntie Abbey read the girls a few books.

Claire needed to soak up all the beautiful Arkansas weather so she went for a quick
swim on the back patio in her little one-strap bathing suit -- so cute!

And then it was time for the main event...all of our wonderful family made the trek down to Arkansas because we had Addison baptized at our church on Saturday.  We kept the invitee list short and just immediate family because, well even that turned out to be large group and we took up 2 rows at church :)

My sister Abbey and her husband Kyle are Addison's Godparents.

A quick moment with her big cousin Landon before mass started.

Addison was baptized during the 5 o'clock mass on Saturday, May 19th.

One quick family shot...it had been since Christmas since we were all together.

Sunday morning came too quickly and we had to start saying our goodbyes...

• My mom, dad, Ryan and Claire headed back north mid-day on Sunday
• Mallory flew out Sunday evening
• Abbey and Kyle almost got to spend an extra night in Arkansas but luckily their plane finally left about 9 o'clock Sunday
• Anne left before dawn on Monday and headed south to the Dominican Republic for work
• John's mom and Bill headed north Tuesday morning

All in all it was an absolutely wonderful weekend, and I'm so glad that our family (both near and far) was able to share this special moment with us.

Mother's Day Weekend

We had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend at the Dougherty house...

Saturday morning John brought home some beautiful flowers for me...he is so sweet!

And then on Saturday night we went out to dinner with family and friends to celebrate Mother's Day. It was a great evening which we capped off with a little walk around the mall.

Sunday morning John and Addison surprised me with this beautiful necklace.  I just LOVE it!  One charm says "I love you", one says "Addison Marie" and one is a little heart.  So sweet and so thoughtful. 

Last year we celebrated Mother's Day but I was pregnant...the day consisted of lunch with family and friends and then a trip to the mall to get some maternity clothes.  This year it was totally different and so much  more special.  I loved waking up Sunday morning and getting a hug and a slobbery kiss from my baby. 

Sunday afternoon, I let John take a break from the endless list of chores I had for him and we went on a little walk as a family.  It was a beautiful afternoon.

Mother's Day 2012

Baby Girl

A trip down memory lane...

365 days ago Baby Dougherty became Baby Girl Dougherty.  We had our ultrasound on May 12, 2011 and found out we were having a girl!  Seriously, I remember that day so well it feels like yesterday but on the other hand so much has happened in the last year it feels like that ultrasound could have been 2 years ago?!  Funny how that is...

7 Month Update

My baby girl is 7 months old today!  I think I say it every month, but this is a fun age...I wish I could freeze time and keep her this age forever.  But I'm sure next month will bring more fun, new and exciting things that I won't want to miss out on either.

Developments for the month...

• Introduction of baby food!  With the exception of the initial rice cereal and baby oatmeal there hasn't been anything she doesn't like.  We've tried bananas, peas, sweet potato, squash and peas.  She is now eating a little serving of food at lunch and dinner.
• She snacks on puffs treats when we eat dinner or when she is helping me in the kitchen and can pick them up and put them in her mouth by herself, although she would prefer we feed them to her.
• She isn't crawling yet but between rolling and pulling she can get just about anything she decides she wants. 
• When we play on the floor she is pulling up on us all the time and more often than I care to admit she is getting to a standing position on her own.  She is still shaky and hasn't started to find her balance yet.
• Still no teeth...I still check everyday :)
• We are slowly saying goodbye to the 6 month outfits and moving to 6-9 or 9 month depending on the brand.
• Still hanging on to the size 2 diapers and our sleeping/eating routine hasn't changed this month -- up at 7:30, eat every 3 to 3.5 hours and bed after her 10 o'clock feeding.

She is definitely become more animated with her facial expressions, it was hard to pick just one picture for this month.  Some are sweet and some are goofy but they are all CUTE!

RV Fun

I'm not sure I would call RVing fun...but I had fun making this RV cake!

One of John's co-workers celebrated 20 years with Walmart this week and she LOVES to go camping/RVing so they were celebrating by decorating her office like a RV and he asked me to make a RV cake.  Since I'm up for any challenge and the pressure was off because it wasn't a paying customer, I said sure...and I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out.

Now, I have 2 dozen razorback cookies to make for Friday and then I can turn my attention to the dozen house guests I have coming in one week -- yeah!

Hollywood Red Carpet

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of making a cake for a girl I used to work with.  It was her daughter's 19th birthday and they were doing a "Hollywood Red Carpet" themed party.  Everyone was supposed to come dressed up as a famous person whose name started with the same letter as their first name....kinda a fun idea!

This week I have to make a RV camper cake and 2 dozen razorback cookies...so I'll be logging a few hours in the kitchen during naptime.

A Girl's Best Friend

Addison has really taken a liking to Emily.  I can't say that Emily feels the same way about Addison but she is very gentle with her.

Addison rolled herself over to Emily to say HI
I promise this picture isn't staged...she really got herself into this spot.

 

Emily wasn't sure what to think of the visit...

With Daddy's help Addison got a little ride!

Emily: "Seriously?!"

April Picture A Day

Where in the world did April go?  Thirty great shots to remember the month that was...
She is becoming much more animated these days, I love it!