6 months...

Jake turned 6 months this past Monday. I know I'm 5 days late in posting this, but I did actually take these pics on Monday. Things have just been a little busy around here so I'm late in posting as usual. Sorry for the 2 1/2 week absence...I plan to have a catch up post on all things going on in the life of the Doughs soon. My hope is tomorrow, but I know better than to make empty promises. But for now, here are some pics of our Little Man. It's amazing how much they change in 6 months.

Where does the time go? Jake is in such a fun phase right now. I have lots of moments that I wish I could freeze time, but each phase seems to be more and more fun so I'm excited for what's to come too. Here are some things I want to remember about this time...

• He weighed 17lb 3oz at his checkup. That's the 40th-45th percentile. I thought for sure he was going to be bigger b/c people are always commenting on how big he is. Turns out he's just average. His height was 25 in (35th percentile). Still growing like a weed though!
• Jake smiles and laughs all the time, especially at Daddy. What makes him laugh changes from moment to moment, but we can't get enough of it. We've seen his smile so many times, but it's still the most joyful sight!
• He LOVES, and I mean LOVES, being outside. Praise the Lord for longer days, warmer weather and sunshine. He can sit out there for hours just taking it all in.
• Did I mention he's wearing a size 4 diaper? Is that normal at his age? Probably not. But we were having too many blowouts in the 3. So, yep, he's wearing the same size as his 19 month old cousin.
• As of about 3 weeks ago, he is officially sleeping through the night. And by sleeping through the night, I mean 11-12 hours. He hit 8-9 hours a long time ago, but they fell at awkward times. He was still waking up around 4-4:30ish on a pretty regular basis. Now he goes down by 7:30-8ish and doesn't get up until around 7. AMAZING! Maybe that's why I love this phase. I really feel like I can enjoy him even more now that I feel more like myself.
• I love how he sleeps on his tummy with his booty straight in the air. We get lots of great booty shoots in the video monitor. Cutest thing I've ever seen.
• We have been introducing solid foods over the past couple weeks. Not exactly a success yet, but not a complete failure. He is not a fan of rice cereal - who would be? have you seen that nastiness? But he seems to like sweet potatoes. He's still learning to swallow - so funny to watch.
• Jake and I have a sweet connection right now. I don't want him to be too attached, but I'm also trying to soak in these moments while I have them. I know he won't always want to be with his momma. But he loves me right now! He gives me "kisses" all the time. We tell him to "love on Momma" and he cups my face with both of his hands and gives me kisses (well, his version of kisses). I end up with slobber all over my face, but it's precious. And he won't really do that with anyone else. Lucky girl.

Happy Half-Birthday Little Buddy!  Here's one last picture of me and my little lovebug...

B-town Visit...

Two weekends ago we made a quick trip to Branson, and I've been meaning to post a few pics from our trip. We'd been trying to get up there for a couple months, so it was fun to finally reconnect with old friends and introduce Jake to everyone. We absolutely LOVE where we are now and the community we have already formed here, but we sure do miss the friends we had in Branson. Josh is doing his best to bring all of them down here to us - the best of both worlds! One couple down, several to go. ;) Anyways, I digress.

The main reason we made the trip that particular weekend was because 2 of our good friends - Marissa and Bodie - were getting engaged. Here's a little background for those who are interested...Marissa discipled me for 2 years when I was in college. We would meet at Neighbor's Mill in Harrison twice a month. To put it simply, she taught me the Word. And I've been on fire to pass all that on ever since. So really, it began with her. I could go on and on...but to sum it up, she's one of the most amazing God-fearing women you will ever meet. As for Bodie, well, we were his host family when he was in the Institute, so we really like to consider ourselves more like family. We weren't even supposed to be his host family but there was a switch last minute. I don't like over-spiritualizing things, but I truly believe that was a God-thing. He and Josh have become so close. I've never been around 2 people who can quote movies back and forth like they can. They really have their own language. And I won't get all sappy about him, but if you know Mo at all, you know that Bodie has to be incredible to have won her heart. And he is. 

Anyways, it was so fun to be there for the big weekend and such a blessing to be a part of it. Josh actually got to hide in the woods and photograph the proposal. I was a little jealous he got to see the whole thing happen firsthand. I think one of the first things I asked Josh was "Did she cry?" He said, "A little - when she read the letter he wrote her. But she was more just jumping up and down." So perfect. Several other friends came in from out of town for the engagement so it was like a little reunion too. Such a great weekend!

Jake with JB & Ashley. Naturals. No pressure guys. Miss them both.

Jake and Sarah. Thanks for letting us stay! Amazing hostess.

 At dinner with the Minor's.

 Attempt at a group shot. Jake clearly wanted a picture with Lauren by himself. Can you blame him?

Not the greatest pics, but an attempt to get a shot of all of us hiding in the laundry room at Mo's surprise engagement party before she got there. These pics are out of order. The engagement ones are at the bottom. Saved the best for last!

The other side of the laundry room. So many people there to celebrate with Mo.

 Carrie, Faith, & Jennifer at the party.

 The Hampsch girls. Yep, there's three now. Wish I had gotten a pic of Ansley and Jake meeting for the first time. He reached out and touched her hand. Destiny. ;)

Lauren, Lauren, Minor, and Sarah.

 Mo and Bodie sharing their story. Wish everyone could hear it - doesn't get much better.

Ashley and I with my little man. 

 Mo and some of the girls at the party.

 Definitely a framer. Not sure if you can see their faces but they both have the biggest smiles on their faces.

 Bodie pointing out Josh taking pictures in the woods.

 Can you find him? Look closely.

Oh there he is! :)


Us with the Future Connolly's. (Jake was all partied out at this point if you couldn't tell. Poor buddy.)

Congrats Bodie & Mo! And thanks for your amazing example of faithfulness. Love to see how the Lord is blessing you. We couldn't be happier for you two. Let the countdown to May 6th begin!

Update and Pics...

I had this post ready to go last Wednesday. (Do I always start my posts this way? Feels like it. Anyways...) The title was "My Cup Overflows." I was definitely overdue in updating everyone on how things were going...especially since my previous post was kind of vulnerable and real. Things were (and are) going a lot better with Jake and his sleeping (most of the time) - so I thought I'd share about that and upload some of his 5 month pics and just focus a little on how blessed I felt.

Well, last Wednesday was a sobering day. And the timing just didn't seem right for a post like that. So I waited.

I won't go into all the details, but as most of you know I'm sure, Tuesday night a tornado ripped through Branson, the place we called home for 3 years. Praise the Lord that He protected everyone from harm. It was crazy to hear some of the stories of how close the tornado was to so many of our friends. (It actually hit about 100 yards from our old house - crazy!) Anyways, didn't seem right to post about how great my life was as others were piecing theirs back together. 

Then, the really hard part. On Wednesday, Josh came home for lunch with terribly sad news. A family from our church, closely entwined with so many of our friends, suffered a tragedy that I still have a hard time wrapping my heart and mind around. For the sake of not making this a super sad post, I won't go into the details, but I'm thankful that we serve a God who is "close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." He has been faithful to carry them through this process so far, and I have peace in knowing He will continue to do so.

So anyways, Wednesday wasn't the right timing for a post titled "My Cup Overflows." I think one of the hardest things to do when things like this happen is knowing how to just keep going. To carry on with life like normal when you know other people are suffering. But the reality is, there is always suffering. It just isn't always this close to home. But even while this was going on, there were great things happening too. Two close friends of ours got engaged (more on that soon); a friend who has battled infertility for 2 years found out she's pregnant; Jake actually slept 12 hours one night. There are still blessings to be counted. So that's what I'm doing. Trying to be extra grateful.

So ALL that to say, here are a few pics of one of my greatest blessings... Happy 5 months little buddy! (a week and a half late) My cup really does overflow.

Sitting up with a little support. We're getting closer.


See? A faceplant typically follows soon after this. :)

He's got this pose down.

Love this one. Holding daddy's hand.


In the zone after waking up. Love how he's just chillin' on the couch.


I'm sure Josh was making him laugh. He loves his daddy.


That's trouble right there.


Sorry, I just couldn't narrow all these down.


And then I leave you with this. We cracked up over this one. :)