Our Pallet Table...

I meant to include this in yesterday's post. Josh actually built this pallet table for me back in January. I found something similar on Pinterest (surprise, surprise right?), and he basically duplicated it for me. I'm glad he's so handy. He's way more creative and "right-brained" than I am (that is the more creative side of the brain, right?) Anyways, I love the table and we're already getting lots of use out of it! So here's showing off his handy work. Check it out!

The original picture I found on Pinterest...

Our table...I need to add some color/decor to ours, but you get the idea. :)

Well done babe!

Pinterest inspired...

As promised, here are some of the DIY projects Josh and I have tackled lately. And yes, most of these ideas came from Pinterest. What did we do before this glorious site?

Oh, one more thing...we aren't professional DIY-er's. If we were, we'd give you the step by step "how-to's" and cool before and after photo's. Well, you just get the "after's." And if we were really good, we'd actually be saving money. Don't get me wrong, on some of these projects we spent next to nothing, but I have a bone to pick with DIY sites. When they total up costs for projects, they always say things like "I already had this fabric or this container or this tool, etc. needed to accomplish the project." Well, what if you don't already have those things? Sometimes you spend just as much buying the supplies or tools as you would buying the actual item. Oh well, sometimes the joy is just the "doing it yourself," right? Not just saving money. Anyways, getting off my soap box.

Here's our attempt at being crafty...

 Our mason jar soap dispenser. Love it. We use it for our dish soap.

Okay, so I guess I wasn't entirely truthful. We do have a couple pictures of the process. I made the shape for the canister labels on Photoshop, then traced and used box cutters to cut them out before I painted with chalkboard paint.

 Here's the finished product. I love how they turned out.

 Josh repainting the mirror that goes on our mantel. If you look at the bottom, you'll notice it was black. It was actually black and gold. Too formal.

Finished product. This actually shows the mirror and the "D" we made. We cut it out of cardboard and just covered it with moss from Hobby Lobby. Again, love it.

If I had a super power...

Have you ever been asked the question, maybe as a cheesy icebreaker, "If you could have one super power, what would it be?" I finally figured out my answer. I would have the ability to freeze and fast forward time. I realize the Lord is in control of time, and I'm not trying to be blasphemous here, I promise. But you can relate - there are times in life you wish you could just fast forward and pretend they never happened. Then there are others, you wish you could freeze and live in the moment a little longer. I feel like I'm in the latter with Jake right now. He's in such a fun phase, smiles constantly, and he's just so sweet. I know there are just more fun steps and phases to come, but this one's pretty special.

So, in honor of the 7 month mark, here are a few recent pictures...

After church this past Sunday. We are having some major allergy issues, hence the red and puffy eyes. Gotta love the sprig sticking up in the back.

Big eyes.

 Reading with Daddy.

Loved these so much I had to put up two. :)

Oh, and here is Jake standing up in his crib. This was 2 weeks ago. We had to lower it. And did I mention he was crawling? Officially got it a few days ago. Going too fast!

Birthdays and Anniversaries...

This past Sunday (yes, Income Tax Day) was my Mom's 60th birthday and our 6th wedding anniversary. We spent the weekend celebrating my Mom. We didn't have any extravagant party or fancy gifts for her, but when I started thinking about what my mom would want more than anything else for her birthday, I knew it would simply be to have her whole family together. So a few weeks ago, we all started scheming how we could surprise her with this "gift", and it couldn't have turned out more perfectly. Mom was already planning for her and Dad to come in to NWA to visit us and Ryan and Libby for her birthday, but she had NO idea that Paige, David, and Luke were making the trip up from Dallas as well. They are coming up twice in May for graduations and weddings so she assumed this was out of the question.

Long story short, Paige, David and Luke got in Friday night and stayed with us. Mom and Dad were staying at Ryan and Libby's. I told Mom we wanted to make her a big birthday breakfast Saturday morning, that way they could also spend time with Jake before he went down for his morning nap. When they all got to the house (Paige's car was hiding in our garage), this note was waiting on the door for her...

Then when she walked in, Luke ran out from the hallway to greet her. It was perfect. She just screamed, "OH MY GOSH!" and picked him up and started crying. Then just kept hugging everyone and smiling and crying. It was such a great moment. We had the video camera set up and ready to record the whole thing, but unfortunately had some technical difficulties and didn't capture it. Oh well. We'll all still have the memory.

We spent the rest of the weekend just relaxing and enjoying time together. I don't think it could have gone any better. Here are a few pics from the weekend. I only snapped a few when we were playing outside.

Libby and Mom

Josh, David, and Paige

Uncle Ryan helping Luke find some rolly pollies


Luke and Pops getting ready to race. Notice Luke is a little cheater. ;)

Clearly the head start is why he won.

This is what happens when Pops goes inside. Luke LOVES his Pops.

Jake chillin' out with Uncle David

SO STINKIN' CUTE

As for our anniversary, we are hoping to get in a nice date night this weekend. We figured my mom sacrificed her birthday for our big day 6 years ago, so it was the least we could do to do the same this year. Plus, we actually got to cuddle up and take a nap together Sunday afternoon after everyone left. Call me crazy, but that's about as good of a gift as I could ask for these days. Those don't happen very often anymore. So here's to another great weekend!

Weekend Recap...

Aren't these supposed to be done on Mondays? Oh well, nothing like a mid-week weekend recap. This past weekend was amazing. Why? Because it was so low key. I love weekends like that. Saturday we took advantage of having no plans and tackled a bunch of DIY projects we've been wanting to get done. Pictures of those coming soon. My husband is much more creative and handy than I am...so I'm thankful he helps and participates in these projects. I would have said we had a "Pinterest party" on Saturday, but he might disown me if I call it that. Regardless, much love to Pinterest for the inspiration!

Sunday morning, Josh had some responsibilities at church for some of the Easter services and Jake and I came up for one of the services as well. He continues to be a handful for the folks in the nursery. Sorry, Cuddly Cubs workers. I promise he really is a fun little guy. Just not when he's used to napping during that time. On Jake's 2nd week in the nursery, we had our number flashed on the screen and had to go get him. Yep, we officially have "that kid." Love him to pieces regardless.

After church, we got to enjoy Easter lunch with my brother and his wife at our house. I baked a ham and we ate way too much, but it was delicious. The weather was perfect so we sat outside on our patio for several hours and just talked. We are trying to take advantage of the little bit of time we have left living in the same place as Ryan and Libby. He is wrapping up his Master's degree here in a few short weeks and officially took a job across the state. We are so excited for him and couldn't be prouder - it's a great opportunity - but selfishly, we are sad. We have thoroughly enjoyed living close to family for once. 

They will be missed.

I hope everyone had a great Easter as well and had the opportunity to reflect on the significance of the day. It's easy to be thankful for our salvation on this holiday, but my prayer is that daily the Lord "Restores to [you] the joy of your salvation..." May we realize that we need the message of the Gospel everyday.

And lastly, a family Easter pic. We finally have a good picture of the 3 of us...

Lately...

A few days later than hoped (exactly why I didn't make any promises for a Sunday post) - but better late than never. In pics and list style, here's what the Dough's have been busy with over the past month...

Family Visits - My mom has gotten to come twice this past month - we love having her here. Once was because my sister and her family came for part of their spring break. Mom definitely won't miss an opportunity to see both her grandsons. It was so much fun having them all here. Here are some pics from their time with us.

 Luke loved the slides. Look at that face.

 Nana and Jake watching Luke on the slide.

Me and my little buddy. Love those cheeks.

 Paige and Luke on the big slide. Apparently the little one was for amateurs.

My turn with Luke on the slide.

No fear.

They were so funny in the backseat together. Just giving each other the stare down. (Notice Jake is holding his sock. They stay on for max 15 seconds before he pulls them off. I give up after a while.)

Luke was very generous with his cheez-its. :)

Playing with David.

Luke wasn't too sure about his dad holding Jake. Hilarious.

Oh and you need a cheez-it too.

Watching Veggie Tales with Daddy. So sweet.

Josh piled all the pillows and cushions on top of Luke while he was watching Veggie Tales to try and get his attention. He never took his eyes off the TV. True boy.

Jake's Dedication - We dedicated the little guy at church in March. It was extra special because the 3 other families that dedicated their babies that Sunday were all from our first community group we joined when we got here last summer. Yep, 4 of us had babies within 6 months. :)

 This was at Jake's dedication. I'm sad we didn't get a good picture of the 3 of us. They were all from far away. So this is the best we got.

Lots of walks - I cannot even begin to tell you how much I am loving the warmer weather and longer days. Jake LOVES being outside and so does his momma! Such a breath of fresh air (literally and figuratively) after the winter. We go on walks every day it's not raining. And that's really not an exaggeration. He just takes it all in.

 Well, that is until he falls asleep. Gotta love those chunky thighs.

Excuse the USC hat. I have to be fair and put him in both. :)

The Nursery - Yep, we are finally taking steps towards completing Jake's room. The nursery has been painted and I love it! No pics yet. We'll show the completed project. We have also ordered a dresser and are getting the glider recovered. May still be a month or so, but we're getting there. I'd tell myself it's a waste since he's already 6 months old, but we're making everything gender neutral in plans to keep this as the nursery for future Dough babies. Pics coming soon.

More Visitors - We've had the blessing of having more than just family visit over the past month. We've had several other friends come in town and visit too, and we love it. We treasure getting to host people. That's one of the main reasons we have a house. We always want to have an open door policy in our home and for this to be a welcoming place. Helps keep in perspective that this amazing gift is just that - a gift. Not ours. Anyways, that's been one of the reasons for my blogging absence - lots of people time!

 So thankful Sarah Grace gave us a couple days of her spring break and really wish Auburn wasn't so far away.

 Reunited with Taryn after 2 years. It was wonderful! She's been serving overseas in Spain with the IMB. Amazing girl. Amazing story. She has a great blog you should check out. She's so good at articulating her thoughts.

 He was clearly content with her. Love how his little hand is just resting on her arm.

Nicole stopped by for lunch on her way to Wichita. Could have kept talking for hours. Miss her!

Pre-Marital Counseling - Josh and I have had the privilege of doing some pre-marital counseling with a couple from the community group we lead. Josh is marrying them in May, and it's been so neat to be a part of this time with them. It's been fun for Josh and I too - makes you really communicate and reflect on how you are doing in all the areas we are covering with them. Probably just as much a refining process for us as it's been for them. We have really enjoyed it, and we're so excited for their wedding and marriage!

Design - This one probably seems like it came out of left field. Some of y'all know that I started doing some graphic design stuff when I worked for K-Life and now just do it as little side jobs for people. I'm definitely self-taught so I have nothing on the folks that really know how to use Photoshop, but I really enjoy it. I just finished working on a friend's wedding invitations and save-the-dates, and I'm currently finishing a friend's blog design. I'll post a link to the blog soon and plan to share more about my design stuff soon, but here are just a few things I've done (click on them to make them bigger)...

 Our Christmas card. I didn't have to do much to this one to make it cute. :)

 Paige's Christmas card I designed for her.

One of the Save-the-Date choices I made for my friend. She didn't choose this one so I figured I was allowed to share it. Don't want to share the actual one and ruin it for when she mails them out. I'll have to share the invitation design later after she mails those out too.

A baby shower invitation I did for one of my friends who was helping host the shower. The back had all the info on it. Was supposed to be a vintage girl theme. Lexie actually found the idea on a blog, I just recreated it.

Anywho, I'm sure there's more to share, but that's probably more than you wanted to know for now. My goal is to be better about blogging this month. We'll see. :)

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...