Congratulations~ Peter & Desire'

Mr. and Mrs. Dougherty

Pete and Desire' were married on Saturday, April 26th. The weather couldn't have been nicer, it actually felt like a summer day instead of the end of April. Right now they are enjoying an awesome honeymoon touring Italy and then taking a cruise around the Greek Isles! Yes, we are super jealous!!! Pete was one of Chris' college roommates at State College. We hadn't seen him since our wedding almost 4 years ago! The wedding and reception were beautiful and we can't thank Pete and Desire' enough for inviting us! We decided to stay the night because the drive was almost 4 hours (the wedding was in Lexington, MD) and it was so nice to finally have a night for just us. Kinda like a "babymoon" before we have 2 kiddies to take care of! It was our first night away from Ryan and even though we had a great time, we missed him. We couldn't get home fast enough to see him!

introducing the new Mr. & Mrs.!


mmmm...yummy cake!

centerpiece with the cute "photo coaster" favors

Chris with his PSU alumni buddies!

Chris and Bobbi (8 month's preggo and BIG!)

The Countdown begins...

Have you checked our cute little baby ticker on the side bar lately? Today marks only 60 days til Kara's due date!! I can't believe we have only 2 months left. It feels just like yesterday on October 15th when Ryan and I surprised Chris with the news!

"Big Brother" Ryan with his sign!

I've been having mixed feelings lately. I can't wait for her to get here but I also feel like we need all the time we can get to prepare. I am also starting to get very uncomfortable but trying to enjoy this pregnancy because it could be my last. Of course as we get closer to the due date, my fears of delivery are creeping in! I hope this time around is not only faster but with no complications! Wish me luck! :)

Penn State Blue & White Game~2008

On Saturday, we took Ryan up to State College for the 2008 Blue & White Game. It was a beautiful 80-degree day and a record 73,000 fans showed up to watch the game. For all those non-Penn Staters, this is the last game that the PSU football seniors play against each other. It's a FREE game for the fans and we are able to sit anywhere in the stadium. After the game, fans are allowed to go down to the field and get autographs from the players. We decided that Ryan was still a little too young to experience a crowd of crazy fans so we didn't go on the field this year. He really enjoyed the game and cheered for the BLUE team the entire time. They actually won 27-14 over the White team! Uncle Mike might want to see if Ryan can help him choose the winning picks for his football pools this year!

After the game, we headed into town to do some shopping and walk the campus. We did A LOT of walking (I am sure my doctors would not have approved that much walking! shhh...) and I didn't have too many braxton hicks. As we approached the Nittany Lion Shrine (it was a good up hill walk to get there!), my contractions did increase and my entire body was just pooped. We took a few photos with the Nittany Lion and then Chris ran back to get the car to pick us up. This was our last trip up to State College as a family of 3 and it was neat to see Ryan's reaction on everything.

Highlights of the trip:

• seeing Ryan react to a live football game and learning the WAVE...too cute!



• learning that Ryan not only has a fear of inflatable characters but also the JoePa statue



• SHOPPING- we got baby Kara a few items and of course we all got new shirts!



• walking the campus and seeing Spring bloom everywhere



• taking family photos at the Nittany Lion Shrine!

I put together my first montage with One True Media. I think I enjoy using the PhotoShow program with comcast better but I am not sure if I can put photoshows on the blog? This is an ongoing learning experience! Enjoy the show and please excuse my big tummy pics...(yes we are SURE there is only one in there!!!)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Green Team

Daddy & Ryan watering the Rose Tree~2006

Ok, so how many of you actually knew that Chris has a "green thumb"? Yes, it's true!! My husband has many talents but the one that stands out this time of year is his passion for planting flowers and landscaping. During our renting days, Chris would always day dream of owning a house and land where he could plant his own gardens. He would keep himself content with planting mini roses and plants in pots. We have so many pots that now sit in our garage because that's all we could use at the apartment. As soon as we moved into this house in 2005, he quickly started planning our rose garden. The following Spring we ordered several large rose bushes and planted them along our house. Each year they grow larger and more beautiful because of the love and care he puts into them. Many of you might be wondering if I share this same passion? No, sadly, I do not. Not very good at keeping plants alive. I love to stand back and admire his work!

That same Spring he decided to plant a wild flower garden in the back of the house. From day one, our little Ryan has been involved with this beautiful garden. I call them my "green team" because Ryan already at 2 years old is showing that same passion with flowers as his Daddy. It is so neat to watch the two of them take care of the plants. The following pictures are of Ryan and Daddy planting the Wild Flower Garden in 2006 and how great it turned out!


the planting begins...

Daddy's Little Helper!

The Green Team's beautiful garden!



Spring~2008

Ryan and Chris started their planting season indoors this year! We got Ryan a little pot that comes with soil and lavender seeds. This weekend Daddy decided to help Ryan put the lavender seed in the pot and they also planted a few more things. Mommy wasn't excited that they did this indoors but in the end it was fun to watch them plant the little seeds! Enjoy the following pics of Ryan with his indoor lavender plant! :)

Plants need soil...
and water...

lots of TLC...
..and the sun!

TWINS?!!!!

APRIL FOOLS!!!! ~heehee

I thought it would be funny to add this post because I can't tell you how many times I've been asked if I am having twins?!! No, there is only ONE baby in there! I am nearing the end of this pregnancy with hitting the 3rd trimester milestone!

We are officially 7 months along and now the pressure is on to get everything done. I had my 28 week visit with Dr. Consoli (love her...hope she delivers Kara!) and I found out that I passed my glucose test- no Gestational Diabetes for me! woohoo

My weight is on target...only gained 4 more pounds making it a total of 22 so far. So I guess it's all tummy...hence the "are you sure there aren't two in there?!"

Everything is going so well and I hope it continues through the next 12 weeks. :)

Live~Love~Laugh