Going LIVE in 3...2...1...

Breaking news!

www.anthonydoudtphotography.com is now live - Call your friends and family!  

(yes, that's Xavier "talking" on a mouse)

I've created a new website to try and kickstart some local photography work here in Raleigh. I will still have, and use, the Fine Art website to sell prints but this new site will help me potentially attract local photography projects. I'm excited about it!!


Note: www.anthonydoubtphotography.com should also work as I bought the misspelled website as well...just in case.

Bridget Is On The Move

Our sweet little girl is officially crawling all over the place. She's not even 7 months old yet!  It's usually in 2 or 3 movements at a time but she gets where she wants to go eventually.  We believe having a loving and encouraging older brother is helping her reach these milestones much quicker than anticipated. She might be walking by 8 months at this rate.

Here is the video evidence (I used the Hyperlapse app to speed up the process a little):

Bridget at 6 Months

Bridget had her 6 month check up today (a week late) and here are her stats:
Weight: 16 lbs, 14.2 oz (62%)
Height: 26.75 in (78%)

Bridget is still a great sleeper, very good natured, loves to jump, and is very fond of her big brother who makes her laugh. She is also very very close to crawling. She'll get on her hands and knees and rock but hasn't quite made the next movement.  She still finds ways to scoot around and only gets upset when she backs up and gets stuck under the couch.

Here are some recent photos and videos of Xavier and Bridget:

Halloween 2014

Halloween is so much fun in our neighborhood each year.  We think they import kids for trick or treating...it's a steady flow of kids from 6:30-9pm, if you have enough candy.

Big changes from last year to this year for Xavier. He actually wore the hat to his Nemo costume the whole time and absolutely loved trick or treating. He was running from house to house grabbing for the candy like a pro!  Bridget was her usual cool-self...just hanging out queen-of-the-jungle style.

Relaxing in Savannah

Thanks to Grammy and Papa Doudt looking after X and B, we were able to spend four days enjoying all that Savannah has to offer - great parks, awesome weather, amazing food, and naps!! We watched the sunrise from Tybee Island, enjoyed delicious croissants at Goose Feathers Cafe, late night desert and drinks at Lulu's, and did I mention napping often? Anthony also took advantage of all the photography opportunities that Savannah offers - Tybee Island, all the city parks, historical buildings, the river-walk, etc.

Meanwhile....Back in Raleigh 

Grammy and Papa were looking after our little monkeys providing all the snuggles, wrestling, and choo-choo playing required. Xavier and Bridget had such a good time. Xavier stills asks where Grammy and Papa are (while putting his hands out and striking the pose for the international sign for "I don't know")

Thomas the Train: Part II

As predicted, Xavier had a great time with Thomas and all the "BIG CHOO-CHOOS!!!"



https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajdoudt/sets/72157647753929359/ 

Thomas the Train!!

We are so excited for Xavier...we get to visit Thomas tomorrow at the North Carolina Transportation Museum!! He is going to love it and might break the record for the number of times saying "choo-choo". 

Bridget's 4 Month Stats

We had Bridget's 4 month check up today.  She weighs 14lbs 4oz (52%) and 25 inches long (72%).  She is so sweet and smiley.  She has the cutest dimples and is sleeping through the night.

Bridget loves her big brother, Xavier.  She loves watching him play and is always smiling at his silliness.  Xavier gives tons of kisses and hugs to Bridget and is very sweet with her.  They both love it when he holds her.

Photo credit - Gabrielle Rivera

Roll Over Achieved

Its official, Bridget has rolled over from her back to belly at just shy of 3 months old!!  We don't have video proof yet so you'll have to believe us for now.  She is also very close to sleeping through the night from 6pm - 6am, which is just in time with today being Sara's first day back at work. 

Midwest Summer Tour 2014

In the grand tradition of Clark W. Griswold and the great family road trip, the Doudts packed up the ol' sportwagon and made the trek back to the Midwest.



A few stats to consider over the 13 day trip:
- 35+ hours on the road
- Over 2000 miles driven
- 7 States driven through (twice)
- Over 15 Starbursts consumed by Sara
- At least 4 candy bars consumed
- 0 "blowouts" by the kids (a huge upset for the Vegas odds)
- 30 minutes of drive time through near-tornado-like conditions
- 4 tunnels through mountains
- 6 tollbooths
- 0 Wrong turns
- 0 Speeding tickets (another huge upset for Vegas)
- 0 iPad time for the kids
- Countless "truck, truck, truck" excited screams by Xavier
- 2 Great Grandmas visited multiple times
- 2 Sets of Grandmas and Grandpas visited multiple times
- 5 nephews played with

Months: Xavier - 17, Bridget - 1

Bridget is growing fast and already has a double chin.  :)  She loves baths, being held upright on your chest, and snorts while she sleeps.

Xavier just had his second hair cut and did so well - no crying.  He looks like such a big boy.  He loves water (swimming, just splashing around, and bath time). His new favorite word is but(t).  We're not sure what he's referring to though.

Recent photos of both Bridget and Xavier.

Bridget's First Week

Bridget is doing really well.  She loves to sleep and was already back to birth weight within a few days. After a few days of not felling well, Xavier is back to his old self.  Here are a few photos from Bridget's first week which included a trip to Duke Gardens with Grammy and Papa Doudt.

A Perfect Mother's Day Gift

Bridget Catherine Doudt arrived earlier than planned.  She decided it was time to see the world at 5:53am on Sunday, 5/11/14.  She weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces and was 21.5 inches long.  Sara's C-Section went perfect and Bridget came out singing...loudly, and hasn't stopped.  She certainly has a set of lungs on her.  Bridget has got a lot of black hair that likes to stick up in mow-hawk fashion.  She is a great eater and so far loves to nap in the daytime...which we need to get switched to the nighttime.

Xavier has been a good big brother, pointing at Bridget and saying, "baby."  Otherwise, he's mostly ignored her probably thinking she'll leave at some point.  :)  Unfortunately, Xavier has been dealing with an ear infection and cold so he's been a little extra clingy and fussy.

We also wanted to give a shout-out and BIG THANKS to Gabrielle, Ben, Barbara, and Brian for all their help on Saturday night and Sunday looking after Xavier while we went to the hospital.  Plus, Brian mowed our lawn.  It's never looked so good.  Being so far from family, it's such a blessing to have close friends there for you.

This Just In: More Photos of XAVIER!

Xavier at 16 Months

India Trip

In early April I was sent to India for two weeks by Ontario Systems for a client going live on one of their software packages.  It was my second trip to India for work purposes...the first trip was to the New Delhi area.  This time we flew to Mumbai and then drove onto Pune where the client is located.  It was a good trip and the client was happy with what we accomplished. I was glad I went but I missed Sara and Xavier desperately....thankfully we were able to FaceTime almost everyday which helped.

Here are some of the photos from the trip.

Xavier Loves To Swing

At the park-010-1.jpg a photo by ajdoudt on Flickr.

We had a great time at the park on Saturday. Xavier loves the slides and sandbox too! More photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajdoudt

Photos!

ajdoudt's photostream on Flickr.

Recent photos of Xavier (14 months!), lilies, and of my recent trip to Boca Raton, FL, for a reunion of the 1999 FAU Baseball team celebrating our record breaking season.

Xavier and Snow-002.jpg

Xavier and Snow-002.jpg a photo by ajdoudt on Flickr.

Xavier got a part in the new Spiderman movie! He's playing the role of Spiderman's sidekick, Captain Uh-Oh.

Tenacious

Lately Xavier will hold on to one Cheerio for hours after his snack.  He won't give it up for anything and it turns into mush after a while.  He is tenacious.

Raleigh Snow

Raleigh Snow, a set on Flickr.

Woke up this morning to a big snow fall from last night. :)

One of Each

We've already posted this on Facebook but wanted to share here as well.  Xavier is going to be a big brother!  We are due in late May and recently we found out it'll be a girl.  Isn't she cute?!

We have a couple names that we like but haven't made a final decision, and we're not planning to share the name until she's born.  :)  Next step, get her room figured out and outfitted.

As for the X-Man, he is a walking machine.  He took his first tentative steps back in mid-November but didn't really get moving until the first week of December.  He's now running around like crazy.

His first word was "ball" and he's since added "uh-oh" and "wow".  He is a great eater...when he wants to be.  He loves yogurt, bananas, corn, peas, oranges, grapes, milk, rice, green beans, and bagels.

We are getting settled in Raleigh and really enjoying the mild temperatures, especially with the Polar Vortex hitting the midwest right now.  We've even been able to use our screened in back porch several times this winter!