Lesson Learned

Back in my newlywed, pre-children days, I used to sit in sacrament meeting at church and observe all the different children and would say to myself, "My kids will sit quietly on the bench with their coloring books and be the well-behaved type."  Ha!  Lesson learned: don't judge the moms with the rowdy, loud kids that just want to get out of the pew and run free because you will get one!  I am humbled by my naive judgments and realize now that a mom (and dad, and grandma) can do all they can do to try to get a very determined 21-month old to sit still and behave during sacrament meeting and it just won't work.  There are probably eyes out there in the congregation judging me and the "wild Curtis boy", but I love this kid and were it not for his spunk and attitude, he would not be the Durham Curtis that brings so much joy and laughter to his parents!

Just a quick update on Durham - He is 21 months and talking up a storm!  I just love his little "scratchy voice" (his daddy had a voice like that when he was young and the neighbor kid called him "the kid with the scratchy voice") and his cute little way of pronouncing things.  For example, a spoon is a "foom", open it is "opone it", grandma is "goga", and soap is "soat".  He will say anything you say, or at least attempt it, and is such a little sponge.  Every single day he learns something new and as a mom it is fascinating to watch.  He is definitely still a ham and loves to make you laugh.

He is also quite the daredevil.  Dan and I still don't know where this comes from... Uncle Tyler maybe?  His newest thing is to stand up on the seat of his "quad" with no hands, just standing straight up on the seat.  The other day he threw a fit at Grandma Curtis' house because he wanted to ride his quad toy there down the four concrete steps in their backyard.  He also likes to get up on the back of the couch and jump down to the couch cushions.  I think we have our hands full with this little dude!

And finally, tomorrow at noon Durham gets to officially become a big brother!  We have been telling him that mama has brother in her belly so he will come up to me, put his hand on my belly and say "brother" (more like "bwuthew").  We also added a crib to his room and he will show us which bed is his and which bed is for "brother".  I don't think he fully grasps what is coming his way, but we will soon find out how he feels about it.  Dan and I are both a little nervous since Durham's birth was so scary, but my doctor has assured me that things will be very different this time and it will be a smooth delivery.  I am honestly looking forward to getting the c-section and hospital time over with so I can be home with my boys!  Wish us luck and keep us in your prayers!

Dune Ready

Apparently he paid attention to how it all works when we have gone to the dunes. Ay.

The Halloween that Wasn't...

We attempted taking Durham trick or treating this year with no luck. He threw a monster tantrum before we could even try to get him in his costume and it was all downhill from there. We managed to get him in his costume and carry him to the houses on our street just to get some candy in his bucket and call it a night.

The only good picture we got of him in his costume

Because all the others look like this. :\

Poor guy, Halloween just was not his thing this year. Wish us better luck next year with 2 trick or treaters. :)

Family Photos and The Punkin' Patch

We took some 2011 family photos in September this year with the amazing Sarah from Moments Defined Photography and here are a few of my favorites.

Just this past weekend we took Durham on his first ever visit to the pumpkin patch and he had a blast! He was pointing and laughing at all of the scarecrows (cute ones, not creepy ones). He thought they were great. He also went to a little petting zoo they had set up and of all the cute and cuddly animals that were there, the gnarly-looking turkey was his favorite. He just wanted to stand by it and laugh. Silly boy!

We took a tractor pulled hayride out to the pumpkin patch and got to stomp around in the field to find our pumpkin. Dan would kneel down with Durham so he could pound on the pumpkins to find the right one. We found a great one and were waiting for the next tractor to come back around and pick us up, when Durham decided to throw a "terrible two tantrum" in the middle of the pumpkin patch. Lately he has been really into taking lids off of things and screwing them back on. He wanted to do this with his sippy cup and I wouldn't let him so he threw the biggest fit he has ever publicly thrown. To be even more dramatic than just screaming as loud as he possibly could, he bent forward with his hands on the ground and his butt up in the air (think stinkbug) and was screaming. I think all of the people around just laughed it off... or at least I hope they did. But, wow, the terrible twos really are terrible! He got over his sippy cup anger and was just fine after that, so we wandered around a little more then headed home. It was a great day at the punkin' patch!

Laughing at the scarecrows

My little punkin'!

Watching the nasty white turkey and loving it

Hold on tight!

The tractor

Right before he threw his massive stinkbug fit

Durham and daddy pounding the pumpkins to find the perfect one

They got one!

Calling All Moms!!

HELP! I have the pickiest little eater in the world! Well maybe not that drastic, but pretty darn close. So if any of you moms have tricks, tips, suggestions for picky little eaters, PLEASE pass them along.

Here is everything I have tried with him and what he will/ will not eat.

He WILL eat:

• toast, only if it has a lot of butter with cinnamon and sugar


• applesauce


• yogurt


• pudding


• oatmeal


• nutri-grain bars


• cookies and cupcakes (shocker!)


• some dry cereals - cheerios, captain crunch


• graham crackers


• mashed potatos - only when he feels like it and that is not very often


• watermelon


• strawberries


• bananas on a good day


• ice cream (another shocker! haha)

I have tried feeding him all of these things and he will NOT eat them:

• pasta - spaghetti, penne, rotini


• mac and cheese


• cheese - grated, cut, slices, cheese stick, cubed you name it, he hates it!


• rice


• ground beef


• shredded chicken


• potato soup


• casseroles


• cooked carrots


• green beans


• chicken nuggets


• french fries


• waffles


• those miniature bagels


• oranges


• peanut butter (including PB & J sandwiches)


• peas


• those little cups of fruit (really small pieces)


• pizza

I always try to feed him whatever I am eating and sometimes he acts like he's interested but maybe is a little afraid. And if I ever do get him to take a bite of what I'm eating, 95% of the time he ends up spitting it out. Any suggestions are welcome besides the "starve your kid until he eats green beans" one, I'm not down with that. Thanks for helping a girl out! :)

My One-Year Old

Durham is one! Time really does fly, I believe it now. I know I have skipped over the last few months, but this kid is BUSY so he keeps his mama super busy! Here's a little rundown:

He started walking at 10 months and is constantly on the go. This kid has places to see, things to get into, messes to make, you name it! He sure is fun though! He is showing to be a bit of a picky eater (not surprising being a Curtis and all) and his favorite things to eat are graham crackers and yogurt. I cannot for the life of me get him to eat any meat, cheese, mashed potatos, or any of those common foods babies are supposed to love. :\ We're working on it everyday. He loves to get in the fridge and especially loves to get the mustard bottle out and carry it around the house with him. Random!

He's a tiny guy. Tall, but super skinny (also not surprising being a Curtis). At his doctor's appointments he's been below the 5th percentile for weight and in like the 60 - 75th percentile for height. We had a follow-up appointment a month after his 9 month well check so the doctor could make sure he wasn't dropping any lower with his weight and she put him on the "normal" growth curve from the CDC (which compares him to babies in the U.S. only) and he is like a good inch below the bottom line. So then she put him on the growth curve for the World Health Organization (which compares him to babies across the world) and he was much higher on the chart. She said "It looks better if we compare him to babies in third world countries." Haha. Great.

He's a chatty boy. He likes to go on and on saying "dada", "doe", "mama" (not as often as dada), "nene", and many other baby words that I have no idea how to spell. What I love the most is when he gets sleepy, he does this little cooing/chatting that makes my heart smile. :)

He has decided that sleep is not for him. When he is at home with me he will not take a nap until the afternoon and it is his only nap of the day. Then he will stay up until 10:30 p.m. if I'll let him. I've started working on getting him to put himself to sleep and sometimes it works, other times, not so much. He takes 2 naps at Grandma Jessie's house, though. Maybe he just wants to stay up and hang out with his mama. That's what I tell myself at least...

He is sweet. Sometimes I'll be holding him and he will randomly lean in and "kiss" my cheek. I love it, drool and all. He is gaining a ton of independence, but there are times when he just wants to snuggle.

Lastly, he is incredibly difficult to photograph. It takes many, many tries to get a good, or even semi-good picture of him. He doesn't hold still and just wants to get the camera from me! Evidence ----->

We love our Durham! Happy 1st birthday, baby boy!

Two of a Kind

Like father like son...