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...

Six Months

Durham is six months old now and is crawling all over the place! He also likes to pull himself up to stand against whatever he can find for leverage. If he is determined to do something, you can bet he'll do it... uh oh, he gets that from his mama. He's a happy, smiley boy who likes to laugh and babble. We're starting to get into that fun period that people talk about. The other night he got the giggles so bad while I was trying to feed him in his highchair that I just had to stop and laugh with him. We laughed for about five minutes straight! He loves to be free to crawl around. I have to chase this boy everywhere! It won't be long before he starts walking. His doctor predicted he'll be walking before 9 months... I bet she's right. Yikes!

Standing up in his crib

He watches his shows like this

or like this

He crawls over to watch the dogs

Then crawls to me to climb up me

Determined to move

Sitting on the floor pulling toys out of his toybox :)

I Don't Usually Do This

I have never written down new year's resolutions, much less been strict on myself about sticking to and fulfilling new year's resolutions, but this year is going to be different. I don't usually do this but I feel like having other people read my resolutions will push me to stick to them. So here are my resolutions for 2011:

1. Hug my loved ones every chance I get


2. Tell the people I love "I love you" more often and mean it


3. Talk sweeter


4. Don't be so judgmental


5. Become a stay-at-home mom


6. Don't be in such a rush all the time - slooooow down


7. Do more as a family


8. Cherish time visiting with family and don't worry so much about every little thing that has to get done

These may sound simple enough, but these are areas where I could use some improvement. Now that I know you all know about these, I HAVE to reach them. Recent events have reminded me that we never know when our last day with our loved ones on this earth will be, so a lot has been on my mind regarding how I will live the rest of my life. Thanks for helping to push me along. :)