Boys will be boys...

Durham-isms

At 2 years old, Durham is talking up a storm!  Here are a few Durham-ism's:

"Hold you!" - when he wants you to hold him this is what he says.

His standard greeting for anytime of the day is "Good morning!" (And yes, the exclamation points are necessary because he says it with such enthusiasm.)

"Where it is?" = Where is it?

Any kind of cereal is "mini neats" (mini wheats)

"What-a-doing?" = What are you doing?

"Durma" = Durham (poor kid can't even pronounce his own name)

"Drive face!" = Drive safe

It's hard to believe this munchkin is already 2.  Time flies.

Happy Baby

Cruz is 3 months old (tomorrow) and is such a happy, content baby.  He's such a sweet little guy who still loves to be held all the time and sleeps through the night like a champ.  Woo hoo!  He just recently started laughing which just brings smiles to everyone around.  Who doesn't love hearing a little baby laugh?!  Enjoy!

And the winner is... the wiener!

(This post is about hot dogs, don't freak out.)

So as I have mentioned a few times before, Durham is a ridiculously picky eater.  The kid eats the same 10 or so items all the time and refuses to try anything new.  He has never eaten any sort of meat ever... until a few days ago.

I try every single day to get him to try something new or hide new food in the things he will eat (which he usually finds and spits out).  So Saturday I decided to try to get him to eat a hot dog and he picked it up and started playing with it, which was a good sign to start because it's hard for him to even touch or show interest in any sort of new food.  He wouldn't bite it so I cut it into teeny tiny pieces and hid it in the mashed sweet potato he was eating.  He found it at first and said "Byoo!" (meaning blue) which is what he does when I try to hide blueberries in things so he spit it out.  I tried again and he ate it!  I told Dan about my victory and he said "That's good!  But that's sounds like a really gross combination."  haha!  Whatever, he ate it.  :)

I realize hot dogs are not the most nutritious thing to be feeding him, heck I don't even really like eating the mystery meat wieners myself, but I look at it as a huge victory in the debacle of feeding Durham.  I am hopeful that it leads to him trying more new things.  :)  Cross your fingers!

Snoozin'...

...on a summer afternoon...

Baby Cruz and his cousin, Gwen.  They fell asleep while at Grandma Curtis' house.  Cute babies!  By the way, did you get it, "Snoozin' on a summer afternoon" instead of "Cruisin' on a Sunday afternoon"?  :)  Hahaha I know it's not funny when you have to explain it, but I'm not that clever very often so I'm kind of excited about it!

He's Here!

Cruz Alexander Curtis was born via scheduled c-section (whew.. no drama this time) on April 23rd, 2012 at 1:07 p.m.  He weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces and was 19 1/4 inches long.  Now for the details...

I was scheduled for a c-section at noon on April 23rd, but had to check in at 10 a.m. to get all prepped and ready.  The night before Dan and I were both nervous wrecks.  I was scared to death that what happened with Durham's birth (amniotic fluid embolism where my lungs collapsed) would happen again and I might be living my last hours.  Sounds morbid, but it's true.  I even wrote letters to my boys just in case.  Yup, nervous wreck!!  So we said a prayer and tried to get some sleep.

The next day we dropped Durham off at grandma's house and headed to the hospital.  I was really calm somehow, but Dan was still really nervous.  We got to the hospital and our nurse, Diane, came out to talk to us.  She was so, so nice and was shocked to hear what had happened with Durham's birth.  We got to our room and there were 2 other nurses there so help get me all hooked up to everything and get paperwork done.

My cool hair net

Dan's super cool O.R. outfit

The anesthesiologist came in to talk to me and go over what to expect to happen before and during the surgery.  He was a funny guy.  He had read my history and knew of the amniotic fluid embolism that happened last time so when he came in he said, "I am aware of the drama from last time so let's just not talk about that.  We are going to have a boring c-section today.  I am sooooo bored just thinking about how boring it's going to be."  He helped lighten our moods and explained everything to Dan and me.

They had me all set to go and so we were just waiting for my doctor to arrive so we could move to the O.R.  She came in a little after noon so they took Dan and I over to the O.R.  They got me on the operating table and just when they were about ready to get me set up for the surgery, my doctor popped her head in and said she had to go deliver a baby.  So they wrapped me in like 5 warm blankets (the O.R. is fa-reeezing!!!) and we just sat around talking with the nurses and the anesthesiologist for about 20 minutes or so.

Finally my doctor came back and said they could go ahead and prep me.  I think that's when my nerves finally hit me that day.  I became very quiet and just tried to keep myself calm.  They gave me a spinal block and wow, was that painful!  Probably the most painful part of the whole thing.  An epidural is cake compared to how this felt and not to mention he had to poke my spine 3 times to find a suitable spot because the first two places were too "tight" in his words.  Ouch.  :(

Once the spinal block was all set they laid me down on the table, set up the big blue sheet to block my vision of blood and guts, and my doctor started some tests to see if I could feel anything.  It's very strange because you can actually feel things.  For instance, she asked what I felt and I told her it felt like she was tapping me with her finger.  She showed me over the sheet that she was holding a very scary looking set of pliers and said she was actually pinching me with them.  So once they knew I was good and numb, they began the surgery.  In about 10 minutes the nurses pushed down hard on my chest area (the anesthesiologist told us to expect this and to expect a lot of pressure afterward) and I heard my doctor say "There you are handsome boy.  Oh, you have your cord wrapped around your neck" and I started to worry a little because I hadn't heard the baby make any noise.  She then reached over the sheet holding baby Cruz and put his little face against mine to give me a kiss.  Then he made a noise, a short little "AH!"  At that point I couldn't see him very well because I had tears in my eyes and my hands were tied down so I couldn't wipe them, but it was love at first sight!  That moment was so intense for Dan and I since we never got to experience that "fresh out of the oven" moment with Durham.  It is beyond words to describe the feeling of meeting the little human you created for the first time.  

Cruz Alexander Curtis

Dan went with the nurses to check out baby Cruz while I was still on the operating table.  The anesthesiologist was by my head the whole time and thank goodness he was because with Dan gone and everyone else behind the sheet, I felt a little alone.  The anesthesiologist had warned me that after having all of the pressure pushed on me to help get the baby out, I would probably feel tightness and pressure in my chest.  Knowing my history from last time when my lungs collapsed, he told me not to associate this pressure in my chest with what happened last time.  Well, as hard as I tried not to do that, I kind of freaked out because the pressure was so intense.  He was very attentive and kept asking me if I was alright and he knew that I was freaking out a little, so he asked if I wanted something to calm down and I said yes.  Then I was just fine.  The surgery took a lot longer than I had anticipated, or maybe it just seemed like a really long time after the excitement was over and I was just stuck strapped down to the operating table.  

Sweet baby boy

As soon as it was done they wheeled my bed into recovery and I got to hold Cruz and nurse him.  We stayed in the hospital 3 days and had nothing major happen with the exception of my IV blowing and dumping all of the fluids under my skin for who knows how long since I was asleep.  My hand literally looked like a latex glove blown full of air.  I couldn't even pick up Cruz to hold him and Dan had to help me every time I had to nurse him.  Not fun, but if that was the worst thing that happened with this birth, I'll take it.  

We brought baby Cruz home and the first few days at home with Durham and a newborn were very rough.  Our entire family also ended up with a wicked cold and let me tell you, having your guts cut open and having to cough is extremely painful.  It's also difficult to be sick, be recovering from surgery, take care of a newborn, and take care of a sick toddler, but somehow we managed to survive it and we are great now.  

Cruz is a very sweet little baby and loves to be held.  He is happy as long as you are holding him.  He is 2 months old now (I know, geez, it took me a long time to get this post done!) and is starting to smile and giggle while staring off into space.  :)  Durham has adjusted really well to having a baby brother and loves to be called a "helper".  My days are extremely busy, but they are joyful.  These little boys bring a lot of smiles to my face and a lot of love in my heart.

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...

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 :)