Happy Halloween!

It's been a fun and busy week full of Halloween parties at church, school, home, and the neighborhood. The kids have loved dressing up so much, and I have a feeling the costumes won't go away after tonight! We have all had WAY TOO MUCH candy already, but I guess that's what Halloween is all about, right?!

cute and curly

Today while Jessica and Will were at school I took Jonathan to the park with camera in hand. Will keeps bugging me to cut Jonathan's hair, but I keep putting him off saying I want pictures first. I figured I better take the pictures and stop pushing my luck, because one of these days I'm going to come home from the store and his hair is going to be gone!

When I ask Jonathan to look at Mommy and smile, this is his idea of a good pose I guess!!
(Nice Jonathan!!)

It's a BOY!!

Well, it's official. Curtis baby number 4 is a BOY! I admit that I was holding out hope for a girl, but I had a feeling the baby was a boy, so it wasn't too much of a surprise.
Jessica is super-super excited! I was a little afraid that she would be disappointing with the news of another brother, but she started literally jumping for joy when we told her.
I was a bit shocked at her reaction, so I asked her why she didn't want a sister. She said, "If I'm the only girl, that means I get to have all of your make-up and jewelry when I get older!" Leave it to Jessica to come up with that!!
(We got a bit of the screaming and jumping on video, so I'll try and post too.)
So anyway, we are excited and nervous about this little ones arrival. I feel like we've just adjusted to life with 3 children, but I guess that means it's time to shake things up again! : )
Every check-up my due date gets moved up a little. The latest estimated due date is February 8th. (That makes me about 17 weeks along.)
On Sunday I pulled a muscle in my side. I don't remember doing anything specifically to hurt it, but we figure it probably involved picking up Jonathan. He's hanging out around 26 pounds -- the little chunk!! It's been bothering me quite a bit, but each day it seems a little better.
I just started feeling the baby kick, so that's fun. (At least it's fun now because it doesn't hurt yet!) I'm also getting too big for my regular clothes, so I made my first maternity shopping trip yesterday.
Will and I are starting to think about getting a bigger car -- any suggestions?? mini-van or SUV?
Well, that's it for now. I'll keep you updated.

Jonathan vs. the front porch step

Well, Jonathan had a bit of a run-in today with the front porch step. The 4 inch step has been something that Jonathan has been conquering for a few weeks now, but today the step got the better of him. : (

First day of School

Yesterday was Jessica's first day of Kindergarten and Will's first day of Pre-K.
Jessica told me, "Mom, I'm a Kindergartner, so that means I'm a little bit nervous." But she was also excited. She did great when I dropped her off, and when I saw her after school before I had time to say anything she yelled, "Mom!! I LOVE Kindergarten!!" She said that her favorite part was nap time (um . . . that was unexpected!). She said that she didn't sleep she just got to talk to her friend Jaden the whole time! She liked PE and recess and she liked eating lunch at school. She made a few new friends, but told me that she doesn't want to meet everybody yet, just a few friends at first. She got to color a picture of a little girl to look just like her, and they watched a movie about counting. She was very excited to go back to school today, so I hope it lasts.

Will has Jessica's teacher from last year, and we already know that we love her. He had fun, although he kept telling me that they didn't do anything. (He's not nearly as talkative as Jessica!) However, I knew he had a good time, becuase this morning he got out of bed, got dressed, and told me it was time to take him to school -- even though it was only about 7:00 am.

Happy Birthday Willbon!!

Happy Birthday Willbon! I can't believe you're already 4 years old. For awhile you insisted that you were turning 5, but when the day finally arrived you were very happy to be 4. You told everyone it was your birthday, and you proudly held up 4 fingers when they asked you how old you were.

Will initially wanted a Lightning McQueen cake, but he insisted that it be a 3-D version of the famous race car -- way beyond my novice cake-making skills!! So I strategically convinced him that a Spiderman cake would be very cool, and he agreed. He saw a spiderman cartoon a few weeks ago, and he has been very into everything spiderman lately!
He invited his best friend Colby over for his party, and it worked out very nicely because Colby's sister just happens to be Jessica's best friend, and Colby's Mom just happens to be one of my best friends. So it was a party for everyone!
Will got some race cars, a leapster, a dart gun, a toy rifle set, and a spiderman costume. All the toys were a big hit, but I will admit that the guns are loud, and the darts are stuck all over my ceiling!! Oh well, it's all part of the fun.
Happy Birthday Will!

Happy Birthday Grandma Curtis!

We are lucky to have such a great Grandma, and we wanted to say Happy Birthday!! I was asking Jessica some questions about Grandma, and here's how it went:

Me: What is your favorite thing to do with Grandma?
Jessica: Play Molly with her.

Me: Where's your favorite place to go with Grandma?
Jessica: McDonalds.

Me: How old do you think Grandma is today?
Jessica: Well . . . how old was she before her birthday?

Me: Why is your Grandma so special to you?
Jessica: She's super nice, and loves me super much.

Me: Why do you love Grandma so much?
Jessica: Because she loves me so.

Happy Birthday. Thanks for being such a great Grandma (not a great-grandma, but you know, a wonderful Grandma! :-) , mother-in law, and Mom. We love you and hope that you have a great day. You deserve it!

PS. Will asked me to make sure I got your package mailed last week, and it's still on my desk. I'm so sorry. I'll get that in the mail for you (and I might as well include our Father's Day gift for Jess at this point!!) :-/

Stary Night

Jessica and Willbon love the movie Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. In the movie there's a part where they put up glow stars all around the room. So we went to the store to buy some glow stars, and Jessica and Will were pretty excited when we let them put up the stars wherever they wanted to in their room.

These are the stars above Jessica's bed.
(This is the first time I've tried a night shot with my camera . . . and I love it!!)

Super Mom

I haven't posted recently because I've been busy being Super Mom. : )
I've been excersizing, preparing three family meals a day, playing with the children more -- inside and outside, going to the park and the beach, riding bikes, cleaning up after everyone, keeping up with all the laundry, doing the dishes after every meal, teaching Jessica how to read and write, helping Will with his letters, letting Jonathan walk everywhere, getting everyone in bed at least 5 minutes before bedtime, getting to school on time, and a host of other things that are keeping me busy busy busy!
I don't mention these things to toot my own horn, because I'm the first one to admit that this is quite unusual for me. I usually do what I need to do to keep things running moderately smoothly, and then I put off the rest. I spend my free time (time when everyone is happy and playing and/or napping) updating my blog, scrapbooking, surfing the net, or watching TV. Now I am spending my free time lying in bed completely exhausted and sore from head to toe.
I am going to have to redefine what Super Mom means, because this effort I've been putting in is crazy! Thankfully I am very blessed to have a family that appreciates me for however much or little I do. : )
In the mean time, full steam ahead!! Hopefully my family can enjoy the clean house, family meals, fun and games, and extra attention while I still have the energy to keep it up.
Hats off to all the great Mom's out there. It's an exhausting job, but extremely rewarding -- especially when going the extra mile!

Let him eat cake!

After naps were over we made cupcakes, and Jessica and Will frosted them all by themselves! They had lots of fun, and then we all had fun eating them -- especially the birthday boy!!

Jonathan has probably had bits of cake and frosting here or there (mostly snuck to him by his father!!), but this was his first cupcake to eat as he pleased, and he loved it! As you can see from the pictures, he had no reservations smearing that frosting all over his face, hands, shirt, table, floor, etc! Immediately following the festivities, all the children went straight in the bath.

We were hoping to celebrate at the park, but it turned out to be a rainy day, so once the rain stopped, we all went for a little bike ride instead. It turned out to be a nice relaxing day, and we got to spend lots of time together, which is always nice. : )

PS. I just wanted to add that Will and I have found lots of joy in the Gorilla Blocks today too. They are pretty fun! Will was shooing the kids away as he was trying to build with the blocks. As he describes it, he was trying to maintain the integrity of a structurally sound superstructure, or as Jessica describes it, he was building a house with windows! lol

PPS. Happy Birthday little Spud!! We had a fun day (even if you won't remember it!).

Gorilla Blocks

All the children loved the Gorilla Blocks Grandma Curtis gave Jonathan for his birthday. Jessica and Will quickly took over building, and Jonathan went from tower to tower tipping them over!! He then discovered that they were fun to crawl on, stick his head into, and of course -- BITE! I'm happy to say that the hardy blocks withstood all of Jonathan's investigating, including the biting! Somebody over at the factory was thinking on this one!

This is Jessica and Will posing by the alien Jessica built.

Thanks Grandma!!

Happy Birthday Jonathan!!

My Dear Sweet Jonathan,

I can't believe it's already been a year since you were born. It seems like just a few weeks ago that you were lying in my arms in the hospital looking around at everything wide-eyed and curious. It seems like just a few weeks ago that you were cuddling up and falling asleep on my chest. Just a few weeks ago that you were sleeping in our bed and reaching out to touch my face so you could fall asleep. Just a few weeks since you’ve wanted to nurse every few hours. Just a few weeks since we could put you anywhere, and not have to worry about you rolling off.

And now look at you!! You have learned to roll, sit, crawl and walk – and sleep in your own crib!! You are eating table foods, and drinking milk out of a cup. You are playing with toys and can entertain yourself. You are trying your hardest to keep up with your brother and sister. You love to laugh, and you love to make us laugh. You have an infectious smile that spreads across your whole face!! You love to go outside, and every time the door opens you race over to see if someone will let you out. You are mostly calm and laid back, and content to watch things happen around you. However, you’ve developed a bit of a temper when it comes to someone taking something away from you, or preventing you from going somewhere you want. I guess that’s all part of trying to fight for your rights with two older siblings!!

You are still so sweet. You still love to cuddle, and every morning before we get up for the day Daddy puts you in bed next to me so we can enjoy a few moments together before everyone else gets up. You snuggle in close and lay your head on my chest, just like you used to do when you were a baby. The last few weeks you have become very attached to me. You cry if I put you down, or give you to Daddy. You rarely want to leave my side! I know that even these moments will be gone all too soon, so in the meantime I cherish them.

I don’t want to forget these precious times. I know that there will be many many precious moments with you to come, and I can’t wait to be there cheering you on. Soon you will be talking, and running, and then before I know it you will be off to school!

I’m grateful for the times I can look back and remember the little baby you were and I’m grateful for the glimpses that I see of the little boy you are becoming.

I love you, and am so glad that you are part of our family. : )

Love, Mom

From tender to terrible!

Any guesses why our little cherub is so upset?

It's true, he's turning out to have quite the personality! Hmmmm, I guess this shouldn't really surprise me, but he's been so sweet for so long. : /

*Answer to the question: We took the remote control away!*

Bedtime invasion, 2nd view.

Bedtime invasion ...

We go through this almost every night when Jessica and Will are in bed before Jonathan. Jonathan loves to make his brother and sister laugh!

Jessica loves to dance

Playing in the sprinklers

I thought I'd try to upload my videos to you tube and then link to them to see if that was any easier or quicker. I don't think it is, and the quality is pretty bad! : (
Anyway, back to the video, Jessica and Will were having so much fun playing in the sprinklers. Everytime Jessica and Will would go between a sprinkler they would yell, "split!" They also loved counting to 5 and then running around! It might be kind of hard to notice on the video, but they took their shoes off a bit before I shot this and put them over a few sprinkler heads to make the water spray in different directions! I love watching them having so much fun -- and getting along!!

another clip of Jonathan walking ...

Jonathan walks ...

My latest pics of Jonathan

While Jessica and Willbon were busy running through the sprinklers, I took a few minutes to snap these pictures of Jonathan with my new lens. Notice the dirt on his face!! He was trying to eat the dirt from the garden like a typical boy!

Running in the Sprinklers

After a week of on-and-off rain, Jessica and Will were tired of being cooped up inside the house. Today was finally a nice sunny warm day, so we decided to go play in the sprinklers. Jessica and Will had lots of fun, and Jonathan enjoyed himself too.

Video of Jonathan Clapping

Happy birthday to me!! I got a new camcorder for my birthday, as well as a new lens and flash for my still camera, and Guitar Hero 2 and the movie Enchanted!! Wow! I made out like a bandit this year! : ) Thanks everyone!!
We are testing out the new camcorder, and trying to figure out the easiest way to get videos to the blog. !CLICK HERE! , and then push the play button, to see a video of Jonathan standing and clapping on Will's blog.
As soon as we get everything figured out I'll get a video of Jonathan walking!!

another little troublemaker

Well, I think I can make it official! Jonathan is following closely behind in the footsteps of his older brother (--and sister!). It's amazing how much more of their personality comes out when they are more mobile. Now that Jonathan is getting more steady on his feet, and he is not afraid to travel the house alone, we are starting to see his mischievous side!
It started after he learned to crawl, and he headed straight for the kitchen trash can and proceeded to knock it over and play with the trash he found! Then he discovered the toilets, and then the tub and showers. After that he decided his new favorite place to play was the fireplace! He was constantly sneaking over to try and play in the ashes. The latest conquest has been the kitchen cupboards. Now that he can stand up, he loves to open and shut the cupboards, and while he's there he finds joy in emptying them of their contents! Thankfully some of our cupboards are childproofed (and soon they all will be!!), but of course, Jonathan has discovered which ones are open and he heads straight for them! Yesterday he found a glass pitcher that he thought he would try and bang against the tile to see what would happen. : / A huge crash, and lots of shattered glass later, we made it official -- Jonathan is another little troublemaker!!

sick?!

We've all finally gotten over an ugly flu bug. First Will and Jonathan had it, then the next day Jessica and I had it, and then yesterday Willbon got it. : / It was definately NOT fun, but thankfully we're all better now.
It's always hard for me when the kids are sick, because I don't always know what to do to help them feel better. (Especially when it's the flu, and a bowl of ice-cream doesn't help!) Well, this time around, when I was sick I just wanted to lay in the tub, so I figured maybe the kids would like that as well. They did! especially Will. I think it's amazing that even when he is sick, and hasn't had anything to eat or drink, and has been throwing up, he still has this sparkle in his eyes. He's a sweet precious boy!
Enjoy the pics.

Doesn't get much cuter!

Jonathan loves to stick out his little tongue!! I think it's so cute -- but you can judge for yourselves!

Jonathan standing up

Here are some pictures when Jonathan was standing up all by himself!

Jonathan's first steps!!

Yesterday Jonathan decided that he liked to stand all by himself. He would stand for around 10 seconds, and then reach out for me to hold him. This morning I stood him up to see if he would still do it, and after standing for a few seconds he took a step toward me and then stopped, and then another step, and then stopped and then three more!! 5 steps!! Jessica was with me, and we both clapped and cheered him on!! In less than a week Jonathan will be 11 months old. It's pretty amazing, but somehow he's managing to move those bulky thighs, and he's pretty stable!!

Pics of Will

Since the kids were getting tired of me practicing on them, I got another target -- Will!! I think we got some really great pictures. Here are some of my favorites:

playing with my camera

I've been having lots of fun the last few days playing around with my camera and photo editing software. Here are some of the pictures I've been working on:

Easter pictures at the landing

My Gramma coming?

Willbon has had a one track mind for about three days now. We told him and Jessica that Grandma and Grandpa were coming to visit, and Will can't get over it. Everyday he asks me over and over again, "My Gramma Coming?" I couldn't believe how much he asked, so this morning I decided I was going to count how many times he talked about Gramma coming.
When I reached 30 times . . . and it wasn't even 9:30 am!! . . . I decided to just say -- A LOT!! And that doesn't include the 5 people he saw this morning while we were dropping Jessica off at school that he told, "My Gramma coming in 5 days!"
I guess he is very very very excited!!! Hopefully he won't drive us all crazy the next few days, but this kid sure is thinking about Gramma coming ALL day long!
We are all excited, but this time, especially Willbon! : )

Thunder Thighs

Check out these thighs!!

Will can draw

Will has been content to scribble with crayons and pens for awhile now. Mostly he likes to draw on the carpet and walls and couches and chairs, but something happened around Valentine's day. He decided it was time to start drawing actual things instead of just scribbles. He started with a smiley-face, and then started drawing scary pumpkins (jack-o-lanterns), and then he surprised me with this octopus. It even has 8 legs!! Good job Will.

4 teeth!

Jonathan has 4 little teeth now. Two on the top and two on the bottom. They have been causing problems at night, but now that they are out we're all doing much better.
(Now on to the next two that are about to pop through!)

I was trying to get pictures of Jonathan's teeth, and he sneezed! I had to snap the picture.
I can't believe he is 10 months old already! He is getting more and more steady on his feet. He likes to do circles around our coffee table, and he loves to pull up on our french doors and look at his reflection in the glass.

Valentines Day

We had a great Valentines Day. Jessica and Will both had Valentine's parties at pre-school, and they had so much fun decorating cards for all their friends.

Will learned how to draw a smiley face, and he had to put one on every card -- some of the cards had two or three!! He also is getting better at writing a "W" for his name. Usually he draws about 10 lines going up and down while saying, "Down-Up-Down-Up" and then he continues drawing about 5 more down-ups before he's done. Now he draws three of the lines consecutively, and the fourth line separately. It works pretty well, and definitely an improvement.

Jessica was telling me all the people that she loved that she wanted to ask if they would be her Valentine. (It ended up being about her entire class!) When I picked her up from school this little boy named Davis said "Bye Jessica" in a very flirty way, and Jessica turned back and said, "Bye Davis" while swaying her hips and moving her shoulders. I looked at her with an inquisitive stare, and she turned bright red!! She then admitted that she had a secret to tell me, that she and Davis were in love. : ) Oh dear!!

Will and I decided to make chocolate-covered strawberries, and now they are our new favorite!! They were soooooo good! In fact, I just went back and got 3 more cartons of strawberries so that we can make more. (I guess it's my new weakness!)

My little troublemaker

Willbon is a such a typical boy!! He is into everything that's dirty, messy, gross, or not allowed. The following pictures I can post, because I was not home at the time (--good babysitting Honey!! J/K, I couldn't give Will a hard time because the kids do all sorts of things that they're not supposed to on my watch too!) Anyway, I came home to find Will, and all his blankets, pillows, toys, floor, wall, port-a-crib, and many other things, COVERED in powder!!

When I first walked in I thought there was a fire there was so much white smoke in the air. Come to find out it was just my dear sweet 3 year old! He said, "Look Mommy, Will a ghost!" I told him to stay put while I got my camera, and then he was going to help me clean up! I think the look on his face is precious. A little pouty, but hiding a little smile!! It just goes to show you that he wasn't trying to be bad, he just wanted to be a ghost.