Curtis Family

Quick Update

2011-04-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

We have a crazy busy month ahead of us. If you don't know already we are moving to Seattle for the summer while Josh sells Security Systems for the company my brother runs. Josh left almost two weeks ago and I am here with the two crazies by myself. Thankfully I have wonderful parents and in-laws that have been so willing to take them while I get a little breather every once in a while. The first weekend in May I am driving down to one of my best girl friend's weddings in St. George. The munchkins are staying home because its going to be a quick (18 hr car ride) down and back. Leaving Friday, be back Sat night so I can spend Mother's Day with my angels. THEN I am flying back to Tennessee to see another bestie married. My mom is coming with and my sister Kimy is flying down from Jersey to meet us. We will have 5 fun filled days in Country Music Capitol!!! I am taking Dawson with me and Lola will hang with Grandpa Kim, Granny B, Grandpa Steve, Aunt Jill, and Aunt Aubrey. Can't wait to see my friends get married, but all the traveling will be kind of tough. After we get back from Tennessee I am throwing everything in and we are taking off to Seattle. Its been long enough already and by that time i will REALLY need a hug and big kiss from my sweetheart.
Josh is doing well and says he can tell already that this is going to be a great experience for him. Door to door sales is definitely not easy but he says "When I get this down, I will feel like I can conquer anything!" He is an amazing guy and I have all the faith in the world in him. We prayed long and hard about this decision and know that it was the right move for us. Lola has missed him like CRAZY so I have had to really slow down and take one on one time with her. Everytime she says a prayer she asks that Heavenly Father will keep her "best daddy ever" safe till we get to our new house. I can't wait for this new little adventure with our family and look forward to the memories we will make together once we FINALLY make up there!

My Sweetheart

2011-03-16T22:02:00.001-07:00

I have a very wonderful husband! Sure I hate picking up his sweaty basketball clothes after every game (except the few times that he remembers to take them straight to the washer so they don't stink up the entire house), and his obsession with espn can get a little out of hand sometimes, and he turns into a teenager every time nintendo is mentioned and he has stayed up way too late way too many nights playing. But he is so dang cute I just couldn't ever get really mad at him! (for an extended amount of time at least)

He is such a good man. He is a worthy priesthood holder that took me to the temple to get married and continues to take me there as often as possible. He makes me laugh all the time and he gives the best hugs in the whole world! He gives our children blessings frequently and is always so willing to do the same for others. He is so knowledgable about the gospel and makes me want to learn more and be a better person. I know I will NEVER have to worry about him hurting me or my children, being unfaithful, or lying to me. He is just such a good person. I love him more than words could ever say! Next month will mark 9 years since our first date (yes he just had his 25th birthday and I nabbed him up when he was barely of dating age:). 2 High School graduations, 2 missions, 2 kids, and 2 college degrees later I can honestly say that I am the happiest I have ever been. It is all just getting sweeter with time and I am so happy I have an eternity to enjoy with my sweetheart and best friend. Love you Joshy!

The Box

2011-02-12T12:30:00.000-08:00

I HATE clutter and a messy house almost more than I hate anything! Lately it seems as though my house gets especially cuttered from baby stuff to Lola's crazy tirades through the house. On top of that Josh and I leave our fair share of stuff out when we are in a hurry to go places. After breakfast, baths, the fight of doing hair, getting dressed, play time, and lunch I am finally left with a little time to clean while the kids nap. The only problem with that is Lola is in her bed and Dawson naps in our room. So today as I was cleaning I had an empty storage box that I was going to put into our crawl space but instead I filled it up with the stuff from the main living area of our house. It took me about 10 min to make it look the way I like it instead of a half hour plus of running things to and from the rooms in our house. Once they wake up I will have Lola help me put away her things and then put away stuff in our bedroom. I am sure I may be one of the last people to think up this concept but either way I am SO EXCITED! I can get all my "cleaning" done and then have some "me" time during the kids' naps. Who knows maybe this way I will actually get to shower EVERY DAY! That would be incredible and I am sure Josh would appreciate that too! If you have any other tips to making your nap time more efficient or just cleaning in general please send them my way! I love a good clean house!

Lola is SO BIG!

2011-01-27T12:27:00.000-08:00

Can't believe my little buddy turned 2 the first of this month. I am amazed at her every single day of my life and I love her more and more each day. Here is a summary of what my little girl has been doing this past year.

-She is learning a lot of Spanish and recognizes when we are speaking it to her. She can count to 10 (in both languages), name all of her body parts, (also in both languages), and says her prayers (once again, both languages).

-She became a big sister and is absolutely INCREDIBLE with Dawson. She loves him so much and reminds him on a daily basis. I was worried about her being jealous but she involves him in everything and has yet to show any kind of jealousy. Whenever he cries she says "Don't worry Dawsy, I'm coming to rescue you!! We have had to pull food out of his mouth on a few occasions because she just loves to help with him so much. They are now sharing a room and I find her sleeping on the floor by his crib quite often in the mornings. He adores her just as much and often times she is the only one that can get him to stop fussing. I think it is the most amazing thing I have experienced yet as a parent, to see how much they love each other.

-Started going to Nursery which she loves! She sings me the songs and tells me all about her friends that she gets to "play play play" with! She has learned several primary songs and sings them really well with very little help.

-Got rid of the binki! We did that about 7 months ago and moved her into her bed about the same time. I wanted her to be very well adjusted to both of those things before Dawson came around and she didn't disappoint. She struggles with changes at first but it doesn't take her long to get herself acclimated to new things.

-Her vocabulary, pronunciation, and usage of words is beyond amazing to me. She picks up on everything and we have full on conversations all the time. She remembers things so well and can remind me about things that happened weeks ago. She is using pronouns and puts ideas together so well. She just blows me away! I feel so cool that I am her mother!

- She has learned to recognize and "read" her name, Mom, and Dad. She has memorized so many books that she reads most of them to us using the right words on the right pages. It is so cool to watch. After reading her a book just a couple of times she has it pretty well known.

-We are in the potty training process and she knows when, how, and where to do it so it is just a matter of her wanting to. I thought she would love the seat on the "BIG" potty, but we got her her own little potty seat and she is so excited about it that I think that is going to be the key! Can't wait to only have 1 in diapers!

-We started doing "play dates" with my niece and she is learning to share and take turns pretty good. It will take a while but they have so much fun together and it is so good for her to be around kids her own age and not just me and Dawson.

-She is my right hand girl! She loves to get Dawson's diapers and wipes, pick out his clothes and help clean up her toys. She loves to help me do laundry and wash windows and throw things away. Shopping is not so much her thing unless she can throw stuff into a cart for me, but anything else she is totally game for.

I am so very proud of the little lady she is becoming. I thank my Heavenly Father each day for such a special and wonderful daughter. I see the determination and motivation in her already and I know that there are some very special things that await her wonderful life. She and Dawson are the best things that have ever happened to Josh and I and we talk about that on a daily basis. As you can tell I am pretty proud of my big two year old girl. We definitely have our terrible two moments, but overall I would have to agree that this parenting thing just gets better and better!

Vegas Baby!!!!

2011-01-20T15:20:00.000-08:00

My first semester at college was spent at an Island off of Washington called Vashon. There were 20+ students all from very different backgrounds and places. I have kept in contact with a good majority of the girls and this last weekend we all came from our homes from across the country (literally) and met up for a weekend in Vegas. It was AMAZING!!! I have some very incredible friends with some amazing families and stories that inspired me to do and be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, etc.... We stayed in a Resort type place and stayed up WAY too late talking, laughing, and crying together. It was a soul cleansing weekend in alot of ways! I missed my family alot but am so glad I took that time for myself and I feel rejuvinated and ready to be the woman that each of my sweet family members deserve.

A good friend living in Rexburg and I flew down on Friday, we cruised the strip Saturday during the day and that night went to Cirque du Soleil "Ka". There are no words for how incredible I thought that show was. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and as long as I ignored the man with long flowing hair swinging around with glitter all over his body and a semi-small thong, I was BLOWN AWAY!!!!!! I hope everybody gets to experience something like that in their life time. It was AWESOME! Then we all went to a karaoke place where you get your own room and we ROCKED the night away!

Sunday was spent talking and laughing all day long! We talked about our goals for the future and throughout the weekend we took turns sharing our "Idea of the Year". We each brought an idea that has improved our lives this year and shared it with eachother. I was truly inspired! I learned so much and am so excited to implement these ideas into mine and my family's lives. I feel so incredibly blessed to have such wonderful friends. I truly consider them my sisters and am so grateful for the wonderful weekend we were able to spend together. Can't hardly wait for 2013 when we return to Vashon where it all began!!!!!!!!!!

I love FACEBOOK!!!

2011-01-11T13:45:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's which I will blog about later. We have some great pictures to share of our homemade Christmas and I will post them later. Lola had her 2nd Birthday which I will also blog about later, but I got some incredible news today so I just have to share it.

Facebook has kept me in contact with so many people from my mission that I otherwise would never know of again. A little background on my wonderful facebook experience today. I loved all of my mission but there was one area in particular that was very hard for me. My companion at the time and I had some issues, and although it seemed as though I worked harder than ever, it came with very little success. I have always felt a little bad about the time I spent in El Progreso, Jutiapa until today!!!!!

Yesterday I got a friend request from a lady I became good friends with who was not a member of the church and her husband had been inactive for years. They had two beautiful boys and not too long before I left they started coming to church. I hadn't heard much about her at all since I left and then she found me yesterday. I wrote her back and the message I got from her today made me cry tears of happiness. She told me that she had been baptized and that her and her husband and boys had been sealed in the temple 2 years ago. She also told me they added another little boy to their family and she was the Primary President of their little Branch. Obviously I wasn't there for the baptism but I now know some really good seeds had been planted before I left. She was and is a very dear friend. Because of the distance I haven't been able to keep up with her but thanks to facebook I can share in the joy the gospel has brought to her sweet little family. While I was there they met in a small house for church and I heard that the little Branch has grown so much the church has purchased land and is preparing to build these wonderful members a church house. I know Marlin and her family are an incredible asset to the branch and are serving so well to help strengthen the members there. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to serve a mission and the happiness it continues to bring me.

My silly daughter

2010-12-04T22:32:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to share a few of the really cute things that Lola has picked upon lately...

-She GOO's at Dawson and is always telling him "Its ok Daws", "Happy Now", and she loves to report to him throughout the day what she is doing.

-Her new favorite bedtime story is the "Christmas Story" where we talk about Jesus' big birthday party that she just can't wait for! She picked that one up on her own...I was pretty impressed.

-She will go through books and not just make a bunch of sounds but use the actual words from the stories she is reading. My favorite right now is "Where the Wild Things Are".

-The morning after we put the tree up she came running into our room squealing and making this really cute gasping sound saying "Mom and Dad...CHRISTMAS!!!!"

-She is learning that saying sorry gets her off of time out...and it is the cutest apology ever!

I just fall more and more in love with that child everyday. The terrible two's are definitely setting in and my patience is being tried to the max. Its amazing how frustrating such a little person can be! I realize more and more everyday how great it is that her and Dawson are so close in age. They are going to love growing up together! Dawson is getting more and more alert and loves to smile and talk to us, and especially to Lola. He is going to be a lady killer for sure! I love my sweet kids so much!

Going Skinny!!!

2010-11-23T23:19:00.000-08:00

I was looking through my closet the other day and realized that I need to do some serious updating. So I went out and splurged (by splurged I mean a whopping $6.00 at Old Navy) on a pair of skinny jeans. (I figured that wasn't too risky of a purchase price.) The kind I swore I would never wear again because 80's/early 90's tapered jeans were so horrible. Turns out I quite like them, and Josh told me that as long as they are in style he wants me to buy only skinnies...that's a good sign right??? I thought my hips would feel HUGE but I have been pleasantly suprised.

Turning over a new leaf

2010-11-10T12:25:00.000-08:00

I follow a few blogs that make me laugh really hard. They post about really funny happenings in their lives and I realized that my once every three month posts are dedicated solely to updates on our life. They end up being way too long and not very entertaining and LONG+BORING=LAME BLOG. SO we are going to try and change that.

I do have to give a shout out to my amazing husband though. For those of you who know him, you know he can talk circles around anyone about sports. He can give a life history about players, franchises, owners, coaches, and has a talent for analyzing plays and game situations. I adored it when we were dating, hated it for a while when we got married, and things have come full circle again. I am amazed at his talent. His dream job is a Sports Broadcaster. A while ago he contacted his uncle mike (Big Mike Q102) and started helping with some local football games. It looks like he will be working broadcasting basketball games in the near future and I couldn't be more proud. I think it takes alot of courage to go after something you really want to do and not just settle for what is most convenient. I am so proud of him! He is just the greatest guy ever.
With his graduation coming up in December it is going to open up the opportunity for him to really put time and energy into his career and I just know he is going to be successful. We will keep you all posted on his progress!

Dawson Ty Curtis

2010-10-29T19:42:00.000-07:00

I know its been way too long! We have had a very busy couple of months and are so excited to welcome our new little man Dawson to our family. He is so great and we are all loving him SO much.

Here is a little review of how he came. Monday, Sept 27 around 1:15 pm I started having contractions. It was just Lola and I at home, Josh was at school and both my mom and Josh's mom were at work. I timed them for a while and when I realized they were coming real good I text Josh and let him know he needed to get home quick. I was in alot of pain so I called my dad to come home and take me to the doctor's and Brenda came to sit with Lola for me. Josh met me at the Dr.'s office and she told us to head to the hospital. I had gone to the hospital 2 times before Lola was born so I wasn't going unless my water broke or the Dr. told me to.

We got to the hospital about 3:30 pm, they got my epidural started and the contractions were still coming good for about 2 more hours and then everything slowed down real quick. Marsha my nurse/angel hooked me up on some PIT. I was at about a 5 at 9:00 pm then she checked me again at 9:45 and we were at a 10 and ready to go. It all happened so fast I didn't push my epidural button so by the time the Dr. got there to deliver I was feeling just about everything. Dr Hall (Dr Isbell was hunting) arrived at 9:55 pm and once he got all set up it was 3 minutes later our little Dawson arrived at 10:01 pm. He was 8 days early and weighed in at 8lbs 2oz and was 19 inches long. He looks just like his daddy and has the same sweet, easy going temperment as Josh too.

Just before he was born I had a little panic attack worrying how I was ever going to love another baby like my Lola, and I was so worred about how she was going to feel. I just adore my sweet daughter and I didn't want her to think that her place had been taken over by someone new. My mom always told me that it just happens, and it did. I love this little boy SO much and Lola has grown in to the role of a big sister perfectly. She is constantly kissing him and sharing her toys with him. They are going to be best friends and I am so glad we decided to have them so close together. I love having two kids. It has been an adjustment, but I really couldn't be happier. I am not going back to work which I am so grateful for, but being a stay-at-home mom definitely comes with its sacrifices. It is by far the hardest thing I have ever done, but it is beyond rewarding to see my sweet kids growing up and just how much they love eachother already.

Here are some pictures of the last little while.

Update

2010-05-24T07:31:00.000-07:00

I have an AWESOME video to post of Lola, I just have to finish out recording our mini DVD to get it off, but it will be worth the wait...promise!

Saturday was Ashlee Charles (Ingram) baby shower and it was such an exciting day! I am so grateful to have worked with her the last 2 1/2 years and have spent so much time together. I was super emotional about the whole thing because I know she has waited so long and been so positive about this trial in her life. She is such an awesome example to me and I really can't wait to meet this sweet little girl!

Lola is growing up so fast! She is constantly talking and I can't even count how many words she can say now. She will sound out and try to say everything you tell her now. She is so helpful too. Josh and I were just sitting and being very entertained by her the other day and I was kind of cold. I asked Lola if she could get me a blanket (just to see what she would do) and she ran straight over to the closet and drug (dragged?) a blanket over to me. We were pretty impressed!

When Josh gets her out of bed in the morning she will run into our room and shut the door and pull on my robe that hangs on the back of my door and say "robe, robe", then its off to the bathroom where she tells me "eye, eye" so I put my contacts in. Then to the kitchen where she reaches for the top cupboards and says "Bow, Bow" for bowl so I will get her some breakfast. It starts my day off so great! She is such a doll and I know she is going to be a great big sister. I am sure it will be difficult for a while, but it will also be so fun to watch her learn and grow even more. I love being a mom and can't wait for our little boy to arrive!

Sunny Days!

2010-05-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

Lola and I have been spending so much time outside the last few days. We go on bike rides, play in the grass, blow bubbles, chase balls around, etc.... She LOVES being outside. Friday we went to the Zoo with Liz, Troy, Brandi Johnson and her niece. Lola was in awe at the animals and not interested at all in her stroller. She walked basically the ENTIRE zoo. I loved watching her and even though she walked the whole way, she still did pretty good at listening to me and following me around. I loved holding her cute little hand and hearing the excitement in her voice. She is just my best little buddy! We ended the day with jumping on the tramp at Grandma J's house which makes her laugh hysterically. I just can't get enough of her giggle!

Yesterday I took advantage of having my sweet husband around so we hauled some dirt home and filled in holes in our yard from our excavationist dog. Lola and I planted one of my Grandma Lola's planters using the same flowers she always loved. I sprayed weeds and mowed our yard. I LOVE mowing lawns. Which is a good thing because with a push mower our yard is a BEAST! Josh always offers but its a good way to get some exercise in and soak in some rays. I think the sound of the mower helps me clear my head too. I just love it! Next week is fertilizing and planting the flower bed...SO EXCITED!

Josh and I went Rock n Bowling last night at Pinecrest Lanes. His uncle Big Mike is the DJ there and it is so fun to go see him and spend some time together. Josh and I went bowling on our "Starving Student" card at college ALL the time before we both left on our missions. We have always enjoyed going together and although we stayed out way too late and my body is exhausted today we had such a good time. Josh even won $50 on the "Black Hole" roll. They shut off all the lights in the entire place...it was literally pitch black...and he got a strike!!! It was so exciting when they flipped the light on in our lane, I was so proud! So he payed for our whole date plus the babysitter! What a stud!

I am so grateful for sunny days. This summer is going to be the best yet! I can't think of a better way to enjoy this awesome weather than with my little girl! I am blessed beyond words to be her mom.

AND...if you didn't hear the news already...we had our ultrasound this week and saw a beautiful, well developing, and very handsome little BOY that we will be welcoming into the family in October! We are so excited and so happy about this new adventure.

Bubbles and Drama

2010-04-08T10:34:00.000-07:00

One of Lola's new words and new favorite things is "bubbles"!!!!! After ever nap she wakes up saying "bubble bubble bubble" it is super cute! Tandy (our dog) sometimes gets involved and jumps and bites the bubbles out of the air which used to make Lola laugh histerically. So the other day I was blowing her bubbles and it was time to start dinner. I explained to her that I had to put the bubbles away and that we could play more after dinner. If you don't know Lola very well she has so much of her mother's personality...a complete drama queen! So I put the bubbles away and Lola was just absolutely distraught! She put her little hand over her mouth and just cried and cried. When she realized I wasn't getting the bubbles out she stamped her feet and then ran to the couch and put her face on the couch, then to the coffee table same thing, then the T.V., then Josh's banana chair, then her art easel, then back to the couch. Stopping at each place to show her complete dispair that I had put the bubbles away and putting her face on them for comfort. I just stood there and tried so hard not to laugh. It was the cutest most dramatic display from her yet! She was fine after I gave her a book, but man did she struggle with me putting the bubbles away. It is by far the most fun thing in the world to have a little girl with so much personality. Everyday she does something new that just puts a smile on my face and makes me so grateful to be a mom! Sure love that little girl! Here is a little video clip of Lola and her bubbles.

Big News

2010-04-07T13:28:00.001-07:00

I guess I failed to post that I am pregnant! To tell you all the truth I sometimes lose track of how far along I am...just so caught up in my busy life right now! Curtis #2 is due October 5th so that puts me at 14 weeks and never felt better. I haven't been sick at all which is a far cry from my pregnancy with Lola. Plus the emotions are much more under control (cross our fingers its a boy:)) Either way we are so very excited and feel so blessed to be adding on to our little family. Little Lola is going to be a great big sister and she is already so curious and sweet when we go see my new 2 week old nephew Cooper. She has changed so much this last month and is growing up so fast. I sure love her and I promise updated pics and milestones are coming!

Easter Weekend

2010-04-05T13:57:00.000-07:00

Josh, Lola, and I had a really great weekend...but VERY tiring! To make a long story short, Lola was awake from 7:00 a.m. to about 2:00 a.m. Traveling and staying in new places is definitely not her thing! Josh had a mission reunion in Provo and although Lola was exhausted I didn't want to take josh away from his reunion. His mission presidents are from Argentina and who knows when he will get that opportunity again. So I tried snuggling with her in a quiet car but she just kept pointing toward the church and saying "dadn" (that is how she says daddy, it is the cutest thing ever!) After the reunion we drove up to Layton where we were staying with my aunt. Lola was so wound up she wouldn't fall asleep until about 2 a.m.

She got a little more sleep Saturday and were able to do some Easter Shopping and visit family for a while. Sunday morning we got up early and ready for General Conference. We got tickets to go and I was SO excited because I had never been before. We left 2 hours early to ensure we would get there with plenty of time to spare. The other couple that was going with us ended up taking about 20 minutes to finally get to our car. THEN after sitting in traffic for about 10 min we found out both the Beck St. and I-15 were closed so we had to detour clear out to Redwood Rd, to 80 East, onto 5th South. From there we headed towards Temple Square. We went to 3rd N only to realize our parking was on 2nd S. After a few more problems we made it to the parking garage and rushed over to the conference center. (Trying to keep up with Josh in heels and a budding pregnant belly was not the easiest task ever!) There was 15 min to spare and the group ahead of us headed into the Conference Center and we were told it was full! I was so disappointed, especially when the first speaker was Pres. Uchtdorf. The couple that was with us had never been to Conference either and she was from Bolivia and hadn't ever even been in the Conference Center. We were all pretty bummed! I just wasn't nearly the same listening to it on the radio!

HOWEVER, we did get to make it home in time for the annual Easter Egg Hunt at my sweet grandma's house. That has always been the tradition and since we are getting ready to sell her home I really didn't want to miss this last opportunity to have the easter egg hunt at her house. It was SO MUCH FUN!!! Lola caught on real quick and with some help from Granny B she was a little pro! Once she figured out the eggs opened up and had candy in them she got a little distracted! All of my nieces and nephews were there. Including the newest addition Cooper who is just a few weeks old! We all had such a good time and it was fun to reminisce about my sweet grandma and all the fun memories and years we spent celebrating Easter in her home.

Next post is all about Lola. She gets funnier everyday and i have so many cute things to post about my little sweetie!

Springtime, Baseball, Memories!!!

2010-03-12T20:15:00.001-08:00

My mom informed me that tomorrow is the opening game for the Hillcrest Knights Baseball team. This is the FIRST spring/summer since I can remember that I won't be sitting at baseball games at least twice a week. Baseball has always been a HUGE part of my life and has taught me so much about the important things in life.

My father was a college baseball player. He played for Rick's College one of the only seasons that they were in the play off game to go to the Junior College National Championships. After his first 3 sons Josh, Rob, and Ryan got old enough he spent every summer coaching baseball, bringing his coaching total years to 20+. He has so many players from over the years that still respect and love him so much. With all these brothers and my dad as the coach I learned to absolutely LOVE watching baseball.

My brother Ryan is about 4 years older than me. I don't think I ever missed a game of his from little league up through college ball. I was his biggest fan! We traveled as a family all over the place to support him and in doing so spent alot of precious time together. His high school years were my favorite because I got to help run the concession stand so between double-headers all the cute high school boys would come get food and I could check them out:)!! I was so proud that people knew I was "Dustpan"s (his nickname) sister and was probably just about as heartbroken as he was when they lost the semi-final game at the State Championships in 1998.

My little brother Tyler also really excelled at baseball so once Ryan graduated we got to start all over again watching Ty from Little League all the way up through High School. Even though I was busy with my own high school life, I never wanted to miss watching Tyler play. I was so proud of him! He also worked hard with his team to make it to the State Tournament and ended up with the 3rd place trophy just like Ryan's team did. Due to some really bad back problems he hasn't been able to continue in college although it is a goal of his and he is working hard to get himself there.

Baseball is not just a sport to me. It is a symbol of countless times we spent together as a family rooting for eachother and learning to respect and love eachother. I will miss so much sitting in the bleachers, eating sunflower seeds and AWESOME ball park hamburgers (my favs). I will miss that great feeling of pride as I watched one of my siblings come up to bat or make a great play in the field. Along the way I learned pretty much every single rule (which were explained in extensive after game recaps by my dad and brothers) and strategy to the game. I even was an umpire for a summer!!! I am so grateful that my summers were spent laughing with my family and learning to support eachother in everything. My family is so close and each of us has had our own things in life that we have been able to support eachother in and be so proud of eachother. Each member of my family has made feel so proud to be related to them in so many ways. Now that we are all grown and have such separate lives, I am grateful for the memories that created precious friendships and keep us connected.

Big Birthday Boy!!

2010-03-06T20:16:00.001-08:00

My sweet husband turned the big 24 today!! I promised to let him sleep in as late as he wanted, but by 11:00 a.m. I was missing my friend too much so I had to wake him up! We had such a fun day together. We went to lunch, did some shopping, and then ate dinner at Ben and Alli Tolman's house. He is off playing basketball so I thought I would just write a quick blog why I love him!

Over the last year I have seen him grow and change so much. He is such a wonderful father and has so much patience with Lola. He is so kind and gentle with her and makes sure he spends some quality "daddy daughter" time on a daily basis. She just loves him. I know how much my relationship with my father means to me and to see my daughter have that with Josh is the best thing I could ever ask for!

Josh is such a hard worker. Whether he is serving tables at Carino's, studying for school, or helping me around the house, he does the very best he can and never wants to let anyone down. He is truly my rock and support. I am so grateful for the security that I feel knowing that he is taking care of us and doing all that he can to provide for us.

He is truly my best friend. Not to sound cheesy, but my days are so much brighter and happier when he is around. I still get butterflies when I hear his car pull in the driveway, and he makes me laugh more than anyone else could. We see almost everything the same (except for the amount of ESPN time he "needs") and have alot of the same interests.

He is so smart and whitty and HANDSOME!!!! I am so glad I found such an incredible man to marry and spend the rest of eternity with. He makes me happier than I could have ever thought possible. Love you Joshy, Happy Birthday!!!

Happiness

2010-01-19T13:41:00.000-08:00

I have been feeling ULTRA happy lately. I don't get stressed about things that I usually get upset about, my house is pretty clean all the time, I can't wait to wake up in the mornings, and the sun seems to shine just a little brighter. I am so grateful for new beginnings! I started this year out with some really good goals, which I hung on my mirror so I can see them everyday, and am working hard to stay on track. Obviously I am not perfect at them all the time, but I have found tremendous strength and motivation in the efforts I have put forth. I know the Lord blesses us for doing our best, and doesn't ever expect perfection. Goal setting hasn't ever been a strength of mine but I am working on that. I have experienced the difference that specific direction can bring to my life. Josh has noticed a big difference too and I am just so grateful for this chapter in my life. Lola is absolutely the light of my life and I love that I get to spend so much time with her. Josh is a wonderful husband, friend, father, and provider for our family. He takes so much stress and burden off my shoulders every day. I am just a very happy and lucky woman!
Today I am especially grateful for:
1-Long talks with dear friends.
2-Good morning kisses
3- Clean clothes
4- Lola's giggle
5- Comfy couches
6- Warm water
7- Priceless pictures

A Year in Review

2010-01-07T21:19:00.001-08:00

This year has come and gone so fast, and what a wonderful year it has been! I really can’t believe my little girl is 1 year old!!!! She has her daddy wrapped around her little finger and she is my best little friend in the whole world. Our home is just that much happier and we feel so blessed to be her parents.
Our hard drive was completely ruined with tons of pictures of Lola’s first year so I got as many together for this blog so you could see how much she has changed. We are just so in love with her and so proud of all that she has accomplished and grateful for all she has taught us in her first year of life here on this earth.

Day 1: She is finally here! After almost 2 months of contractions and 27 hours of labor, our sweet little Lola Sue decides to join us at 5:58 p.m. weighing in at 8 lbs even and 20 inches long with TONS of dark curly hair.

Month 1: She is learning all about this new world around her and her little neck is getting so strong. She doesn’t give mom and dad much time to sleep, and although they are VERY tired, they couldn’t be happier!

Month 2: She is sleeping through the night and eating like a champ! Mom and Dad love taking time to get to know her and love listening to the sweet cooing noises that she makes.

Month 3: She is really learning to find her voice and make sounds. She loves her hands and watches them move and has found her mouth. She is becoming much more alert and looks in the direction of sounds when she hears something.
Month 4: Such an exciting month! She is rolling over and started eating rice cereal this month. She is getting good at sitting up with help and is making some really fun facial expressions.
Month 5: Lola is rolling all over the place. She can go from front to back and back to front and is figuring out that she can get to things she wants when she does it!

Month 6: Sitting up is easy now. She can do it all by herself and can even reach around her to grab things that are close to her that she can play with. Lola is even standing up pretty good, with help of course. She has really found her voice and is quite a little chatter box.

Month 7: Loey is scooting herself pretty good and has even pulled her little legs underneath her several times in preparation for the burst into independency. She wants to crawl so bad and gets frustrated sometimes that she can’t move faster. She is a determined little thing and will be at it soon enough.

Month 8: She is officially crawling! You can tell she is so proud of herself because she grins from ear to ear and is loving her new found freedom. She is making some fun sounds and is mommy’s little vacuum. Needless to say vacuuming is sometimes a twice a day chore, just to make sure!

Month 9: Big accomplishment, she has been pulling herself up on anything she can get her hands on. She met mom’s mission president and showed off her skills at the mission reunion. Her little personality is starting to shine and she is such a joy to be around. As you can see, she got herself a couple of teeth this last month.

Month 10: Found a new favorite toy this month…a laundry basket. She loves pushing it around the entire house and has figured out how to get herself out of corners or tough spots to push the basket through. She is really an intelligent little girl and already shows some really good problem solving skills. She can say “mama” “dada” and “tyty” (my little brother)

Month 11: Lola is walking on her own! She has made leaps and bounds in her development this month. She has learned quite a few words in sign language and knows several body parts in Spanish. Another favorite is reading books. She will literally sit for up to about 45 min and read her books, turning pages, switching books when she gets bored…its impressive really.
Month 12: I am pretty sure she never stops talking. She sings herself to sleep and reads mom and dad stories all day. My favorite thing this month is when she finds her “Brown Bear, Brown Bear” (favorite book, thanks Jason and Liz) she brings it to one of us, and then says “up, up” so we pick her up, put her on our lap and she proceeds to open and read the entire book to us. She doesn’t like to skip pages either.
Josh is such a wonderful father and has grown into his role so well. I love watching him and Lola interact. One of his favorite things to do is turn on Lola’s favorite songs and dance around the house with her. It makes me love him just that much more. We knew that she would teach us a higher level of happiness and joy, but we didn’t anticipate how great it would really be. Not a day has gone by this year that we haven’t smiled a little bigger, laughed a little more, and learned to love this precious little spirit more than we could ever have imagined. She is our pride and joy!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOLA SUE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Best Christmas Ever!!!

2009-12-26T19:48:00.000-08:00

I will get some pictures up soon but I just wanted to let everyone know that we had a WONDERFUL Christmas! Lola had so much fun with new toys, family, and not napping:) Josh and I had way too much fun watching her interact with everyone and everything. She is so aware of things around her (unless she is reading a book) and wants to explore everything she can get her hands on. She is walking so well but we did get a nice big goose egg today, her first one. ALSO her second tooth on the top is staying outside her gums so for the second time we officially have 4 teeth. Her personality is growing as fast as she is and she is just a joy to be around. Christmas is always an emotional time for me but this year especially. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family. Josh works so hard to provide for us and still makes time for Lola and I. I appreciate him more everyday for giving me the opportunity to stay home with our daughter. Lola has brought such an sweet spirit into our home and this being her first Christmas made it that much more special to us. We hope everyone had a great Christmas and that the rest of the holiday season finds you safe and happy!

Off She Goes

2009-11-29T07:22:00.000-08:00

Looking in the mirror is one of Lola's favorite things to do lately. She is so full of life and has the cutest little personality! I thought I would put this video up so you could get a glimpse of the fun things that I get to enjoy every single day!

She has been kind of just waddling for about the last 4 days and yesterday she really gave it her all and OFF SHE WENT!!!! She is obviously not full on walking all the time just yet, but we are so proud of her and this big accomplishment in life. I love seeing her grow and watching each stage of her life. I know life gets hectic once they can move around but I don't mind the extra work when I can see how proud she is of herself and what she is able to do.

Josh and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My parents were in Mexico but it was our year to be with my family so we still got together and enjoyed good food, games, and lots of new memories. I have 4 little nieces that Lola absolutely ADORES! She followed them around, squealed when they played with her, and danced the night away with her girls. I love my family more than I can ever say and it is so fun to see all of our little families grow and watching our children play together and love eachother.

Liz and I went Black Friday shopping which was an absolute BLAST! We had so much fun together and I am grateful for the Curtis side of my family as well. We always have such a good time when we get together and I couldn't have picked a better family to marry in to. I am officially done Christmas shopping for Lola and have alot of Josh's done. I have decided I have to go every year because I have never had this good of a start on Christmas before.

We got our Christmas tree put up yesterday and it makes our home look so beautiful! I love Christmas so much. My mother always made this holiday so memorable and such a special time for family and remembering the Savior. It is such a blessing to now have my own little girl that I get to teach and help her understand the important meaning of this holiday season. I know she is still little, but I tell her all about the story of Jesus and showed her each of the pieces of the Nativity Scene and explained to her about it all. She really listened intently and I knew that she understood in her sweet little way. I love being a mother so much! That is truly the greatest gift or blessing I could have ever recieved.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Its been a long time!

2009-11-16T09:09:00.000-08:00

I don't have much time, as usual, because Lola will wake up any minute now and we have a busy day of errands to run but I wanted to write a quick update.

Lola is growing up so fast. She is getting really close to walking by herself, she just needs to get a little more confidence. She will cruise around everywhere if she is holding at least one of your hands and LOVES Grandma Brenda's little walker toy that gives her some independence. She can stand by herself for as long as she decides to. She now waves bye-bye, understands what to do when you say "kisses" (that one could be my favorite!), she knows what eyes and nose are and points to them (in spanish even!) She plays patty cake all by herself, except for the rolling part. She loves opening and closing drawers, doors, and cupboards. We left one cupboard without the child safety thing so that she could open it and it has a bunch of bowls and wooden spoons that she likes to pull out and play with. She still only has her two bottom teeth but is CONSTANTLY smiling and talking to herself. I heard her wake up from a nap a few days ago and she was chatting away and I went in her room to find her holding her teddy bear up to her face and she was telling it a story. It was the cutest thing ever! She knows how to say "more" in sign language and has figured out how to tell me when she is "all done" eating. Grandma and Grandpa Curtis also have a fun little box that you fit shapes into and she is getting to be pretty good at picking out the different shapes and putting them into the right hole. Dr. Pankau, our pediatrician, said at our last visit that she is really advanced in alot of her motor skills and she just impresses us everyday with the things that she does. She is just my best little friend. I love to take her everywhere with me, or just snuggle up on the couch and read. I love being a mother more than I could have ever imagined. She is just perfect!
We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and spending time with family. Josh is working hard at school and Carino's. He is just the best husband ever. We enjoy our alone time more than we ever have because life just seems to get so hectic everyday. We actually just started the seasons of 24 and are LOVING it. We also highly recommend "The Biggest Loser." It is so inspirational! I will get some pics up next time but if you haven't seen Lola's Halloween costume either visit my Facebook page or check out Mom and Dad Curtis' blog. It was pretty hilarious and unanimously recieved the vote for best costume!

Fall Time!!!

2009-10-13T13:43:00.000-07:00

I absolutely LOVE this time of year. We went up to our cabin last weekend and the leaves were starting to change and it was absolutely gorgeous. Josh is coming up on mid terms and I am just enjoying my time with Lola. She is getting SO
big and doing so many things. She is well into the babbling stage and tells me stories all day long. I think she is going to have a really good imagination because she will play with her stuffed animals, books, and other toys for hours on end and just talk away. It is so cute. She also started reading books to me! She will turn the pages and tell me all about the pictures in her adorable babbling and then turn the page and so on and so forth. She is getting more sturdy and brave everyday! I think she is going to walk before her 1st birthday...maybe. She can already stand all by herself and balance. She got up to 10 seconds on her own last night! I can't believe how quick it is all going. I love seeing her progress though and see all the things she is learning. She is just my best little friend and I just love her more and more every single day! I promised Jochum I would get some pictures up so here they are.

She loves to feed herself and is becoming very independent. I think she is getting sick of baby food so it is on to the real stuff! It was good timing too! She still only has two teeth on the bottom but can use her jaws really well to chomp away!

She got to meet Pres. Bennion (my mission president) and she LOVED him! He and his wife absolutely fell in love with her! In fact Hermana Bennion carried her around and showed her off to everyone for me and was so proud. It was really cute. I was so happy I got to see them again at my mission reunion. They are some of the sweetest people ever!

This was my trainer (mom) on the mission. She thought Lola was beautiful and Lola really liked her too!

We tried leaving her hair curly one day. It looked beautiful until she took a nap! She sure is adorable!

We had kind of a crazy hair day yesterday. I took her hair out of french braids and it was hard core crimpy straight from the 80's. So we had to keep it that way for a while!!

My little brother Tyler absolutely adores Lola! He is going to school at ISU right now but every time he comes home he has to come spend time with Lola. A few weeks ago he was playing around with her and when he lifted up her feet she would tuck her little head and he would finish flipping her over. It is too cute so I had to post it. Enjoy!

The High Chair Dance!!!

2009-09-15T21:22:00.001-07:00

This has to be one of the cutest things that Lola does. She does it to scratch her back, but it looks like she is dancing and we LOVE it! This little girl just gets cuter everyday. She is giggling all the time (we will get that recorded soon), talking, and crawling everywhere. I absolutely love seeing her learn new things and just being such a happy little girl. She has the sweetest temperament (most of the time:) and we just love watching her grow.

Catching up!

2009-09-06T20:14:00.000-07:00

We have had a very busy month and a half since I posted last. I won't drag out the details but this is a quick list of the things that have happened. (in no specific order)

1-) Redfish-Lola's first camping trip and she did really well except the last couple of days. Josh cleared the wake on the wakeboard and I got up on skis!

2-) Lola started saying "ma ma" and "da da". Pretty sure she doesn't understand why but we still love hearing it. Her voice is so adorable and she has the cutest little personality.

3-) Josh started scrapping metal. His friend Ben Tolman scraps metal in Bancroft so on days that Josh didn't have to work at Carino's he went with Ben to make a few extra bucks! He loves spending time with Ben so that has been fun for him.

4-) Lola started crawling. This was actually on August 26th when she started crawling for real. She had been scooting herself with her little legs for about 2 weeks before she finally caught on. She is so full of life and loves to be on the move all the time!

5-) We planned and hosted Josh's 5 year class reunion. We had a pretty good turn out and it was lots of fun. I made all the food so it was alot of work, but my mom let me use a bunch of her catering stuff so that helped out.

6-) Lola actually cut her first tooth through on the night of the class reunion, August 21. I was so excited! Now she has two of them on the bottom and LOVES to chew on her little treats.

7-) I had my 25th Birthday!!! If you don't know my Birthday is my favorite day of the year. Not sure why, I just love it! Josh suprised me with a BEAUTIFUL pearl necklace. He wanted it to make my day extra special so he made me blackberry french toast, and I didn't have to change a diaper all day!

8-) Josh and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary. It seems like it has been a lot longer since we have been dating/writing (our missions) for the last 6 years!! I sure love him and we had such a fun day. Starting on our honeymoon and now on our anniversaries we have a game tournament. We call it "The Lover's Quarrel". I was undefeated so far, but Josh pulled the upset this year and beat me at Skee Ball. We played Backgammon, Miniature Golf, Skee Ball, Air Hockey, and Mario Kart. We have so much fun together and I can't imagine my life without him. He is a wonderful man, worthy priesthood holder, the best husband EVER, and such an adorable father. Lola and her daddy love eachother so much and I don't think there is anything that makes me happier than seeing the two of them play together.

9-) "Adults Only Outing" at my parent's cabin with Ben and Alli Tolman. It was the first time we left Lola overnight but she had a fun weekend with all of her grandparents. We went to Jackson Hole and then to the Bar J Wranglers for dinner and the show. We had SO much fun! It was a really nice getaway but we were excited to get back to our little princess.

10-) Lola's first Lagoon trip. She LOVED Lagoona Beach and even though the water was a little chilly, she wanted to play in it the whole time. We met up with all of my brothers and their wives and children plus the two younger siblings. There was quite a crew there and we had so much fun. I love it when my family all gets together. We have such a good time!

11-) We found out my oldest brother Josh and his wife Beth will be having a baby in March. The reason this is so significant is because my brother Josh has been through so many medical trials they never thought he would be able to have any more children. They have three beautiful healthy kids and never expected to have more after his chemotherapy. They weren't even trying, it was just a miracle that suprised us all!. Some of the major things that Josh has faced are 5 open heart surgeries, a heart transplant, and leukemia. He has gone through more than almost anybody I know and is such an example of faith, courage, and just an incredible will to live. It is his 33rd birthday today, a day that nobody thought would ever happen. He was only given a few short months to live when he was born but has proven that miracles still do exist!

That is about all I can think of right now. We have had a wonderful summer but are ready to settle down and get ready for Fall. Josh is starting school again and only has 3 semesters left so we are so excited about that! We are loving being parents and seeing our little angel grow. She has brought such a special spirit into our home and we both feel priviledged to have such a beautiful daughter!

Too much FUN!!!

2009-07-12T15:37:00.000-07:00

Josh, Lola, and I have been having way too much fun lately. Lola LOVES being outside and this beautiful warm weather has made it perfect for doing lots of fun outdoors stuff!

We took Lola swimming for the first time at Ross Park with my sisters, their kids, and my mom. We had SO much fun and Lola loved swimming in the water. She would kick her legs, squeal so loud, and hit the water. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen and it was such a fun little family outing.

We have been going on walks almost every single day.

And of course the 4 of July festivities.

We hung out with some of our bestest buddies Ben and Alli Tolman and their boys Adam (4) and Wyatt (1).

We have had a wonderful summer so far, but still have TONS to look forward to. I will keep everyone posted on the upcoming events!

Still Alive!!

2009-06-08T22:27:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has taken me months to get around to posting again. I could say it has been because I have been busy, but really I just haven't taken the time to do it. But we are still alive and better than ever. Lola is now 5 months old and I can't believe how fast time has flown by. She rolls over, is getting so much better at tummy time, can sit up all by herself, and is so aware of everything around her. One of my favorite new things is that she has found her voice. She screams and squeals so loud when she is kicking and happy playing with her toys. It is so funny. I need to get a video of it and post it because Josh and I just love to watch her and we laugh at her adorable expressions. She also started eating solid foods and does really good eating with a spoon. Green Beans are her favorite (just like her mommy) but she really loves Sweet Potatoes as well. She is so much fun and I absolutely LOVE being a mother. I have only had a very few hours I can work with my clients lately so that has left alot of time to be with my girl and I love it.

Josh is a wonderful father. He plays and talks to her in the cutest voices. She loves her daddy so much and whenever he is in the room or talking she just stares and when she catches his eye she grins SO big. We also adopted a new puppy Tandy. Lola loves her and they are already best of friends. Tandy is a Golden Retriever mix and she is so adorable. Having her around has made me think alot about Livy and what a good dog she was, but we sure love our little Tandy. She is taking some effort to get house trained but she is alot of fun.

Here are a few updated pictures of Lola. I love it when her hair is all crazy when we take it out of piggy tails. Her eyes are so beautiful and her facial expressions just crack us up. Overall she is pretty much the most gorgeous thing I have ever laid eyes on!!! There is also a little video at the end from a while back when she first started making all of her cute little noises.

Just after bath time. She cries everytime we take her out because she LOVES the water!

Chowing down on rice cereal.

She loves to snuggle and fall asleep with her daddy.

Lola loves her toes (piggies) and she fell asleep hanging on to them in her swing...it was so cute I had to get a picture.

Reading stories with daddy! Lola LOVES books.

All buckled up to go on a car ride to watch uncle Ty-ty play baseball.

I can't help but smile when I look at this one. She is all dressed up for Easter Sunday.

First Day at the Park!!

2009-04-06T20:24:00.000-07:00

I was getting ready to dig in and clean my house today, and my mom and niece Maddie walked over and asked us to go on a walk with them. It was so beautiful outside today that we couldn't resist, so we packed little Lola up in her stroller and headed out. We walked down to Ammon Elementary School and walked around the path there. Then stopped to let Maddie play on the toys. Lola LOVED being outside. She didn't even get a little bit fussy. While we were there a little neighbor girl was having trouble with her bike. I ran beside her to get her going and then just ended up running the whole path. It felt so good! I thought I better post a few pictures of her first day out and at the park. She cried when we got home because she wanted to be in the warm sunshine again!

Ready to go with Maddie.

She loves her grandma!

We found Caleb there playing basketball.

Loving her ride in the stroller!

Maddie insisted on pushing her home.

About 5 minutes after we got home...she had too much fun!

Quick Update

2009-03-12T12:46:00.000-07:00

I haven't been so good about blogging lately, but I figured I would let you all know what is happening. Nothing really exciting, just everyday life. Josh is working evenings and taking care of Lola during the day so I can work. I started back two weeks ago, and its okay. The only good part is that I get to see Ashlee alot more now and hang out with her! I really miss being with my girl all day long. She is growing so fast so I make sure that when I am home we get some really good quality time in. We went to the doctor yesterday and she is weighing in at 10lbs 9oz and has grown 2 inches. It is so fun to see how she changes on a daily basis. I have some cute pictures but I will have to post them another time. She is so beautiful and is a chatty little thing. I love having long conversations with her and seeing her react to new things in her little world. Being a mother is so rewarding. Josh loves the time that he has with her and will be starting back into school soon is taking advantage of that time with her also. He is such a wonderful father! We have decided to wait until Lola is walking to get another dog. I really miss the companionship that bring, but I don't want my little girl all over the floor and try to house train a dog at the same time. My little brother Tyler is getting close to graduation and I just want to cry about it. He has become one of my very closest friends and he visits us every single day. I was able to take some time and review his paper for his Senior Project and I just love spending time with him. Kimberlee is so wonderful too. We have become so close over the last little while and I really cherish my time with her too. She is starting into beauty school during her senior year so she will be almost ready to work when she is done and then will just work her way through college. She is so awesome and such an example to me. I love my family so much and I am so glad that we live so close to them right now. It is such a blessing! Josh finished his basketball season at the Apple. We are going to be getting memberships there next month because I have got to get this baby fat off. It is driving me nuts! That is our life right now. I got a cute video of Lola talking I will post soon. She is so beautiful! I am one proud mama. I almost forgot. She was blessed on March 1st and Josh did such a wonderful job. I am so glad I am married to a worthy priesthood holder that can take care of us the way he does. He is such a wonderful man. I am the luckiest woman in the world!

Daddy's Girl

2009-02-04T11:22:00.000-08:00

As most of you already know, Josh is a HUGE Cleveland Browns fan. He is almost crossing the line of obsessed! My Aunt Jill and her kids Kelcie and Jaxon were in Mexico a while ago and found this little Cleveland Browns shirt for Lola. We are pretty sure it was made for a teddy bear because the neck opening was really small, so we had to cut it a little bit in order to fit it over Lola's head. Even then it was really fitted and would have been almost impossible to get it off her, so we had to cut it down the back. We got some really good pictures before we took it off though. Josh is a proud daddy of his little Cleveland girl!

In Loving Memory...

2009-02-02T10:02:00.000-08:00

Last night, February 1st, our sweet little Livy was hit by a car, and went to play with all of the puppies in heaven. She was the sweetest dog ever, and we loved her like a member of the family. We will miss her so much. She made us laugh all the time, and she loved to be with us. We got her one year and 4 days ago from the pound, and have loved her so much ever since.

I was working and took a client out to the pound to look at all the animals. Josh and I had wanted a dog for some time, we were just waiting to find the perfect one. I saw her in a kennel with a bunch of black lab puppies, and immediately fell in love with her. I just knew she had to come home with me. So I started filling out all the paper work and called Josh as I was doing so. I asked him if we could have a dog, and he said, "We will talk about it when I get home from work." I explained to him that I had already found the perfect addition to our family, and that I was filling out the paper work to adopt her. He was to pick her up after work! He fell in love with her like I did, and we had such a happy time with our new little responsiblity. She was house trained in 4 days! But that was just the beginning of her amazing ability to learn new things. We spent hours teaching her new tricks. She was able to sit, lay, speak (both loud and politely), shake hands (with both paws), give high fives, turn circles, roll over, shut the door, wave goodbye, count to 3, play dead (I wish we never would have taught her that one), and she even gave us kisses without licking our faces. She loved to swim in the water, and got really good at it at Redfish lake this summer. She loved to eat anything that anyone would give her, especially butter, and she loved to keep our feet warm at the end of the bed. Everyone who met her loved her, and even people who don't like dogs were kind of taken by her. We will miss our little girl so much.

Josh said a prayer last night after it all happened, and he asked that maybe Heavenly Father could let Livy show Him her tricks...it was pretty sweet. We both cried alot, and this morning our house is feeling pretty lonesome. Her little friend from across the street that comes and plays with her everyday is going to miss her as well. We posted a few pictures that are some of the funny things she used to do.

Our Beautiful Baby Girl

2009-01-21T18:26:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more pictures from our big photo shoot at Aunt Terri's house. She does such a wonderful job.

Lola is doing great and we are loving having her here. Josh has become quite the night owl, and I am much more a morning person so we are balancing eachother pretty well. It is so fun to see her change and learn new things. She has been really alert alot of the day today and loves looking at everything around her. I love the quite moments I get to sit and talk and play with her, and see how big her eyes get when she sees new things. I love being a mom. It is the best!

One Week Birthday!!!

2009-01-15T18:53:00.000-08:00

Baby Lola is officially one week old today. To celebrate we went over to Josh's aunt Terri's house and took some pictures. We are so grateful for the talent that Terri has and is willing to share with us. She cleaned a few of them up on photo shop so you can see her first photo shoot. There is also another one from the first time Terri visited us in the hospital. It was so much fun and she was so cooperative. She didn't hardly cry or get upset until she decided she was really hungry. We were trying to get some good naked baby shots so obviously she had her diaper off. She had already had a couple of really full diapers this morning so I wasn't too worried, but just as Terri was taking a picture of her and I together, she let loose and pooped all over me. It was so funny. We all had a good laugh, and Terri even got a good action shot of the event.

This week has been full of adjustments and happy times. We have loved showing her off to everyone that wants to see her, and even went into her daddy's work the other night for dinner so he could brag for a while. She is so precious, and is letting us get plenty of rest. We really lucked out. The hours we sleep aren't always at night, but we get good sleep in none the less. Josh is doing such a wonderful job as a dad. He never had alot to do with little babies before her, but he has picked everything up so quickly. He is a pro at changing diapers and loves getting her dressed. It is pretty sweet to see him be a dad. He is so good at it, and you can already tell how much Lola loves her daddy!

I feel so blessed everytime I look at her sweet face for the opportunity I have to be a mother. I love every part of it! I know we have alot to learn, and there is only more joy and happiness to come, but this last week has taught me so much. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father has trusted us with this sweet angel, and I look forward to being her mother for all eternity. It is amazing how much love one heart can hold, sometimes it feels like it is going to burst!

Our Last Few Days...

2009-01-10T20:26:00.000-08:00

We have had an exhaustive but exciting/fulfilling past few days. Lindsie wanted me to write a few details about what all went into getting Lola here safe and sound. First, I just wanted to say that we couldn't be happier nor feel more blessed than we do now. She already has filled our home with so much joy, and we have only had her here for just a few hours.

On Wednesday, Lindsie gave me a pretty good scare. Early in the afternoon she started feeling some labor pains, which wasn't too much out of the ordinary because she has had these pains for the past 3 weeks. They got bad enough to where she asked for a tylenol at about 3:45 p.m., and when I came back to the room Lindsie was passed out on the bed! I didn't know what to do, Lindsie wouldn't respond to anything I did or said, she just laid there and grunted. I called the doctor, and they said to get her up to the hospital. Lindsie got out of her daze at about 3:55, and we finally got her hooked up to the monitors in the hospital at about 5:00. As we were going to the hospital, I called Marsha Jackson, (Josh Cooper's mom) to let her know that we were going up there, being that she works as a nurse in labor/delivery and she wanted to be our nurse. She was on call that day, so she came in within 15 minutes of us calling her, and she didn't leave our side till 7:00 p.m. on Thursday! She took care of every one of our needs for 26 1/2 hours straight, and we are so grateful for her. Well, Lindsie was contracting as if she was in labor, but she wasn't dialating at all. It wasn't until around 9:00 a.m. the next morning that Dr. Isbell came in and broke Lindsie's water, and it was all downhill from there. Once Lindsie got the epidural, she was comfortable and relaxed for the first time in weeks! If any of you want to enjoy a good laugh, you must see Lindsie on serious pain medicine, there is nothing more funny than that.

Anyway, as Lindsie mentioned earlier, Lola Sue was born at 5:58 p.m., and our lives were changed forever. I think I can finally get over the fact that I never won a state championship, Lola and Lindsie feel me with so much joy it is hard to explain. We are so blessed and we just want to thank everyone who came and visited or called or has helped us along the way. We love you all.

Here are a few more pictures of Lola Sue, as you can see her conehead is going away but her Grandma Brenda hair is still going strong!

She's Here!!!!

2009-01-09T12:27:00.001-08:00

Some of you may have already seen pictures on Josh's parents blog, but we thought we better post a few too. Our little princess, Lola Sue Curtis arrived January 8th 2009 at 5:58 p.m. She weighed 8lbs even and was 20 inches long. She has got the most beautiful hair I have ever seen, and she gets complimented everytime someone sees here! Everyone around the hospital is in love with our little girl, but noone is happier or more blessed than her proud parents. She is so wonderful and I can only imagine the happiness that lies ahead. We will give you some more detail on her LONG journey into this life later but here are a few quick pictures for everyone to enjoy!

Another Update

2009-01-05T18:34:00.000-08:00

Our little angel hasn't arrived yet! We had another appointment today and if she hasn't come by Monday the 12th, they are going to give me a little help to get going. BUT...I am looking ready to go, and dialating so there is a VERY good chance she will be here before Monday. After the doctor told us that there was progress, Josh was SO excited. He has been smiling so big ever since and can't wait for Lola to come. He has been so helpful, and never complains about getting up at 5 o'clock every morning to get me cereal. I have been having some pretty bad back labor which has made my getting around and being even slightly comfortable pretty much impossible. I know it is going to be so worth it. I can't believe how much I already love our sweet baby, and I can't wait to see her beautiful little face and have her in my arms. So within a weeks time we can plan on having our little addition here. I already can't wait to post pictures and show her off!

Baby Lola Update

2008-12-22T08:10:00.000-08:00

A week ago today I started having some pretty good contractions (at least I thought they were good ones), so Josh and I went to the doctor's office. At that point I was only 36 weeks so they wanted me to hold off for at least another week. I have been taking this horrible medicine that makes me so nervous and makes my heart race like crazy, and they wanted me off my feet for this last week. I did pretty good with the occassional trips out of the house just so I wouldn't go stir crazy.

Then as we were getting ready for church yesterday Josh and I were laughing, saying that my water was going to break halfway through sacrament meeting...well, my water didn't break, but the contractions started about 11:30 A.M., halfway through the sacrament meeting. One of the labor and delivery nurses is in our ward, and she came back after the meeting was over and was timing them and feeling my tummy and told me to get to the hospital. Those contractions were alot harder and more consistent. Well, we came home and I took my medicine to slow everything down. They have told me that if they last more than 45 min after taking the meds, then I should get to the hospital. They were about 3-5 minutes apart for the next 35 minutes, and then slowed down. So we decided not to go to the hospital. about 20 min later, some really hard pains were coming, so I got in a warm bath to see if they would go away. That didn't help much, so we finally went in to get checked.

By the time we got to the hospital everything had slowed way down. They put the monitors on me, but there wasn't much going on. SO, they sent me home. The nurse asked me how hard the pains were on a scale of 1-10, and even though they hurt pretty bad, I know it has to get alot worse, so I couldn't say they were much more than a 6. There has been a little confusion about how far along I am, so they are trying to decide if I can let her just come today if she is ready, or if I have to stay on the medicine for a little longer. Needless to say yesterday was pretty frustrating, and the sleepless nights and bad side effects of the drugs didn't help my emotions! But I have a wonderful husband who has been so patient and sweet to me, and my mom who is more nervous than I am even that were here to help me. Then my wonderful in-laws Brenda and Steve came over and brought a "Christmas Suprise" (which deserves its own post, to be seen at a later date:) to cheer me up. I have been so blessed to have such wonderful family so close by. We are getting so excited and anxious to get our sweet baby here, and I think she is getting pretty excited too!

I've been tagged!

2008-12-22T07:40:00.000-08:00

10 years ago I...
1-I was a freshman at Hillcrest High School, involved in student council and going through a really awkward hair stage. I still don't know what I was trying to accomplish when I look back at pictures~!

5 things on today's "to do" list...1- Wrap presents. 2- Laundry. 3- Bedrest 4- Bedrest 5- Bedrest

5 snacks I enjoy...1- Resses Peanut Butter Cups 2- Mint chocolate chip ice cream 3- Dr. Pepper 4- My mom's cream cheese tarts 5- Apples

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire...1- Pay for the Rest of Josh’s Schooling 2- Buy a House! 3- Go back to Guatemala on a vacation 4- Then go to Argentina 5- Save the rest of it!

5 places I have lived...1-Idaho Falls 2-Rexburg 3- Vashon Island, Washington 4-Guatemala City 5-Puerto Barrios, Guatemala

5 jobs that I have had...1-Dance Teacher 2-Assistant Coach at Rigby High School 3- Assembly line technician (Fritz Industries) 4-PSR (Psychosocial Rehab) 5-Soon to be mom!

Rules:Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.I tag Ashlee, Missy, Genessa, Shanna, Ashley

Almost Here!!!!

2008-12-13T09:22:00.000-08:00

Lots of things are happening around our house! We are looking forward to this holiday season and loving the fact that we are so close to family to celebrate this special time. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at the Curtis home, eating good food, playing games, and of course the COWBOYS!!!! It was fun to see Liz and Jason for a few minutes with thier new little baby boy Troy Steven. He is a cutie!

Josh finished this semester yesterday and is SO happy to be done. He only has 3 semesters left and then it is on to grad school. He is working so hard and his grades are nothing less than impressive! I am so proud of my cute husband and all that he is doing. He is still working at Jonny Carino's and loving it. I love the work attire because I think he is pretty good looking in black myself:). He has been working hard in our home as well. He got the nursery painted and the crib set up. He also painted our bedroom with some help from his brother Travis, and it turned out BEAUTIFULLY!!! We have some finishing touches to do, but will post pictures of that soon.

I on the other hand seem to be slowing down the more he speeds up. We are down to the last few weeks, and I am really starting to feel it. Everyone says you get less sleep once the baby gets here, but I could go for a few good hours as opposed to a whole night of restlessness. It still hasn't quite sunk in that we are going to be parents, I guess maybe it won't until our little Lola is here, but we are definitely getting excited. I am still working full time and although somedays it seems impossible, I am so blessed to work with Ashlee and she keeps me going.

We tried the real tree thing last year, and it didn't work out so well for us. Although that is what I have always wanted, it was just alot less hassle this year to go with a fake one. We inherited my grandma's tree, nativity scene, and a few decorations, but it still isn't a finished product. I have this thing where it takes me FOREVER to make a decision about decorations. I looked for weeks and finally bit the bullet a few days ago. We are still looking for something for the top, and I have a few other ideas in mind, so eventually we will get it together. I am not one to spend money on just anything, so it takes me some time to get exactly what I want. Needless to say our home isn't overflowing with Christmas decorations, but I think over the years we will get the things that we really enjoy.

We feel so blessed this time of year for the many things that we have. Both of us have such wonderful families that we love spending time with. We have been blessed with great jobs that we enjoy and that are helping us stay afloat. Most of all we feel so priviledged to welcome a new little one into our home soon. She has already changed us both so much, and I can only imagine the incredible times to come. I am by far the luckiest woman in the world, Josh has been so patient and kind to me through all of these new changes that are happening and I don't think I ever realized how much I could grow to love him...and I know we are still at the beginning. We didn't send out Christmas cards, but we are thinking of all of you and hoping this Christmas Season is wonderful and full of many beautiful memories.

2008-11-07T18:14:00.000-08:00

So I obviously haven't taken time to post anything. Our internet was down for a little while because our wonderful dog and her neighborhood friends decided to chew up the wires on the outside of our house. But we got it fixed so I am back in comission.

Josh finally got started at his job at Johnny Carino's as a waiter. He is enjoying it...I think. He gets pretty nervous, but I know as he gets a little more comfortable with things he will settle down. He just finished his midterms and did really great. With only 3 more semesters to go after this one so we are really looking forward to that. Josh's initial plan was law school, but his ultimate goal is to get into politics and there have been a few more options open up for him. He talked to somebody at school during a career thing that he went to, and it appears that it is just as beneficial to get a master's degree in public administration...with alot less time and debt it looks like a pretty good option. We are looking forward to that, and just starting to get on with his career.

I am still working full time, and starting to get really uncomfortable. The little likes to shove her feet into my ribs, which doesn't feel the greatest, but I love it anyways. We finally found a crib that we love, and her uncle Tyler is building a beautiful toy box for her room. The baby shower is coming up soon, so we will see what other preparations need to be done before she gets here. I am officially 30 weeks pregnant and loving it. The uncomfortable nights are definitely bearable when I think of all the joy and happiness that will come into our home soon. Josh has been getting so excited for everything and says that he daydreams all the time about how beautiful our little Lola will be. I don't know if I posted this before, but we are naming her Lola Sue after my sweet grandmother who passed away in Feb of this year (Lola), and Josh's grandmother who passed away a few years ago. Her name was Betty Sue Curtis, but she just went by Sue after moving out west from her southern home. We hope our little one turns out as wonderful as her grandmothers.

I am afraid our little puppy is going to have some serious issues though. She loves attention and gets really upset when anybody or anything else takes us away from her. We were babysitting for some friends a while ago, and while I was trying to feed their son a bottle, Livy had her face on my shoulder just staring at me and wouldn't move until I was done. I have to admit she is pretty spoiled and we have made this hard on ourselves, but what can we say, we love her so much!!! It will be interesting to see how she reacts.

Blog Tutoring Please!

2008-10-08T22:51:00.000-07:00

I have been getting lectured by Ashlee Charles about what a horrible blogger I am. So I don't have any pictures up, I don't post much...but bottom line is I need a Blog tutor. I wouldn't consider myself technologically stupid, but I can't get this thing figured out. It is kind of embarassing to admit it, but I am really struggling. So, for those of you that have been checking up to see what is new with our little family, I apologize for the lack of posting and pics, but it is in the works...I promise.

We did have a pretty exciting weekend though. It started on Friday as we were headed down to Orem for my mission reunion. Josh was driving and we had just passed Malad when we were about to pass a big truck pulling a camper trailer. I was reading, but Josh was being a very attentive driver, and saw the trailer start to shift with the wind. He slowed way down, but the truck lost control right in front of us and jack-knifed in the middle of the freeway then flipped clear up on its side. It was really close to falling off the edge into the oncoming traffic lanes. There was just one man in the truck and he was ok. It was front row real live seats to a scene from a movie...it was crazy! I am just so happy no one was hurt and that my husband is such a good driver.

We finished the drive out to Orem where I got to see and spend time with some wonderful missionaries that I served with in Guatemala. It was so fun to show off my cute husband and the upcoming addition to the family. The highlight of the whole evening though was seeing my mission president and his wonderful wife. They are such amazing people and I have missed them so much. They just finished thier mission in June, so this was the first time I had seen them since I left in April of 07. It was so great! I love them so much and it was so fun to reminisce with friends about some amazing and fun experiences I had as a missionary. I have some good pictures, but I will post those once I figure this thing out!

THEN, On Saturday we went to my family's cabin for the conference weekend. It has become a tradition to go there as a family every October, so we went to join everyone. On the way there, just like 3 miles before the square ice cream store in Swan Valley, another close call happened. We were about 15 yards behind a big truck...once again...and saw that he passed over top a really big rock in the middle of the road. Well, Josh had a choice to make, either swerve us into oncoming traffic, swerve into the river on the other side, or hit the brakes and hope the rock didn't do too much damage. He chose the obvious one, and since there was very little time to react, we hit the rock straight on. Immediately white smoke started coming up from the car and everything seemed to jam up. We pulled over, called for help and tried to figure out what had happened. I started crying, of course, and Josh went to work figuring out the problem. I was just praying it wasn't anything too serious and that we could have a little miracle happen. A cop showed up not too much later. He and Josh looked everything over, and he spotted the rock lodged up underneath the tire somehow. To make a long story short, he pulled the rock out and our car is working just fine...MIRACLE! We thought for sure it was going to cost a pretty penny for the towing and repair, but it all worked out in our favor. We felt so incredibly grateful. It was quite the weekend.

Drive Safely Wayne

2008-09-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

We were able to attend the funeral of Wayne Richard Johnson yesterday, aka Wayne Richards the voice of Southeastern Idaho, Classy 97.3. My brother Rob is married to his daughter Jodee, and I have had the opportunity on several occassions to get to know Wayne and learn what an incredible person he was. The funeral service was beautiful, the sounds choir sang, and all the speakers gave a beautiful tribute to such a wonderful man. Wayne helped me on several occassions to cut music for the team I coached in Rigby and was always so generous with his time and talent. Josh and I lovingly referred to him as "Voice Midas" because everything his voice touched turned to gold! The "Freedom Celebration" on the 4th of July will never quite be the same without that golden voice. It made me so grateful once again for the knowledge that I have of eternal families, and the great plan of our Heavenly Father. Please everyone keep the Johnson family in your prayers.

The Big News!!

2008-09-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

As I am sure that some of you have heard, we found out on the 22nd of August that the new little addition to the family is going to be a girl! We are so excited and can't wait for her to get here. I think the ultrasound was by far one of my most favorite things ever!! She is moving like crazy and keeping her mom very hungry. We are really looking forward to all the fun times ahead. I was going to add some pictures tonight...finally...but we left our camera at our cabin over the weekend so I couldn't do it. I guess we will have to post some pictures next time!

Getting Started

2008-08-17T21:28:00.001-07:00

Josh and I got back from our missions last summer, married pretty soon thereafter, and I am trying to keep us up on all the new technology stuff. Thanks to me, our faces can now be seen on Facebook, but apparently we needed to go a step further and start blogging, so here it is. Now that our little family is starting to grow, we now have a dog AND a baby on the way (due in January), I decided we better start keeping everyone that wants to know up to date on our lives. So here is what is happening now...

Josh is starting back to school in September at BYU-Idaho where he is studying Political Science and LOVING IT!!! He has a serious man-crush on Glenn Beck and is a faithful talk radio listener. I have never been so politically savvy in my life. We are hoping to be done up there in about 2 years and then it is off to law school. Not sure where yet, but it mostly likely won't be anywhere close to Idaho. We are looking forward to that adventure. He is busy working and being a wonderful husband. I have a long "honey do list" that he is trying to take care of in his last few days of summer to get things ready for the baby's arrival. There have been many sleepless nights around our house as he focuses on Madden 2009 and preparing himself for the upcoming domination by the Cleveland Browns.

I graduated in December with my Bachelor's in Psychology and found a job working at the Family Resource Center doing Psychosocial Rehab. I get to work with my best friend Ashlee Charles (also cousin by marriage) and enjoy my job ALOT most of the time. Just like anything else though it definitely has its days. Our cute little baby is really starting to make itself known. My tummy is growing alot and we are getting so excited to find out the end of this week if our sweet little one is a boy or girl. My 24th birthday is coming up on Sunday the 24th and then our 1 year wedding anniversay is on the 25th. It is going to be an eventful weekend.