Taylor's Baptism

Today we had Taylor baptized at our church. It was a perfect day and such a blessing to see her welcomed into our church family. I love baptisms and what they represent. I know that Taylor has no idea what went on today but it will be our responsibility to teach her what it means and how to live a good Christian life. We are lucky because we have such a wonderful support system of family and friends to support us on this journey. Taylor was baptized in the same gown that Natalie wore. My mom sewed a baptism gown from my grandma's wedding dress. Taylor looked just as beautiful in it as Natalie did four years ago! Here's a picture of all five us:

So today made me sentimental so I thought I would post pictures from the baptisms of our other two...it's fun to see how everyone has changed!

An amazing day with wonderful family and perfect weather. Amen.

Long Time No Post

It's been a busy couple of months since our last post. The biggest thing is that we moved into a new house and that in itself was a big under taking with three little ones in tow. We are still getting settled but we've made really good progress. Our old house sold in one day which was a mixed blessing because we only had to get the house ready for viewing once but then we were scrambling to find a new place. The kids love the new house as they each have their own room. I should say that Natalie is thrilled that she can have a place that Justin can't get into. Justin on the other hand is struggling a bit being by himself. He tends to wake up REALLY early and has become a fixture in our bed. Taylor has her own set of sleep issues and who knows if it has anything to do with the move.

We celebrated Halloween a few different times. Natalie and Justin had their Halloween Parade at their preschool. They make their own costumes so Natalie was a Fire Chief and Justin was a Little Pumpkin. We hit the church party and the kids had fun with crafts and games. Then it was the official Trick-or-Treating in the new neighborhood. Natalie was Belle, Justin was a cowboy and Taylor was a ladybug. Here are some Halloween pictures:

Here are a few cute and random pictures of the kiddos:

Can you tell they are all related?

I don't know why this cracks me up...but it does.

Natalie won.

Now that we are settled we will try to keep this updated a little better. Hope everyone had a fun Halloween!

Summer Fun Part 2

So we wrapped up the summer with a trip to Fulton to see Grandma and Grandpa Pickens, some swimming, some ISU fun, a campout with Grandma and Grandpa Curtis, and an appearance in the Herscher Labor Day Parade. We are sad that the summer is officially over.

School started this week for both Natalie and Justin...and now that we have to be somewhere by 9am every morning...the Curtis family is feeling the hurt of getting up early :)! It'll be nice once we officially get back into a routine...but oh how I miss those lazy summer mornings!

Here are some pictures of the kiddos....

Summer Fun Curtis Style

So....I thought I would put a quick slide show together of pictures of things we've been doing this summer so far. Our fun happen's include pool time, our church carnival of sorts, time with our extended family, the Fun Run, trip to Ropp Farm, blueberry pick'n, spray park fun, Children's Museum, the local fair, and so on. Enjoy!

Happy 4th of July!!!

We had a nice holiday weekend despite rain. Here are some pictures of our 4th of July celebration...actually celebrated on the 5th!

Kiddos in their 4th of July gear

There's always room for ice cream.

Sparkler Time

Cutie Patutie

Random Pictures

Here are some pictures of the kiddos.....

Natalie at Gymnastics

Justin at First Fest

Natalie really did have fun....

Natalie at Vacation Bible School

Sibling Love

The girls

"Dad, you can go back to work now"

Taylor joined us at home last Sunday. After a week long snuggle with the "billy" blanket, she is finely free to roam. This is the third child to battle the yellowing affects of jaundice. Jamie asked the doctor if there was anyway to avoid this "inconvenience" The doctor replied, "You have two choices. Stop having kids or get a new husband." Time will tell on which one Jamie chooses. Jamie is feeling a little better each day. I asked her today how much money I would have to give her to put on a bikini and go hang out at the local pool for an afternoon. She replied, "........" Well, actually she did not have a reply, but the look she gave me was more than enough response. I took the week off of work and helped around the house. I firmly believe that the family is better off if I go back to my office job as I have been told numerous times that I do not know the proper way to treat stains. In all seriousness, this job is hard. I need to go back to work so I can get my regular nap in. Jamie deserves a promotion and a raise. Too bad the economy stinks. Natalie and Justin are adapting well. Natalie is still excited about her little sister. Justin has yet to care. I have posted a few pictures.
I'm coming home
Just the three of us


Taylor hangin out


Taylor's first bath

"I thought I was stilll the baby"

Random Pictures

So...I figured I would post a few pictures of the kids before Baby Girl Curtis takes reign of the blog! We are all ready to welcome the new addition to our family tomorrow and Natalie is especially excited. Justin says he's excited to be a big brother....but I don't think he fully comprehends the whole process and how his life will change.

Natalie finished up preschool last week and they had an end of the year parade. She's really enjoyed this week of some down time and it's nice to not have to rush anywhere in the mornings. Here's a picture of her at the parade:

Justin seems to be growing up all at once. He's talking a lot more and is much more independent. He's always amazing me at what he can do...I think I just baby him too much and forget that he's a big boy. Aaron has wanted me to have his hair cut short for summer so I finally caved and did it....here's a picture of his new do:

We love summer and spend a lot of time outside these days which is awesome. Justin is obsessed with mowing, especially when Aaron is mowing and Natalie just likes to have her picture taken!

Ok...so our next post should include another Curtis kid....be sure to check back!!!!!

Baby Names?

We are having a little trouble picking out a name for our new little girl. If you have any suggestions, please pass them along. If you need help, you can use the device on the right. If your name is chosen, you may win fabulous prizes. Hurry up, time is running out.

The View At 3 1/2 Feet

For Natalie's birthday we had given her a camera and we finally got the camera computer ready so we could download the pictures and I put a little slide show together of pictures she has taken over the past few months....it's kind of neat to see the world through a 4 year old's eyes....enjoy!

Justin's 2nd Birthday

So our little man turned 2 last week and we had a White Sox party for him to celebrate. In attendance was Grandma and Grandpa Pickens, Grandma and Grandpa Curtis, Uncle Brad, Aunt Sheila, and Sydney. The weather held off enough that we were able to let the kiddos play outside and grill out. Aunt Sheila made Justin a baseball birthday cake...and did an awesome job! We had a lot of fun and both kids fell alseep within minutes of their heads hitting the pillow.

On his actual birthday, we all went out for lunch at McDonalds and while he napped Natalie and I made him some birthday cupcakes which we enjoyed that night. We will get his updated stats at his appointment tomorrow, but we did record his height on his growth chart and he's just shy of 3 feet now. We cleaned the nursery really good this weekend and I can't even imagine him in his crib anymore now that he's been in his big boy bed for a few weeks....it's like he grew up over night!

Here's a picture of him blowing out his candles and one of him enjoying his cake!

And here are a few pictures of him enjoying his new toys...and by far his favorite items are his vacuum and his broom and dust pan (thank you Aunt Jenny, Uncle Jason, Finn and Grey)...but in order to keep him in a boy bubble he also enjoyed some trucks, a pedal tractor , and some cowboy gear!!!!

Thank you to everyone that helped him celebrate his big day....we love you all!!!!

Easter Pictures

Here are some Easter pictures of the kiddos....

Trip to the Dells and Easter Egg Hunt'n

We packed up the kiddos last weekend and headed to Wisconsin Dells for a waterpark adventure. We met my parents and my brother and his family there for the weekend. The kids had an absolute blast. We hit the waterpark twice on Friday and after a Saturday morning trip I think we were all waterparked-out. So after a nice dinner on Saturday night we hit the indoor amusement park which was fun. The kids did so well together and we were staying in a three room suite so it was nice that we could get the kids in bed and still have some adult conversation time. Sunday we got up and hit the road after breakfast and made it home in good time despite the snow. I think my two are still recuperating because there has been a lot of sleeping going on this week. Here are some pictures from our trip:

We had such a wonderful time and can't wait to go back!!!

Today we went out to the town's Easter Egg Hunt which was a totally chaotic event but the kids had fun and got a few eggs...here's some pics from that event:

Natalie was so determined to help Justin find some eggs...which by the time we made it through the line and onto the field there were few eggs to be found...but she did a little better on her trek through and shared with Justin. We'll see if we hit that gig next year...might take some big time pursuading for dad to agree!

Curtis Update

So it's been awhile since our last post....and we don't have anything specific to talk about but thought we'd update you on what's been going on with the Curtis family this past month. Natalie started swim lessons and is doing well. She only has one more thing to pass before she can move up to the next level. Neither Aaron nor I wanted to get in the water with Justin...so instead of swim lessons we've taken him to play basketball in the gym while Natalie is swimming.

Both kids were sick...not at the same time of course...so we had about two weeks of sick kids in our house...fun. After more trips to the doctor then I'd like to think about in three weeks...it appears as though they are better...knock on wood.

Aaron and I started a bible study on Wednesday nights at our church. We are on week 5 and it's going pretty well I think. We have 14 all together including ourselves. It's been a bit out of our comfort zone but I feel like we are growing as Christians and as a couple from this experience.

Aaron started playing volleyball last week on Thursday nights and their team won their first game. He seems to enjoy it and it's a good form of exercise and last week he brought me home ice cream (of course it was for the baby) so let's hope that continues to be a trend!

I've been keeping busy just running the kids around to school and doctor appointments. I'm back attending Friday morning bible study with the ladies so that's a nice routine to get back into. Justin and I are signed up for a sign language class starting the first of April so we are looking forward to that. Hopefully this will help him communicate since he chooses not to talk...and I use the word chooses because I know he can say some words that he just doesn't feel like using.

We also have our bathroom remodeling project almost complete. Aaron did a really good job getting everything in and now I just have to decorate....and for some reason that is taking me longer then I thought but I just can't get Justin to give me his opinion on our shower curtain shopping adventures.

Well...that's about it....here's some pictures of the kiddos....

Justin's new obsession

Natalie swore she wasn't tired

Is this wrong?

Natalie's Week Long Birthday Bash

Natalie turned 4 yesterday but has been celebrating her birthday for almost a week. It all started at preschool when they had a group party for all the January birthdays and half birthdays. Natalie made a princess birthday crown, picked out a necklace, and all the kids sang her a birthday song.

Then there was her first ever "friend" party and I think we had 18 or 19 kids all together (including the birthday girl herself and Justin). We had it at Backyard Adventures which is a indoor playground basically. We had the whole place to ourselves so it was a nice place for a bunch of kids to run around and not bother anyone. We were able to round everyone up for cake and some birthday singing but it didn't take long for the kids to head back to the slides. Natalie had tons of fun and loved having all of her friends there. A big thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Pickens and Uncle Brad and Aunt Sheila for helping us to supervise and play with all the kiddos...and keeping track of Justin!

Next we had a family lunch party and had both sets of grandparents, Uncle Brad, Aunt Sheila, and Sydney over to celebrate. We did the lunch, gifts, cake thing and had a good time with everyone. Natalie loves all of her gifts and always enjoys being the center of attention. Although I think she was a bit worn out by this time.


We had a few days off and then it was time for her actual birthday and we took special number 4 cookies to school to celebrate her big day. Aaron then surprised her with balloons at noon time and after he got home from work we went to McDonalds for dinner and some play time. We got home in time for baths, presents and more cookies. She received phone calls from Aunt Jenny, Grandma and Grandpa Curtis, and Grandma and Grandpa Pickens. She also got some birthday emails and birthday e-cards from friends and family. It was hard for her to accept it was bedtime but once she was settled she was out.


Today she received her final presents from Aunt Jenny and crew and Uncle Chris and crew and we ate the last birthday cookie....so I think we are officially done with her 4th birthday....it's been exhausting!

Here are some birthday pictures:

Thank you to everyone that helped Natalie celebrate her birthday, we love all of you!

It's a Girl

We went to see the specialist over at Champaign yesterday for a level 2 sonogram (only because of our history, not because they suspected a problem) and found out we are having another girl. She is healthy and looks awesome in all areas....so we are keeping our fingers crossed that this will be another uneventful pregnancy. Woohoo!!!!! Here are some pictures of Baby Girl Curtis!!!