Halloween Fun

Finally....here are some pictures of the kiddos from the past month of fall fun:

 Fun at Raders Pumpkin Farm

 

 



  

Trip to Brookfield Zoo

 

Carving Pumpkins

Trick-or-Treat

 

Update Kid Pics

Some pictures of the kiddos at the Prairie Aviation Day at the Airport. They had lots of games, activities, planes, trucks, helicopters, etc for the kids to play with/on.

Justin and Taylor started school. Justin goes three mornings a week and Taylor goes one morning a week. Here they are with their backpacks on and ready to go! Justin LOVES school which is a big change from last year. He tolerated school last year but I don't think he ever woke up excited to go. Taylor does awesome and her teachers say she has a calming influence over the other little ones in her class who have a little separation anxiety going on.

Here are the kiddos in their Halloween pjs (thank you grandma and grandpa!)...and just wait until you see the official Halloween costume choices of the Curtis kiddos...Justin's is definitely interesting...but very cute :)! We are off to go pumpkin picking later this week and I'm sure we'll have some cute Halloween pictures to share with everyone in a few weeks.

Justin's new activity....learning to play ice hockey. I'm not sure there is anything cuter then the little ice skates he wears :)! The first set of classes are all about learning to skate and he's doing ok. He falls down a lot but keeps getting back up and so far wants to go back every week. He wants to sign up for the next set of classes so it looks like we'll be investing in a hockey helmet. That will make mom feel better :)! Natalie has gone every week to watch and now she wants to give it a try...she'll be starting ice skating lessons in November too! She's giving up gymnastics to do it so let's hope she enjoys the new experience!

Halloween pictures to come in a few weeks...be sure to check back!!!!

Summer 2010

It's hard to believe that the summer is over already! We had such a fun summer with so many things going on that it isn't a surprise that it went by so fast. We had lots of family around so the kids were able to play with their cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents a lot. We we regulars at State Farm Park and by the time we reached our last trip there Justin and Natalie were pros at going down the waterslides by themselves and Taylor enjoyed going down with either mom or dad. We did our usual blueberry picking, a girls trip to the American Girl Store with The Curtis Family, tested out some real fighter jets, did t-ball/soccer/gymnastics, had a mini-vacation in Galena, kids had sleepovers with friends and family, we all went to the Lincoln Balloon Festival, and Justin drove some big trucks at the Day of the Dozer. I think the kids really enjoyed this summer! Here are just a few pics...

Natalie at T-ball

Taylor is quicker then my camera

The Kids in Galena

The family at the Lincoln Balloon Festival

Justin driving an excavator

Natalie started Kindergarten last week and is having a lot of fun. She rides the bus to and from school and hasn't had any issues with the whole experience...yet. She loves her teacher, class, and has made a new friend that rides on the bus with her and is in her class. Here is a picture of her on the first day of school.

Her glamor girl camera pose

Justin starts preschool after Labor Day and will meet his new teachers this week for a short time and see his classroom. He'll be going three mornings a week and Taylor will be in the toddlers program one morning a week. We are looking forward to a fun filled school year!

First Bike Ride Experiences

Here are pictures of the first bike rides for all the Curtis kids over the years. We have a range of emotions and it really reflects their individual personalities.

Natalie at 15 months - not a risk taker at all

Justin at 11 months - unsure so insert thumb in mouth

Taylor at 12 months - so laid back she fell asleep

Pre-K Graduation and Taylor's Big Day

So we had two big celebrations in the Curtis family the last couple of weeks. The first was Natalie's graduation from Preschool. There was a little ceremony with songs and the awarding of her diploma. She's already to start Kindergarten in the fall now! Here's a picture of the graduate:

There was also a big parade at preschool on the last day that both kids were in. They decorated their own t-shirts and since it was raining the parade was inside.

The second big celebration was Taylor's 1st Birthday!!! She had two celebrations...the first was just the five of us and since we had a bout of sickness all week we stayed in and just celebrated with a candle in a twinkie and opened some presents. Then we had a family party yesterday with all of the grandparents and Uncle Brad, Aunt Sheila and Sydney too. The kids played in the pool and sprinkler and we grilled out and of course had the traditional 1st Birthday ISU Reggie Redbird cake! Taylor had a blast and it was nice to have a party that could be outside. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful family to celebrate with! Pictures of the birthday girl:

The kids also made a trip to Chicago with Aaron and his parents for the annual American Brain Tumor Association walk/run (of course I had to stay home and work..boo). Afterwards they went and looked at the Bean.

Lots of Happen's

So...we've had lots of things going on the past couple of months. Here are the highlights:

1. Went to Disney World

We packed up the van and the kiddos and took a road trip to Florida to celebrate my parent's 40th Anniversary. Now that we are home it is easy to say that the drive wasn't half bad. The kids were awesome and handled the hours upon hours in the car well. We only had one moment of emotional breakdown by the two youngest but we were stuck in traffic by Atlanta and to be honest I was almost ready to join them! Would we drive again...probably...I assume it gets easier the older they get so I think we could handle it!

Walt Disney World was one of the best vacations we've taken because of the sheer amazement that were in the kids eyes the entire time we were there. Natalie and Justin were enthralled with everything and they are still at the age where they "believe" and although Natalie was starting to ask questions she had no issues with all of the princesses and was so excited to meet all of them. We hit the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios. Justin was able to meet Lightning McQueen and it was the only thing that he wanted to stand in line for more then once. Taylor seemed to just enjoy being part of the action and went with the flow pretty well. We had a great time and enjoyed the trip and spending time with my family. It was fun to see the kids play, have extra set of hands to help, and just enjoy time together. Thanks mom and dad!

Here are a few pics from the trip:

2. We had Natalie's five year follow-up with her doctor in St. Louis so we left Taylor home with grandma and grandpa (thank you!!!) and took Justin and Natalie to the City Museum for the morning before her appointment. I love that place...especially without a stroller and freedom to follow the kids in and out of all of the tunnels and caves and such. Here are a few pics from that adventure:

and....Natalie's appointment went awesome and we don't have to go back until next year.

3. Justin turned 3!!!! He had a birthday party at the local fire station with fun at the park after. The weather could have cooperated a little better but at least it wasn't raining! He had such a fun time sitting in the firetrucks...it was a good day! Here are pics of the birthday boy:

Can't believe he's three!! But what a fun age right!

4. Taylor is getting big! She has finally figured out how to stand up and that's usually her focus now...find a place to crawl to and pull up to her feet and find someone to look at her so she can brag. I love this age...she is happy to see me ALL the time...pretty much can entertain herself for short periods of time and is sleeping really well. Here's a cute picture of all three...which any of you with kids knows...this is the best I could do trying to get all of them to look at me and be happy :):

As for Aaron and myself. We are surviving. I'm still in training at State Farm and counting the days until I get to my regular schedule (I think Aaron is counting down too). Aaron is working hard in our yard trying to get his landscaping projects done. He is also still playing in the volleyball league and we are just trying to find enough time in the week to see each other! All in all...it's been a good couple of months for the Curtis household.

We are still here

Ok...so I've been slacking on the website...sorry!

So let me bring everyone up to speed since our last post. We had a wonderful Christmas. We went to Seattle with Aaron's family and had lots of fun seeing the sights and spending time with our niece and nephews! It's been quite awhile since we had all of Aaron's family together so it was nice to have some time catching up and celebrating the holidays. The kids did awesome on the airplane ride and we made it there and back with few problems. Then we had a trip up to Fulton to spend time with my family. There was lots of snow so the kids (and adults) had lots of fun in the snow. We had a big sleepover with the kids in their sleeping bags and it was fun to have some good quality time with everyone and not feeling so rushed. It was a great holiday!

Here's some cute snow pictures:

So that takes us into January and we had a few birthdays to celebrate. Aaron had his birthday first...and the kids had fun making and decorating his cake. Then it was on to Natalie's 5th birthday. She went to see the Mamma Mia play with Grandma and Grandpa Curtis, and LOVED it! We also celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa Pickens, Uncle Brad, Aunt Sheila, and Sydney with cupcakes and presents! For her friend party she decided she wanted a Barbie Tea Party and invited six girls over to our house. It was so much fun. Aaron took Justin and Taylor to our church's movie night so they wouldn't interfere with the party and I had some friends helping me with the girls. We had tea, crafts, games, and a large amount of shrieking :) but I think it was a good time had by all. Here are some birthday pictures:

Taylor is 8 months now and is sitting up pretty much by herself. She is starting to talk, clap, and wave good-bye. She such a sweetie....here's a video of her talking...Aaron thinks I'm stretching the fact that she says dada...but I'll let you decide...

As for Justin....he's the typical 2 year old...he either is the sweetest little guy on earth or he's throwing something at you. He's talking a mile a minute and loves his sisters...here's a picture of him pre-cupcake...

Well...that wraps up the last few months in the Curtis household...hopefully I'll do better updating this!!!