I must be allergic to something...

I must be because I am swelling up in the thigh, lower back, oblique, and rear-end areas. Seriously people, I know this is my second pregnancy and all, but that shouldn't have anything to do with these parts of my body. When it comes to growth, I would like it to stick to the belly please!

Loving all the new words...

Hearing your kids learn to talk has to be one of the greatest things about being a parent. There is truly nothing sweeter! Roman has been working with a speech therapist and is making great progress in this department learning simple words and how to put two words together. I couldn't be more proud or excited to hear that cute voice of his. Capri continues to learn new words every day and has been talking in full sentences. She still gets some words or sounds mixed up, but I can't bear to correct her because how cute is "stott" and "ott" instead of "stop" and "off?"
What does speech therapy consist of? Well, our fabulous therapist Janine comes to our house with a big bag full of new toys. Roman and Capri see her walk in and immediately get excited because they feel they are in for an hour of awesome new toy time. The bag is zipped up, however, and Roman has to say "open" or at least the sound "o" before she opens it up. He picks out the first treasure. It's a choo choo train. Roman has always said "choo choo" in his throat, which as you can imagine, doesn't sound much like choo choo. So, while pointing to her mouth, Janine asks him to open his mouth to make the "choo" sound. Roman responds by pointing to his mouth, finger right in the middle of his little chin, and says "ooo." Not quite what we were looking for...or hearing for? Anyway, so then the therapist will rub her cheek while making the "ch" sound. Sure enough, Roman follows and soon can say "choo choo." I know it seems simple, but it is amazing to witness. I am so grateful that Roman enjoys his sessions so much and seems to be highly motivated by her...but who wouldn't be when she brings such great new stuff to do!
The actions she uses for sounds really seems to help and Capri joined in on the fun last week. Capri had never been too cooperative while Janine was here, but she finally learned that if she wanted to "play," she had to make a bit of effort. During our last session, Roman was learning to say "stop" and "go." When Capri said, "stott" instead, Janine asked Capri to say "stop" while accentuating the "p" sound. Capri still didn't get it so Janine singled out the "p" sound while making a popcorn popping action with her hand. Capri not only said "p," but got so excited with the action, her whole face would light up and smile. Now she can say "stop!"
Since starting the therapy, Roman has learned so many new words and put two words together such as "car go," "block on," and my favorite, "more please." Seriously, hearing this boy say "please" is to die for. Other favorites: "push, push, push" while on his bike, "amen" after prayers while keeping his arms folded the whole time (such a good boy), all of his colors-especially "bwuu" (because he knows everything blue is his and everything pink is Capri's), "bye bampa," and is making serious attempts at "my turn." He starts a new speech therapy class tomorrow so hopefully it will add to his progress.
Capri has said some funny things lately that I have to document. You should know that as of recently, she has become in love with the Disney princesses and knows every one by name, Jamsey, C-lella, Slee Beauty, Belle and Ariel. As we are driving past the temple, Capri calls out, "oh, a princess castle!" Since we have corrected her to say that it is a temple so now she calls it either a temple or a princess castle temple. Then, the other day she pointed to a picture of Roman and said "Roman." When I pointed to her in the picture and asked who it was, she responded with, "a princess." Yes Capri, you are a princess. Some of my favorite words or phrases of Capri's are: "I poot!" when she passes gas, "I wan watch Tah Jenny cat mouse" meaning she wants to watch Tom and Jerry, "choc noc" for chocolate milk, and "daddy bork, daddy back," meaning daddy is at work but he will be back. She is also singing quite a few songs including the ABC's, Eency Weency Spider, Spiderman theme song (no, I have no idea where she got the interest, but I figured out enough of the song to suit her), and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
Love my babies and their baby talk. How can we keep it that way?

I couldn't wait...

I was going to wait until I received all of the images, but it was killing me. Take a look at those that Joy posted already on her blog...

Thank you Joy!

As you may know, my kids and portrait studios do not mix. I have taken them to Target and Kiddie Kandids only to return with zero pictures. It always turns out with one or both crying (and mom crying on the inside) within 15 minutes, no smiles to speak of and simply no cooperation. Hate it. To be honest, I always thought I would be the mom to have their kids pictures done more than regularly because hey, these are memories and you really can't put a price on that, right? Whatever. It's not the money, it's the severe anxiety and drama.
That being said, I was desperate for some pictures of the twins and our family before it changed with another baby on the way. I saw that an old friend of mine was going to be in town and was willing to do a few sessions so I secured a spot in her schedule. I have always loved her work, but she has always been in another state so I was so excited to have her attempt taking a few pictures of my kids.
Let me just say that the pictures turned out beyond anything I could have imagined! Tucker and I have looked at them so many times now and are still in awe. I keep thinking, "when did she get that picture?" and "how in the world did she get them to smile" and "oh, I love those sweet expressions and she somehow captured them!" Needless to say, I couldn't be happier and am so grateful she is such a talented photographer!
Check the pictures out on her blog: http://joyalicephotography.blogspot.com/

In case you haven't heard...

I am pregnant! Baby #3 is on his/her way (and yes, it's just one!) and is due March 11th, 2010. I am 15 weeks along and feeling great. We are so excited to be adding to our family and know that Roman and Capri will be great with this new little one.

Some of you may be curious on how we got pregnant. Ok, not exactly how, but more how difficult it was this time around. With the twins, we spent a year trying to get pregnant before we went on a fertility drug Chlomid. I got pregnant after my first round, but miscarried at 6 weeks. We were devastated. It was hard enough to go through month after month and be let down knowing we we would have to continue to wait. At that point, I seriously thought I wasn't meant to carry my own child. With the help and support of my family, I shook it off and was starting another round of chlomid less than 2 months later. Hooray! We were pregnant and with two. We couldn't have been happier and were thrilled to know we had a boy and girl on their way.

When we decided we were ready to get pregnant again, Tucker was not comfortable with the fertility drugs route again (you can only imagine the scare of triplets or quads), so we decided we better get going to give us some time to get pregnant. Well, we got pregnant our first month of trying and could not believe it! I will never forget when I was complaining to my mom about some serious heartburn I had experienced the night before. She responded with, "Could you be pregnant?" The thought hadn't even entered my mind! How could I be pregnant already?
We finally took a pregnancy test simply because I was late and we were headed out on the boat that day. I really needed to know if I could wakeboard or not (ok, so I did still wakeboard, but I was taking it easy)! I don't think Tucker or I could have expected that positive result. We were absolutely shocked and were excited, yet still very anxious.

As you have read in a previous post, my sister Cheri lost her baby after carrying him for over 5 months. He developed anencephaly and would not survive. It was heartbreaking to see what my sister and her husband had to go through in delivering this beautiful baby boy that was stillborn. Thus, I not only had the fear of something going wrong with my pregnancy, but I feared having to tell my sister that I was going to be having a baby. She is my very best friend and obviously more than that as a sister and I couldn't bear to hurt her with such news. Needless to say, we decided to wait to say anything until we had confirmed our results with the doctor at my 10 week appointment.

I was nervous to go into the doctor's office, which was really unlike me. I knew I should have been excited to see the ultrasound and our precious baby, but I couldn't shake the anxiety. However, as soon as we saw a healthy baby on the monitor (and just one-Tucker was convinced I was having twins again!), Tucker and I both were not only extremely relieved, but so much more excited. A healthy baby was on their way and we could finally breathe. I still had to tell my sister, but I was relieved again because she responded so positively and with genuine excitement. I am so lucky to have a sister like that!

Ever since, we have gotten more and more excited about baby #3. A lot of people thought we were crazy to think we could handle a third child so soon after the twins. We heard lots of comments stating that we should wait and I can see where they are coming from-three kids ages three and under is a bit much! That being said, I know that not only can we do it, this is definitely going to be the best thing for our family. I am excited to have our kids closer together so that they can be buddies growing up together. Roman and Capri are getting to be easier to manage and actually somewhat willing to entertain themselves for a bit. It will also be nice to have them potty trained so I won't have to worry about three kids in diapers-more on that later!

As far as my pregnancy so far, I was definitely my normal exhausted pregnant self for that first 13 weeks. I even took naps-something I never do! Something I had to deal with this pregnancy was the ridiculous indigestion, bloating (I swear I looked 5 months pregnant at 8 weeks!) and constipation. Sorry, that sounds disgusting, but I had to complain! I quickly learned a few things. First, stop eating so much! I would be sick to my stomach by the end of the day if I didn't really cut down on what I ate. Next, as crappy as I felt each morning, I had to force myself to work out. I had been running quite a bit to train for the 10k when I was 8 weeks along, but dropped my long runs for some kick-boxing at home instead after the race. If I could gut through that, I would feel so much better the rest of the day. Lastly, don't complain! Tucker still got an earful, I'm sure, but I tried to put on a happy face because it really doesn't help to have a dumpy attitude drag you down feeling even worse. Granted, there are a lot of you out there that absolutely deserve whatever attitude you choose! Keep in mind that I have never even thrown up while pregnant so I really don't get that sick at all.

A couple of weeks ago, I started to feel so much better. More energy, the citrucel is finally working, and I just keep the tums handy. We had another appointment last week and got to hear the heartbeat and it was at a slower 150 beats/minute. As far as the old wive's tale goes, that means we are having a boy. Tucker and I would love a boy, and maybe that's why we have been thinking so much of boy names, but would obviously be happy with either! Can't wait until our next appointment in 3 weeks to find out-and of course I will keep you posted!

Ok, the movie in the post below actually works now!

Just a few more...

Maybe I simply cannot say goodbye to summer or maybe I just found a bunch of pics that had to be added to the blog...a bit of both I guess? This time it's for sure, however, that summer is no longer and I wanted to give it a proper farewell.

Summer is...
*Eating watermelon, especially when Tucker digs it out with a spoon.
*Taking the kids on morning runs and no sweatshirts or blankets required.
*Hanging out on the boat.
*Campfires in the backyard.
*All of the neighbors out and about til dark-love the chats.
*Simply being outside.
*Roman riding his tricycle and busting with pride...or maybe that was his mom being so proud.
*Capri "helping" mom weed or work in the yard by scattering picked weeds and dirt with her Dora shovel.
*Taking care of my flowers and letting the kids help me water-it always ended with them needing a change of clothes.
*Relaxing at the Splash Pool while my kids wear themselves out.
*Grammy's blow-up pool-the kids loved fishing with their little nets best.
*Having the time to see friends and family.
*Going to Bear Lake with my girls.
*The fact that the sun doesn't go down til 9:00pm or later.
*Going up the canyon and enjoying what Mother Nature has to offer.
*BBQ's on a weekly basis.
*Running the 10K race on 24th of July with my family.
*Daybreak's new beach/playground-we finally have sand and swings!
*Playing dodgeball with the fam and friends-don't worry, just the adults in the game!
*Watching Roman learn how to dribble the soccer ball and Capri learn how to "run fast" as she tells me.

So many fun memories this past summer and I can't wait until next year. However, I do love the fall as well and am already getting excited about the slight crispness in the air, the changing of the colors, and yes, the upcoming holiday season!

Goodbye Summer...

Summer has always been my favorite season. Maybe it started as a child when summer meant no school, endless playtime, and my birthday, but I have continued my love for the season full of outdoor activities. Boating, camfires, swimming, BBQs, and fun in the sun wrap up a great summer and this year was no different...
p.s. Click on each of the collages below to get a blown up picture!

A Sandy Beach In Utah?

We have loved Daybreak's newest addition, a beach! It's the perfect way to beat the heat and so the Curtis family opted to spend the 24th of July here to splash in the water and dig in the sand. I really didn't know how my kids would do (remember Capri's fear of sand?) so I didn't bother putting them in swimsuits. Bad idea. They were soaked within minutes!

BBQs and Campfires

I am totally guilty for taking so few pictures of all of our great barbecues this summer, but here are a few from our neighborhood party. We have made great friends here and so have our kids!

Splash Pool Splendor

I love our neighborhood splash pool. As nice as the big pool is for the big kids, my kids are so easy to watch in the splash pool just down the street. This means they have a great time while Mom gets a bit of a break. Of course both Roman and Capri love it too, so it isn't totally selfish! We have been lucky this summer to see a lot more of our cousins, my brother Robert's kids, and they have joined in the fun!