Good Boy Blog

38 weeks

2012-02-07T18:46:00.000-08:00

One more week and our house will be filled with one more Tester. It's hard to get dressed in the morning, not only because bending over to put on pants and socks is impossible, but because not too many of my clothes cover me up! Almost there. Almost there. Almost there...

after dinner dance party

2012-02-06T20:23:00.001-08:00

The family

2012-01-14T19:39:00.000-08:00

I seem to have a giant head in most of our family portraits. But I think I'm wearing earrings, which are pretty stylish. And Andy has a lock on his arm. And that is possibly the baby in the background but his preschool teacher says he didn't want to put the baby in the picture because "she hasn't had it yet".

These two

2012-01-13T15:45:00.000-08:00

Could they be any more in love?

Curtis James loves his dad like crazy. The boy can't get enough of him. And I know Andy feels the same way. He wants to do everything his dad does. His most favorite thing right now is to have video game time with his pop. As soon as Andy walks through the door at night the first words he hears are: "Daddy! I want to play video games with you!" He wants to sit right next to his dad at the dinner table. He even needs his dad more when he gets hurt. It's been a definite shift from the little mama's boy he has always been, but it's also really cool to see.

There is just a lot of love going on in our house right now. I mean we talk A LOT about how much we love each other. I feel so lucky every day. And we are all so excited to add this little baby to our nest and for Curtis to be a big brother! Of course we have no idea what it will be like adding a new center of the universe to our household, but I know we won't run out of love for each other. It will be a huge adjustment for all of us, especially for our little red-headed boy. All I hope for is lots of laughing and cuddles and maybe a little sleep. And chocolate. And maybe a full glass of wine. That would be nice.

Santa!

2011-12-10T13:40:00.001-08:00

Christmas is coming!

2011-12-04T17:05:00.001-08:00

It was a banner day at our house today. First the day started with pancakes and haircuts in the kitchen. Then two handsome boys and I went and picked out our Christmas tree. Then we played around with the self timer on the camera. Life is pretty good.

2011-11-11T16:42:00.001-08:00

Happy Halloween - Ha ha ha ha!

2011-11-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

Lauren and Nicholas came to the preschool halloween party

2011-10-29T15:21:00.001-07:00

punkin patch

2011-10-23T19:32:00.001-07:00

new camera pics

2011-10-16T20:56:00.000-07:00

Brother

2011-10-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

Hi, I'm curtis' little brother. At least he is pretty sure I'm a boy. We'll see in February.

2011-10-03T20:01:00.000-07:00

June 2008

September 2011

that's cool

2011-09-21T08:54:00.000-07:00

Viking Party

2011-07-19T21:50:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my little baby is already FOUR!! He's a kid now. What happened? He's growing up so fast. And while a big part of me wants him to stay little forever, it's just too exciting to see what he's going to do next. I think I feel this way about every stage, but he is at such a fun age right now. He's hilarious, of course. And handsome. And funny. And the sweetest thing ever. And he LOVES his mom and dad, I mean he thinks we are the greatest. And I'm not saying that to brag, it's just that I know he's not always going to feel that way. We think he's the greatest too.

I have always dreamed of the day I would have a funny little kid with a mind of their own. And now I have it. Granted, it's not always the easiest thing to deal with when you are trying to get out the door on time in the morning, but I'll take it. Curtis' imagination is taking off. I love hearing him make up stories and scenario's for his toys when he doesn't know anyone is listening. I hope he never loses that.

When we asked him months ago what kind of birthday party he wanted to have, he said with confidence "A viking party". Of course. What other kind of party is there? It ended up being a really fun party with viking hats, and swords and shields. Andy and curtis made a super cool catapult and the kids took turns shielding themselves from water baloons. It was four year old heaven.

Most of the pictures below are from Grandpa Bruce who flew up just for the day to celebrate with Curtis. Thanks Grandpa! There is no paticular order - it just shows a little chaos of the day.

1st birthday

2nd birthday

3rd birthday

Haircut

2011-06-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

Oooh I just want to kiss the back of that white neck! So delicious.

An update on handsome

2011-06-01T15:02:00.000-07:00

Having a little boy is the best.Morning trips to the store in pajamas to pick up sprinkle donuts.
A stop at the ice cream shop after a hard day at the toy store.
Getting ready for crazy hair day at school
And I got a trophy for mother's day!!

Playing on the beach.

Dying Eggs

2011-04-25T18:38:00.000-07:00

One of the many (many!) advantages of having a kid affords you is getting to color easter eggs. The smell of vinegar and hard boiled eggs brings me back to dying eggs as a kid. I particularly remember doing this in my grandma Mio's kitchen. The whole process was fun, getting the cups all ready, figuring out which colors to do, or if I was going to do anything fancy like two colors on one egg!

I love getting Curtis excited about this stuff. The hardest part was leaving the eggs in the dye bath long enough so the color got dark enough. But he did really well this year. It's fun to see him experience this kind of thing knowing that he's at the age where he will really start to remember from year to year.
Didn't they come out beautiful? When we put our boy to bed that night, he was really worried that we were not going to sleep at the same time because he wanted to make sure the easter bunny would come. Luckily, he did show up, and hid everyone one of them.
He must have thought curtis did a great job coloring the eggs, cause he filled his basket with treats. Doesn't he look thrilled?
Since finding all the eggs, we have enjoyed deviled eggs and egg salad! Yum.

The good boy

2011-04-25T18:06:00.000-07:00

Have you missed seeing this boy? Of course you have. Here's just a tiny bit of what he's been up to. Decorating easter cookies

Fairyland with Grammy
Umbrella parade day at school
Aquarium day!!
And some pirate action.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-13T17:08:00.000-08:00

2011-01-10T19:27:00.000-08:00

Guess who is 3 1/2?

This guy.

cousins yo

2011-01-07T22:28:00.000-08:00

The twins were in cotati

2011-01-07T13:40:00.000-08:00

And now we miss them. (and their mom)

But here's some pictures from when they were here:

Lauren - I swear she wasn't sleeping the whole time she was here. Far from it - that girls has some lungs! And she lets you know when she needs something! And, man is she sweet!! I think it's her elf ears that she gets from her auntie.

And Nicholas - The big news was that he rolled over for the first time at my house! Way to make your auntie proud Nicholas! And that boy has rolls and rolls and dimples on top of dimples. He's gonna pass up his cousin in weight pretty soon! And when he smiles his whole face smiles, it's really the sweetest thing ever.

And Curtis trying to keep me away from Nicholas because he was sleeping.

We had so much fun having them at our house for a few days. They are the cutest little beans! Okay, not so little, but you know what I mean.

playing catch-up

2011-01-07T13:08:00.001-08:00

Oh yeah, Christmas happened. It was awesome as you can see

We got ready for santa

And he came!

then he came again the next day to grammies house

We were pretty lucky

We got to be with all the people we love like these guys

and these guys

and of course lots of these guys

We even got some time with this guy

Then when we got home we got to spend time with the Tester side of the family but of course I don't have any pictures of that!

All in all, probably our best Christmas yet.

And of course I never seem to get a picture of the three of us, so here is one from before the holidays for good measure:

XOXO!

My kitty.

2010-12-20T16:15:00.000-08:00

Every time this kid gets a pen in his hand...

And it only took 8 chocolate chips to get him to let me cut his hair.

isn't being in bed the best?

2010-12-08T13:28:00.001-08:00

Don't you wish this is what you could be doing right now?

scrumptious!

2010-12-04T16:21:00.001-08:00

You are a nice boy curtis.

And I'm a bad boy too.

You are not bad, you are a nice boy.

No I'm a bad boy. I told mommy I want to watch a movie and she told me no, you didn't take a nap.

Christmas is coming

2010-12-02T17:34:00.000-08:00

Meet with Santa and give him the list. Check.

melt my heart

2010-11-24T18:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

say cheese

2010-11-21T10:14:00.000-08:00

You know how when you have the best, sweetest, funniest, smartest little boy in the world and he is so much fun and great and loving, but sometimes you have to say to yourself, being a mommy is really hard(!!!) cause you get worn out by trying to be creative and not say no all the time and you don't have any more patience to be patient anymore but you have to keep going cause your little amazing silly boy is really trying and you know it's hard to be a 3 year old and remember all the rules and he might not always like the rules and you know he just has to be who he is? And then you brace yourself for a struggle of the wills because you are both stubborn and it's hard to compromise for both of you? And right when you think you are in for a difficult day, everything turns out really good and you have the best time and there is no fighting and you have a great time?

It's like that.

Happy Halloween! Ha ha ha ha!

2010-11-01T16:06:00.000-07:00

Best. Halloween. Ever.

Seriously, it was so much fun. And these kids got so much candy! They were awesome at trick or treating. Toward the end, curtis would just squat down on the sidewalk cause he was too tired to walk anymore. But we trudged on. Oh, and the Giants won, so there's that.

Getting ready to go out.
Let's take a closer look at my husband. I think he looks especially Jim Rasmussen-ish here:
I really am the luckiest lady.
They are really good at getting lots of candy. People kept saying, take as much as you want. Don't they know what sugar does to kids? Especially mine.
There was even a fellow bird for curtis
I think we were trying to get him to flap his wings here.

My old softball jersey. Easy comfortable costume.

Show us what you got Curtis! He started the night with two bird feet. One was lost along the way somewhere.
Oh, and all that candy (really, I can't get over how much he got!!) - curtis decided to leave it out for the Switch Witch. She apparently comes to your house on Halloween after you go to bed and takes all your candy and leaves you a present instead. I didn't know if he would go for it, but he was so excited and happily put all his candy in a bowl for her. And she really came and brought him some toys! First thing he said when he woke up this morning was "Mommy! Daddy! Did the switch witch come?!" Now we don't have to deal with a crazy over-sugared boy and he's happy as can be with his new toys - win-win.

Green bird out.

Shorties be marching

2010-10-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

Preschool Halloween Parade.

Well it got rained out, but they marched on. And it was confirmed that curtis is the shortest kid in the class. But also, the cutest green bird.

Green bird reading the New Yorker

2010-10-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

Sneek peek
What to do when your kid tells you over and over again that he wants to be a green bird for halloween? You make a green bird costume. What to do when he changes his mind? Hope for the best I guess.

Now when we ask what curtis is going to be for halloween he says he's gonna be:

-a green ghost
-a green pumpkin (this is a new one that just started today!)
-a green bird
-a green thomas
-a green dragon

I guess he's going to be anything as long as it's green.

Can't wait for trick or treating - raining or not. Watch out L section, our green monster is coming for your candy!

Okay, that's better

2010-10-23T16:54:00.000-07:00

Three months old y'all!

More pics on their very own blog here

Guess who is three months old?

2010-10-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't a cute picture of the worlds sweetest twins look really good right here:

Yeah, I think so too. Auntie?

new bed

2010-10-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

Five successful nights in the big boy bed! It's still just a mattress on the floor, but we figure he'll get used to sleeping without the rails of his crib and if he falls out of bed, he won't fall far. I found a great bed frame for him at a garage sale, and all we have to do now is sand it and paint it and it's going to be super cute in his room. By the way, I figure anyone who looks at this blog is as in love with this boy as I am, right? Wait that is impossible. No one can love him as much as me. That's the beauty of being his mum, right? I get to love him the most? Because, man, I love this boy. Okay, here he is in bed:

As you can see, all the essentials are there. He's got his rainbow blankie that he sleeps with every night, and Lionel is behind him. (I think that is Lionel #2. Original Lionel and Lionel #3 are in the corner. Yes, he has three Lionel's. It is his favorite night time stuffed animal and his auntie went to great lengths to find him more Lionel's on eBay.) Also featured is Stinky Marie (calico cat that looks like our very own June Bug.)
We are in the middle of transforming his room from baby to big kid! It's pretty exciting. And he is having so much fun playing with this toys in his room. I'll post more pictures when we get it more put together. For now he is mastering sleeping in the big boy bed all night long. And so far, he's awesome at it!

life is good

2010-10-15T08:56:00.000-07:00

This is the kind of handsome I live with every day! Aren't I lucky?

Preschooler

2010-10-14T06:45:00.000-07:00

I didn't think it was possible that our round-headed gurgling little baby would ever turn into a preschooler, but somehow it happened. Although I have always dreamed of the day he would look like this:

And here's an action shot:

Isn't he handsome?? Please note, those pictures aren't from the first day of school. First day of school pictures looked like this:

And this:

I swear he wasn't unhappy, he just didn't want his picture taken. First drop-off was a little rough, but soon he discovered that his new school had (A):

His best friend Leo! (Isn't he handsome too??)

And (B):

Roads to build!

Is there anything you can't accomplish with your best friend and train tracks? Seriously, life is good.

After things settled down postpartum-ly (I think I just made up that word), and we made our rounds visiting family, it was time for me to head back to work and curtis to start school! And I must say the boy is great at school! He was soooo ready for it. Our daycare situation was great, but he had just outgrown it.

He loves his new school. Although getting him out the door in the morning isn't always easy, but that's not really a big change. There have been a few tearful drop-offs and pick ups, but for the most part he can't wait to play with his friends. Besides Leo, his old daycare friend Mikey is at preschool too. It's pretty perfect. We've been told they have formed a bit of a tricycle gang.

Since starting preschool he:

Comes home super dirty - paint and glitter on face and clothes and shoes filled with sand. I swear his shoes must produce sand or something.
Has been invited to a new friend's birthday party at a really cool place called "Pump it Up". One of the funnest birthday parties ever!
Takes naps at preschool without a diaper!! (Yay! And at home too)
Brings home the cutest art projects (okay there are a lot of papers with just a couple of scribbles of crayon, but there are some really cute things too)
And starting this week he is sleeping in his own big boy bed!
Oh, and today is silly sock day AND picture day. We have been practicing how he is going to smile all week. So, if all goes to plan (and why wouldn't it?) get ready for some really handsome wallet-sized school pictures.

Happy Birthday Babies

2010-08-03T17:43:00.000-07:00

Lauren and Nicholas!!

The twins are here! Aren't they the sweetest things ever? I'm a bit late getting this posted, but Nicholas James and Lauren Brooke Vissman came into the world on July 22. Lauren was 7 pounds, 10 ounces and 21 inches and Nicholas was 7 pounds, 5 ounces and 20 inches long. (that's almost 15 pounds of baby if anyone is counting). They came out with two of the most beautiful gurgle-ey screams as healthy as could be. I'm so happy to have been able to carry them full term (38 weeks, 4 days) and that they didn't have to spend any time in the NICU and got to go to their parents right away.

The pregnancy went better than I could have ever hoped for. I was healthy and didn't have any complications. I was hoping to attempt a vbac delivery, but at 38 weeks I wasn't showing any signs of labor. We decided that a cesarean was the best/safest option. So it was scheduled and we prepared to go to the hospital at 6 am on the 22nd for the surgery. Unfortunately when I called that morning to make sure they had room for us, they had to push us back to later in the day because they had a lot of births that morning. Like we weren't all nervous enough! But at least we got to go back to sleep for a bit.

When we got to the hospital every thing happened pretty fast. My sister and Dave were there, of course. And so was Andy, my mom and Grandpa Coy, as well as Dave's dad and step mom. When it was time to go into the OR, Andy got to be there with me the whole time. We tried to get my sister in as well, but they would only allow one other person. The babies came out really fast - Nicholas was born first and his sister Lauren came out one minute later. They cried right away and everyone working on me just kept saying how big they were and how healthy and great they looked. Andy got to go be with the babies and cut their cords and take pictures and video and somehow still rub my head. It felt like they were in the OR with us forever and I kept thinking "Take those babies out to meet their parents!" It seemed like it took forever for them to go to the nursery, but it was probably only 15 min. or so.

My sister and Dave got to be with the babies right away after they went to the nursery and andy stayed with me while they finished me up. Everything went really well. My sister got to bring the babies to me while I was in recovery and both babies latched on and breastfed a little bit.

Everyone at the hospital was sooo great - they were really accommodating to us and our situation. We got our own room and my sister stayed with me the whole time. The babies breastfed like little champs right away. They kept us up a lot the first night and we ended up sending them to the nursery the second and third night so we could get some sleep - it really helped.

The c-section was harder on me than I thought it was going to be. I was in a lot of pain, but finally got my medication under control and felt much better. I'm healing more and more every day and feeling really good now.

The babies are finally home in Boise and hopefully settling into their new home! I miss them already. They are so sweet and cute and I can't get enough of them. And they are really good at keeping their mom and dad up at night. (Good work babies). Curtis and I will be going to visit them soon and we are so excited!

Baby Nicholas!!

Waiting for our room to be ready

I love this picture
Proud mom and dad
All snuggled up
Curtis love his babies. He couldn't stop smiling and giggling when he met them for the first time.

Last belly pics before the babies arrive

2010-08-03T17:32:00.000-07:00

So here are the last belly pictures of me before the twins were born. By my last doctor's appointment at 38 weeks I was measuring 60 weeks pregnant. My belly had a LOT of baby in there!!

Waiting to go into surgery!!
Night before the babies were born - we all went out for dinner. Needless to say, no one got a lot of sleep that night!

kite flying

2010-07-12T15:04:00.000-07:00

the boy is three

2010-07-09T15:30:00.000-07:00

Somehow, Curtis is three. I can't believe he' s this old already. Our little tiny baby is a big boy now. And he is not shy about it. He says: "I'm three! I'm big!"

We haven't been planning much for his birthday because everything has been up in the air with the twins birth. I haven't known how I would be feeling and how much I could do to prepare for a big party. Luckily the babies are still comfy in my belly and Curtis didn't have to share his birthday with anyone. My energy has been super low, but we managed to pull off a very last minute party with a few good friends. Thanks to everyone that helped out to make it a great birthday for Curtis. He had so much fun. The only thing he wanted for his party was cupcakes! The great friends and presents and food were just a bonus.

We love you Curtis James. You bring such sunshine into our lives every morning with your sweet face. Happy third birthday little boy!

Father's day at the beach

2010-06-20T17:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day Andy! We love you so much and you are the best daddy in the world. Thanks for all that you do for us!!

Things the boy says

2010-06-19T10:17:00.000-07:00

"Mommy is a princess, I'm a king and daddy is a dragon."

On his birthday: "I'm big! I'm three! My body is big!"

"Basil is my favorite. It feels me good."

Curtis: "Better hide from monsters".

Mom: "Where do we go to hide?"

Curtis: "Costco".

Curtis: "Bats can see in the dark"

Mom: "Can you see in the dark?"

Curtis: "Yep. With my beun-tiful eyes." Opening eyes really wide "See mommy?"

Mom: "Yes, those are beautiful eyes."

Gardening and Gestating

2010-06-07T19:12:00.000-07:00

For my birthday andy and jimmy made me a planter box - isn't it great? I wanted a little space for us to plant a few tomatoes or herbs. Nothing too fancy - I have no energy to be a full time gardener, but I thought it would be pretty great to have something that Curtis could help out with and we could water and watch grow. Who knows maybe it will even inspire us to water our lawn more this summer and keep it from turning completely brown like last summer.

So the Tester family went and picked up some dirt for our new planter box. The soil here is hard clay and not very easy to dig in. We got some tomatoes, a cucumber and a basil plant (thanks for forgetting it at our house auntie!) and we finally got to dig in some dirt and put our veggies in the ground. It's pretty exciting - I hope at least something grows!

And speaking of growing, here are the twins at 32 weeks. I actually kind of think I don't look too big here. I feel huge. It's always fun when people ask me when the baby is due and when I tell them, they get a very worried look on their face. Although looking at the ticker at the top of this page, it won't be much longer now! Making it four more weeks would be great. Making it to six more weeks would be amazing. And dare I say it, making to to the full 40 weeks would be unbelievable. The doctor said she wouldn't be surprised if I went full term with these kiddos!! We'll see. As long as they are happy and healthy in there I am happy to keep them in my belly.

I am, however, getting really tired. I get worn out pretty easy and have contractions when I do anything physical. I have days (like today!) where I feel great and have a lot of energy and days where I feel like I'm walking up hill all day long. Needless to say I do a lot of laying on the couch. Poor Curtis has been stuck at home with his boring mom. But hopefully that will change when these babies are born! We are all excited to meet them.

Solvang and Pismo Beach

2010-05-05T18:55:00.000-07:00

We had a great trip to Solvang to visit Mio and Rikka and Patrick(and the new kitties)! It was short and fast, but it was good to see everyone. Curtis had sooo much fun! And we even got to take a side trip to meet and play with baby Andrew! I hardly took any pictures of our trip, so you will just have to use your imagination.

The twins and I traveled like champs. This will probably be the last traveling I do before they are born. They are kicking up a storm in my belly and I love it! They are measuring big which is a good thing - I want them to get as big as possible. I am feeling tired and heavy but all in all pretty good. I have to take it easy and make myself slow down sometimes. But I am lucky to have the best husband to take care of me :)

Here are a few pics from the trip:

Curtis and Mio are like two peas in a pod. He especially liked the marbles and going for rides on her walker. He would only let Mio push him around, no one else could do it.

On the boardwalk at Pismo Beach!

27 week twin belly. Almost to the third trimester!
Daddy and Curtis watching the surfers. Shaka Bra!

Sweetest boys ever.

The sand crabs made curtis nervous.

We love Boise!

2010-04-24T08:46:00.000-07:00

We had a great time in Boise! Mama and Curtis got on a plane (delayed after a last minuet ultrasound) and headed to Boise to see auntie and celebrate the twin's first baby shower. Curtis did so great on the plane - and so did I, I must add. Traveling alone with an almost three year old and being 6 months pregnant with twins is no easy task. Except for the fit he threw getting into his car seat on the plane and scarring all the people sitting close to us, he was a perfect flyer.

He was so excited to see Auntie! Uncle Dave was gone for the weekend and missed out on the fun. We had a great time at the shower - my sister got so many cute things for the twins! Curtis couldn't understand why we had cake but nobody sang happy birthday. It's hard to believe these little tiny beans will be here in a few months.

We went to the zoo and Curtis got to see all the animals. Somehow his favorite was the giant 20 foot snake. Go figure. That and riding the carousel (see above).

Another great thing about being in Boise is curtis did so great at potty training. He has been doing a great job at home wearing underwear and not having too many accidents, but leaving the house is a different story. I just assumed he wouldn't be interested in using the big potty at my sister's house, but he barely had a wet diaper except at night. I was really impressed that he took to it so well. And is it wrong to be proud that today at the park he had to pee (and he was just wearing underwear), and there were no bathrooms around so I pulled down his pants and he went pee pee standing up next to a tree? Potty training has been a super slow process, and we are trying not to rush him. But it feels like something has just clicked with him lately. Yay Curtis!! I'm sure we have a ways to go, but it's something!!

Easter pictures

2010-04-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

Our hike at Crane Creek Park

2010-04-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

We ran, we threw rocks in the creek, we climbed trees. Life is good.

Ahhh Sunshine!

2010-03-18T18:56:00.000-07:00

How could you resist this boy?

We have been so happy to be outside lately! It's so nice to have some sunshine and play in the yard. Here's a few pictures of today including a profile of my belly for prosperity's sake. I'm 20 weeks now and this is what twins do to me. I feel huge, and am only going to get bigger. The babies are moving more and more, but we still haven't been able to feel them on the outside yet but I'm sure we will soon.

cute feet

2010-03-10T11:14:00.000-08:00

Look at these cute feet! There is one from each twin. Baby B is the girl and baby A is the boy! Aren't they the sweetest?

We love Truckee!

2010-03-01T16:43:00.000-08:00

We just got back from our trip to Truckee to visit some of the Tester clan. We stayed with Dan and Julie and Curtis got to play with his big cousins Ross and Alan. He was in heaven! Grandpa and Tutu came up for the weekend too, it was a lot of fun to get together with everyone. This was Curtis' first trip to the snow so it was very exciting.
Tutu and Grandpa got Curtis a snowball maker and it was a huge hit. He played with that thing forever! It even enabled us to sit down outside and have lunch while he made snowballs. What a genius invention.

Playing in Ross and Alan's backyard. Look at all the snow!

Playing games on Tutu's iphone - another highlight of the weekend.

The handsome-est

2010-02-15T18:32:00.000-08:00

My Valentines

Happy Monday

2010-02-15T09:27:00.000-08:00

"Mommy"
"Yeah?"
"I love you."

I love you too sweet boy.

New ticker!

2010-02-02T14:52:00.000-08:00

Check out the new ticker at the top of the page. I've never used one of these before, but I see people use them on the various baby/pregnancy related websites so I thought I would try one out here. Pretty cute, don't you think? And it kind of looks like the babies have red hair, which we are all rooting for.

I'm sure everyone knows by now, but I'm knocked up with my sister and Dave's babies! I'm very happy to be an auntie and help grow the Rasmussen-Vissman family. We are all very excited that the babies are doing well and growing like crazy. On our last ultrasound we found out that baby "A" is probably a boy. It was still a little early to tell, but we saw some VERY male looking parts! Hopefully we will get a confirmation in the next month or so. One thing I know for sure is that both babies are completely adorable - I can't wait to see their sweet faces.

I'm feeling pretty good -I just entered the second trimester and am hoping to leave some of the first trimester yuckiness behind. The morning sickness has decreased dramatically - thank goodness and I even feel a bit more energetic. I don't want to jinx myself, but I think I've turned a corner. Now I hope to just watch my belly expand more and more and enjoy this comfortable time before I turn into a bus.

Curtis doesn't really understand what is happening, but he knows he has to be careful with mommy because she has babies in her belly. That doesn't stop him from jumping on me and stomping on my stomach. Luckily the twins are pretty well protected in my uterus. According to him I have anywhere from 5-8 babies. And he has "big boys" in his belly. We have been talking about babies a lot and he likes to play baby and have me wrap him up in a blanket. Then he tells me "You baby! You cry!" so he can bring me his stuffed lion and his blankie. It's pretty adorable. It's going to be fun to see how he reacts to me getting really big. I can't wait for him to be able to feel the babies move.

Some new pictures

2010-01-26T18:02:00.000-08:00

Cheese!

Not raining, but the rain coat is necessary.
At the park with Dad.
No need for pants
Naked drumming

Christmas pics

2009-12-30T08:44:00.000-08:00

Getting ready for Santa!! Curtis was pretty excited to find that Santa ate all the milk and cookies. He must have been a really good boy cause Santa and our families spoiled our little boy.
New fire engine!Awesome new drum set. Where's the ear plugs?

Cowboy Curtis. His grandpa Jim would be proud. His favorite part was the canteen.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T13:56:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays Everyone! The Tester Family loves you!

We have been busy getting ready for Christmas and it has been a lot of fun. This is the first year that Curtis has been aware of and into the holiday so it's been really great to experience. We have been watching christmas movies, reading books, we put up a tree and lights. And of course Curtis is really excited for the prospect of Santa coming to our house with presents.

There are lots of things that we haven't got around to doing too, like send out holiday cards. Oh well, maybe we'll get to those in the new year.

We're so happy to be able to spend the holiday with our friends and family. And we are missing those that we won't be able to see. Have a very Merry Christmas.

Thanksgiving at Gram J.'s House

2009-11-29T10:41:00.000-08:00

Mmmm... cranberry sauce

All the Tester cousins togetherMaking silly faces
When you don't hear from curtis for a while, usually he's getting into something he shouldn't be.

2009-11-27T17:53:00.000-08:00

snip, snip, sniff

2009-11-03T21:25:00.000-08:00

We did it. We cut his hair. I never though he would be getting his first hair cut AFTER age two. I thought for sure he would be born with a big red mop of hair and it would just grow and grow. Alas, he had the Charlie Brown head for most of his life. It really wasn't until the last 6 months or so that it started to fill out a bit. I love his hair - it's the sweetest thing ever. His little curls at the back of his head that are so soft. And his head is still the best smell in the world. But it was just time I guess.
We put on a movie. Had a sucker ready - just in case (his first ever I think). And then chop. He did pretty well considering he's a two year old. Andy held him down a bit and I just cut away. There are only a *few* uneven spots, but he doesn't sit still long enough for anyone to notice them.
Of course, he is adorable. He looks so handsome in his new haircut. But all of a sudden, he turned into a little boy. Andy and I keep taking double takes - is this our baby? He looks so much older! But I guess that is the way it goes. He IS getting older and changing ALL THE TIME. Now he has a haircut to go with it.
His sweet baby curls are safely tucked away in an envelope for whenever I need them.

Happy Halloween!....ha ha ha

2009-11-01T10:45:00.000-08:00

dragon boy

2009-10-23T16:55:00.000-07:00

So, Curtis hates his halloween costume.
He talks about dragons -especially a dragon kite we saw at the beach - so I thought he would like to be one for halloween. I think it turned out pretty cute. It has a hat too, but I don't think we'll ever get that on him. But the little man doesn't want to wear it at all. He says "No dragon costume" or "No alligator costume". I keep trying - he will drag it around but that's about it. Maybe if he understood that there was candy in it for him, he would be more into it. Any suggestions?

Here's pictures of when we forced him into it. Notice he only looks happy when he gets one of his arms free. I may be taking a little costume-less boy trick or treating.

2009-10-23T16:50:00.000-07:00

Cheese!

Our trip to Boise

2009-10-07T14:07:00.000-07:00

So it looks like we have another broken camera. Luckily, my sister put up some super cute pictures on her blog. Check them out :) http://vissman.blogspot.com/

jump

2009-09-08T15:50:00.000-07:00

I know I have to stop with the blurry videos, but this is for grammy.

The Swayze-est

2009-08-31T18:00:00.000-07:00

Probably his best day ever.

2009-08-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

We took Curtis to the Wings over Wine Country air show along with Hannah and Leo. It may have been the most excited I've ever seen him. There were tons of planes and we got to go inside a bunch of them. It was like his own personal Disneyland. Although I know NOTHING about airplanes it was pretty great to see his reactions. We had a great time and as you can see by the last picture, nap time that day was awesome.

More catch up - our week in Laguna

2009-08-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

We spent a week at the beach with the Tester family. How did we manage to only take pictures of Curtis? Well Uncle Dan and Aunt Julie are in the background at least!

Solvang

2009-08-30T14:17:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Solvang. We got to throw money into the little mermaid fountain. We'll wait til Curtis is a little older before we start showing him how to get the money out of the fountain. And of course we got to see some of our favorite people!!

birthday party pictures

2009-08-30T14:11:00.000-07:00

Better late than never.

riding the trike

2009-08-24T16:26:00.000-07:00

Here's some video from Andy's phone. Blurry, but you get the idea.

Mmmm... cupcakes

2009-07-22T14:46:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who helped celebrate Curtis' b-day. We had such a great b-day weekend. And thanks to auntie for these pictures - I'm still working on getting some off my camera. I will try to post more soon - but these were too cute to pass up.

happy birthday

2009-07-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

To my Son on his 2nd Birthday:

Curtis James you are so beautiful. Thank you for choosing me to be your mama. I can't believe how lucky your daddy and I have been to have you in our lives - we love you so much.

Every day when I wake up I can't wait to see your sweet face - whether it's climbing all over me in bed rooting around for "mommy milken" or if I'm lucky enough to wake up before you and get a shower and a cup of hot tea before I come into your room to see you peeping over the crib as you reach your little arms in the air to be picked up. We nurse and cuddle and wake up and try to get the sleep out of our eyes. I know our nursing days are probably numbered, but I cherish this time with you in the morning and when I get home from work - we get to reconnect and be close and take a few minuets to slow down. Pretty soon when you don't need mama's milk anymore, we will find new ways to be close and you will find new ways to be close to daddy too - it's really exciting.

Curtis, you are such an amazing little boy. I can hardly believe you are already a little boy, but that's what has happened - you have turned from our little tiny bean of a baby to a running, jumping, dancing, singing, piano playing, drumming, laughing little boy. You have such confidence in yourself and your ability to do everything by yourself. "Cursey dood it" is a phrase we hear a lot. It's really awesome to see and completely inspiring. I want to do everything I can to protect you from harm, but I also know that you can do so much more than I give you credit for. You have no fear and I love that about you. Even if it scares the bejesus out of me.

This year you are going to discover so much and learn so many new things. I can't wait to see what this year brings for us. When you were a tiny, tiny baby I used to rock you for hours just hoping that I could hold on to those moments forever and that it would never end. I was so afraid of losing those days. Little did I know that with each passing day and week and month and year I would love you more and love each new phase more than the last. Is it possible that it could keep getting better? That is my hope for you this year - that it keeps getting better.

Happy Birthday my sweetheart. You are my sunshine.

~mama

Hanging out with Leo today

2009-07-03T13:36:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to go to church with Grammy

2009-07-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

2009-06-30T15:09:00.001-07:00

Curtis makes this funny face a lot.

Happy Monday

2009-06-29T11:37:00.000-07:00

So our little boy is just that - a little boy. He's almost two years old already! Time is flying and we are enjoying every second.
Here's some Curtis facts as he wraps up his second trip around the sun:

He loves airplanes. If you have been around him lately, you know what I mean. Is there anything better than playing with toy airplanes? Or seeing them in the sky? Or hearing them outside? Or watching airplane videos on YouTube with his daddy in the morning? He has to take his airplanes to bed with him.
He is really good at jumping. He likes to surprise us by announcing "jump" a split second before he leaps from the bed/couch/chair/top of the stairs. Somehow he knows we are always there to catch him.
He can walk backwards.
He can count to 5.
He loves to be naked and dance in front of the mirror.
He has crazy red hair - but since he has been a baldy for so long I don't think I can bring myself to cut it.
He is stingy with his kisses.
He gives the best kisses.
He is a really good talker.
He sleeps all night long in his own bed - I never thought this would happen.
He is learning the word "Mine".
If he doesn't get his way he falls to the floor and puts his forehead on the ground and his butt in the air.
He likes to play marching band.
We spent our first night away from him this weekend. Everyone survived.
He is the cutest little skinny legged, stinker boy around.

2009-06-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

Pictures from Colorado

2009-06-01T15:30:00.001-07:00

We are in our new home~

2009-05-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

It was a long, hot weekend but we now residents of Cotati again. I don't know why we picked the hottest weekend (and my birthday!) to carry tons (seriously tons!) of boxes, furniture and one heavy piano - as well as crawl around in a hot, hot attic. But the ugly part is over and we are so happy to be in our new cute little house. A huge thanks to everyone who helped us out - especially Grammy and Grampy Coy, Kevin, Katie, Hannah and Leo, Jimmy, & M.J. - WOW what a lot of work. All we have left is to finish up all the odds and ends at the Sebastopol house and give it a good cleaning.

Our new yellow house is cute and cozy and I think it's going to be a great spot to raise our boy. My commute to work is now only FIVE minutes!! Unfortunately for Andy his is about 10-15 minutes longer. Curtis has been doing really well sleeping in his own room all by himself!! He has been adjusting really well and is having so much fun running around and getting into all the boxes to help us unpack. We have a nice little back yard that will be great for playing and romping around in the grass. AND we have a big park behind our house with lots of playground equipment, baseball diamonds, basket ball courts and a public pool - how great is that?

Of course we are so, so sad to leave beautiful Meadowsong Farm and our good friends Bridged, Taylor, Evan, and Claire - they have been so great to us. We have really bonded with their family and we will miss being neighbors. Curtis LOVES Evan and Claire and thinks all kids are named Evan or Claire. In fact in the few days since we have been in Cotati he opens the front curtains and calls out for Claire - it breaks my heart. It has been an amazing five years living there on the laguna - we have been through so many major life changes happy and sad. We got married in 2005 and became parents in 2007 and lost my dad in 2006. So many memories will be tied to this time in our lives and I feel so blessed to have had such a special place to live.

I promise to post pictures soon - I just have to get my computer hooked up again and figure out why it doesn't want to download pictures from my camera anymore. In the mean time to see pictures from our trip to Colorado check out: http://www.vissman.blogspot.com/

Apple Blossom Parade Day!!

2009-04-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

Today was the big Apple Blossom Parade so Erin, Curtis and I trucked down town with the stroller to check it out. It was pretty great. I can't believe I have lived in Sebastopol for so long and have never been to the parade. I guess that's the difference between not having a kid and sleeping in on the weekends and being a mommy and waking up by 6:30 no matter what day it is.

Curtis liked the parade for the most part -the things he didn't like were when the big trucks and fire engines blew their horns and the Analy High School Band mascot - that big tiger really freaked him out. Which was too bad because the band played the theme song to Rocky which was so awesome. But the bubbles, bicycles, motorcycles ("see-co") were his favorites.

Not pictured with the band- scary tiger.

The Portuguese queens were even in the parade! Brings back memories of the Los Banos Festa days!!

Hoppy Easter

2009-04-13T21:08:00.000-07:00

Hunting Easter Eggs! The Easter Bunny left some eggs filled with strawberries - very yummy!

Opening Easter baskets with cousins Ross and Alan

Chasing bubbles in the park with Alan

Head first down the slide!

Happy Saturday

2009-03-07T17:47:00.000-08:00

Curtis and his mom.

Look at those chicken legs!

We went to the park to play. The boy is not afraid of the big kid slides.

Yes, that's blood on his eye. He got hit in the face with a piece of playground equipment. I know - I get the best mother award.
It didn't bother him though - he cried for about 30 seconds and wanted to go back and play.

Playing outside today

2009-02-20T18:04:00.000-08:00

Awesome new track suit

2009-02-14T10:31:00.000-08:00

Curtis' mom made him a new track suit. He looks pretty handsome, don't you think?

Here's some pictures...

2009-01-11T17:26:00.000-08:00

At the beach...

2009-01-11T17:22:00.000-08:00

17 months old

2008-12-08T06:54:00.000-08:00

Curtis James is 17 months old! How did it happen? He's getting so big so fast!

He is so amazing - he learns something new every day. He says lots of words now - Daddy(probably his favorite word), bunny, kitty, moon(oooon!), mommy(if I'm lucky), Taco, just to name a few.

But the word he's been using with the most gusto is "NO" with a shake of his head. I try to answer with "Yes!" and a nod and he humors me with a "esh!" But more and more when we ask him to do something it's "no". He's also learned to stomp his feet and throw(flail) himself on the ground in protest. Fun times!

But it's so fun to see him develop and explore his world and watch his personality come out. He is still the SWEETEST boy! And he is learning to give kisses which melts my heart every time. Even if they are snotty and slobbery.

Ahhh... Mexico!

2008-12-07T14:58:00.000-08:00

We made it home from Mexico - all of us with a few more freckles but luckily no bad sunburns. It was beautiful and relaxing! We had such a great time. We mostly hung around the pool and enjoyed doing nothing. It was great to get to re-connect with our old pals Albert and Melissa! Here we are at the Hotel California in Todos Santos where we had really yummy chili rellenos and one strong margarita!
Curtis took to the water like a duck takes to ...well, water! He loved it.

At the beach in Cabo - the water was so pretty and clear!

I finally got my tequila sunrise on the last day :)

Curtis and his dad in the ocean. Uncle Albert swimming to the pelicans.

He really did like the pool.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-24T20:18:00.000-08:00

Is this what we're in for the entire plane ride???Curtis has his passport and we're all ready to go to Mexico for Thanksgiving. I hope he is happier than he is in this picture on our flight. We have an arsenal of toys and goodies to keep him occupied. Wish us luck!

Since we will be gone for about a week - here's some pictures of what the boy has been up to lately. We all had a really good time with the Truckee Testers. Curtis thinks his cousins Ross and Alan are pretty much the coolest things ever. He had a lot of fun trying to keep up with them.

We made a trip to Train Town with Cousin Alan and Uncle Dan. Curtis liked the train ride - except going through the tunnels.

Curtis helping his mom sell her wares at the craft fair last weekend.

Trying to stuff as many Cina-Bunnies as he can into his mouth.

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!!

2008-11-10T13:59:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love feetie pajamas?

2008-11-08T13:13:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween ... Ha Ha Ha!

2008-11-01T08:43:00.001-07:00

Our little salty sailor had a great halloween!

He didn't stand still all night long. And he didn't even get any candy.

On our way to trick or treat with Hannah and Leo and Kevin and Katie.

Hannah scored on the candy! But she could have used more Skittles.

Curtis and Leo playing.

The Hamburgler and curtis out trick or treating.

Where's that good boy?

2008-10-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

Waahhhh!! We've missed you.

Curtis has been checking for updates on the good boy blog - but alas, there has been nothing. On our Mendocino vacation, we got knocked over by a wave at the beach and our camera was the unfortunate victim.

Our last picture before our camera's untimely departure.

But, we are happy to say we now have a replacement and will have more pictures up on the blog!

Yay! Just in time for halloween!

Friends and good times

2008-09-14T14:56:00.001-07:00

We had a busy week. We went to a Giants game (they won!), met some new friends, and re-connected with some old friends.

Elias at the farmer's market

Lyla blue eyes!!

Curtis and Elias "sharing" a toy.

Curtis putting the beef in beef cake.

Party at auntie Erin's house

Hanging out with Dartanyan

All the girls love Elias!

2008-09-05T18:22:00.000-07:00

I know I've been bad at updating the good boy blog. Blame it on my new job. Or the heat. Or just the fact that curtis is so dang cute and fun I can't find time to sit at the computer and post pictures. So, I'm sorry. I know you all are chompin' at the bit to get a little cute boy fix.

Curtis is walking like a maniac. He is so happy to be mobile - he walks like a pro. Luckily he hasn't caught on to running!

Here we are at Armstrong Woods on Labor Day.

At the beach to escape the heat! Curtis ate a lot of sand that day.

I just developed a roll of film that was in my camera for a long time. Here's Curtis still in my belly. I forgot how GIANT I was.

Psst... new pics

2008-09-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

Curtis is a climber!

Playing at Grammy and Grandpa Coy's

Auntie Rikka got Curtis to go in the famous Solvang shoe!!

Finally - Photos of the Birthday Party!!

2008-07-22T07:24:00.001-07:00

Thanks to everyone who celebrated with us! Curtis had such a good time.

Birthday Photos

2008-07-09T17:35:00.001-07:00

For Curtis' birthday we had a really nice family day! I got home from work and my one-year-old was taking a nap and when he woke up we had a couple of presents for him to open. He had a lot of fun with that - especially ripping the tissue paper.

I has been so hot here that we decided to take the boy to the beach and he loved it! So did we - it felt so good to cool off.

When we have taken him to the beach before he has NOT liked the sand on his hands or feet. This has been a good thing since we haven't had to worry about him getting sand everywhere - especially in his mouth. Until yesterday. At first he would touch the sand and quickly return to the safety of our beach mats. Then he realized that sand isn't so bad - actually, it can be kind of fun! He learned that crawling up the sand dunes is really cool! He loved having such a wide open space to crawl around in. We let him explore and he hardly looked back. He took off like he knew what he was doing. Is this a sign of what's to come? Are we in trouble?