House Hunt

Robin and I are so grateful to my mom for letting us shack up with her for several months.  It really has been an awesome experience.  We all get along really well and she has been a huge help with Emma this summer. 

However, we ARE on the hunt for a house of our own.  We'd like something a little bigger than our last house and we're thinking South Tulsa. 

Last Saturday Emma asked for the "Homes" section of the newspaper that I was looking at.  She wanted to give her input on our house.  She just kept pointing at the pictures that had pools in them and saying "Pooooohl!"  I guess she wants a house with a pool.  Ok, so Emma wants a pool, Daddy wants a secret passageway (he has always wanted a clock that turns into a door or a bookshelf that turns into another room) AND a basketball court, Koby wants a doggy door and a big yard, and mommy wants a full-time maid.  Unfortunately, I don't think we'll be able to grant any of these requests with our next home purchase but hey, we can keep dreaming, right? :)

Baby Smash!

Emma has always been fascinated by our computers but recently she has begun pretending that she is 'working' on the computer (just like daddy I think.)  Her new favorite word is "Pooter?" (computer.)

Obviously, computers aren't the most indestructible toy for babies, especially spirited babies like Emma!   Robin recently found a great free program specifically designed for babies that allows them to explore and play with the computer keys.  The program is called BabySmash! and you can check it out here.  

Here's a pic of Emma playing with BabySmash today.

Popsicles

What would summer-time be without popsicles? The whole family (including Koby) joined in for some popsicle fun.

More Training for The Olympics

Our good friend Anni is a gymnastics coach for Jenks Schools. Wednesday, Anni invited the playgroup kids up to the gym for some play time.

Emma LOVED jumping on the trampoline, hanging on the bars, and walking on the beam. The highlight for her was watching the big strong high school kids do amazing floor stunts- like 500 flips in a row (that may be a slight exaggeration.) She squealed in excitement each time they finished a floor stunt.

Thanks Anni and Eli for a great play date!

"Hmmm, what do I want to do first?"

Emma was really impressed with Kylan's skills on the bars

Emma and Mommy jumping on the trampoline

Big girl Emma sitting on the trampoline
(after falling down during "Ring Around the Rosey")

"Weeeeee!"

Taking a break to watch the big kids-she kept trying to mimic their moves with her feet.

Hangin' Out on the Porch

One of Emma's new favorite past-times is playing on Nana's front porch.  She prefers the backyard but she does occasionally like the front porch for a change of scenery.  Saturday morning she and her daddy enjoyed some quiet time hangin' out in their P.J's.

She always enjoys getting a different perspective on things...

Baby Pool Heaven

Emma's baby pool has so many bells and whistles.  It cracks me up because I know we didn't have baby pools like this when we were little.  Ironically, it only cost $19 at Walmart at the beginning of the summer and it has provided hours of fun!  

Making Memories on the 4th of July

We had a great 4th of July spent with both sides of the family.  Robin's parents were in town last night and this morning on their way to Branson.  Emma got to spend some quality time with them at the Cheesecake Factory and then hanging out at Nana's house on the 4th.

Emma and daddy on the 4th of July:

Emma's 4th of July dress:

 

We had a slight 'cooking malfunction' at Nana's house on the evening of the 4th.  We had great plans to grill some  fancy burgers, and also to make some red jello in a star jello mold. 

Unfortunately, the grill broke in the middle of cooking the burgers and the jello fell apart in the fridge!  See below!  We always manage to make some great memories even if things don't turn out "perfectly."  :)

 

Fancy burgers cooked on the stove-top!:

 

Star-shaped red  jello in the fridge- can you tell?:

We hope that you and yours made some great 4th of July memories also!

Foster Family Road Trip

We took a unique road trip this past weekend with my dad's side of the family. 

My Grandpa (who passed away in 1998) was an artist who created some really neat masterpieces during his time, many of which went unnoticed until after he was gone. 

We were recently contacted about a mural that he had done  in the early 1950's.  A prominent business person in Oklahoma asked my Granddad to create a mural depicting the different 'brands' in the Bluestem Bowl (part of Oklahoma history if you were curious!) The mural took my Granddad 3 years to create in his garage.  The mural hung in a bank for a long time but then the bank closed and it went to a gun shop.  Recently Arvest bank in Dewey, Oklahoma purchased the mural and it was hung in the lobby of their bank.

Our family set a date to go see the mural together.  We took 2 cars and hit the road to Dewey, Oklahoma, just outside of Bartlesville, OK.

It was really neat to see the mural in person- it had my Grandpa's signature touches all over it!   He loved painting Native American/Southwest art.  It was kind of difficult to take great pictures because it was hung very high but I did post a few pics below.   

Unfortunately I did not inherit ANY of my Granddad or dad's artistic abilities but maybe Emma has a chance!

 

Full view of the mural from about 10 feet away on the right- it was about the size of a movie theater screen!:

Close up of some of the detail on the bottom right:

 

Jill and Emma in front of the mural:

 

Nana teaching Emma about numbers and card suits during the car ride- Nana is definitely a teacher!:

 

Emma with Great-Uncle Ron, and Great-Aunt Judy, my dad's brother and sister

Harvard Bound?

Robin's brother and sister-in-law, Craig and Fallon, just visited Boston for a short vacation and they brought back a cute Harvard t-shirt for Emma.

So of course mommy had to take some rather posed pictures of Emma reading the dictionary while wearing her Harvard shirt.

We'd be ok if she went to Harvard in 17 years... or Baylor... or wherever she gets a full ride. :)

Ready for the Olympics!

We just got home from the Little Gym where we attended a very fun Birthday party for Emma's good friend Kylan who turns 2 tomorrow. 

Emma had never been to the Little Gym before but she had a wonderful time- I kind of knew she would love it!  She has always been so active and she appears to be pretty athletic.  She loved playing on the bars, the beam, and the mats.  She never stopped moving!  We had a hard time keeping up with her and she did NOT want to leave when it was time to go home!

The theme for the party was Sports/Spirit and the kids were supposed to wear Spirit-wear from their favorite team.  Emma's favorite team (or maybe mommy is projecting her favorite team onto Emma) is OU so she wore a Pink OU jersey.  (No, we couldn't locate a Baylor jersey around these parts... or we would have. :))

Here are a few pics from tonight!

Happy Birthday Kylan!

 

Kylan eating pizza:

 

 

Emma walking on the beam while daddy spotted her:

 

Emma and daddy

 

"This place is fun, mom and dad!"

8 years of marriage!

Robin and I celebrated our 8th Anniversary this week (on June 24th to be exact.)

WOW, time flies!  8 years makes us feel so old!

We celebrated our anniversary by having a yummy dinner at Shogun- my favorite place to eat. :)    Mmmmmm, the Royal Combination which includes Filet Mignon and Shrimp is to die for.

Thank you to Cole and Christy for watching Emma while we went out to eat!

After dinner, we watched our wedding video- we don't do that every year, don't worry.  We actually went all out and watched all 2 hours of the video- getting ready for the wedding, the ceremony, and the reception.

I think what shocked us the most from watching the video (besides how much skinnier we were then) was how many big events have happened since we have been married- so many huge life changes: weddings, divorces, babies, deaths, etc. 

Robin and I have had a wonderful 8 years (and many more to come!)  For the most part, our marriage has been pretty joyful- we LOVE to laugh together.  As a matter of fact, one of the main reasons he married me (he says) is because I laughed at his stupid jokes- and fortunately for him, I still laugh at his stupid jokes. :)

Obviously, Emma is truly the biggest and best thing that has happened during our marriage!!!  It's so neat to think that she has a little bit of each of us in her- both in looks and in personality.  Parenthood is a new journey that we enjoy sharing together. 

Robin- thank you for being an amazingly patient, loving husband.  I love you so much!

Below are a couple of  pics from the past...

 

Kick, Kick, Kick

I'm afraid we might be confusing Emma.  At home, we keep telling her NOT to kick Koby, or mommy, or daddy.  But at swim lessons we encourage her to KICK, KICK, KICK!

Emma and I have been taking swim lessons for a couple of weeks at Miller Swim School.  The first few sessions she was extremely cautious.  She spent most of the session watching the older kids swim around us and she refused to give our instructor a hi-five.  Instead Emma just said  "NO" and shook her head forcefully.

Out of the blue the other night she starting blowing bubbles and kicking in the bathtub!  We were so pleased!  Sometimes I think Emma just thinks about things for days and days and then decides that she is ready to participate.  This is exactly the way her daddy works!

She now LOVES going to swim lessons and gets very excited when we turn into the parking lot saying "Pooh, Pooh, Pooh!"  (meaning pool, not poop!) 

Right now we are taking lessons with our good friend Aubrey and her mommy. 

This week the moms thought it was a fantastic idea to let the dads take the girls and give the moms a break.  They had a great time!

Here are a few pictures from the past several sessions.

Emma and Mommy before their first lesson:

Emma learning to kick kick kick:

 

Emma floating on her back with our instructor's help:

 

Getting ready for her first submersion under water!:

 

Sliding to daddy- she LOVED this and kept asking for MORE:

 

"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" with daddy:

 

Robin, Emma, Wes, and Aubrey

18 months old today!

Emma Katherine Curry is 18 months old today. I can hardly believe it. She has become such a little lady in just the last few weeks! Reality set in yesterday at the mall when I had to venture from the baby section to the big girl section to look for clothes in several stores. Switching from 18 month clothes to 2T clothes is quite a promotion!

Robin and I go to bed every night talking about Emma- what she's doing, how she's changing, what we're in for, etc. We just love her to pieces.

I thought I'd write a little letter to Emma that she can read later on about the Top Ten things we love about her at 18 months:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Emma Katherine,

Your daddy and I love you so much! You're the best thing that ever happened to us. I want to share with you the

"Top Ten things we love about you at 18 months old":

1. The way you call your daddy "Rah Rah" or "Robby" in a very demanding voice. NO one calls your daddy Robby so we find it very funny that you've given him that nickname. We wonder if you're going to be THAT kid that calls their parents by their first name.

2. The way you organize things into perfect groups. You love to arrange shampoo bottles, canned goods, kleenex, shoes, etc. When you are in the "mode" of arranging things, there is NO stopping you- you are very devoted to your work. Daddy and I have called your works of art "stonehenges."

3. The way you NEVER stop moving. I have never met a more active child. Changing your diaper is like wrestling a monkey. We treasure the times that you sit in our laps for like 10 seconds. You are always on the move.

4. The way you read books to yourself in your crib. From the time you were 9 months old we would find you in your crib turning the pages of the books and jibber-jabbering some words as you pointed to the pages. I'm sure you've made up tons of stories in your own head.

5. The way you love your Koby dog. My goodness you are in love with him. You ask for him from the time you get up until the time you go to bed. You follow him around the house. You feed him food from your highchair. You love to sit by him and ON him. He really is your best friend. We hate to break it to you, but we don't think he loves you back equally. It's ok though, because you're clueless about that!

6. The way you mimic us. You laugh when we laugh, cough when we cough, sneeze when we sneeze. At first we thought you were making fun of us, now we just realize you want to be just LIKE us. You don't miss anything! You also like to mimic birds and sirens.

7. The way you slowly warm up to new environments. You are such a thinker. You take everything in. You are very cautious. The new politically correct term for this is "Slow to Warm." We're thankful that you're a thinker.

8. The way you LOVE the great outdoors. You wake up every day pointing to the window and saying "Sou-side?" or "You-anna-go-ouside?" or the more direct "Less-go-ouside!" Just a few weeks ago you were afraid to venture off the porch onto the grass (we think you didn't like the texture), but now you are a fearless explorer, trekking over every inch of Nana's backyard and pointing to the "tees" (trees) or at the sky to point out a "pay" (plane). You love to blow "bub-bows" (bubbles), slide down your slide, and chase Koby with a stick.

9. That your favorite word is "uh-OH!" You keep mommy and daddy on their toes!! You don't miss a speck of dirt on the floor, a stray piece of food on the table, a stain on someone's clothes, and you especially notice "uh-ohs" on mommy's and daddy's faces. You make us very self conscious - pointing out blemishes, freckles, moles, etc - but we love your attention to detail. :)

10. The way you entertain us! Out of nowhere you will decide to spin in circles like a ballerina, giggling until you fall down. Or you'll squeal and pretend to jump over and over and over. Or you'll dance just like they do on Dancing with the Stars (sort of). Or you'll sing us a sweet song that you made up (usually something about Koby). You are so full of life!

We Love You Emma!

Mommy and Daddy

We're Back!

I took an 18 month break from blogging- and I'm back! I have to admit that I got a bit overwhelmed by the whole blogging thing when Emma was first born. Those of you that know me know that I'm a perfectionist. I don't like to do something unless it's perfect and usually a bit over-the-top. I recently decided to start the blog back up. The pressure from a lot of great blog friends really spurred me on. :) I realized that the blog doesn't have to be perfect. I think it's really neat that blogs provide a way for families to record the events of their lives. It's sad to me that I'm already forgetting things that happened just a year ago. I want to be able to re-tell stories, and re-live moments. I think a blog will help me do just that.

Robin and I gave the blog a makeover and a brand new name. "A Little Spice of Curry" seemed appropriate because Emma has definitely added quite a bit of spice to our lives. Through this blog, we hope to give family and friends a little glimpse into our lives, or a little "spice" of Curry.

Thanks for visiting and we hope you enjoy!

Hello, World! *

Emma Katherine Curry
Born: December 18, 2006
8lbs 6 oz
20 3/4 inches long
Already laughing at her dad's hilarious jokes **






































*For those non-dorks out there (i.e. everybody but Robin): It is a rite of passage for any software developer when learning a new computer language to start by writing a program to generate the text, "Hello, World!" Emma's daddy thinks this is a very funny and appropriate title for some reason. Yes, Emma, your daddy is a major nerd.

** For reference, the joke here was "What did the zero say to the eight?..........Whoa, NICE BELT!"

Be prepared to modify your plan....

The day of our very first doctor's appointment Robin and I ate lunch at one of our very favorite restaurants, Pei Wei. After eating a scrumptious meal and talking for 45 minutes about the excitement of pregnancy, we opened our fortune cookies. My fortune read, "Be prepared to modify your plan." Robin and I laughed out loud for several minutes. Those of you who know me know that I am a PLANNER to the utmost degree. People often make fun of my organization- I like to know what I am going to be doing a year from today, I don't like surprises, and don't like changing my plans! God is truly working on me in this area.

It became evident to me that I was going to need to learn some flexibility when I found out that our baby was due December 18th, a week before Christmas! Of all the times to have a baby! How on earth was I going to be able to plan Birthday parties and an elaborate family Christmas every year during the same week? I am slowly coming to grips with the fact that it will all get done and it is all in GOD's perfect timing, not mine.

Our 2nd "change of plans" came last week. We had shared with a few of you that our doctor felt strongly that we were having a boy at our 14 week ultrasound. He said, "Don't paint your nursery blue, but I'm seeing a body part that girls don't usually have." We decided to keep this information on the 'down-low' just in case this was incorrect. I restrained myself as much as possible from buying boy things..... however, my mom and I did already lay down blue adhesive shelf paper in the baby's closet and Robin's mom did buy an adorable onesie that reads, "Handsome like daddy."

On Friday, July 14th we had our 18 week ultrasound. We were shocked when the doctor said, "You're going to have a little girl!" My first words were, "You told us it was a boy!" He searched closely for several minutes and then said, "Well maybe we shouldn't say for sure until your next appointment but I'm not seeing any boy parts today!"

SO, we're not really sure what gender we are having. I guess we are about 75% sure that it's a girl since that was our most recent ultrasound. However, I have decided to hold off on girl purchases until our next appointment at 22 weeks on August 15th. That appointment seems like years away! Obviously, we will be thrilled either way- we are just so blessed to be having a baby!

As you can tell, God has a sense of humor. I am definitely learning to modify my plans... whether I like it or not.

Please pray for Robin as he lives with me on a daily basis.

Hope all is well with you all!

Jill