Royce and his Toy

In this video, you can hear Vanessa's kids upstairs running and Royce winds up and karate chops the ball at 00:33.

Royce and his toy from Becca Curtis on Vimeo.

Little Man's First Christmas

This year we stayed at home, and my Mom came from Tennessee to visit. 

Here is Royce in his cute home-made elf costume! I loved dressing him in it several times this month.

This has been the strangest winter. We have not had any snow until Christmas day. It was magical to wake up and have this much snow suddenly on the ground.

Christmas morning we opened stockings together and ate a big breakfast. We then got to talk to my sister, Crystal, who is on a mission in Arizona, and Kevin, Matthew's brother in the Dominican Republic. It was so fun getting to see those awesome people! After that we opened presents from each other.

So Matthew got Beaver shirts... surprise, surprise.

Royce got a light up toy, this cute outfit, and a toy that he can play with while laying down. He was super excited...

One of my favorite presents was this canvas picture of our cute little family. I love being a family of 3!

Later on that evening, we made a big ham dinner and had the Tarpenning family over with their cute little guy, Joshua. Royce and Joshua are best buds. They may or may not appreciate that their parents take pictures of them together every time we hang out.

This Christmas was simple, and we still felt close to our family with the help of technology. We loved having our little man around to make the day even more special. He makes our lives so happy.

I guess you can say he is the greatest present that we have ever received.

Royce Matthew Curtis

October 2nd, 2014 was the happiest day of my life. Our little man came into the world and so I thought I would share the story. (You can just skip to the pictures as well if you don't want to read this novel.)

I woke up on Wednesday, October 1st thinking that Royce wasn't going to make an appearance for quite some time. I wasn't feeling too uncomfortable and he wasn't due for another 2 weeks so I thought I might even go past my due date. So, I woke up early and went on a walk with my sweet friend Vanessa. I even did the weird walking with one foot on the curb and the other on the street thing. It was probably really strange looking, but Vanessa told me this wives' tale had been known to work. (DISCLAIMER: I honestly think that there is not a real way to naturally induce labor... That did not stop me from trying at the time though, of course.)

Around 2:00 PM I realized that I had not felt the baby kick all day. This was very out of the norm for him, and so I started trying to get him to move and I laid still for and hour and nothing. I called Matthew pretty worried and I called the hospital and we decided to go in to get Royce monitored. We got there at about 4 and right when we got into the room I felt him kick. I was so relieved. Just to be sure, we were hooked up to a monitor and saw his healthy heart beat. The doctor said that he was a poster child for perfect vitals. Good job Royce. 

I got checked while I was there and I was at a 1 cm but I was at about 70% effaced so it seemed like he wasn't going to come soon at all. But, at the end of our stay at the hospital, I had a few contractions in a row that were pretty close together. I wasn't too excited about it because that was my life the last month of pregnancy. At about 5:00 we went back home. The Doctor said just as we were leaving, "I am on call tonight and I wouldn't be surprised if I saw you again." Little did we know then, but he was going to be the one to deliver our babe about 12 hours later!

Well, going to the hospital earlier that day turned out to be a blessing because Matthew got off of work, and so I had him with me during the whole process. That was so lucky, because once the pain came, it really came.

So yeah, on the way home from the hospital I really started to have contractions. These ones felt a little different because there was a sharp pain with them that was unlike the Braxton Hicks contractions. They started off about 9 minutes apart. We stopped at the store and bought things to make pineapple curry (Matthew and I didn't know it at the time but pineapple and spicy foods are supposed to induce labor as well... According to some old wives.) We ate and skyped Matthew's parents and the contractions were about 8 minutes apart and getting a bit stronger. I was totally fine though. I was thinking at this point still that this wasn't real and they were going to stop. Silly me. I was in labor. Haha.

So, at about 9 pm Matthew and I decided to buy a milkshake and walk around a park. We got a strawberry oreo shake to share from this cute place and then walked around this little park. We made it a few laps around and then they were getting so bad that it was hard to walk through them. At this point I told Matthew, "Um... I think that we are going to have to go back to the hospital tonight." Then we both got pretty excited. Baby time!!!

Well, we got home at around 10:00 and they were pretty strong. They were coming at about 6 to 7 minutes apart now. My back was killing me so I took a shower. I would call out to Matthew, who was doing homework at the table, when they would come and he timed them. After using up all the hot water in the house, I was feeling the contractions pretty strong. I got to the point where I couldn't even think when they came. They just all of the sudden got so bad! I tried to be tough, but I couldn't take it anymore. So at a little after 11:30 we left for the Hospital. 

When we got there, I was checked and I was at 3cm and almost completely effaced. Yep, it happened fast, but I was a little disappointed that it wasn't more. They let me wait in a smaller hospital room for an hour longer, and this was the roughest time. I hate this about my body, but whenever I am in pain, I also am extremely nauseous. Well that strawberry oreo shake turned out to not be such a great addition to this birth story.

The only thing that helped me through this time was holding on to Matthew and focusing on my breathing. The doctor came in at about 1 AM and asked if I wanted an epidural. YESSSsssss.  They took me into another room and hooked me up. I was almost at 5 cm by this point and he broke my water. Honestly, after I got my epidural, the whole thing was kinda fun. 

This was us post epidural. We looked pretty excited, huh? Last picture of us together as a family of 2! They put us in a bigger room that was like a suite. At around 2:30 I didn't feel any pain anymore at all, and at 3:00 everyone left us alone to sleep.  Yeah right. Royce had to get re-monitored over and over because his heart rate would get too low. This happened until I finally switched over to my left side and then he was ok.  

It was kinda fun to watch the contractions on the monitor. They would peak over and over and I saw that they were about 2 to 1 minute apart. At 4:30 AM, after many failed attempts at falling asleep, the amazing nurse named Aubrey (who was super sweet and a great friend during the whole stay) came in and said that we would be ready to push already in about 30 minutes!!

This was super exciting, and before I knew it, about half a dozen people were coming in and out of my room and the lights were all on again. Poor tired Matthew was by my side again.

Royce came in 20 minutes of pushing. I will never ever forget how it felt to hold Matthew's hand and to see that little scrunchy face for the first time. He didn't even cry. He just squawked at everyone just sayin hi.

Royce was perfectly healthy. He was here, our little guy. He was finally here. 

He was worth it. Any pain that I had felt the last 9 months was completely worth it. 

Matthew and his adorable son.

Royce Matthew Curtis was born at 5:23 AM and weighed 7lbs and 9oz and was 20 cm long at 2 weeks early. I am so glad he did, because he would have been around 9 lbs on his due date.

That day was so nice. At Orem Community Hospital they really take care of you. I just loved having time to sleep and adore that cute lil guy. I could just watch him all day.

 Uncle Jason, John John, and Kelsey came to see him. I love seeing how much this little guy is loved.

Here we are. A family of three. 

Our adventures are going to be a little bit different from now on.

Don't you dare freeze your cake.

It was our one year anniversary this Sunday! Wow, it really has been a whole year since we went to the temple, and made promises to each other and to Heavenly Father. I remember how special that day was and I know that our wonderful friends and family played a huge role in making it a day to always remember. 

We celebrated on Saturday night and Sunday after church. We went and got our maternity pictures taken by the lovely and talented Jennie Ray Masterson (website here). It was so fun! I am excited to see them! 

Then. we went out for delicious Chinese food at this place we have been dying to try. It is super close to our new house, and now I know how good it is, and so we will be back.... Well, we ate out and then we went on a walk of downtown and it was so pretty and fun. Just a perfect night with my love.

Sunday we had a picnic adventure.

We made delicious turkey and lettuce wraps with cream cheese and honey mustard sauce, and I really liked them. Of course cheese "nips" were on the menu. I eat them a lot right now.

We found a nice spot by a river and chowed down. Spanish Fork canyon is really pretty.

Oh, have I mentioned how much I love this guy yet? Well, its true. He makes me laugh and I am pretty lucky that I got this whole YEAR with him as my love.

Just look at that beautiful cake. Looks tasty huh? WROOONG. Haha It was pretty nasty after being in our freezer for a whole year. Whoever made up that tradition of freezing your cake and eating it a year later must have had a negative view on marriage. The cake that once was delicious and beautiful is now a crusty, strange tasting heap of nastiness. See what I mean? 

Don't freeze your wedding cake. Just eat it like normal people should.

Its a good thing that we brought backup.

Yum.

It has been a while since my last prego picture. Here is the belly at 29 weeks pregnant. I am liking the third trimester so far. I don't feel like I am starving all the time, and I am still comfortable doing normal day to day things and fun hikes (low key) still.

10 weeks. Thats it. Baby is coming so soon!

What a happy year it has been. We have both been blessed with great jobs, I finished my degree, we bought a car and started renting a bigger home, and we have a little guy on the way! 

What a year.

I love you, Matthew. Now on to year 2! 

For some reason, I have the feeling that its going to be great.

The Adventures of Summertime

Today, 23 years ago, my sweet hubby was born! I am sure that everyone is quite aware of how I feel about this guy, but I can't help but bring up how this blue eyed prince has me completely ga-ga over him still.

He makes me laugh everyday, and I have so much fun when I am with him. I feel lost sometimes if I am without him for too long. Also, we do fun dates like going to the water park with our season passes, watching movies checked out from the library, going on hikes or walks daily, and cooking yummy food. I will always remember the first year of our marriage as being so full of busy but happy times!

I am the luckiest person ever. I couldn't have imagined how much I would love being married, or how much I could love one person so much that it becomes a part of who I am. I am Rebecca Catherine Curtis, the wife of Mr. Matthew Ryan Curtis, and I am so very happy.

Remember that we are going to have a baby?

Remember that I haven't blogged in forever to say if its a boy or girl?

Yeah. ITS A BOY!

Here is the pregnancy paragraph:

So, I am 26 weeks pregnant and I feel pretty great. I can still go on hikes and adventures, I just have to be careful not to lose my balance because my already clumsy nature is being amplified by steady expansion of my belly. It feels good to be able to do things still and not be held back by exhaustion or nausea that were my friends a few weeks ago. I don't have too many weird cravings... just fruit or fruity candy. After every meal I have to eat some strawberries or a few jelly beans to feel completely satisfied. Also, I am hungry ALL THE TIME now. I think that baby must be going through a growth spurt. I can feel when he pushes his head against my tummy and he just moves it around while kicking me. Matthew can even see when he starts doing this too. It is like a big  lump in one side of my stomach.

Ok, now that the pregnant woman has vented about all that silly stuff... we can move on.

We went to Tennessee! It was beautiful and rainy and hot. I loved it. Matthew was reminded of Brazil, and so he loved it too. He spent about 20 hours that week just fishing with my dad. They are buddies now.

We went to a waterfall!

It was so pretty and such a perfect day. My preggo self was even able to make the hike. My brothers give me a hard time, but every single one of them helped me at some point along the hike by giving me a hand to the next rock, or by pushing me up a hill. They are ok sometimes...

Oh, we also saw Matthew's family in St. George at the very beginning of summer. It was such a great trip. Here are some late pictures, but they were too cute not to share!

Ella loved pulling her "Bo-Bo" around showing him things. Matthew told me the other day how he thinks its funny that Ella only knows him as Bo-Bo (which does happen to mean dummy in Spanish). Someday she is going to be so shocked that his real name isn't nearly as cool as the one she gave him.

There was also this adorable not-so-bald-anymore little man. He was all sweet smiles and chuckles. I just love his wide grin and big beautiful, blue eyes. He is walking now!

There was this really fun day that we played in the dirt. Mr. Fenton loved picking up rocks and clods of dirt and trying to eat them. Matthew would just pick them out of his hands once he found them, and toss them over and over. Fenton was so patient and diligent. He got in a few handfuls of dirt.

Now you can see why we talk about these kids so much. They are adorable. 

So, you know that saying "spill the beans?" Like it is supposed to mean that you tell someone something that they shouldn't know? Well, we had a literal spill the beans moment and the phrase is probably coined from the fact that spilling the beans happens by accident, and it is super messy.

Its a good thing that our kitchen is so small, right? That way the mess was at least slightly contained. I was laughing so hard while I took these pictures.

Well, we are moving soon. We got a job managing storage units in Spanish Fork, so we are moving about 15 mins south of here. We get a free apartment and I will be able to stay home with the baby while Matthew goes to school still. It is a real blessing. Pictures to come soon!