merry christmas!

Ho, Ho, Ho!  Time to spread Christmas cheer by updating our blog and recapping 2010.  At the beginning of 2010, Candace was pregnant, commuting to work in Salt Lake, and helping my parents renovate their condo in Provo (where we were living).  I was starting my last semester of grad school, applying for jobs, and serving with the 17 year-olds in our ward.  So much has changed and we have so much to be thankful for!

The latest with Curtis:
I'm loving my job at Crexendo Web Marketing.  I meet with clients about building new web sites and/or helping existing web sites get more traffic.  I've always been fascinated by strategies that grow businesses and right now there isn't a better strategy than to leverage the power of the internet, so its a perfect fit.  While I terribly miss the outdoor lifestyle that accompanies living a few minutes from Utah's beautiful mountains and rivers, it feels right to be back in Arizona.  Candace and I are looking at moving to Ahwatukee soon, which will keep my drive to work around 10 minutes.  Fatherhood has been the best thing that has happened to me since marrying Candace.  Reed makes life more fun than I could've ever imagined.

What's up with Candace?
This year Candace got a huge promotion at work, going from interior designer to Mama.  She seems to be amazing at whatever she does, as one of the last design projects she worked on earned an award this year.  Most importantly, she's done a great job transitioning into the role of stay-at-home Mom.  Its fun to see her learn and grow in Motherhood along with my sisters and sister-in-law.  Candace is still a book worm and uses photography, cooking, and painting as her creative outlets.

The 411 on RooBear! 
We can't get over how great our son is!  Every day he gets cuter and more lovable.  People seem to notice most his super silky skin, eyebrows, and mama's blue eyes, along with his smiley nature and extra-chubby figure.  Candace and I know we lucked out on this little boy.  While it seems he's at the perfect stage, I can't help but daydream about teaching him to play catch, taking him fishing, or riding ATV's together.  Just as Fatherhood has brought a lot of joy, its also taught me much needed lessons about love and life.  Becoming a father introduced me to how fragile life really is.  I've acquired more patience and selflessness, as well as an awareness of how much my parents love me.

I'm grateful for the Christmas season and the opportunity it offers for us to grow closer to those that mean the most.  Reflecting upon the love I have for my family and son has also renewed my appreciation for God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.  Candace and I know that it is by following Christ's example that we can find true Peace in this life and Salvation in the next.

Best Wishes for 2011!

Curtis, Candace, and Reed

almost seven months.

I can't believe our little Reed Curtis is almost 7 months old!  Time is flying by.  He has been such a joy in our life.  He will smile for anyone, rolls over, sits up pretty well, wants and reaches for anything Mama or Dada have (especially my phone or water bottle), loves rice cereal but is unsure of anything else I give him (sweet potato, apple sauce, cucumber, banana, avocado), loves music, loves to stand on his chunky legs, eats his toes whenever he gets a chance, says "mama, dada & nanana," loves when Papa dances him around and sings "This Old Man," also loves to play patty cake or sing "Popcorn Popping," "Itsy Bitsy Spider," & "Twinkle Little Star" with Mama, he's very ticklish but witholds his giggles half of the time, laughs when you play peek-a-boo and can pull a burp cloth off his face to play, smiles every time Grandma sings the Reedy Roo song, and loves to snuggle and be held.  Reed is an all-around happy baby boy and we love him!

Say Uncle!

Reed loves his uncles.  Every day when "Unckie" Taylor comes home from school he looks for Reed first thing wanting to play with him.  Reed's face lights up when he sees him and Taylor is so great to hold Reed for me whenever I need it.  Reed loves music so naturally he loves to listen to Taylor play his Ukulele.  Sometimes I put Reed in his bouncer next to the piano while he plays.  He is a very attentive listener if you have a song to share!

Justin was in town for a while so he got to spend lots of time snuggling the Roo Bear.  When Reed was first born he would cry in the afternoons.  Whenever Justin was around he would snuggle him in, take him outside, and bounce him right to sleep.  He's always been great with babies and there's no exception with Reed.  Come back and play Uncle Jboy!

7 Days of Fun

Cbug and I had a really fun and busy week. The week ended on a good note with Stake Conference on Saturday and Sunday. I have some pics to help me paint a picture of our schedule, but first let's get to what everyone cares most about on this blog:

Reed Curtis!!! He found his toes!!
Being a Dad is so much fun. I joke with friends that if they had told me how great it is to be a Daddy, I would've gotten married and started having a family years ago!


(sorry about the low quality pictures, most were taken on my cell phone)
Things are going really well at my company, Crexendo. I enjoy what I do, I'm the leading sales consultant, and my company treats me well. This week I hit a big sales goal and earned a significant pay raise!! Candace and I celebrated by getting Chipotle with my family and getting ourselves a fun present.


Two Saturdays ago, I got to do some ATV riding with my bro-in-law and his cousin. I have to thank Candace for being sweet enough to let me have a Guys Day.


The day was PERFECT. Austin, Justin, and I rode for 20 miles through the desert north-east of Phoenix. We found ourselves at the Verde River and dared each other to jump in. One of the great things about the weather in Arizona is that even on a day in early November, its warm enough for an afternoon swim. Here's Justin soaking up some rays after swimming in the Verde.


Later on in the week, my Mom was kind enough to babysit RooBear so Cbug and I could have a night to ourselves. I surprised Cbug by getting a hold of tickets to one of our favorite bands, The Rocket Summer. The show ROCKED, although Candace and I felt like we were 5 years older than everyone else there!


I've been to a lot of shows and I've never seen the lead singer walk out into the middle of the crowd to sing, but that's what happened. We were right next to him! Cbug tried to kiss him! haha


Candace is definitely in the running for the prestigious "Wife of the Year" award after letting me have another Guys Saturday. Yesterday, Clayton Evans and I ran up to Payson and did some fishing on the Tonto River. We caught over 15 fish together on a BEAUTIFUL day in the Arizona mountains.

Here is C-bone getting it done.


One of my catches, a healthy rainbow.


Here's a small one I caught that had some prolific coloring on its gills and back.


Clayton nailed a few of these big boys before the day was over. It was good to catch up with Clayton while getting out to enjoy the outdoors.


(And to cap the week off right, my Suns beat the Lakers in L.A.! Even the referees couldn't keep the Suns from winning)

A Stinkin' Cute Pooh!

As Halloween approached, Cbug and I wondered how we would celebrate RooBear's first Halloween.  Candace's mom, Denise, gave us a hint by getting Reed a Winnie-the-Pooh costume.  Once Candace (and our mothers) saw Reed in his costume for the first time I had NO CHOICE in what I would be for Halloween.  I decided to play along and the rest is history.

 Cbug got to work making my Tigger and her Eeyore outfits complete with tails, ears, tummies and all.  We headed over to Uncle and Aunt Bra-Manda's house for a Trick or Treat Party.

Here are the hosts in all their glory.  For a good laugh, click on their picture below to notice all of the detail put into Branno's "Dorothy" costume.  I think he dresses like this when no one else is home.

 One of the perks of living with the 'rents while finding a home is living next door to 2 Arizona Cardinals.  We've really enjoyed getting to know Alan and Julie Faneca.  Their daughter is as spunky as she is cute.  She makes a perfect Minnie Mouse.

Julie is expecting a son.  Their daughter keeps saying she wants her brother to look just like Reed!!  Can ya blame her?

We had a lot of fun this Halloween.  I have to give all the credit to my talented wife for crafting such amazing costumes.

More Rolls than a Bakery.

What do you do when you have two cute, chubby baby boys covered in rolls under one roof?  A photoshoot!   Tim, Jen, Kyle & Nolan came to town for Tim's brother, Matt's wedding and we did just that.  Jen and I have had quite a few people ask if Reed and Nolan are twins or comment that they "look just alike!"  I don't know about you, but I just don't see it.  They are both adorable.  Both round and chubby.  Both have blue eyes.  And... that's about where the similarities end.  I've also seen family members actually mix the two of them up (I won't name any names but we'll say it was on my side of the family... haha!).  Can you tell who's who?

Before Jen and the kiddos headed over to Tim's family's house we had some fun hanging out, hitting up Chick-fil-a and carving pumpkins.  I also spent lots of time playing games with one of my other favorite boys, Kyle.  He's so stinkin cute.

Oh and if you can't tell from the photo above, Reed discovered his feet while they were here.  Look what he can do with his toes!  

This one kills me.  They would stare each other down and chat it up all the time.  Have I mentioned how fun it is to have cousins of the same age?  So. Much. Fun.

Here's the pumpkin carving event.  I had to bribe Kyle with orange tic tacs to get this photo.  He wasn't having it.  I love Jen's classic pumpkin.

Roo Bear's first pumpkin!

Next post: Halloween!  Stay tuned!

Gigglesaurus.

Here's a little ditty to brighten your day.  Nothing better than a laughing baby.  Sorry about the terrible quality... I took it with my cell phone.

Two Year Anniversary!

Can you believe Curtis and I have been married for 2 years?  It feels like 2 days and 20 years at the same time.  It's been a wonderful two years and I feel like we've accomplished a lot together!  I couldn't ask for a better husband.  I'm one of the lucky ones who got to marry their dream guy.  Case in point:

Curtis surprised me when we were in Utah with a little getaway.  Sunday night, the night before our anniversary, he suggested we take a little drive up Provo canyon to see the beautiful fall leaves.  As we drove through the canyon I said, "We should drive the Alpine Loop!"  We always meant to do that on his motorcycle when we lived in Provo but never got around to it.  He looked at me a little strangely and then said, "Sure!  It's cool because you go through this cool little town."

Me: "Alpine?"
Cur: "No, Midway."

That should have been my first tip.  Nope, still clueless.

We were driving along and we happened upon this little resort that Cur happened to be working on their website.

Cur: "Let's check it out."
Me: "Sure!"

Tip #2?  Not at all.

We pull into the valet spot.

Tip #3?  Still clueless.

He puts the car in park.  Now I'm onto something.

Cur: "Happy Anniversary!"


I had NO CLUE!  It was so fun to be surprised like that.  Looking back I should have known something was up.  I noticed my toiletries were missing out of the bathroom.  I couldn't find a sweater, jeans, or shoes I wanted to wear.  We obviously didn't drive the Alpine Loop.  I was so clueless!  Cur was really sneaky but I also think he was pretty happy with my airheaded baby brain in this case.  We had a great stay with a nice breakfast the next morning.  Oh and Roo Bear came too, of course.  Midway was beautiful!

Here's a pic on the way through the canyon.  I made Curtis pull the car over so I could take this one.
 

The next day we headed back to Provo and I dropped Cur off at his office in Orem.  I took the opportunity to surprise him this time and planned a little fishing outing.  We had planned on going to dinner but I knew he would be soooo happy if he got one last opportunity to fish before we went home.  I got my wonderful brother to babysit Roo Bear, loaded up the fishing gear, picked up some Costa Vida, and picked up my man from work.  I took him up the canyon and up onto Squaw Peak to eat dinner.

 How handsome is this guy?  He looks so great all dressed up for work. 

Next we headed down to one of Cur's favorite fishing holes.  I'm not telling you where it is because that's top secret information.  We wouldn't want it to be overcrowded next time we come to town... :)  In the photo below, that little flash of white towards the bottom right is a fish!  Reel 'em in Curbo!

We're a couple of spiny old farts!  Haha!  Here's to an eternity together!!!

I love you Curtis!!!!