It's official....

My little baby girl started school today. I'm happy to report it went very well. She didn't cry immediately when I left, but I went to pay her tuition and as I was walking past her door I could hear her crying. Broke my heart.....I was that parent sitting in the hallway crying AND that parking lot crying :-( and the poor men at Jiffy Lube made the mistake asking me how my day was going. I find comfort in the quality one on one time I had today with Baby Frankie. I just held him, rocked him, and played on the floor with him. It was really nice.... On the positive side when I went to pick her up she was all smiles and couldn't be happier. The teacher said she didn't cry for very long and had a blast at Spanish class and Recess. Hopefully next week will go well !!!

Last week was BUSY!! Frankie and I had parent orientation as Bella's school. That went extremely well, and I "think" Frankie felt better about Bella going to school. He still wants to keep his baby girl locked up tight. Then Bella and I had Meet the Teacher the following day and that went very well. Bella seemed to interact well with the students and the teachers. Both teachers complimented on Bella's independence and verbal skills. The only real concern I have is that she is only 1 of 2 girls in the class. Also she does seem to be on the older side of the class so I hope she doesn't experience any regression especially with her communication skills. Bella had Ballet/Tap on Thursday which she LOVES !! They broke out the trampoline and she was in heaven. THEN........Gustav came into play, and we never saw daddy again ;-) Unfortunately Frankie was activated for work and honestly we really haven't seen him since. He has been able to come home and sleep for a few hours. But he comes in after 10-11pm and leaves before 4am. Needless to say he is exhausted, but I haven't been more proud of him. But I'm still not cut out for being a single parent. I miss him terribly and so do the kids. Hopefully his schedule will be back to normal this week. We did receive a surprise visit from Aunt T on Sunday !! It was wonderful to see her and hear all about her new job adventures. We are so proud of her !!! I do have to add that Bella finally started to say "Kimmy"!! and it has now become her new favorite word !! She loves to go thru the house and point out Kimmy. We are working on saying Kyle and Nicole this week. She already has Carter down ;-)

This week we spent getting ready for school, spending lots of time playing, researching Halloween costumes, and working on Frankie's birthday !!!

As for my little man, he is doing incredible. He is rolling over fairly consistently and smiling nonstop. Just melts my heart! Bella loves to help give him a bottle, so we try and give him one every so often. I haven't mentioned it, because I didn't want to jinx myself but Frankie is finally sleeping thru the night. (My terms are longer than 6 hours) He has officially had four nights in a row of eight hour stints. It is pure heaven, except that Bella has not started coming into our room between 5:30-6am ??? I know..bad parents but she sleeps another 30 minutes if she stays in bed with me. This all started with baby Frankie sucking his thumb, I still don't know how I feel about it. (Bella never has been one to even put her fingers in her mouth) But it seems that all he wanted for that 3-4am nursing session was just the comfort of sucking. So a few nights ago apparently he found his thumb while I was dragging myself into his room and went right back to sleep. I laid down on the couch knowing that he would wake up in a few minutes but...those few minutes turned into a couple of hours !! So we still hear him grunt around 3am, but he shoves that thumb right in and asleep he goes. So......time will tell how this goes. We've also started to slowly let Frankie fall asleep on his own. We made the terrible mistake of rocking Bella to sleep EVERY night, and she still has issue to this day on occasion. So we have started laying him down when he is half asleep and half awake. So far he only grunts for a bit and is able to to sleep on his own. We have had a few nights where we still rock him...but so far so good.

I think that just about wraps it up!!

The Before and After "Meet the Teacher" ! (Aunt Kimmy does the pose look familiar?)


Smile !! & Bella's favorite pic of Kimmy (it is on her collage at school)

Our little girl is growing up.....

I promise....I will get better at updating the blog. The past week or so have been so busy. Days filled with playdates, birthday parties (Bella & Frankie are two popular babies), doctor's appointments, getting ready for school, and Ballet/Tap !!

The big news for our little angel Bella, is she "auditioned" for Ballet/Tap last Monday. She had to audition due to the class is for two year olds, but they said she could try. And she PASSED !!! Mom and Bella had so much fun shopping for all of her leotards etc. Also it is a great bonding moment as her Daddy is taking her to her classes every Thursday evening. After two classes she is hanging tough with the older kiddos, and is by far the most out going in the group. I know big surprise. Especially when ever time the teacher says the word dance she screams "shake your booty" and proceeds to follow with appropriate action. She absolutely loves her class and comes home and practices every night. Grandma Bird went to her last class and Bella loved it !!! I promise to post pictures soon. As Daddy forgot the camera last week. Our second big news is she starts school next week. Bittersweet for both daddy and I, but we know she will love it. We meet the teacher this week. This is going to be a wonderful experience for all...I hope ;-) as long as I don't get called to the principals office we are good. In other news Bella is doing fantastic and learning every day. She is talking in three to four word sentences, finally learning some of her numbers & colors, and is just talking non-stop period. She also has learned to open all doors...NOT FUN !! She is so proud of herself, especially when she crawls into your bed at 5am and says "Good morning mommy" !! She went to the allergist yesterday for a regular check-up, supplies for school (epi pen etc.), and she tipped the scales at 29 1/2 lbs. Our little chunky monkey !!

Baby Frankie went for his (late) two month appointment yesterday. He weighs 10lbs 5.5ounces and is 23 1/2 inches long. We are going to have a long skinny little man for now. The doctor said he is doing wonderful and is very pleased where he is at. He is changing every day...more alert, awake for longer periods of time, and has managed to be able to melt anyones heart in a matter of seconds. His coos are so adorable and if possible the smiles are even better. He loves to play on his little play mat gym and is a huge fan of tummy time (he has rolled over five times now). He is proving himself to be a little heart breaker. He put on a smile fest for Grandpa, Grandma, and Aunt Kimmy this weekend.

Daddy and mommy are doing wonderful and loving life with our babies !!

Bella loves "checking-in" on her little brother...even when he is sleeping ;-)

Good-Bye Edouard!

WOW! What a week! Our week started off by Frankie getting activated due to the storm Edouard on Sunday evening. Meaning Good-bye Frankie and Hello single parenthood, my poor husband worked VERY late every night and went in VERY early every morning. None of us saw him coming or going :-( Bella went through terrible Daddy withdrawals. I tried to keep us as busy as possible, considering it was pouring outside. Monday the kids and I packed up and went to the store and stocked up on the non-perishable items, packed away all the outside toys/cushions, and waited for the storm to blow in on Tuesday. Tuesday we spend the day inside playing and cuddling. Thankfully we didn't see much of the wind damage, but it rained and rained all day. The rest of the week we stuck close to home and made sure the evenings were open for quality daddy time !! We had a great play date at a friends house on Thursday. Friday was Frankie's day off and he woke up and picked up Bella and they spent the whole day together, they went out to lunch, went to his office, went to grandpa Freckle's office, and the store if it is possible I think daddy had more fun than Bella. Bella and baby Frankie's grandma bird came over Friday night !!! But our TONS OF FUN was yesterday. Our playgroup had a family play date at one of our members parent's farm. WE HAD A BLAST !! Bella LOVED all the cows, horses, donkeys, dogs etc., her and daddy fished together at the pond. We had a cookout and topped the day off with a hayride. It was absolutely wonderful. Baby Frankie loved being outside snuggled in someones arms. I forgot my camera, but hopefully someone will send me some pictures soon. It was so nice to not only have all the mom, all the kids, but the dads there as well. We can't wait to go again !!! Obviously today we are taking it easy and getting in some extra rest.

On the home front Baby Frankie is now officially 2 months old, and has rolled over once already. He is cooing and smiling tons now !! I just love every second of it. Bella is doing great, she is talking up a storm and having fun playing with her baby brother. She is actually putting sentences together, which still just amazes Frankie and I. Then she drops bombs on us, which makes a wonder where she gets it from. Her sentence of the week..."mama is a woman!" ??? and our sad sentence of the week she called her daddy at work "Daddy come back and get baby girl in truck-truck". Can you believe she will be two in a couple of months?

We have another busy week full of play dates and preparing for tax-free shopping !!

Home again...Home again

We are finally settling back into our routine after our trip to Fort Worth. Surprisingly enough the drive went very well, it did take us an extra 30 minutes to pack up the vehicle for two kiddos. The only major bump we hit, is we had to stop in College Station to move car seats around!

First and foremost my brother is doing well. He is still experiencing quite a bit of pain on the right side of his face. He did see the Neurologist again, and right now we are in a holding patter for another six weeks. I will keep everyone posted. Overall we had a wonderful trip to my parents house. A great time was had by all, except maybe Daddy who had to bunk with Bella for the first time. Needless to say he found out why she needed a "big" bed. She moves a TON during the night ! Bella and Baby Frankie had so much fun with their grandparents. Bella showed off as usual, and Frankie loved all the extra cuddles. Bella also LOVED mimi and papa's pool, we couldn't keep her out of it. I think she did scare everyone a bit with absolutely no fear of running and jumping in..going under water etc. We are going to have to keep an eye on that one. Frankie and I also helped my dad put up their new fence, so we all got a little extra workout in as well ;-) My favorite part was being able to take a shower by myself for the first time in months ;-) !!!!

We headed back home on Sunday to tons of unpacking and laundry. We jumped straight into a busy week. Monday we went to a playdate and it was so nice for Bella to see and play with all her friends. Big news for our playgroup is that officially all the boys of summer have arrived!! Baby Frankie is one of four boys born within 6-7 weeks of eachother. The last boy arrived on Monday morning tipping the scales at 9lbs. We all can't wait for next summer, the boys are going to have a BLAST together. But our favorite part of Monday is we received a visit from Aunt T. She stopped by to say Good-bye, as she is officially a Dallas resident now. We miss her SOOOO MUCH already, but are so proud of her and we can't wait to see all that she accomplishes. Bella did her Aunt proud by finally saying her name to her directly "WahhLuu Aunt T" !!! Yesterday we went swimming at one of our friends pools, and it was wonderful a perfect oasis. We had a great time !! I also had my final doctor's appointment yesterday, and the nurses stole Frankie from me the entire visit. My OB is still so proud that he delivered his first "Frank" in 30 years. (He still thinks we named him after himself) We are finally taking it easy today with cleaning etc.
Bella and Baby Frankie are doing GREAT !!! Frankie is awake ALOT now, and certainly proving himself to be a mama's boy. Which I'm secretly loving for I know it won't last forever. Bella is still obsessed with animals, animal sounds, Dora, and coloring. She LOVES to talk and I still can't believe she is talking in three word sentence. Her favorite of the moment..."What is that?" and "Whatcha doing?" She also is beginning to mimic songs now..it is so cute to hear her try to sing. That just about catches things up, sorry for all the pictures but there were way to many cute ones.

Frankie and his mini-me...and his bunk mate!

Hello Dolly !

Another week has gone by without a post, but I have a good excuse this time. My sweet precious angel decided to knock over my laptop and break it :-( We are waiting on the part to come in to repair, thankfully Daddy fixed an old one temporarily for me. We wrapped up last week with lots of playtime and running errands (another typical week for us). Bella loved the ending of her week though..Friday I babysat one her friends Kylie and they had tons of fun playing together. Saturday we had a birthday party and Bella had sooo much fun, she didn't want to leave. Sunday was the best day as we had our weekly dinner with Grandma Bird! I still can't explain how much Bella loves her bird, they played nonstop (of course we had a major meltdown when she left).

So far this week we've stayed close to home as we were unsure about the hurricane situation. Thankfully Houston won't be hit except for some rain. We did make it over to her friend Bryce's house yesterday. It was so nice to get out of the house and even better I finally received my refresher course from Jennifer regarding the baby carriers. I now can go hands free while shopping !!! YAHOO !!!

We've been sending extra loves to daddy as he has been working super late all week. We got a good dose of what "emergency management" involves this week. I'm so proud of him, he has been leaving super early and coming home late every night. Not only that it once again reminds me how much he helps me when he comes home. I'm TIRED !!! I don't think I could make it as a single parent. Hopefully once Dolly passes things will be back to normal for a while.

Bella is doing FANTASTIC !! We are still working with her on a daily basis. But she is currently obsessed with animals and what sounds they make. I'm running out of sounds to make up....Her new favorite is camel and you have to be here to hear her sound ;-) So hopefully the ABC's will follow soon.

Frankie is doing wonderful! Still eating and sleeping like a champ. He definitely has his awake period one in the morning and one in the evening. He is finally started to break out in little smiles more frequently, which just melts my heart. I still can't believe how much being a mother of two is such an incredibly blessing and adventure. You learn all new tricks..and Frankie still can't get over how much I can carry with walking an almost two year old, carrying a car seat, diaper bag, purse, and groceries!

Pending Frankie's work situation we may be going to Fort Worth for the weekend for some fun and mimi and papa's house! and check on my brother Ethan.

I'm hoping today we will make a trip to the park !!! and on a side note we are so excited to hear that all of our loved ones are back home from their trip to the Bahamas. We missed them SO MUCH!!

Quality time......

A quick recap on our quality family filled weekend....

Thursday...the kids and I went to a playdate with our playgroup. The first "big" playdate for Frankie. We had so much fun, and Bella had a blast seeing and playing with all of her friends again. Frankie was a hit, and enjoyed all the snuggles from the moms!! We all made it home in one piece, even though it poured on us running from the car. (Mental note get my umbrella back from my husband)

Friday....Stayed close to home as we received the bad news, that my brother may have had another stroke or a severe case of Bells Palsy. We are still waiting on the final word from his doctor. Frankie and I were on standby most of the weekend, in case we needed to make a trip to Fort Worth. On a happy note Daddy came home early and we all played together...who knew daddy colored Dora so well ;-)

Saturday...Bella received another special visit from her Grandpa, and she was quite upset to see him and her Uncle leave with daddy. Daddy came home and Bella had a blast outside in her pool with daddy. Baby Frankie and I were inside most of the day, as he hit a growth spurt so I didn't move the couch very much ;-) Our thoughts and prayers were with our Aunt T today and all weekend as she made her trek to Dallas...sniff sniff...I miss her terribly all ready.

Sunday....We had a surprise dinner with Grandma Bird (I don't think Bella can run fast enough to the front door when she arrives) !!! She also washed all the cars with daddy and helped with the yard work. Baby Frankie and I again stayed near the couch ALL DAY !! ;-) Gotta love those growth spurts !!

Today we have had a great morning with the three of us playing together. Baby Frankie is full and alert. His big sister loves shaking his rattle for him!! So far today we have colored, called mimi & papa, made a new carrot cupcake recipe(here's hoping for a pass), and played w/legos!! In true Curl Family OCD fashion, Bella also assisted in drawing names for Curl Family Gift Exchange.

On that note Merry Christmas in July!!! Enjoy the pictures !!

We are OBSESSED with our new Dora coloring book from her cousins...

Daddy loves cuddle time...

The kiddos first bath time together....

Another week goes by...

I really need to try harder on updating more frequently. I'll start off with our holiday weekend, it was beyond wonderful. All of Frankie's family came over for food and fun, the best part was that included the Haun's (My SIL & BIL and their 2 boys). A great time was had by all, especially Bella and Carter who had a blast playing together. I can't wait for our next family get together. Saturday we went to a birthday for one of Bella's friends, and Daddy came along to watch baby Frankie. I've always explained to Frankie how Bella is extremely social everywhere we go, but I don't think he ever believed me. Well he saw first hand she was in the middle of the room laughing, dancing, clapping, playing etc. It was so much fun! Sunday was wonderful Bella, her and daddy woke up early and spent the entire day together. I didn't see them again until the afternoon. I don't think her smile could have been any bigger.

This week we have stayed busy with running errands and playing at home. We were going to hang out with Bella's friend Bryce today. But she is running a slight fever??? so we are going to stay home just in case.

Baby Frankie is still doing GREAT !!! He is such an incredibly mellow child, and so far everything has been perfect. He smiled for the first time yesterday, and my heart just melted. He was in my lap and I was just talking to him and he gave me the famous Triflio man half-smile. I can't wait for each day to see what he does.

Bella is still in an obsessive book mood. We must read a 100 a day, but no complaints here. Her favorite word of the day...open and close...she goes around opening and closing everything! Unfortunately her meltdowns have increased and turned into tantrums :-( It's official she has hit the terrible twos. The good news is they don't typically last to long.....Ahhh the joys !!

For Frankie and I....our thoughts have been elsewhere this week. With my cousin Mandy who was married over the holiday weekend (we can't wait to see pictures), my cousin Megan who had her wisdom teeth pulled, and our hearts our bittersweet with our precious sister Tiffany. She is moving to Dallas this weekend to start her career, her future, her new-life !!! We are going to miss her so much words can't even describe. I will miss her surprise pop-ins to visit the kiddos and I the most. She is so full of life and joy, and we are all blessed as she lights up our lives. More to come on that topic...as it still makes me a bit weepy....