EXCITING NEWS IN THE DOJO!!!!!!!

Some very important news was dropped off by carrier pigeon on this, a fine Tennessee morning!




I could NOT believe my eyes.....I had to tell someone quick.


I know, the puppies!



Riku! Take a good gosh darn good look at this.....can you believe it?



This has to be shared with the world.




Wait for it....... Wait for it....... Wait for it......









HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAMS!!!!!

funny to me

So Riley is getting to be a pretty good talker. She tells us lots of stuff - about 60% we even understand. I remember when my niece, Taylor, was about this age. She would say something her mom didn't understand. Taylor would have to say the word to everyone in the family while we tried to figure it out.

Riley yells 'BUUUHHHH' everytime we either see a bus, or when we pass the place we say one the day before. She can also say the puppies' names: Riku ('eeeeuuuuu'), Raimo ('moooe' or 'amoooe' - it's hard to tell), and Mikka ('num' - not sure where that came from). Riley will also imitate what we say. She's gone out to the deck and clapped her hands yelling 'NUM! NUM', trying to get Mikka to come back.

Tonight Riley wanted to share my drink, so I pulled out the straw. She pointed and said 'juice!' 'No', I told her, 'this is tea'. She smiled and pointed at her mouth 'teeeeee!' (meaning teeth). Being the clever mom I am, I thought I'd call it something else so she'd know it's different. So I said 'no, it's iced tea.' Riley then showed me her eyes, and every body part she could name. I guess we'll have to work on the tea. She really liked it though.

Still hot in Nashville

We are always busy here at the Curtis Dojo. We have abandoned the highchair. Riley started to climb in and out so now we have a booster seat. She seems to like being "at" the table instead of beside it.
Aside from picking her nose, Riley has started what some would call the "terrible twos." When getting upset, Riley throws herself down on the ground kicking and screaming. We have found putting her into her time-out chair puts a quick end to the episode, so hopefully we're moving forward. But, I'm sure this is not the end.

Riley has also found a new spot to hang out. Usually when dinner is being cooked, she sits in the cabinet next to me. Her friends also come to hang out.






Thank you Gramms & Gramps for the box of clothes. Riley loved the box. We loved the clothes. Hopefully some day it will be cool enough down here to actually wear long sleeves. :)





And finally, we promise to blog more so Aunt Michelle doesn't have to yell at us.
(just kidding :)

what we've been up to

Well, we'll blame our internet being out, and visitors for our lack of updates on the blog. We've had a busy summer. McKenna flew out on Sunday after what felt like a short stay. She got a cell phone right before coming out here, so she perfected her texting all summer. Jason's parents also visited for about three weeks. They parted their 28 foot (I think) RV in our back yard. We had four adults, two kids and five (yes FIVE!) dogs.
Here are some pictures -

Gramms and Gramps got Riley a new bike.



Here are Riley and Solitude. They became pretty good buddies. Our dogs kept a pretty close eye on the new puppies to make sure they didn't do anything to Riley.



Gramms, Gramps and McKenna went to the Smokey Mountains for a few days.





Before McKenna left, we took the girls to Sears to get some pictures taken. This year did not go as well as the last. Riley was not at all interested and cried most of the time. We got about three or four good pictures.




... and more that were not so good.

the car seat

When we returned from our trip to Ohio last weekend, the carseat needed to be dismantled, hosed down, and disinfected. It was sitting out, and Riley thought she should be sitting in it.




The pictures taken at the daycare came back this week too. They got two pretty good shots of McKenna and Riley together -

new picture

This past weekend we took a trip to Ohio for my brother Tony and Cheryl's wedding (we'll have pictures later). We had a great time, but shaky car ride. We'll probably stay put for a while. My parents gave us a new picture. Riley was checking it out this morning.

the bib

We're not sure what's going on here, but this is a video of Riley with her bib. I think she might be trying to put it on ... just in the wrong place.