Joy At Last

Break my heart!

2009-11-03T09:53:00.001-08:00

Something just happened a bit ago that I thought I should document because this makes the second time Nixon has done something that made me want to cry and shower him with kisses.

Nixon loves the Toy Story movies and is so obsessed with them that he was Buzz Lightyear for Halloween (pictures in another post). I put the movie on for him to watch for the umpteenth time so I could get some serious house cleaning done before I leave town tomorrow. I put him in his high chair to eat lunch but left the movie on so he could eat and watch at the same time (all hell would have broken lose if I dared turn it off before it was over). Anyway, for those not familiar with the movie, there's a scene where Buzz leaps off a balcony to prove to himself that he really is a space ranger that can fly and not just a toy. Unfortunately the sad truth becomes apparent as he crashes to the floor causing his arm to break off. As this happened, Nixon points to the TV and while saying "Buzz" over and over again, starts to cry this horrifically sad cry. In seeing the expression on his face and hearing that sad wailing, I started to tear up but managed to choke it back as I convinced him Buzz was going to be ok. Oh my gosh!!! Talk about heart breaking!

A similar thing happened a few weeks ago as we were leaving Super Walmart after grocery shopping. Nixon LOVES waffles, so the last thing we did was swing by the frozen aisle and pick up a box of Eggo Nutrigrain waffles (yum!). I let him hold them to keep him occupied during checkout. Soon I realized this was a mistake because he was not about to let go of them. The checkout lady was kind enough to hand scan them so he could continue to hold them. When we got to the car, I pulled them from his hands and put them in the bag with the other cold stuff. He of course got upset and started throwing a fit. For the next little while which seemed like forever, I fought with him to get in his carseat. He arched and flailed so much I couldn't get him buckled in. By this time I was seriously considering yanking him up and spanking his butt, but I decided to try a different approach. I pulled him out, sat him on my knee, then explained that as soon as we got home I'd give him back the box of waffles. Of course I don't know how much he really understood, but he calmed down enough to let me buckle him in. Well, as soon as we backed out of our space, he kept saying "waffles" over and over again, then started to cry a very sad little cry. I realized his feelings were hurt because he didn't understand why he couldn't have the waffles since he had been good to get in his carseat. His cry was so sad and sincere that I seriously considered pulling over immediately and giving him the waffles. Nevermind the fact I told him he'd have to wait until we got home (which he obviously didn't understand or was too impatient to wait that long), but luckily he calmed down pretty quickly and we made it home shortly thereafter. Needless to say, Nixon was promptly given the box of waffles as soon as we pulled in the driveway, and we went in and had some for dinner.

Long overdue

2009-10-01T13:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe I haven't updated this thing since Easter. How sad. Well, here's my attempt to summarize what's been happening with us since then.

First, Nixon started walking around 4/17. Now he runs everywhere and wears me out, but it's so darn cute. He's getting better about not tripping as much.

Here's a video I wanted to share from May. I was cooking dinner and noticed Nixon coming in and out of the kitchen, so I decided to investigate. Here's what I found -

This is a photo Nathan's mom took one weekend she was here. I love it so much. He is the cutest child I've ever seen!

One day I gave Nixon an empty toothpaste box to play with. He kept doing the same thing with it every time he played with it. I call this one "Nixon Scissorhands"

In June we got a 3rd contract on our house and actually closed in late July (finally). I started packing about 2 weeks before closing. Nixon was a big help, as you can see below:

Some other big news includes finding Otis a new home. I know I said we could never give him up, however Nathan and I decided it was best to find him a loving home since we certainly were not being as loving as we needed to be. I think the stress of trying to sell the house, packing, moving, another kid on the way, etc. gave way to Otis not getting the attention or affection he needed. To make a long story short, we found the perfect new home for him. The family lives really close, has a huge yard along with 5 other dogs (they're HUGE animal lovers if you couldn't tell), 2 teenage kids, and a ranch in Oklahoma they take the dogs to every weekend. I'm pretty sure Otis is more in heaven now than he's ever been. Here's a photo of the day we said our goodbye to him at his new home.

We do miss him on occasion (ok, at least I do), but we know he's in a much better and happier place now.

Nixon attended his first baseball game on 7/29. He had more fun running around than anything else, but what do you expect from a 16 month old?

I'll end this post with a video of our unpacking at the new house. I was in the kitchen and knew Nixon was in the front living room climbing on boxes when I heard fussing. I walked in to see what was going on and found this:

I promise I'll post more regularly to keep everyone updated on the adventures of Nixon and his little brother to be!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T19:46:00.000-07:00

This is technically Nixon's 2nd Easter, but he was only 3 weeks old last year during the holiday, and we were still too tired to make it to church. So, I kind of consider this his first Easter Holiday.

We didn't do anything special mainly because we spent most of the weekend getting Nathan ready to be out of town for a week for a trial, but we managed to do a few things to celebrate. Saturday morning we attended the annual Easter egg hunt at our church. Sunday we did make it to church and Nixon wore his special Easter outfit that Nanaw sent him. It's a little big (his pants kept falling down if the belt wasn't tight), but nonetheless very cute. He also got his first Easter basket with a few goodies - books, a puzzle, stuffed duck, and plastic sports ball eggs full of cheerios. I know, the cheerios are lame, but I certainly was not going to give him candy, and I don't want a bunch of candy around the house for us to eat either. I'm trying to slim down a bit before hopefully having another child. : )

Nixon's 1st haircut

2009-04-06T20:24:00.000-07:00

It was time to get Nixon's hair cut. It had gotten so long over the last few weeks that he had a major mullet and comb-over going on. I guess you could say he was looking like Donald Trump from Hickville, Texas. Our friend Emily came over and did a great job cutting it while he squirmed. He seemed a little annoyed while she was working, but he made it through the process and ended up with a great cut. Now our little baby is officially a little boy!

Before
(it didn't usually look quite this bad, but he had just gotten up from a nap)

After

Why we can't give the dog away

2009-04-06T11:41:00.001-07:00

Many of you know that I get really irritated with Otis because of his constant whining and flipping out when people come over and have therefore seriously considered giving him away. After watching this video, you tell me if it's still an option...

Videos

2009-03-13T14:05:00.000-07:00

Here are 2 videos as promised. They probably aren't that exciting to most of you, but of course I think they are way cute. The second one is one of my favorites. He did that as I was talking on the phone to my mother-in-law. I turned around to find the surprise. By the way, Nixon was only 10 1/2 months old when he crawled down the steps by himself. Every time he would get close to the stairs as soon as he started crawling, I would show him how to turn around and go down feet first. Of course I didn't think it was sinking in until one day, to my astonishment, I turned around to see him on his tummy pushing backwards to go feet first down the stairs. Yes, I know, he's a genius. He definitely takes after his father in that regard. : )

Happy Birthday, Nixon!!

2009-03-12T19:40:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it's come and gone already, but Nixon turned one year old on March 2nd. We didn't do anything major for it, however Nathan's family came that weekend to celebrate. We did have a little party with a few presents.

One of his favorite activities - pushing things over

Yay, it's my birthday!!

The "cake"

Ooh, what is that?

Hmm, interesting. Never had anything like this before.

That was too much fun

Long awaited update

2009-03-12T18:52:00.000-07:00

It's so crazy how quickly babies grow up. Nixon isn't walking yet, but since his first crawling attempt on Dec 11th, he's extremely mobile now and gets into everything. His latest thing is trying to open the lid on the kitchen trash can. He's pinched his fingers a few times when the lid shuts on him, but that doesn't stop him from trying again. He's also figured out how to open the drawers in the kitchen, so the one that contains his bowls and medicine syringes is a favorite to open and fling everything out. And, he's FINALLY getting his first teeth - both bottom ones are coming in at the same time. He's been exhibiting signs of teething for the last 3 weeks, but the first glimpse of white came a day or 2 after his first birthday.

Nixon is such a happy little boy and loves to laugh. He thought watching Uncle Scottie and Uncle Robbie playing ping pong last weekend in Houston was the most hilarious thing he'd ever seen. I wish I would have gotten it on video. Oh well, maybe next time.

Here are a few photos I've taken since New Year's.

At the Arboretum - Feb 24

Sportin' the mohawk - Feb 9

Wearing daddy's boots - Feb 5

Nixon and his best bud Sabian - Jan 17

Enjoying daddy playing guitar - Jan 16

Nixon's other best bud - Feb 10

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-01T12:21:00.000-08:00

Everyone in the house is sleeping right now (including the animals), so I thought I'd update my blog really quickly. Since today is the first day of the new year, I wanted to reflect back on a few things. This time last year, Nathan said "2008 is going to be great". Well, the year certainly has had its ups and downs, but of course the most important thing is the blessing of our first child. The next 7 months were rocky as I returned back to work and Nathan worked at home while keeping Nixon, but our prayers paid off in October when Nathan found a job with a small law firm and I was able to quit work to take care of our home and family. 2008 was great, and despite the country's economic turmoil, I'd like to say that 2009 is going to be fine.

Nixon is really growing and becoming so mobile. On Dec 11th, he took his first crawling steps. He's now a pro and has already learned to climb up the 2 steps going down into our family room. Below are photos from some recent events -

Thanksgiving Day

Dressed to watch dreadful Aggie football

He looks like such a big boy in this photo

Christmas photos

Big bag is going to eat me

Look at my butt (says Merry Christmas in case you can't read it)

His first crawling "steps"

Learning to stand up

New stuff

2008-12-10T21:11:00.000-08:00

I never could get the blogger video to work, so I've had to put my stuff on YouTube. Here's my first video to share. It's old - was taken on 7/29/08, so Nixon was almost 5 months old at the time.

Last weekend Amber Torres took photos of us to use for our Christmas card. Here are a few I wanted to share -

And yes, Nixon's eyes are still blue!

I forgot Halloween!!

2008-11-23T12:55:00.000-08:00

So my last post talked about things we experienced over the last couple of months, but it didn't dawn on me until a day or so later that I totally forgot to mention Halloween! How could I forget such an important first for our child?? We didn't do anything extremely exciting other than attend our church's party and go trick or treating with some friends. I think Nixon had fun, although I'm not sure what he thought about his costume. He seemed a little irritated at first about having something on his head, but he was a good sport and wore his costume the whole night.

Here is our ferocious little dragon -

The adventures we've had...

2008-11-18T18:51:00.001-08:00

A lot has happened since I posted last. Let's see... Nixon is 8 1/2 months old now, Nathan got a job with a small law firm which means I got to quit my job to stay home full time (finally!!), and Nathan and I went to Atlanta, GA to see Coldplay in concert with our gang. Let's start in chronological order -

There's no story behind this one. It's just a photo of Nixon when he turned 7 mths old (Oct 2nd). I just realized I forgot to take a photo on Nov 2nd. How did I forget? What was I doing that day? Hmmmm.....

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October 27th was my first day home after quitting my job. Nixon and I were hanging out folding laundry when I realized Otis was missing. There is a hole in the fence that connects our backyard to our neighbor's side yard, and her gate was left open by guys doing work on her house. Otis had been gone about 45 minutes before I realized it. At the time we only had one car which Nathan took to work that day, and to make things more complicated, the stroller was in the trunk. So, I bundled Nixon up since it was chilly and windy outside, and we walked a few blocks to see if we could find the dog. I didn't see Otis anywhere, but a lady said she saw him a few blocks away. I knew we would never find him since beagles are notorious for following their noses on paths to getting lost. I called our friend Jeff Brigman to see if he had any suggestions on what to do since he is huge animal lover, and he said he was coming over to help since I was without transportation. An hour or so later we jumped in the car and drove a few blocks. In my broken Spanish I managed to ask some construction guys if they saw Otis, and they told me yes, they'd seen him just five minutes before. Jeff and I drove another block, turned right, and to our surprise, there he was trotting down the sidewalk. Jeff pulled over to the side of the road, rolled down the window, and said "hey, Dill", to which Otis responded with squeaks of excitement.

While waiting for Jeff to come over, I had thoughts of "I hope Otis finds a good home" because I just knew we weren't going to find him. I know that's terrible, but for a little while I admit I was totally fine with not having a dog to look after. Poor dog - I will love him again someday. We just need to put an end to the constant whining and freaking out when someone comes to the door (where's the Dog Whisperer when I need him?).

Big long story for this picture of Nixon after our walk through the neighborhood -

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On November 11th, me and Nathan, the Torres' and the Fennegans traveled to Atlanta to meet up with our friends, the Colemans, to see Coldplay in concert. Nathan's mom came to Dallas and kept Nixon while we were gone. She brought Elle and Ryland, Nixon's cousins, to help her. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of them together, but I hear they had a great time. Nixon LOVES his cousins and thought they were pretty hilarious. We are very grateful to Gramma Sug (short for sugar) for being willing and able to take care of Nixon so we could have our first getaway together since he was born. The trip was a blast. Marshall and Michelle live outside of Atlanta in a beautiful rural neighborhood. See photos below - it's not a backdrop, it's their backyard!!

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Last, but not least...
Nixon continues to grow more and more hair. The other night I combed it down after his bath and he looked all grown up. Maybe he'll have beautiful hair like his daddy some day.

Darn it, we gave in

2008-09-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

Nathan and I agreed before having Nixon that we didn't want our kids to have a ton of toys, and we really didn't want the ones they do get to have all the lights, sounds, and bright colors that everything seems to have. I personally don't believe that kids need a lot of toys as they need to learn to be creative and use their imagination with things outside or around the house. Also, I tend to think that the toys that have all the bright colors, lights and music all in one are probably overstimulating for a young child. You think this might be one reason why so many kids allegedly have ADD these days? Hmmm......

Despite our strong opinion about this, we decided Nixon needed some sort of activity center to keep him busy (preferably with a jumping mechanism in it because I love johnny jump-ups) , especially while Daddy is trying to get some work done during the day. We picked out the tamest thing we could find, and the Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo was what we left the store with. There are some flashing lights and music, but at this time we do not plan to install batteries in it. I think all the attachments are plenty to keep him entertained.

We will have to get some video of him in it because he loves it! As soon as he learned he could jump (this is a new thing for him) he just laughed and laughed. It was pretty darn cute. I'll post that when we take it, but for now you'll have to settle on a picture.

Growing up - good but sad

2008-09-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

Nixon turned 6 months old on Sept 2nd (already!). It's so much fun watching him discover the world around him. He's also becoming more mobile day by day. He's perfected rolling over from his tummy to his back and is close to rolling the other way. He's also close to sitting up on his own.

He's such a happy baby (except when he's really tired, then we have about 10 seconds to put him to bed before it's meltdown time). He is the sunshine in our lives.

Here are a few recent photos. I really want to post some videos, but I keep getting errors on this thing (arrrgghh!!). Hopefully I'll be able to post those soon, so check back later.

Nixon and Daddy

Just plain cute

I'm a big boy now

2008-08-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

Nixon's hair is finally starting to grow. He kind of has a mohawk since the sides are really short and the top is much longer. One night after his bath, I was stroking his wet hair as I fed him. This was the result -

Nixon ate cereal for the first time on Monday night, Aug 25th. He's one week shy of 6 months old. I opted to wait this long due to my concern with food allergies, especially since his daddy has some he could inherit (let's hope not). I took some video of him eating, but it's not exciting enough to post here. At least I have it for posterity. Nixon did really well with the meal. At first he kept pushing a lot of it out with his tongue, but after a few tries, he seemed to get the hang of it. Tonight (3 days later) I thickened it up a bit and gave him more. He really seems to like it and probably could have eaten a lot more than I gave him. I realize this is not that exciting to most of you, but the whole ordeal made us kind of sad - Nixon is growing up and becoming a big boy already!

Evidence of his meal around his mouth

Lots of travel

2008-08-14T17:55:00.001-07:00

So several things have happened in the last few weeks. Nixon rode on a plane for the first time when we went to Midland, TX. We went on a Thursday night so I could work on Friday out there, and we came back Sunday. Actually, we came home Monday morning because we missed our flight due to accidentally leaving Nixon's milk in the fridge at Nathan's parents' house. That's a whole other story. Anyway, he was really good on both flights.

Nixon on the plane

The following weekend I took Nixon out to Sedalia, Missouri to visit my grandmother. Sedalia is a town of about 20,000 people, but it's the location of the Missouri State Fair, which happened to open that weekend we were there. My brother Scottie and his wife Kelli met us in Kansas City, and the 4 of us spent 3 days with Grandma. We had a great time. Nixon was pretty good but definitely had his fussy moments when he didn't want to take naps. Scottie and Kelli were good sports as his crying times were usually at 9am in the morning when they were still asleep, until he woke them up.

Grandma holding Nixon

Uncle Scottie and Aunt Kelli with Nixon at the fair

A few of my favorites

2008-07-10T21:42:00.001-07:00

Here are a few of my favorite pictures. I wanted to share them just because...

1 1/2 weeks old

My doctor and his nurse - they are the best!

Daddy playing John Mayer for Nixon

New jammies Gramma Sug bought for him

Prescott Family Reunion

2008-07-08T19:15:00.000-07:00

Nixon attended his first family reunion over the 4th of July weekend down in Corpus Christi, TX. The Prescott family is Nathan's mom's side of the family. It was a lot of firsts for Nixon - first time to meet this side of the family, first time at the beach, first to sleep in his pack and play, and first to wear his bathing suit. I think all the constant commotion and noise wore him out. Nixon fell asleep as soon as we arrived at the beach. Here are a few photos we managed to shoot before he woke up and it was time to eat:

Here are a couple of family photos from the reunion:

The whole family (minus a few relatives)

Pops, Gramma Sug, and family

Getting started

2008-07-01T21:30:00.000-07:00

I decided to start this blog to keep everyone updated on what's going on with Nixon since our family is spread across Texas, Arizona, and Utah. This is also for the benefit of our friends since Nathan doesn't keep our Mac website updated enough and I don't know how to use it (and he doesn't want to teach me for fear of me messing up his masterpiece).

I titled this blog "Joy At Last" to express my feelings for the miracle we were so blessed to receive. As many of you know, we struggled for almost 5 years to start a family. Nathan and I underwent almost every kind of infertility treatment available with continued disappointment. The most frustrating part of it all was that we were considered "unexplained". I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I had never been so depressed in all my life. It wasn't until I almost gave up that we were notified of an in-vitro study we qualified to participate in. Dozens of hormone shots and three short months later we took our first pregnancy test. Two pink lines!!! I couldn't believe it. The adventure and love of my life began....

Thanks to all of you who have been there for us during the heartbreak and happiness. We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. Now that we have little Nixon in our lives, we truly do have joy at last.