Videos

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!!

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

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!!

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

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!!

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...

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.