December 27th

….and  just like that she is 5. My baby girl has grown into a smart, confident, loving, sometimes moody little girl. She makes me to happy. I’m blessed to be her mother. I find myself just staring at her sometimes because I can’t believe she is so grown up. She is beautiful and has a mind of her own. I love hearing about her day, her crazy ideas, crazy facts and her request for huggies.

Birthday Dinner

We celebrated Ava turning 5 with dinner. She wanted sushi so we opted for a hibachi grill so others could enjoy dinner but most importantly so Nathan could watch them cook and stay seated. She ordered her favorite edamame and a philly roll.  Dinner was fun and entertaining.

Christmas 2015

Christmas is so much better when you have kids. I’m not even interested in opening  my gifts until the kids have opened all there’s. I love to see the excitement they have (well Ava) when opening each gift. Ava was so excited!  She blew through each gift. Her favorite was Chubby Puppies. Nathan on the other hand was only into his Mickey Mouse (which he had already opened the previous weekend) and kept to each gift one by one.

Villa Family Christmas

Thank goodness we had a tree since we were hosting the Annual Villa Family Christmas. Its usually at my Aunt Mary’s house but with this being the 1^st year without my grandma she was feeling very sad this holiday season. So my dad offered to host and take the stress/burden off her so she could enjoy Christmas. I will have to admit the party was fun! We had Christmas bingo for the kids, a photo wall, and plenty of food/drinks. It was a great time hanging out with the family. Love all my Villas kids.

Tree Problems

My parents have had the same artificial Christmas tree since I was in high school. So needless to say it has seen better days. Anyhow, the evening before Christmas Eve I decided to push it back farther into the corner so it would be easy to walk around. Well, well the dam thing fell over. Not only fell over but would not go back into place. My dad tried everything to get it back into the tree stand but between being so old and the screws in the tree stand being dull, the tree was a goner. We called a few places that night to get a real tree but everywhere was out. Then Augustine saved Christmas! Literally! He found a tree the next morning. It wasn’t anything grand or even pretty, but it would work for 2 days. Halleluiah! BUT THEN that tree fell over….and we fixed it….BUT THEN it fell AGAIN….and we fixed it. Geez……..

Christmas Vacation Begins

I took off the week of Christmas. Ava and I spent Monday together. We dropped brother off at school so we could run a few last errands and get our nails done. The rest of the week was spent playing and enjoying family time.

Nixon Family Christmas

For the second year in a row we have had Nixon Christmas the weekend before Christmas. It has worked out well. It is very low key. We just all hang out, eat, and open gifts. This year was special for Ava. With the loss of Teddy my dad and Ricky went in together on buying her a yorkie. So he was the last gift to give her. Our parents were there to see her reaction. She was speechless and kept smiles. It was so sweet. Aunt Rach stole the show for Nathan when he saw a big Mickey Mouse. He loves Mickey right now.

School Christmas Party

After Ava’s Christmas Program I stayed for their School Parties. It was the 1^st I had been to for Nathan. I know how he is and knew he was cry, be clinging, and most of all make it difficult for me to leave. AND what do you know, he did just that! That little boy loves his mama. I had a great time with him and loving on him in the middle of the day. He is such a cutie. He was showing off for me in class then threw a fit  once I had to leave to go to Ava’s party. It was also nap time for him so he was tired which made it worse. On the bright side many of the kids did the same thing with their parents so Nathan definitely didn’t stand out. Ava on the other hand is so independent. She was thrilled to have me there. I enjoyed my time with them then headed back to work.

Christmas Program

Ava had been practicing  for her holiday program at home. She would show us her dance and singing skills. Then one day Ms. Diana (their Spanish teacher) told Ryan that we don’t want to miss the show. That Ava was the star. Of course he didn’t ask what that meant. So I was thrilled to attend and see my baby girl in action. She knew all the words, dance moves and best of all she kicked off the program for Pre K 2. She stood up at the start and had a solo piece. I was one proud mama! I was smiling ear to ear, beaming with happiness.



Fun at Mimi and Gramps

The kids and I spend time with my parents.

Ryan and Ricky went to Huntsville to see the Bearkats. They Won!!

Pictures with Santa

Nathan was real tough waiting in line, but when he saw Santa it was all over. However, his sister made him sit there while she asked for a Schnauzer, Bike, Trampoline and a green bean bag for Nathan (only so he doesn't sit in her purple one anymore.

Once again Gramps is the best. He went to Bass Pro Shop early to get us a ticket to see Santa. He kept our place inline as the kids and I looked around, colored, make a list for Santa and I chanced Nathan.