Disney Here We Come

Our Disney Bands came in! We have one excited little girl. I cant wait!

Come on February 22nd. The Nixon Family is ready for Disney.

Nathan on the Run

We can't take Nathan anywhere. He is a runner! For example if we go to the grocery store it is as a family now or just Ava and one of us. If we all go I will shop and "try" to keep Nathan in the cart as long as possible. Once he has had enough he will want down. At that point Ryan is full on Nathan duty. He wont walk along side us. He runs! The other day he ran behind the deli stand. That same day Ryan had to take him to the car before we checked out because he runs and doesn't listen. Ava was never like that......

Ava the little Vegan

Ava has become a little vegan the past few months. Not full blown. She will eat chicken because they are not cute, but refuses to eat cow or pig. So to say the least she has been eating a lot of grilled cheese, pasta, beans, and sushi. We are hoping this is just a phase and she will soon snap out of it.

Swing Set

Ava turned 5 in December. We didn't have a big birthday party. All she wanted was to be at Mimi and Gramps for her birthday. So we decided to use the money that would have gone towards a party towards a Swing Set. Only bad thing was the boxes sat in our garage for a month before we finally paid someone to put it together, but as you can see the kids love it. It was totally worth every penny.

Baby Jaxon Shower

We celebrated Courtney and Baby Jaxson! As well as sending off the Mannion Family to NC. It was a fun day with friends and our families. I LOVE seeing all our kids play together AND so happy we are adding another one to the mix.

RIP Memaw

     August 30, 1934 - January 22, 2016  

Geraldine R. Williams, 81, of Huntsville, Texas passed away on January 22, 2016. She was born on August 30, 1934 in Huntsville, Texas to Elmer Ready and Grace Burnett Ready. She was the middle of seven children.

Jerri graduated from Huntsville High School, and went on to attend Lamar College and obtained her nursing degree. She was also a certified X-Ray Technician. She worked at Sam Houston State University Health Center for over 30 years and retired in 1995. After she retired she worked for Home Health Care and Medical Records for 10 years and left in 2005.

Jerri enjoyed being outdoors, sewing, knitting, crocheting, reading, and spending time with family and friends.

Jerri was a member of Farris Chapel United Methodist Church.

Jerri is survived by her son Ricky Nixon of Huntsville, TX; grandsons Ryan Nixon of Richmond, TX and Gerald Nixon of Houston, TX; granddaughters Rachael Resendez of Pearland, TX and Danna Jankowski of Houston, TX; great-grandchildren Ava & Nathan Nixon of Richmond, TX; and siblings Marjie Bruce and Sonya Moriarty of Huntsville, TX. She is preceded in death by her son Gerald Nixon; siblings Gwendola McMillan, Elmer Ready Jr., Henry Norman, and Barbara Ready; father Elmer Ready; and mother Grace Burnett.

34 Years Old

My birthday weekend seems to always be a great time for Ryan and I to get away for an extended weekend. Mimi works at a bank so always has Martin Luther King Day off. This year we decided on a quick trip to NOLA. We flew out Saturday and came back Monday. It was just enough time to enjoy all NOLA has to offer. We bar hopped and people watched. Had a fancy Birthday dinner. I enjoyed raw oysters at the French Market. Ryan gambled and lost. Most of all we spent quality time together.

The kids seemed to enjoy their weekend at Mimi and Gramps. They had plenty of visitors and were spoiled with a trip to Toys R Us, their favorite home cooked meals and movie night with cookies, popcorn and pickles.

Texans Playoffs 30 to 0

Ryan and I enjoyed a day tailgating with my cousin Brandy and watching the playoff game. If would have been a lot better if Texans would have won.

Fort Building Fun

The kids sometimes (most times) create a huge mess in the living room. This day was like no other, BUT as long as they are getting along and playing nicely...so be it. They are only little for so long.

Sunday Funday

My baby girl and I started the 1^st Sunday of 2016 at church. I enjoy this one on one time with her. She likes to dress up and is actually getting better in church. I try my best to show her and explain to her what the priest is doing and poor baby has to listen to me sing. I can tell she is paying more attention. The rest of the day was spent watching football (Texans won and are in the playoffs!) and playing with the kids….not to mention dreading Monday work.

New Years Day

Nathan woke up about 7:30 so it was time to rise and shine. I made breakfast and we had mimosa’s with the $40 Champagne Ryan bought (uh seriously. I would have never of bought that. Men.). However, it was actually pretty darn good. The rest of the day was spent in our PJ’s putting together toys from Christmas, cleaning, filing documents away for 2015, planning vacations, napping, and cooking our usually fatty New Year’s Day dinner: CFS,  whipped potatoes, cabbage and black eye pes.

2015 Family Wrap Up

The saying, “When you have kids the days are long, but the years are short” is very true. With 2 active kids and full time jobs Ryan and I have our hands full.

Pets:

Boudreaux - is getting older and it shows. He is a lazy family dog. I wish we made more time to walk him, but its hard. The evenings fly by and honestly I think he likes being a house dog. His big issue continues to be his ears. He “always” has had ear infections and this year was no different….actually worse. He developed a hematoma. His ear looked like a sopapilla. He had 2 surgeries this year to fix it.

Teddy- we lost Teddy this year. It was by far the most shocking thing that happened this year. After 10 years of him being a part of our family this was very difficult for Ava and I. I surely thought he would have been around at least until he was 12-14. I thought he had a few more years in him, but it was his time. He lived a great life with us.

Timmy – with the loss of Teddy there was a void in our family. We went a few months trying to move forward, but we needed another small pooch. Hence Timmy….a puppy. I tried for months to adopt and give a needing dog (another yorkie) a family, but since Boudreaux wasn’t fixed we weren’t ideal candidates. I knew a puppy would be work, but this is like a 3^rd child. I guess I forgot the “”puppy stage” with Teddy and Boudreaux. I just keep telling myself it will get better in a few months when potty training is down and he is fixed. Most of all I Ava is happy with our new addition. However, she still has missed Teddy and will talk about him. We all still miss him. Teddy can never be replaced.

Family:

Nathan – my hunk! My mama’s boy! He has changed so much this year. He has embraced being a toddler and that annoying little brother to Ava. He is so active, smart, and loving. I swear he thinks he is a big kid. He tries so hard to keep up with Ava and has been so advanced in everything. It has to be a 2^nd kid thing. He is still huge compared to other kids his age. He is 34lbs and wears size 2. He is all boy too. Loves trucks, balls (might be left handed) and obsessed with Mickey Mounce right now. Sometimes, most times, he is rough. I think it’s a combo of his size and dealing with an older sister. He can absolutely hold his own in his class. To the point where he is slightly  aggressive or I like to say leader.  There have been a few incidents in his class where either he has been bit of bites (I remember this stage with Ava, but she was always the kid who was bit) all over not sharing the trucks in class….the class is predominantly boys so this is inevitable. Its funny how tough he can be but that boy is scared of everything, well pretty much any loud noise. The vacuum, the blower, etc. It will startle him and he runs looking for me/Ryan. Nathan has also become quite the little dancer. He has some great moves. As soon as he hears music his little body is moving. He is also doing great in his class. His teachers love him. He knows all his body parts, starting to count, say his abc’s, loves books and talking very well. His favorite word is “No”. We are waiting for this stage to be over. Nathan is still as great eater. He loves meat, beans, potatoes and pasta just like his dad. His favorite vegetable is green beans and favorite fruit is bananas. He hates cheese and anything that has it like grilled cheese or mac n cheese (how can this be my kid. Ha). Most of all he loves his Milk. We go through 2 plus gallons of milk a week.  I guess this is why he sleeps so good. He is so active, eats well,  and passes out about 7:30 and sleeps until Ryan wakes him about 6:45. On the weekends we let him wake up on his own. Nathan still lets me rock him before bed. I love this special time with him, buts its only for about 5 mins then he starts saying “night, night”. Overall he has been joy and has completed this family.

Ava – my mini me and Ryan’s princess. She has turned into a little girl with a mind of her own. She is like my little best friend. I started keeping her with me on my Fridays off so we can have a special one on one time. She can be a joy to be around but will get her feelings hurt (we call it butt hurt) when  she doesn’t get her way. We are riding a fine line between her being privileged to her be spoiled. I mean of course I want to dress her up cute and buy her the latest toys, etc. but I want her to appreciate everything she has. We praise her when she does well and her daddy might always buy her something when they go to the store, BUT I have started to tell her as long as she listens, has manners, does well in school, nice to family/friends, etc. mom and dad will continue to provide her with what we can. The moment she lets us down all that will be taken away. This is driven harder by me than Ryan. I go as far as telling her and showing her about less fortunate children and remind her once she is old enough she will do good deeds for others (Star of Hope, etc.). For now we donate to Good Will and adopted a kid at Christmas. It was a hard lesson learned when I bagged up some of her toys and she had to give a gift away rather than receive this year. We are just trying to instill good morals, to be appreciative and giving to others. As far as her grandparents…they flat out spoil her and Nathan. They are the only grandkids on both sides. So that is a whole other battle. Her love for Nathan is better. She will be sweet and play with him, but its mostly screaming and locking him out of her room. In school she is doing well. I catch her often on the school camera raising her hand/sitting by the teacher, getting stickers, pick a toy from the treasure box etc. Academically she is reading short stories and her writing is getting much better. Socially she loves school and has her favorite friends. She is in cheerleading and loves it and good at being loud.  We keep telling her about “big kid school”. She seems excited but I don’t think she totally gets it yet. She is such a picky eater now. She loves sandwiches, noodles, strawberries and milk. She loves to snack and since her last dentist appointment we are trying to make them healthier snacks. She likes celery, granola bars, pretzels and cheese. We still battle bedtime and “bed hop”. Either Ryan or I will lay with her and most the time fall asleep with her. Then realize we are asleep and go to our bed…then at some point in the middle of the night Ava ends up in our bed. It doesn’t bother us that much and know she is only little for so long. I keep remindeing her once she starts big kid school she needs to stay in her bed.

Ryan and I – are still are the same job. Thankfully I’m still there! We still enjoy our hobbies. Try to have date nights, weekend get away when we can but toally understand we are at the stage in life when our kids need us the most and they are our world. We make it work and I’ll have to admit we are a great team!

New Years Eve

Ryan always takes off the last day of the year usually to play golf (and since he gets all his closing on time), but this year he just ran a few errand. Luckily I got off early and was able to meet him for drinks and appetizers at his local bar before picking up the kids (mom of the year...its was 2 drinks). I had a fun night instore for them. I bought a NYE Party package and a few kid friendly fireworks. My brother and his girlfriend stayed over to celebrate and we even had an old friend, Jake, swing by. Ryan grilled dinner and we had plenty of snacks/drinks. Nathan only lasted until 8, Timmy lasted until 10, Ava lasted until 11 when all her fireworks were popped, I lasted until 12:15 and the rest partied until 2ish. We had a pretty good view of the firework display from our back porch. A lot of neighbors were popping good fireworks and the best is the noise didn’t wake the kids.