1st Day of Preschool

Today Connor started his first day of preschool.  He was very excited to be going to school like Dillon.  Like every middle child, he had to share his big day.  Brenna will be joining him for the year.

Expecting a Visit From the Tooth Fairy

Dillon has had a loose tooth for the last few weeks but tonight it fell out.  Yesterday he had a dentist appointment and the dentist said that based on the x-rays it will probably take two weeks for him to lose it.  

Tonight he had the bottom of his shirt in his mouth exposing his stomach while standing next to Brenna.  She pretended to lunge at him to tickle his belly.  Dillon took a step back and yanked his shirt down quickly, snagging it on his loose tooth.  He glanced down at the tooth on the ground and then looked up at me with a scared expression on his face, unsure of what just happened.

Christina got him a rag for the small amount of blood coming out of the hole.  Connor and Brenna followed Dillon around, wanting to take turns looking at the tooth.  A few minutes later as he was being tucked in to bed there was the following conversation:

Christina: What do you think the tooth fairy will bring you?

Dillon: A present.

Christina: Yes, and the present will be money.

Dillon: (Flashed his smile, now with a one less tooth.)

RIP Otis Milhouse Nixon

On Valentine's Day 2005, the Nixon family welcomed Otis Milhouse into our home.  On July 11, 2012, we said goodbye to him.  We won't forget his short, black nose or his curly, wagging tail.  We will remember him chasing his favorite stuffed teddy bear down the hallway and Dillon (in a Kobe jersey) dunking on Otis (in a Steve Nash jersey).  He welcomed the three kids to the family with a friendly sniff.  He was pushed in strollers, played ball, and ate birthday cake with us.  He will be missed.

One of his first pictures taken... 

...and his last.

Cultural Exchange

This weekend a group of international students from the Bay Area came to Sonora. The student that stayed at our house was named Dawei. Technically, he wasn't a student, but he still goes to the community Bible study that all the students attend.

Dawei (pronounced Da-way) came over from China in 2008 to attend grad school in Pittsburgh and then moved to the Bay Area in 2010. It was great to hear about his experiences in Shanghai, China. We also had some great conversations about the American perception of China and Communism versus the realities.

Thankfully, the Sonora community provides many opportunities to host international students and adults. We hope to take advantage of these opportunities in the future to help give our children a broader vision of the world.

We hope it was the first of many visits from our new friend.

Connor's Prayer

Every time we sit down to eat I ask, "Who wants to pray?" Normally, Dillon volunteers and prays the prayer he learned in preschool, which is:

"Thank you Jesus for mommies, daddies, teachers, and friends. Amen."

A few weeks ago, Connor spoke up and said he wanted to pray. His prayer was:

"Thank you Jesus for Mommy, Daddy, and Dillon's teachers and friends. Amen."

The Nixon Adventures in 2011

Christmas 2011

Below are pictures from our Christmas season.

Brenna loves her Great Grandma Dede. The two spent a lot of time "calling" each other on Brenna's play phone.

Six grandkids all ready to have a slumber party with Grandma Sharon. The four older ones got to stay up late one night to watch Cars 2.

For the past few months, since we watched all six movies together, Dillon and Connor have been obsessed with Star Wars. Dillon loved getting some action figures and a Bubba Fett gun (not pictured) from Uncle Jason.

Connor couldn't believe that Uncle Jason got him the Millennium Falcon.

We celebrated Christmas at Grandma Barbara's house on Thursday, where Bradley and Connor had a great time on the see saw.

The feast at Grandma's was, as always, delicious. We ate a very southern Christmas dinner, chicken fried steak.

Friday night was spent at Grandma Dede and Pops' house. Brenna had already become a present unwrapping expert and tore through her gifts with unexpected efficiency.

Someone got so excited over opening Christmas presents that they had a hard time controlling their bladder. (Just kidding, Brenna spilled her water in the funniest place possible.)

The next day we opened presents and stockings at Papa and Grandma Sharon's house. Grandma Sharon stuffs their stockings so full that she needs to hold them to the mantle with 50 pound weights.

Connor, Kaleb, and Dillon watching Toy Story 2.

Christmas Eve we drove back to Sonora in time for Santa to bring Brenna her doll stroller (the doll was courtesy of Aunt Terri) and the boys light sabers.

Christmas day we went to church and then to Papa and Grammy's house. There the boys and Trent honed their light saber skills with epic battles against the dreaded Darth Vader.

The Cummings had a few friends over and we sang Christmas carols before we opened gifts. I belted out the chorus to "We Three Kings".

One of their gifts included some balloons all the way from Japan. They were quite a hit, so much so that we had to put them away just to get the kids to finish opening their presents.

Of course, like every year, the kids got too many gifts.

One of Trent's favorite things to do is come over and play "yegos" at our house. So Dillon made Trent his own Lego figure and put it in with his present. Trent didn't let the figure get out of his line of sight the rest of the night.

Merry Christmas

Below is our Christmas card along with the Cummings' Christmas card for 2011.

Mission Impossible

Good idea: Taking a picture for your Christmas card right before Thanksgiving.

Bad idea: Taking a picture for your Christmas card right before nap time.

Imagination

Connor's new favorite thing is pretending the trash can is his car. He would "drive" all day if we didn't need the can to put our trash in. He does this even though he has toy cars to ride around the house.

Halloween 2011

Brenna went as our little lady bug. She wasn't too sure about trick or treating at first but then she realized she got candy nothing couldn't hold her back.

The boys are obsessed with pirates right now thanks to the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and Lego video game. They both thought they were Captain Jack Sparrow.

Before I took this picture I asked who wanted candy. Brenna didn't seem to care since she already had a sucker.

At school today, Dillon was able to wear his costume and was part of the Kindergarten parade. His buddy Caden went as Peter Pan.

We had a few people over to our house tonight since our neighborhood is one of the handfuls in Tuolumne County that gets trick-or-treaters. James and Bryan came as mustard and ketchup, just don't ask me why the ketchup is wearing a dollar sign necklace.

We took a picture of everyone in the group who dressed up. A fun time was had by all walking the neighborhood and passing out candy.

Maroon 7 Soccer

Video highlights from Dillon's first year of soccer on his team, Maroon 7.

GOOOOAAAALLLL

In the last game of the season, Dillon scored his first goal. Coach James drew up the perfect play on an indirect kick, allowing Dillon to sink one into the back of the net.

Happy 3rd Birthday Connor

Dillon: The Soccer Star

Dillon played in his first soccer game yesterday on his team, The Maroon 7.

He was very excited to play in a game. The team had been practicing for three weeks, running drills, learning basics, and scrimmaging.

The team didn't have a coach so Christina decided she would lead the team. She is getting help from James, who is putting his soccer expertise to good use.

Dillon did a great job for his first game. At one point, he and a teammate had a breakaway but his shot on goal was wide right.

Unfortunately, The Maroon 7 lost this well fought battle 3-1. With five games left, Dillon is confident they will get a win.