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.

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.

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.

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.

Country Girl

Our baby girl is quickly becoming a cute toddler. Every time Christina changes Brenna's clothes, Brenna has to run to me to show them off. I respond the same way every time, "How beeeaaauuutiful Sis!" She then flashes me her biggest grin.

When she came to me last night I couldn't resist putting this cowgirl hat on her while she was wearing those cute overalls.

As you can tell from these pictures, she is also turning into quite the ham for the camera saying "Cheese" the whole time. The days of playing dress up with her are closing in on us.

Call Me Sis Pie, Not Cow Pie

It's amazing how much different girls are from boys. At 15 months, Dillon and Connor only wanted to play with tractors and cars. But Brenna loves walking around with her stuffed animals. Her favorite is the cow below.

She loves calling her cow "Baby" and randomly walks up to it to give it a hug.

Now that the weather is nice we got a chance to dress her in the cow dress that Aunt Terri got for Brenna. I might be a bit biased but I think she looks udder-ly moo-velous in it.

Brenna's hair in the last few months has really started to grow. She still has a bit of a baby mullet, but the top and sides are finally are adding volume.

Table Topper

Last week Brenna learned a new trick, much to her parents dismay. She was playing by her high chair and when I looked up, she was up on the kitchen table playing with the salt and pepper shakers. I think Dillon and Connor taught her how to climb.

Disneyland Trip 2011

Back in April of 2009 I vowed we would never return to Disneyland with children under the age of three. Last week, after much prodding from my parents, I broke that promise.

Even though the weather wasn't the best, we encountered rain on two of the four days in the park, we had a great time. Dillon had a blast and was tall enough to go on Space Mountain and the Tower of Terror with me. (He didn't enjoy either one.) Connor liked all the characters as long as he could view them from afar. (We did manage to get him close enough for pictures.) Brenna was mesmerized by A Small World. Christina and I relished every moment we could sit down.

All three kids enjoyed spending time with Papa, Grandma Sharon, Uncle Larry, and all five of the Morgans. It was also nice to have a 1:1 adult to child ratio. However, I am declaring once again, we are not going back to Disneyland until after Brenna has turned four. Until that time, the kids can relive their trip with the video below.

One Year Stats

Brenna had her one year old check up this week. She continues to be off the charts for her height and is in the 95th percentile for her weight. Below are her stats along with the boys at the same age:

Brenna: 32 3/4 inches and 26 pounds 5 ounces

Connor: 35 1/2 inches and 25 pounds 10 ounces (Note: Connor was 3 months late for his one year old checkup)

Dillon: 31 inches and 22 pounds 8 ounces

Brenna's 1st Birthday Party

On Saturday, family gathered in celebration of Brenna's first birthday. Not everyone was able to join us due to sickness but we had a good time nonetheless. Below are pictures:

Brenna was greeted by a hand-made poster and a lot of hugs and kisses from the family.

Following the family tradition, Grandma Sharon made Brenna her own cake. The pink Care Bear was made with love and a few hours of arthritis inducing icing of the cake.

All that hard work of putting together the cake didn't stop Brenna from diving right in. As soon as Christina let go of her hand, she reached straight for that icing.

I could tell you she liked it, but the picture speaks volumes.

Once all the pictures were taken, the boys were allowed to help Brenna eat the cake...

...along with Otis.

Present opening was next. Of course, she got more toys and clothes than a one year should have gotten.

Daddy loves his birthday girl. It's hard to believe our little girl turned one and we can't wait to see what the next year will bring for her.

Happy Birthday Brenna

A year ago we welcomed the sweetest baby girl into our family. Now she is running it. Happy birthday Sis Pie!

For Uncle Jason

It didn't turn out in the picture due to the white lettering on a pink sweatshirt, but Brenna is also wearing Dodger gear.


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Now playing: U2 - Sweetest Thing
via FoxyTunes

Just Brenna

Our sweet little girl is about to turn one in a few weeks. To honor that, here are a few pictures of her.

Her hair has grown enough for Christina to put a pigtail or two in. Christina has begun to have fun dressing Brenna up in cute outfits, putting in pigtails and taking her out on the town.

She loves showing off the new hairdo. Brenna has also become quite the walker. She has decided she wants to keep up with her brothers and chases around after them in that cute just-beginning-to-walk way.

Don't let the cute smile and new pigtails fool you. Brenna can still be ornery to her brothers, constantly try to tip over Otis' water bowl, pull trash out of the bag, grab every remote in the house, and push any electronic button within her reach. But none of us would trade our little Sis Pie for anything else.


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Now playing: Dave Matthews Band - Dreamgirl
via FoxyTunes

Christmas 2010 Highlights

This year's Christmas was up and down. The lowlights included: an accident in Oklahoma kept my aunt and uncle from making the trip to Shafter, a death in our extended family, flooding at my parents house, and the Browns moving from California to Oklahoma.

But these things did not keep us from enjoying our time with the family. The highlights included:

Brenna napping with her Papa.

Brenna enjoying her first Christmas. Like the boys before her, she was more interested in the paper and boxes then the gifts themselves.

Connor finally understanding the idea of getting gifts. He was able to remember what people gave him and got excited each time we were opening presents.

Dillon getting an enormous amount of Legos. On top of what he got as gifts, I was able to find my old Legos that were being stored at my parents' house which will add to his massive collection.

Santa's little helper not wearing her Santa hat that went with her Christmas dress.

Jason really liking his Robin shirt Christina got him. So much so that he made Jonathan wear his Batman shirt so he could take this picture.

Uncle Larry giving me this Lakers warmup jacket. I know it pains him (as a Suns fan) to have to buy anything Lakers but he was a good sport about it.

On a side note, I don't have any pictures from Christmas with the Cummings because I left my camera at home and have not gotten the pictures taken with Michelle's camera. I will be posting those highlights after the first of the year.