Springtime Oasis

Although Fall is definitely my favorite season overall, Spring is hard to beat here in North Carolina...especially went it's spent at Duke Gardens. Our little family had a wonderful time welcoming the first day of Spring last weekend in this beautiful oasis on Duke's campus. With a picnic lunch, a few toys, and near perfect weather~it was an unforgettable day!

Practicing new walking skills with Daddy (I'm obssesed with these shots-they had no idea I was snapping:-)

Bubbles with Mommy!

Meeting New Friends

Here's to one of the many places we will miss in North Carolina!

Celebrating 1!

I love birthdays. So much. I think I love them so much because my sweet mom always made them so special. And it wasn't until my adult years that I realized how much I took that for granted. Most years growing up, I had two celebrations...a weekend party with friends that more than likely wasn't on my actual birthday and then a family celebration on my actual birthday. Gifts galore. Birthday cakes. Outrageously fun parties. Balloons (there were ALWAYS balloons). Flowers delivered at school. Sweet, sweet cards. Dinner outing of my choice. Even a surprise "Sweet 16." Still today~much older and miles apart~ my mom finds a way to make my birthday a BIG DEAL.
I tell you this because this is exactly how I feel now about my son's birthday. It's a BIG DEAL. Every year it will be, but this year was his FIRST! A monumential day! As you've seen from my blog, we've had quite a bit of transition going on around here. So I must say, I was a bit concerned that we'd have trouble pulling off Judah's celebrations. Besides the minor incident of selling our home earlier than expected and having to be out before his orginally-scheduled party for which I already had the invitations printed (nothing a few post-it notes on the invites couldn't fix ;-)...we pulled off several celebrations!

Judah shares a birthday two days after my mother and one day after my step-father. That's right, mid-March (16th, 17th, 18th) calls for quite the party in our family! We are so thankful that Judah, his KK and his K-Pop had a night to celebrate together. And Gran'ma and Pop joined us, too! We all went out to one of our favorite restaurants in Chapel Hill, had a great dinner, opened gifts, and enjoyed cake back home.

Having fun with KK and KPop

Playing with Dada at the restaurant

Singing "Happy Birthday" to KK and KPop

Helping to blow out the candles (but distracted by a roll of ribbon :-)

The next day was Judah's big party at our home with our family and friends. When I thought of his special day, the "theme" for the day came easily. "You are My Sunshine" is not only one of his favorite songs and the only song that was able to calm his cries during his first year of life, but it also represents how much he means to us and those who know him. He truly is "our little sunshine" and brings big smiles to so many faces. Oh, and his favorite colors are yellow and orange, so that made the decor, food, etc. really easy! Another post will be dedicated to this party in the near future when we get all of the photos back. In the meantime, check out our photographer's blog post to see a sneak peak of the day.

Fast forward two weeks...Judah gets another celebration (on his actual birthday) in our new~albeit temporary~home...complete with lion and tiger cupcakes~his two favorite animals :-) 

Lion cupcake~the Tiger was sharing the box and took a bite out of Lion when he was removed!

Anticipating his Tiger Cupcake!

Daddy lets him taste the icing!

Taking a big boy bite!

I think he likes it! Clapping for approval :-)

Mommy's turn to share!

So delicious! Watch out Judah before your mommy eats it all!

Judah-1; Tiger-0

 Much love to our little birthday monster!

Happy First Birthday Sweet Boy! Did I mention I love birthdays?!

I think Judah does too!

Springing Forward

Surprisingly, I'm not referring to the time change or the coming of a beautiful season...in their literal senses, anyway. The Nix family has been sprung forward into a new home and a crazy time of transition. That's right, since my last post we've officially sold our home, packed up everything we own and stored it in 5 different locations, as well as planned out where we will be for the next 3 months until our move to DC. 

Moving week in our empty house

Our plan is complicated and includes us "living" in a few different places until June...let's just say God has opened many doors and we are grateful to friends and family for allowing us to become their temporary houseguests. We sold our home MUCH sooner than anticipated...

That is a real SOLD sign, unlike the fake one I posted earlier :-)

We are so very grateful but it has been a bitter-sweet whirlwind. We walked out of our door on Summit Drive for the last time this week, and it was so very difficult. While we are excited about our new life in DC (my husband begins a fellowship at the NIH in July), we are sad to leave North Carolina. After living here five years, this has become home. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, Jeff and I experienced so much in our first home so it was very difficult to say good-bye. For now, however, we are certainly springing forward into a changed time for our family and certainly, a new season.

"How is Judah?", I hear you asking. He has handled the transition very well....better than his mama and dada, I think :-) He never ceases to amaze me. When I think of all he has experienced during his first year of life (yes, my baby will be 1 tomorrow!), I become overwhelmed with so many emotions. On this, the eve of his birthday, I am incredibly grateful that he is my son and even more grateful that Jeff and I were able to experience the absolute joy of parenting him for most of his entire first year (we received his referral and first picture when he was just 6 weeks old). However, my heart is tinged with sadness as I reflect today. I think of this time last year, and my heart immediately breaks for Judah's birth mother. I cannot help but wonder what she is thinking, how she is hurting this week, and how she must miss sweet Judah. Although I will never know her personally, she has given me the greatest gift on this side of heaven...and I share in her heartache today. However, through Christ there is joy amidst the pain. And love is the greatest gift of all. Judah's birth mother chose love through ultimate sacrifice. Tomorrow, we will celebrate joy. And love will prevail.


Happy Birthday sweet boy!