Boo!

Just wanted to say a quick Happy Halloween from the Nix family!

More costume pics to come :-)

Our Not So Courageous Lion

Judah's Halloween costume was ordered months ago. I just couldn't wait to dress up our little man as a lion...after all it is his namesake. Well, Judah had other thoughts about dressing up. As soon as I took it out of the box, he had a very "cautious" look on his face. When I tried to put it on him, he screamed and cried crocodile tears. Really? Does this look scary to you?

I think I know the culprit...A few older kids whom Judah was exposed to at a local yoga class a few months ago dressed up with masks one day during play time and tried to scare him. Since then, he's really not been a fan of head-pieces, masks, and I guess friendly-looking Halloween costumes?? After a few weeks of him seeing it in the box and running from it while panting and widening his eyes (signifying, "Mommy I'm scared, do something about it"....yes, this is better than crying/screaming), I had pretty much decided that Judah was just going to be Judah for Halloween. I mean, that would be pretty cute, too.

Enter Dada....who was determined Judah would be a lion. Daddy's patience and creativity are amazing and persuasion and distraction were his tactics. ("Big boys wear costumes" (what?!), "Being a lion is the coolest." "Look, Allie-dog is a lion!", etc.) After several weeks of this, Judah at least warmed up to the body suit and wore it (begrudgingly) a few times. The head-piece and the feet? Forget about it. Until last Saturday.

Stay tuned to see how we were able to get at least the feet on him :-) Ok, I'll leave you with a preview...

Friday Music!

Judah and I look forward to Friday mornings in Georgetown. We spend it with several other lil munchkins and caregivers.... and the best music teacher around, Ms. Patti! Judah loves his music teacher! Proof: this morning, he ran right to her and hopped in her lap to hug her :-)

The class is through Music Together, a nationally-implemented and research based (this is important to school psychologists and learning theorists like me :-) progam. I was skeptical at first. How can one teacher keep 15+ toddlers entertained for almost an hour? I don't know how she does it, but Judah pays attention (most of the time ;-), has a ball, and is learning music...seriously. I often see/hear him "singing" songs from class while making motions with hands at home all throughout the week. It is sinking in! In addition to singing and dancing, he loves to play the piano and other instruments.

And scarf time might be his favorite :-)

Peek-a-Boo!

Ms. Patti often gets tickled at how serious J-man is about his music. Here's a preview of his "serious sway."

Enjoy your Friday and go make music together!

Fall Festival with New Gladney Friends

We recently attended our first National Capital Area Gladney Family Association (that's a mouthful!) event at Cox Farms in Northern Virginia. The whole fam had so much fun and we were able to meet many new families in the area who have adopted children through Gladney. We were pretty late to the event (does this shock anyone?!) so unfortunately we did not make the Gladney group picture and we didn't break out our camera until the end of our time at the farm when most folks in our group were leaving...but I promise we have new friends in the Gladney family and we can't wait to deepen our connections!

This family farm was GREAT! Mazes, pumpkins, apple cider, bluegrass music, slides, farm animals, train rides...what toddler (and his parents!) wouldn't be in heaven?! So fun! See for yourself...

Judah dancing to the bluegrass band...serious business :-)

Running full force toward a train (have I mentioned trains are an OBSESSION at our house?!)

 

More trains! And this one I can climb on!

 

Candyland slides!!!

What?! Elmo's here?!

He was so excited that he had to give him a hug and kiss. 

And PIGS?!

And I get to pick out pumpkins all by myself?!

What about this one?

Oh, what a difference a year makes! (sniff, sniff)

Last October at a pumpkin farm in North Carolina

This year-My Big Boy!

HAPPY FALL, Y'ALL!

Near and Dear

All of us have friends who are near and dear to our hearts. And if you've ever had a friend walk with you through a tough time...a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, prayers lifted up for one another....each experiencing the same kind of pain and each hoping, trusting in the same God....then you know just how "near and dear" those friends can be.
Katie Morin is one of those friends. She was a tremendous blessing to me during some really tough times, as we each desired to grow our family....then some really happy times as God (creatively:-) answered our prayers. I am forever grateful to have walked this road with her.
Katie lives in North Carolina but made a trip to DC a few weeks ago to visit family, and we are so glad she stopped by to see us! Last time we all got together, her sweet little Zach was only a few weeks old. Several months later, Zach is a VERY cuddly 6 month-old and his mama is as beautiful and glowing as ever!

Our boys had a great time playing.

 

And Judah did a lot of staring...

And "taking care of baby." Cracks me up that he thinks he's so much bigger than "beabees." Here he is giving Zach some "love pats."

So thankful for an afternoon with great friends! Katie, although you are no longer near (literally), you are always near and dear in my heart!

Yes, Judah is brushing his teeth....upon his request. We encourage healthy hygene around here :-)