Food!

Who won't read a blog titled "Food"? Ha!

My sister and I started back up with Weight Watchers (I have been going by it since 8 weeks after Maksim was born, but they now have a new Points Plus System so Kristina and I decided to go to a class to learn more about it).

One place I found that is AMAZING is Genghis Grill! Grant and I got a gift certificate there for Christmas and we took our first "date night out" since Maks was born to there. We had never been there before and WE LOVED IT!

The great thing about it that pertains to Weight Watchers is that you can go on their website and "Build your Own Bowl" and it adds up the nutritional values for you on the right hand side based on what you pick.




Step 1: Choose Your Protein: I chose Chicken

Step 2: Season Your Protein: I chose Citrus Garlic Herb and Cajun Seasoning

Step 3: Pick your Veggies: Have I mentioned that I have been 3x in one week?! I stick to generally the same thing, but I have changed the veggies up a bit. What I will probably stick with from now on though is potatoes and an egg.

Step 4: Select a Sauce: I combined two: Honey Soy Sauce and Island Teriyaki Sauce

Step 5: Call Your Starch: I chose Brown rice

The total Nutritional Facts for me came out to this:

Calories: 498.92
Protein (g):36.66
Carbohydrates (g):66.88
Dietary Fiber (g):6.02
Total Fat (g):4.96
Saturated Fat (g):4.9
Cholesterol (mg):246
Sodium (mg):1793.94

Which on the new Points Plus system gave me: 11 points

Try it out! It won't disappoint!

GROWING UP!

So, I got called out...again...for not updating my blog. Thanks, Candace! Ha!

I thought I would start this blog NOT talking about Maks...we will see how long that lasts. I ran across these pictures of my dog, Reilly...a puggle. That's half pug, half beagle. When I bought him, you could see why I thought he was going to be the perfect little purse dog!

Here he is within the first week we took him home. Remember, the place we bought him told us he would be between 10-15 pounds.

Here's a picture of him at over 45 POUNDS from when it snowed this past Monday in Memphis...he is the smaller of the two. The other is our Great Dane, Tony:

Needless to say, I was hoping he would stay the small size we thought he would. Annnnnddd, here's comes me talking about Maks! OOHHH, you all knew it was coming :)

He's a few pictures of my snow bunny:

This wasn't technically his first snow, but it was his first snow that we got a picture in and the first snow of 2011, so we are calling it his "first snow"! 

Luckily, I had a nice snow day at home to relax and chill with my two favorite boys all day! It was wonderful! 

On another note, Maksim slept in his crib for the first time last night! Yes, he is almost 4 1/2 months and he is just now going in his crib. But, cut us some slack here... we are first time parents and selfishly, I didn't want to do it! But, even just doing it last night, I feel better rested and I can tell he does, too! 

For anyone curious...here's how it worked for us and I was pretty impressed. I had talked to a good amount of girlfriends who are Mommy's and got their advice and then just picked from that what I wanted to do. 

We had girls (and guys) Focus groups last night (small groups for our youth) and the girls went to McAlister's Deli. Maks was crying for the last little bit then and I couldn't figure out if he was hungry or tired. We fed him a little, but he didn't eat more than 3 oz (which he has been doing this past week b/c he has been sick) and on the drive home, he kind of whimpered for a few minutes and then fell asleep in the backseat. Well, when we got home, I let him sleep in his carseat for a few minutes while I played on the computer. Usually we take him out of his carseat, but the last few nights with him had been kind of rough. I think he was just saying to us "PLEASE, PLEASE PUT ME ON A SCHEDULE B/C I AM A BABY AND DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT TO DO",  ha! So, he woke up and I started feeding him a little after 9. I thought...here goes nothing...and started the process that I had semi planned in my head. He was already kind of tired so that may or may not have helped. So, after burping him, we proceeded up to his bedroom (which I love...it's pretty calm for both of us, I think) and I prepped his bed with the monitor and then began to read to him. I read my favorite book when I was young, 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

He really liked it, I think :) He LOVES anything with colors so, I tried to read slow and let him look at all the colors against the white background. We went through the book twice. Then I prayed out loud...kind of through tears...I am a very emotional person. I just prayed that this wouldn't be horrible and that Maks wouldn't hate me. Stupid to feel those things, but that's what I felt. 

Then, I turned on his mobile, put a blanket over him, put his pacifier in (which was out by the time I got to the door) and proceeded to check the time and leave him there. He pretty much immediately started crying, but it was a different kind of crying...it was more of a "I'm tired" cry...but not a horrible kind. He did a little bit of the horrible kind for maybe a minute, but over all, it was a pretty "not horrible for Mommy" cry. We started him in there at 9:51...yep, I am that exact, and Grant came home about 10-15 minutes after that. I had been pretty much staring down the monitor to make sure he was ok and we decided to send Grant up there. The doctor advised that if he was still crying after 15 minutes, go in there, tell him he's ok and pat or rub his belly and then leave without picking him up. She said that if that made him cry harder then we would know to NOT do that the next time/s. Well, Grant went up there and Maks smiled SOOOO big! He hadn't seen his Daddy all day and I think he thought he was coming there to rescue him. But, Grant just talked to him for a minute or two and then came back down stairs and I would say no more than 10 minutes later, he was out like a light. I was kind of in shock! So, about 10:20,  he was asleep! I was AMAZED!!! 

I am not sure how different I would want to do it with the next one. I know 8 weeks is kind of the normal for putting them in their beds, but I also know that each child and family is different. Now, granted, we shouldn't have waited double that time for his sanity and ours, but I still did enjoy the time we had him in our room. 

So, the Lord was faithful and answer my prayer of helping me emotionally get through this and we all did wonderful!!! 

Now, just to get him to repeat that and do the same with nap times...

The Nixon Family 2010 Update!

Christmas cards went out today. Yes, today...officially 10 days after Christmas and 4 days after New Years. But, hey...better late than never is my new motto! 

Since I listed my blog on our Christmas card, I thought I would do a "letter" as if I put it in with my Christmas card. So, here goes nothing...or everything!

I will start with New Years Eve last year. Grant and I had discussed getting pregnant in 2009 and having the baby (now officially, Maksim Samuel Nixon) in 2010. God has a hilarious sense of humor allowing us to figure out we were pregnant on New Year's Eve (pretty much officially on that day). We found out a few days after Christmas when my friend, Allison, gave me 3 of her dollar store pregnancy tests. All were very vague in their diagnosis so we went to Walgreens and bought one that we thought would be clearer with the "plus", "minus" signs. We got a best out of like 6 saying we were pregnant. So, the next day, I hopped on over to my then OBGYN and they ran two pregnancy tests and told me I was NOT PREGNANT. I told them I had 3 tests at home that said I was and they said...still...that I wasn't and to come back in 2 weeks. Uuuum...impossible to wait two more weeks to know whether or not I was pregnant. So, New Year's Eve is when I took probably three more tests and got the ones that said "Pregnant" or "Not Pregnant" and all of them said I was preggy. So, needless to say, I switched doctors pretty quickly. I totally understand that it was still early, but I just felt they were tact-less in their whole approach with me. 

So, Grant and I got a sweater and iron on letters that said "Baby On Board" and jumped on over to our parents houses New Years Day, the official start of our crazy 2010 year, and told everyone the news! So, that begins our 2010 year! 

A lot of changes have happened...good things, mostly. 

Grant/ God's Ministry:

For those of you who may not know, Grant is the youth pastor at Christ Church Bartlett AND Arlington. It's an awesome, fun job and he ultimately loves it and we love calling Christ Church our home! One thing that changed this year is that Grant and I went on a trip with my job to California and visited a church while we were there and from that stemmed our Saturday Night service at Christ Church that we refer to as CCSaturdayNights. One of our "motto's" is "Finally a church with people I can relate to and a message I can understand".  Through Saturday nights, we have met some amazing band guys called "Remnant" and they and their wives, families and friends have become like second families to us! The group of people that attend on Saturday nights have become pretty tight knit... We are blessed!

The youth has evolved and changed (as it should). We have taken a good amount of trips...white water rafting (I missed this year's because it would have been impossible to accomplish that while 8/9 months pregnant), Gatlinburg and we had a ton of Reverb's (our Wednesday and Sunday night "hangout" for students) along with fun functions weekly. Not a week goes by that we don't have something planned with the students and we love it!

Grant has continued to teach our Thursday Night Bible Study with close friends of ours. This year we added 3 new babies on top of our one veteran child, Hudson Butler, who turned 1 year this year! The 3 new additions are: Eleanor "Ellie" Metcalf, Isabella "Izzy" Epting, and Maksim "Maks" Nixon. 

We are praying about expanding our ministry for the glory of God in 2011. 

Angela's Job:

I work for a company called "Camp Electric" and LOVE it! It's a Christian Rock and Roll and Worship Camp for students 13-19 years old who play guitar, bass, drums, keys, sing (vocals) and we recently added a song writing track. We are expanding to two locations in 2011. We have been in Nashville, Tennessee for the past three years and will continue there again this year, but we have also added Cedarville University in Cedarville, OH! Super excited about it! I get to travel with my job and think it's just a great opportunity for me! 

I also help out Grant in his/our ministry as much as I can. I help lead a girls bible study for the youth with another amazing friend, Jessica. 

Our latest addition:

Maksim Samuel Nixon was born September 1, 2010 at Baptist Women's Hospital after a C-section (I write about him ALL THE TIME on this blog!) and he really is SUCH a sweet, happy baby...and that makes for sweet, happy parents! We are still working on the whole "sleeping and scheduling thing" but overall, we are extremely lucky!!! He's growing like a wildflower and it makes me sad. I looked at his preemie clothes (he was 5 lbs 14 oz when he was born just a week early) this past week and I was shocked that he was that tiny! I hope I don't forget a thing!

Our families:

We have had our fair share of weddings, babies, engagements, new puppies, new life ventures, etc. between the Nixon and Morella households. 

Amanda (Grant's sister) got married to Michael Brewer during the summer and they now live in Brandon, Mississippi in a new home and they just celebrated their first holidays as newly weds! They were gracious enough to host Thanksgiving this year at their humble abode! They have a crazy, sweet pup named Knox.

Drew Nixon (Grant's brother) is probably the #1 teacher in all of Chicago with his special ed classes (I am sure that term is incorrect, so I apologize). He is living the single, bus and train riding life in Chicago and we miss him here in the Dirty South. He never thought he would care much for babies, but Maks has him wrapped around his finger since he surprised us the night of Maks' birth by taking a bus all the way from Chicago (it might have been the next day...that day was all a blur for me!). Maks loves his Uncle Drew!!! Drew lives with roommates and his one-eyed dog, Maggie!

Kristina (my sis) got a new job this year along with her husband, Matt, also getting a new job. They both work at the same church, Hope Church, but the church is so huge, I don't know how much they actually see each other during the day! Both Grant and Matt are youth pastors and they can both marry people, ha! More on that later! They have a sweet dog, Colby, and will soon be adding a bear...ooops...dog, named Spiderman who will be born around January 27th. This is a he-man dog! And, we thought our Great Dane was massive. But, I hear the bigger they are, the sweeter they are! 

Sabrina (my youngest sister) got engaged this year to David Groves and they are set to wed May 20th (Maks will be the ring bearer...what? What?!) at Carahills II out by our Arlington Church. It will be a family affair. Grant and Matt will be the "officiants/pastors". They will be marrying them! Sabrina and David have a dog named Abbey who is also sweet! 

My parents, Diana and Alan, got a new addition to their household (Dad won't admit he likes this new addition, but I know, deep down...he does!) named Sophie. She's a Yorkie-Poo...I believe...or a mix between a Yorkie and a Maltese...either way, she's definitely a Yorkie! She's a ball of fun! Our family dog, Keisha, passed away this year. She was about 16 years old, I believe. Her best girlfriend, Kasi, is on her way...she's now blind and we think deaf...but she doesn't seem miserable yet. I like to think she likes Sophie! Mom and Dad's house is ALWAYS filled with extra dogs for some reason or another! 

My in-laws/in-loves Nick and Debbie Nixon are great! Nick is officially still cancer free and he is better than ever! So is his heart! They have had a good amount of changes as well. Their baby daughter, Amanda, has officially moved into her own little family (same Amanda as above) and Nick is moving right along with his voice overs and caricatures while Debbie works at Crye-Leike. 

Maks is the first grandson for the Morella's and Debbie! Maks is a wonderful addition to Nick's grandkids! Needless to say...Maks is QUITE spoiled!!! 

So, I have probably skipped a million things, but most of them are summed up in my blog. Sometimes I go in spurts where I write a ton and then I don't, but I will try to work on that this year in 2011! 

Here's to an awesome New Year for our new family of 3! We will keep you updated!!!

Love, 

The Nixon's

Grant, Angela, and Maksim "Maks"