Last night we had plans to eat with Kyle and Caron at Pie in the Sky pizza and when we got there it was a party! It was such a great surprise. We had a great time eating dinner with all our friends. It’s crazy to think that 4 years ago our Sunday school class didn’t have any kids and now with 4 couples there were 6 kids – and 1 more coming next week! Thank you friends for a fun night.

Jake, Diane, Liam & Javen McDaniel, The Dixon’s, Matt, Andrea & Avery Metcalf, Kyle, Caron & Molly Cate Johnson

We may (or may not) have gone to Chuck E. Cheese’s two times this past weekend!

Honey came up Friday and Saturday to play with Will (and give me a little break.) On our way to Sam’s Club on Saturday Honey and Will decided it would be fun to stop and play. Will’s a pretty cheap date since he doesn’t like to actually ride the moving things just sit on them. But he did like winning tickets and picking out prizes!

On Monday, my friend Melina called to see if we wanted to go and play at Chuck E. Cheese. Of course! Will loves playing with the boys she keeps. We spent several hours playing and eating pizza. One of the skee ball machines malfunctioned while Will and I were playing and we won the grand prize- 117 tickets! Will and his friend also played an intense game of air hockey.

Today was “pretty much a great day.” This morning Will and I got up and ready at the same time as Bill. We got done pretty quickly and we all ate breakfast together at the table! What?!? That never happens – who cares that is was bagels and cereal it was a great way to start the day.

Then we headed to Wal-Mart to get the makings for Taco Soup. Yum! Perfect weather today for soup too! Will was such a little charmer while we were out and he got 2 “tick-ers” from the greeter. What a day

We came home put the soup in the crockpot and waited for our friends to arrive. All morning I had told Will, “You’re friends are coming over to play.” And he would respond, “Liam?” Unfortunately Javen and Liam have not been feeling well this week so they couldn’t come and play. (We missed you!) When the door bell rang Will jumped up, ran to the door and yelled “friends!”

Will’s friends, Ellie (14 mo.), Carson (10 mo.) and Emilee (5 mo.) and their mommies came for a fun day of playing. I immediately realized 2 things: 1. Will may share well at school and church but when it comes to sharing his own toys not so much. Today was a lesson in sharing! 2. Will is a big boy and he plays rough – especially compared to a sweet 5 month old little girl

We had a great day playing, talking and of course eating the taco soup. Kristen brought a delicious peanut butter pie (and I’ve eaten 2 pieces today!) After lunch a few more minutes of playing and then it was nap time for everybody.

Will was so worn out from playing with his friends he took a 3 hour nap. It was glorious. I read took a snooze, read blogs and did a little NYC trip planning.

We ended the day just the way we started it – at the dining room table. But this time enjoying dinner.

Front to Back: Noah, Taylor, Will, Ellie Kate, Javen & Liam (photo by Diane)

This morning Will and I met some friends at the Nashville Zoo. It was so much fun! Will had a really great time with some of his favorite and some new friends. This was Will’s second trip to the zoo but the first one that he could really enjoy it. I think he was only 8 months old the first time I took him.

Will really enjoyed the petting zoo area – here he’s petting a goat.

Will, Javen & Taylor looking at the alpaca.

A camel looking at Will. The camels would lick the kids hands – and one bit my arm

Ellie Kate wanted to get down with the big kids.

Will taking a break near the elephants.

I think Javen thought Will was part of the petting zoo

Will holding an ostrich egg.

Taylor was really excited to hold the egg.

Will near the African lion pelt. When he went to touch it the zoo worker growled and Will jumped back squealing with delight!

Javen and Will looking at the jaguars.

Will pointing at the silly monkeys.

Will and Javen holding hands and running to the next exhibit.

……… I said my living room would never look like this?!?! Bahahahahahahah! Really, what am I suppose to do with all these toys? I hope our next house is 1 level so that toys can be stored in Will’s room instead of the living room.

In other news, we had a fun filled weekend.

On Friday night Ben & Megan came over for a yummy chicken enchilada dinner with rice and black beans. And of course some cookies for dessert. Will enjoyed having some new people to show off for! Can you tell that Will was just enamored with Ben? The kid loves men!

On Saturday we drove down to The Avenue in Murfreesboro to do a little browsing/ shopping. I added a gray photo album to my growing collection from Michael’s (using my 40% off coupon), and Bill and I both got something new for spring from American Eagle.

But, the highlight of the day was Will’s 2 new “FiFi’s” or goldfish. Bill brought his fish tank from his parents house a few weeks ago and we finally got a couple of fish. Will LOVES them! We put the tank in the living room on a shelf low enough for Will to see.

Saturday night was boys night at the Dixon house! I worked childcare for ClearView’s Tour de Romance while Bill & Will had a party at the house. I had the pre-k group and they were overall a good and fun group.

And on Sunday, Will was decked out in his Saints gear for the big game! I even let him wear it to church! We went to church, had lunch and a nap at home, then headed to the Johnson’s house for our Sunday school class Super Bowl party. It was a fun party, Will was well behaved and the highlight, of course, was that the Saints won!

Now, we just have about 4 days until Will goes to Chattanooga for the long weekend and Bill & I have a baby-free weekend! We already have lots of fun stuff planned – including staying up late and sleeping in!

Today I had lunch with my friend Diane and her little boy, Javen. Javen is almost 6 months old and a little cutie! Diane and her husband Jake are the same age as Bill and me – so that’s fun to know another couple the same age with a baby. Over lunch we talked all about babies. She was full of good advise and practical tips. We had a good time and Javen provided some fun entertainment. By entertainment, I mean he sat there looking cute and I smiled at him

Diane has inspired me! She makes all of Javen’s solid food. So, that is going to be my goal. She said that it is a lot cheaper than buying canned food at the store and super easy. She makes a batch of food once a month and then freezes it in individual servings. Then, all you do is thaw and eat.

Just a few short weeks until Will gets here – I think we’re getting more and more ready every day. The baby furniture is ready to be picked up at Babies R Us – already! They said it would take at least 15 days but it came in 6!

This past weekend my best friend Megan came to visit! It was so great to spend time with her – since moving to NYC I’ve only seen her for a few hours over Christmas break. She came in mid-morning Friday and stayed until Sunday night.

We did lots of fun things! We explored several wonderful bookstores – Strands and Books of Wonder. We picked up several signed copies of children’s books at Books of Wonder. For years I’ve been buying signed children’s books for Megan, my sister and Aubrey and now I can start buying them for babydixon!

On Saturday the three of us headed to Little Italy for a delicious lunch of fried zucchini, salad, spaghetti and chicken parmigiana. Yummy! Then browsed Canal Street while eating gelato. Saturday night we saw Mary Poppins on Broadway. It was really good – at first I was disappointed because I kept comparing it to the movie but then I quit comparing and it was much more enjoyable! There are several songs and scenes in the play that are not in the movie.

We ended the weekend with a relaxing Sunday. After church we went to Max Brenner’s Chocolate Shop where our friend Ramona joined us for lunch and Chocolate Pizza. The food and especially the dessert was delicious! Bill and I will have to go back again before we leave NYC.

Now it’s the start of another week and it’s going to be a very busy week! Tonight (Tuesday) a moving company is coming out to “assess” our apartment and give us a quote to move us to Nashville. The U-haul quote to rent a truck was over $3000!! Yikes! So, we’re pretty sure we can hire a company to do all the work for us for way less than that. Thursday morning (bright and early) we have a doctor’s appointment and then we live that afternoon for Chattanooga and dinner at Ichiban! Friday will be spent house hunting and hopefully finding somewhere to live. Saturday is Aubrey’s birthday party and Sunday we head back to NYC! I don’t know when we’ll have time to sleep.