New Photographer in the Family....

Well, I think it's safe to say that Kaylyn LOVES her new V-Tech digital camera since she has managed to take 215 photos since she opened it yesterday! Above I uploaded one of the photos she took of her little brother Jack while he ate dinner. Pretty good for a beginner. We'll have to see what pictures she takes when we go to Disney World in a week!!

Christmas in Lufkin

Brian took Kaylyn and Jack up to Lufkin earlier in the week to spend time with Nia and Papa. Nia and Papa had birthday and Christmas festivities planned. Unfortunately I had to work and missed out on all of the good food and fun, but Brian came back with great pictures and the kids had a wonderful time as usual. They celebrated Jack's birthday on Wednesday night with cake and presents. Thursday morning (Christmas Eve morning) they celebrated Christmas with a nice lunch and gift-opening before heading back to Houston. As a nice last-minute surprise, Scott and Kathleen were also able to make the drive up to Lufkin for the celebrations. Click here to see pictures.

Christmas in Houston

I had to work Christmas Eve Day and it was a busier day than I expected. I finally got home at 8:15pm and we got ready to go to my Tita Joan and Tito Manny's house for Christmas Eve. We brought macaroni and cheese casserole and cheese potatoes. We also brought a Thomas the Tank Engine birthday cake to celebrate Jack turning 2 years old. We had a great time. We sang Happy Birthday and Jack blew out his candles (with Kaylyn's help). At midnight, we passed out all the gifts and had a mass gift opening. By then, the children were waning fast. We headed home shortly after 1am. The kids were asleep by the time we got home. Everyone slept in and we opened gifts from Santa the next morning as Brian and I drank coffee and ate sausage fondue casserole....YUMMY! Click here to see more pictures.

Dear Santa...

Kaylyn is taking a computer class as part of her curriculum for school. She has already learned the names for the monitor, CPU, mouse, CD, and keyboard. She also had learned how to correctly hold a CD without leaving fingerprints and how to load it into the computer. She can also point and click to navigate. Her class is now learning how to type on a keyboard using two hands. Last week, she typed the above letter to Santa Claus with her teacher's assistance. Now for those who don't possess the eyesight of an eagle, here is what the letter says:

"Dear Santa,

I have been a very good girl this year. Some of the really good things I have done are help my mommy clean up, play nicely with my brother, and help my daddy work in the yard.

What I would most like for Christmas this year is a tinkerbell hot air balloon. And, if it's not too much trouble, I would also like bubble and clank hitting fireworks.

I also want to tell you Merry Christmas.

Thank you,
Kaylyn Davis"

Kaylyn Idol

Check out the impromptu performance Kaylyn gave of "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story. She was listening to music on the new iMac....I only wish I had whipped out the camera sooner!

Kaylyn's Christmas Program

Last night we attended Kaylyn's Christmas Program at her school, Colony Kids. Kaylyn was so excited to see Grandma, Grandpa, and Auntie Clarissa in the audience. Kaylyn is in the 4-year olds pre-school class. They sang 3 songs: Frosty the Snowman, Away in a Manger, and We Wish you a Merry Christmas. The program was great. It was interesting to see the 3-year olds perform Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and remember Kaylyn performing that song last year. She's come a long way! Unfortunately, my video didn't record for Away in a Manger, but I am uploading the videos of the other two songs to this post. Also, you can click here to see pictures from the event.

Festival of Lights in Dickinson

Last Thursday Brian, the kids and I had dinner at Russo's New York Pizzeria before driving out to Dickinson, Texas to see the Festival of Lights. It was a cold night, so we brought the wagon and a blanket for the kids. We arrived about the same time the Christmas Parade was wrapping up so the streets were all blocked off and we had a difficult time getting in to park. Once we parked the van, we loaded up the kids in the wagon and walked through the park. The kids loved all of the lights. Best of all, the event was FREE!! Visit the web page here if you are interested in going! Click here to see more pictures of our visit.

December Happenings...

Well, there has been so much going on since my last post, I feel behind.

First, we have had an unexpected snow day when temperatures dropped to the 20's and large snowflakes fell from the sky for hours. The kids had fun playing outside and taking pictures.

Last Saturday I took the kids with grandma to a Winterfest type party at Memorial Hermann Sugar Land where grandma works. There were lots of activities there. We rode the train twice, visited Santa, and played in the fake snow. We also ate sausage on a stick, hot dogs, churros, popcorn, and sugar cookies.

On Sunday night, Kaylyn and I put together the gingerbread house that Nia gave us. We had a great time putting it together and it turned out really nice. Thank you for the fun project Nia!!

Click here to see a random assortment of photos from all the goings-on.

Thanksgiving Activities

Well, I worked on Thanksgiving Day. It was a typical Thanksgiving Day in the EC, nice and slow. We had a potluck luncheon and I brought a baked ham, cheese potatoes, and Oreo Cookie Pudding Dessert. All the food was eaten up quickly. After I got off work I had to drive to Brian's job and switch out the cars (car for minivan) and wish him a quick "Happy Thanksgiving" so that I could take the kids to a Thanksgiving dinner party we were invited to. We went to the Casipes house for a late dinner and the kids had fun as usual. Friday afternoon Brian, the kids and I drove to Lufkin to see Mike and Chris. We had spinach dip and hamburgers for dinner. Saturday, Scott and Kathleen arrived and Chris prepared a nice traditional Thanksgiving meal of turkey, dressing, green beans and pecan pie! Yummy! That afternoon Kathleen and I watched New Moon at the nearby movie theater while Chris and Kaylyn went on a shopping spree. Unfortunately, I was too distracted to remember to bring a camera to the Casipes house. But, we took lots of great pictures in Lufkin, including a few family photos using the time delay on my new camera. Click here to see more pictures.

Family Traditions

Well, we've made it a tradition since Kaylyn was born to have portraits done before the holidays. We pick our favorite pose to put on our Christmas cards and order pictures to give to the family and hang on the walls of our home. I love seeing the progression of our family in the annual family portraits that decorate our home.

Today was portrait day for the Davis family again. We found out that today (the day before Thanksgiving) is also one of the busiest picture-taking days for Portrait Innovations. Jack was not the most cooperative model, but the photographers were talented enough to take my favorite family portrait yet. Afterwards, we hit First Colony Mall to see Santa Claus. Kaylyn has taken pictures with this same Santa for 4 years!!! If you want to see extra poses from our sitting click here. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving everyone. More updates and pictures to post I'm sure after the big Turkey Day.

This is How Jack Rolls....

Last Thursday Brian and I took Jack for a morning at the Houston Zoo and Hermann Park. Kaylyn was at school, so it was a chance for Jack to enjoy some alone-time with us. People were amused by Jack's style of propping a leg up on the side of the wagon as we pulled him around the zoo. He had a great time seeing the animals. His favorites parts were the fish, the train ride, and the playground. It was a beautiful day. It was sunny with a high in the 70's. We had lunch at the zoo and then I met up with Chris at The Nutcracker Market for an afternoon of shopping. See zoo/park pics here.

Thomas, Fish and Bedtime Mania...

We've found out that Jack is really into fish so Brian brought out the light-up aquarium that Kaylyn keeps in her room. Add some fish excitement to bedtime mania and a big sister who eggs it all on and you get the above video! Even Thomas the Tank Engine is competing with the fish now...(see below)

Cruising the Bahamas

Brian and I just got back from our cruise on the Disney Wonder in the Bahamas last night. We had a wonderful time...it felt like a second honeymoon. Our favorite "magical moment" was when we hit Serenity Bay on Disney's personal island, Castaway Cay. Serenity Bay is the adult only beach that featured clear blue water, beautiful white sands, and servers to bring you drinks on the beach. The bay was large enough that when you went out to float in the water you felt like you were the only one there. Best of all, it was QUIET!!! The service on the entire cruise experience was wonderful. We especially enjoyed our dinner service with Vitchurun (Thailand) and Igor (Croatia). The shows were fantastic, especially "Toy Story: The Musical" and "Disney Dreams - An Enchanted Classic". Other activities we enjoyed were pre-dinner cocktails in Cadillac Lounge (piano bar), art of the theme cruise ship tour, and many, many character appearances. I would highly recommend this cruise, even if you don't have children. Check out our pictures here.

Happy Halloween

Well, this post will be short and sweet since I have to finish packing for my 7am flight tomorrow morning. Halloween was fun. We went to Trunk and Treat at Colony Baptist Church, where Kaylyn goes to school. Nia and Papa met us there. Afterwards, we went to my cousin's house for a Halloween Party. Click here to see more Halloween pics.

Seeing Red

Kaylyn's school celebrated a "Say No to Drugs" week and had activities all week that centered around a "red" theme.

Monday - They closed the door on drugs by decorating it with red objects
Tuesday - They wore their shirts backwards to turn their back on drugs
Wednesday - They released red balloons with a pledge to stay away from drugs
Thursday - They wore red shirts and sunglasses to block drugs out of their lives
Friday - They will wear red socks and have a red party (red punch, red desserts, red plates...you get the idea)

So tonight, after I got home from work, Kaylyn and I baked red velvet cupcakes with pink frosting and red sprinkles to bring to her party. Kaylyn poured the ingredients into the mixer, lined the cupcake pan with paper liners, and sprinkled the cupcakes with red sugar when they were done. Meanwhile, busy little brother wandered into the kitchen to see what all the excitement was about. Hope the cupcakes are good.

Davis Williams Family Tree Blog

I know that I mentioned this briefly on a previous post, but if you haven't already visited you should check out Brian's new Davis Williams Family Tree blog. He's done a great job on it and it looks fantastic. He is featuring special theme days such as "Tombstone Tuesday" and "Wordless Wednesday". I cannot believe how much information he has gathered and the number of great pictures he has collected. Check it out.

A Pirate's Life for Jack

Well, Brian and I were watching Jack run around the house the other day and we thought he looked suddenly taller to us. I decided to put his Woody costume on to make sure it still fit with Halloween just around the corner. The poor guy couldn't even be buttoned up over his cute toddler belly. We returned the costume to Target, but there were absolutely no Woody or Buzz Lightyear 2T costumes to be had in 3 stores. We opted for a pirate costume in which he will be equally as cute in. No pictures to post yet....coming soon.

Gap Casting Call

I've entered the kids in the Gap Casting call. Maybe they will become supermodels and their mommy can retire! Click here to see their submissions and vote. You can vote on each entry once every 24 hours.

Fresh Look for a Fresh Start

Well, I will attempt yet again to keep this blog current. I am proud of and impressed by Brian's new family tree blog and I am inspired to start up yet again. I hope to update regularly and post new news and pics as they come along. Come back and visit often!

9 days to go.....

Well, 9 days and counting until Brian and I set off for our Disney Cruise. Hard to believe that it will be so soon. I haven't had time to get really excited since there is so much going on between now and then. We have Halloween coming up and the Davis family will be dressed as follows:

Brian -Mickey Mouse
Charlyn - Minnie Mouse
Kaylyn - Tinkerbell
Jack - Woody

Will definitely post those pics before we go.

Holiday Pictures

Well,the holidays were great. The kids got everything they could ever want or need. Now Kaylyn and Jack are recovering from ear infections and colds. For lack of time or energy, I don't have much time to give details, but here is a link to some pictures. More later.....