The Davis Family Blog

Flashback...kinda

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:45:29 -0600

If you've been reading this for a while, you might remember this post from 2005. The US Navy's Blue Angels were in town (at the Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base) and put on a show that was absolutely spectacular from our own back yard. Today, we went to Myra's soccer game up near Alliance Field and guess who showed up? The USAF Thunderbirds happened to be putting on show pretty much right over our heads. It was kind of hard to concentrate on the game--for the parents AND the players. Luckily, they were done in the 1st quarter and the Pirates went on to win again! There's another pic of the planes over on Flickr.

For The Birds

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:52:54 -0600

And zebras ... and elephants ... and rhinos ... and bears ... and penguins ...

Yesterday, "Davis Day Care" took their first field trip! We joined my neighbor and her daughter for a roaring good time at the Fort Worth Zoo. I was pleasantly surprised by how well behaved both Andrew and Jacob were despite being strapped into a seat (car seat and/or stroller) for about 6 hours. Maybe if I could get a bunch of animals in the house ... nah. I'm very proud of both of the boys and actually look forward to planning another outing/play date at some point.

Andrew and Jacob with new friends Ella and Miss Kristina.

I'm going to be daring tonight and try to make an album with the other pictures I took. Wish me luck.

UPDATE: I've been trying to create an album on my own for the past couple of days. I guess it's time to break down and ask Josh for help. I'll have to wait for him to get a break from weddings. *sigh*

HAPPY GRANDPARENTS DAY!

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:59:49 -0600

(Okay. So here's another thing we're behind on.)

Noah made a little something for his favorite grandparents last Friday when his school celebrated Grandparents Day. Enjoy!

He Said, She Said

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:17:47 -0600

While I was at work today, I wrote a post about Myra's first game. When I got home, I saw that Chris had done the same thing. You've heard the "She said" so now I guess it's time for the "He said."
Myra's first soccer game was last Saturday and it was a doozy. She looked so grown up in her Pirate-green uniform. Their opponent was in a girly, powder-blue uni so I knew we were going to beat them. Coach didn't pick her to start the game so she headed to the bench for the kickoff. She later told me that her second favorite part of the game was sitting on a bench that was "just her size."

She plays on a team of 5, 6, and 7 year olds so there were a lot of "injury" timeouts. The first time one of our kids turned on the water works, Myra got the call to sub in. She ran out and jumped right in. They immediately kicked it to her and she passed it over to a teammate no problem. I was afraid she would panic, but she handled it like a pro. I was SO PROUD.
When the second quarter rolled around and she was put in to stay. She is still kind of timid when there are a lot of feet kicking at the ball, but any time the ball squirted out of the mass of kids, she would chase it and kick it. She was winded by the time halftime rolled around.
She got back into the game in the 4th quarter and took a hard ball to the chest. I could tell that it hurt and she ran over to the coach. He told her to rest and she ran over to us. When she finally got to Mommy, she burst into tears. It didn't take long to pass and she went right back into the game. She had a GREAT corner kick that should have been an easy score if any of her teammates would have been in the right place. She also had a chance to score late in the game on a throw-in when one of our boys tossed the ball in to her. She ran for it and kicked it, but was unable to get it to turn to the goal. It went out of bounds on the end line.

The game ended--we won even though they don't keep score--and she got her snack and drink. She was beet red and very tired. She collapsed into our lawn chair while we went over the game with her, talking about all the coool things she did. I think she enjoyed it. I know I did. I found myself constantly fighting the urge to yell out instructions to her, but I know I don't want to be "that parent." I tried to just cheer. I succeeded...most of the time. Being a soccer parent is really fun!

Jett Fuel

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:58:56 -0600

Over Labor Day Weekend, we got our "baby fill". Aunt Sarah and Uncle Coop along big brothers Hayden and Skylor and big sister Kenzie welcomed baby Jett Micheal into the world Tuesday August 26, 2008. He was 7lbs 11oz and 19.5 inches long. I'm so very glad we had the chance to meet him while he's tiny. (I can hardly remember mine being that small.)

Thank you Kenzie for letting us "hog" your baby brother for a while. ;)

Game On!

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:29:22 -0600

It's official! Myra started soccer practice on Aug 28. It was so cute seeing her all decked out in her pink outfit that she insists on wearing to EVERY practice. I guess if you can have one uniform you wear to every game, why not have one practice uniform too?

I've never been big on soccer. All I knew about it was you couldn't touch the ball with your hands unless you were the one at the goal. There's a little bit more to it that I'm learning right along side our little soccer girl.

Myra's first game was this past Saturday. We found out that Myra's team color is green (there's another story that goes along with that but that's for another post) and that the team name is the Pirates. I made a quick run to the craft store Saturday morning to purchase supplies to make "team spirit shirts" for Josh, Noah and myself. We'll be putting those together tonight.

I had a lot of fun once I got past the wanting to grab Myra by the shoulders and place her in front of an oncoming ball. "DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE BALL!" is what every parent seemed to be screaming. Turns out she was more afraid of the other kids kicking her as the all scrambled for control of the ball.

All in all, it was exciting watching from the side lines. Noah even got in on the cheering. The final score? Her team won 3-1!

Myra's 7th Birthday

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:55:03 -0600

The craziness we've been experiencing around here is absolutely NO excuse for not posting this sooner.

August 16, 2008 we headed to the Putt Putt Golf Center to celebrate Myra's SEVENTH birthday with friends and family. It was the perfect day for it. A slight overcast ... the perfect breeze ... totally NOT what you'd expect for a mid-August day in Texas.

We started with cake and gifts. I thought for sure you always "saved the best for last" but it turned out, the cake and gifts were not the bast part. Golfing maybe? Nope. That lasted all of about 15 to 20 minutes. The best part was the arcade games. The kids enjoyed collecting tickets that they could redeem later for prizes. I think between all the kids, there were about 10,000 tickets and no, I'm not exaggerating! Okay, so some of them were worth double but still ... So, while the kids were figuring out which machines gave out the most tickets, the adults (mostly me) liked playing Deal or No Deal. Of course, all the tickets I earned went to the birthday girl.

All in all, I believe this was Myra's best party yet. Happy [belated] Birthday Entry!

Click on the picture to go to the album:

Funny Guy

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:00:24 -0600

Noah has really been giving us some gems lately. The other day we were talking about something and I said, "That doesn't make sense." he shot back, "Yes! Yes it does make dollars!"

This evening I was surfing the web and he was playing beside me. Needing a little TLC, he said, "Daddy, do you got a minute?...are you free?" I couldn't believe his choice of words. He sounded like the boss about to tell me some bad news or something. It was so cute. So I said, "Yes, I'm free." Then, in his punch-line voice he says, "Yeah, well I'm four!" Chris and I were rolling.

The Second Grade Journey Has Begun!

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:33:58 -0600

August 25, Myra started her first day of Second Grade. Her teacher this year is "Mrs. V." I heard from several people (parents who have had their child in her class and other teachers) that Mrs V is "VERY GOOD". So far, Myra really seems to enjoy her class .. mostly the friends she had from previous years and the new ones she's making this year. Even though she really likes her second grade class, she's VERY excited about her PACE program set to start next week. (I need to remember to do school supply shopping this weekend for that.) I have to admit, I'm a little excited too. I really hope she likes it as much as her "regular class".

Myra and Mrs V at Meet-the-Teacher Night.

Myra had an instant connection with Mrs V. Turns out Mrs V's first grandchild (a girl) was born on Myra's birthday this year! Myra brings it up about every three or four days.

Jesus is a Friend of Mine

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:33:09 -0600

If you read BoingBoing, you've already seen this, but man is it GOOD. This catchy little ditty is going to put me to sleep tonight.

If only we could get Sonseed to play at my church, I'd be in the front row every Sunday.

Fallin Behind

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 09:20:33 -0600

We're falling behind on posts! Noah started school (we covered that - he hasn't had another bad day since the first), Myra celebrated her seventh birthday by playing putt putt and arcade games with her friends, Davis Day care is back in full swing, Myra has started second grade (Meet the Teacher was last Thursday) and soccer. All of this occurred in just the past two weeks! Maybe this weekend we can patch up but we can't guarantee that ... We're headed to Stroud to meet the newest addition to the Davis Family! Yet another thing to post about. So, be looking for a few posts here soon.

Noah's Adventures At School: The First Day

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:19:43 -0600

This year, August 18th wasn't just Myra's 7th birthday. It was also Noah's FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL! We were able to meet his teachers Ms Sherry and Ms Selena last Friday. Noah was so excited that he actually posed for a picture with them.

Sunday night, I tucked him in at nine (as always) telling him "Get some sleep so we can go to school tomorrow." All smiles, he says "Okay, I going to go to sleep now." Before going to bed, I checked on both kids (as always) making sure they were sound asleep. Myra was out cold but Noah was still awake! It was 10:45pm and this boy was still awake! I talked to him for a bit. We imagined all the fun things he would be doing and learning (ABC's, 123's, new games and new friends). He started yawning (finally) so I left to finish getting ready for bed. 11:15pm our little school boy was ... fast asleep.

Monday morning, Noah was out of bed by 6:15am. He was dressed to the shoes AND backpack by 6:30! After Jacob arrived, we headed out for a special first day of school breakfast ... of donuts! We dropped him off without any problems.

After school, Myra had a doctor appointment so Anna and Ricky had the honor of picking Noah up from his first day of school. (Yes, it was VERY difficult for me knowing that someone else would hear of his big day before I would.) Turns out we had a few problems with transitioning from one activity to another. He'd be having so much fun doing the activity that he wouldn't want to move onto the next. His response after being told the teacher would call Daddy? "Okay, but just for a little bit."

How to help remedy the situation? Out came the sticker chart last night. (It's one of his potty charts that he took all the stickers off of. It's now his "Good Day Chart". Reduce ... Reuse ... Recycle right?) For every good day he has at school, he gets a sticker. Once he fills up his chart, it's off to Walmart to get "a big Henry!"

I know it's a HUGE adjustment for him being that he's been home with me for the first four years ... the only four years of his life. He's not used to so much structure. As long as he was enjoying what he was doing, we'd stick with it. We didn't change activities every 15-20 minutes. However, he needs to learn. He will learn and hopefully his Good Day Chart will help encourage/motivate him.

This morning Noah was a little reluctant to go to school. He told me "I don't want to go to school. I hate my teachers. I want to stay and play with you." So I made a deal with him. I would play with him for five minutes and then he had to go to school "for a little bit". Amazingly, this worked. He climbed into the car without a fight. I'm hoping he'll have a "good day."

UPDATE: Noah's second day was much better. Both his teachers and the day care coordinator said they were pleased with his behavior. They figured he must have just been tired yesterday which could very well be it given the short amount of time he slept. He says he's ready to go back to school tomorrow ... and he likes his teachers.

I Want That!

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:06:51 -0600

Yesterday, I was eating lunch. Noah had said that he wasn't hungry so I didn't make him anything. While I was eating, he come over, looked at my plate and asked "Hey! What's that spot?" I told him, "It's a pepperoni." He said "Oh!" and proceeded to take it off my plate and put it in his mouth. Or, at least, he tried to put it in his mouth. I got onto him telling him how it's not nice to take things without asking ... especially food off of someone else's plate. He, of course, put the pepperoni down and walked away with his head down and lip out. I guess it's better than a fit.

Today, Josh had a drink on the table. Noah approaches and says "Okay, I just a little bit thirsty" while lifting the cup to take a drink. While gulping away, Josh jokingly says "Go ahead, Brother, take whatever you want." Noah, not understanding, drinks every last drop. Afterwards, he says "Okay, your drink is just all gone but you can just have some of Mommy's drink." As you've probably guessed, no, Noah did not ask for my permission before offering MY drink.

I think we've found something we need to work on before starting school ... next week!

I Think I Like the Olympics

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:50:55 -0600

Why? Not Michael Phelps, not USA Basketball, but because NBC is running commercials like this:

Comedy Gold.

R&R At The B&B

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:54:49 -0600

Tuesday morning, we went to Davis, OK to drop the kids off with Granny and Papa for a few days. During that time, Josh and I were able to celebrate my birthday ... peacefully. We did some shopping and had several quiet meals. Josh had even made arrangements at a bed and breakfast near Ardmore for the night before we were to pick the kids up. I won't go into too much detail mostly because I can't find all the right words to describe it. I will tell you that it was ... well ... perfect!

Shiloh Morning Inn - we stayed in the Tranquility Suite (middle room, second floor).

To view more pictures, click here.