Brian, Beth, Kate, Megan, and Luke Davies: 2008

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Kate's 1st Christmas

Kate was adorable for her first Christmas. She was pretty good at opening her own presents and got very excited with adorable oohs and ahhs. Santa did bring her a Mickey's Clubhouse which she loved. She barely put Minnie or Mickey down all night. We would also say that Kate officially became a walker on Christmas day. We watched her stand on her own and take nine consecutive and cautious steps. Below is some video of the day and some of her steps. She is so cute now as our little toddler!

CLICK HERE for Video of Kate Opening Her Clubhouse!

CLICK HERE for Video of Kate Walking!

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas!

We are having a wonderful holiday with my family from Chicago in for a visit. One of the highlights is Kate's first Christmas present, a ride-on train from Grandpa and Nana. Kate is so cute and thinks she is such a hot shot. It is the best Christmas present ever!

CLICK HERE for Video of Kate Riding on the Train!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Kate's 11 Month Pictures

We are having such a fun lead up to Christmas in the Davies house. On Friday we hosted a party at our house for the St. Peter Boards and Staff. Despite a good snowstorm we still had a good turnout and a fun night. Kate loved the party and made an appearance in her elf outfit. I am also having fun dressing Kate in all of her Christmas apparel. Kate is a happy an active 11 Month Old, taking a few steps, on the verge of full blown walking, and developing a little bit of an independent streak. She has a great laugh, and loves whenever she can be a big girl (which she is certainly becoming.) We hope you enjoy all of her 11 Month Pictures!

CLICK HERE for Kate's 11 Month Pictures!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Santa's Little Helper

We are fast at work tying up all of our Christmas loose ends. Luckily, Brian and I have our own little helper straight from the North Pole!

Tonight we are getting quite the beautiful snowfall, and it is the perfect landscape for the gift collection of the Macomb Charitable Foundation. Just like the snow outside, it was a magical night. The Foundation had 185 families up for adoption, and it was awesome to see the generosity of people. Even in tough times, no one did the minimum. There were bikes, vacuums, clothes, food. I can't even begin to paint the picture. Not to be cliche, but as I preoccupy myself with decorations, Christmas Cards, and house cleaning, tonight certainly put the season in perspective.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

It has actually looked like Christmas for a while now at the Davies house. Yes we put up our tree the weekend before Thanksgiving. Cutting down our Christmas tree is maybe my favorite day of the year. We cut it down, decorate the entire house, eat pizza, drink wine, and watch Christmas Vacation while enjoying the night. We typically do this the weekend after Thanksgiving, but because I was going to be in Chicago as part of Operation Katie and Ben's wedding (a very successful trip by the way), and decorating a week later was totally out of the question, the obvious choice was to pick the weekend before. Plus we had Gammie and Pop Pop's help and company for my favorite day. Kate was not quite sure about the Christmas tree at first. She stayed away from it for about a week, but now tentatively examines it from time to time.

We've had our first few snows as of late and Kate has been introduced to its joys and that of having to bundle up. If the Santa post didn't remind you of the movie The Christmas Story maybe the above picture will.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Kate Update

While in Chicago last week Kate certainly expanded her food repertoire. Nana made her some spaghetti which she obviously loved, whole grain waffles, cranberries, and acquired some great kid appropriate treats. It was so helpful for me in getting ideas of great and healthy foods that Kate actually enjoys. She is way over that baby food stuff.

Kate has developed a little vocabulary over the past few weeks. She says Hi, Da-Da (Brian), Ma-Ma (Me), Be-Be (Herself, other kids, or pictures of babies), and Te-Te (Aunt K.K.). We adore these first words.

It is amazing how much she is able to understand in a hearing vocabulary. If you ask where people are like, Where's Nana? She looks directly at the correct person. She is also nodding her head yes and no appropriately to questions like, Are you Hungry? Her ability to communicate is coming along, as is her walking. She has taken a few steps between people or furniture, but I'm not sure I would quite categorize these as firsts steps yet. When we can get some good video we will be sure to post.

Monday, December 8, 2008

My Mini-Me

Kate has been too cute wanting to do EVERYTHING her Daddy or I do! She just wants to be a big girl, and is so proud of herself when she is helping. Most of the time it is adorable.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Community Tree Lighting

Yesterday Brian, Kate, and I went to the Macomb Township community tree lighting. It was adorable with kids singing Christmas carols, a beautiful tree in the landscape, and Santa arriving via fire truck. Inside our Rec Center there was hot chocolate, crafts (one of which St. Peter sponsored), and of course a chance to meet Santa. Kate loved the entire evening, but was not sure about that Santa. It is such fun to have all these new things to experience with our little girl.

Kate's letter reads: Dear Santa, I would like a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for Christmas. I have been a good girl and will try to be even better at night. Thank you for bringing gifts and I will be sure to leave you some cookies. Love, Kate

Everything is better with Daddy!

Friday, November 28, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving

We are enjoying the holiday from Chicago and we hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving day and is having a great weekend. Brian and I are so thankful for many things; our great families, wonderful friends, and especially our little girl who has transformed our lives. Kate by the way LOVED her first Thanksgiving meal. She had sweet potatoes, turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes, and her favorite of the night - stuffing. We think she is the cutest turkey ever!

Monday, November 24, 2008

NY Helpers

This weekend Gammie and Pop Pop came for a little visit. We are having such an awesome time. Kate has warmed right up to them once again, and they have even taught her to clap on command. In St. Louis and Minnesota we used to take Wa and Linda to all the touristy places, but while in Michigan we seem to work them to the bone. We find tons of projects that need their assistance, and certainly appreciate all their help. I'm starting to feel a little guilty we haven't made it up north together yet, but maybe next time as the home improvement projects are getting a little smaller. It is such fun to have them, and we will certainly be sorry to see them go tomorrow.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Mommy's Helper

Kate loves to do everything and anything her Dad or I am doing. She loves to drink from our glasses like a big girl. If I'm washing dishes or cooking, she pulls on my leg to be picked up to "supervise". If I'm putting away dishes, she's there banging on the dishwasher. If I'm folding clothes, she's pulling them out of the dryer. If I'm putting away groceries, she's pulling them out. She is quite the cutie and makes all of these tasks much much more enjoyable, even if they now take a little longer.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Kate's 10 Month Pictures

Below you will find Kate's 10 month pictures. 10 Months! Yes 10 Months. It's truly hard to believe that I am the Mom of a 10 month old, but boy has it been fun. Kate is starting to stand unassisted for long periods of time, is cruising along the furniture, and can even take a few clumsy steps with only one hand being held. Walking may be around the corner, but we are certainly not encouraging it. She is busy enough already. Kate loves climbing it might be a result of Gymboree, but nonetheless we have to watch her ALL the time. She knows exactly where she is not suppossed to go and bolts for those spots everytime we turn our head. Kate has a great laugh and we get to enjoy it often. She is becoming much better at entertaining herself with her ever growing amount of toys. Kate is eating all table food now, and loves yogurt and cheese. She has been a pretty tough teether, but with the top ones finally cutting through things and sleeping have been much better. My favorite is that Kate gives wonderful kisses, hugs, and adorable pats on the back. We hope you enjoy her 10 Month Pictures below.

CLICK HERE for Kate's 10 Month Pictures!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Exciting News!

Katie is engaged! Ben proposed to my sister last night in the Signature Room, at the top of the John Hancock Building. She was very surprised. We are all very excited to add Ben to our family and to plan another wedding of course. Check out her blog for the whole story and some pictures.

CLICK HERE for Ben and Katie's Blog!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

The Best $3 I have ever spent

Kate has really started to enjoy books. We have been reading to her consistently from birth, and she has always had her favorites, Peekaboo Baby and Where's Spot. Now Kate loves to grab the books, turn the pages, and look at the pictures. It is so cute and successfully entertains her for a few minutes.

Kate is also learning concepts like up and down, open and close, and in and out. These new concepts have resulted in a fascination with doors, as well as an affinity for emptying things; like a toy box or laundry basket of nicely folded clothes or a kitchen cupboard.

At a Mom-2-Mom sale I bought an extra play mat for Kate for our 2nd floor for $3. It turns into a little tunnel after they outgrow the mat part. The tunnel has been so worth it. Kate loves it! She is spatially fascinated by it, and I am so pleased with my $3 purchase. She cracks up anytime we play with it, as you can see in the video below.

CLICK HERE for Video of Kate Laughing in the Tunnel!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

The Party Girl

Kate, Brian, and I made it back to Chicago two weekends ago for our cousin Tommy's baptism. It was a great ceremony and wonderful to all be together as a family. They had a party out at a banquet hall later that night and we all had such fun!

Kate was quite the party girl. She was dancing up a storm which you can see from the video below. I'm not really surprised that we ended up with a fun-loving kid, I think it's just the extent to which she is active and fun that was unexpected.

CLICK HERE for Video of Kate Dancing!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Trick or Treat

Friday was Kate's first Halloween and our first Halloween with child. It was probably the most fun Halloween of my life! The weather was just gorgeous and Kate had an absolute blast. We went to the wonderful home of a family from church. They had an amazing spread of food, a bonfire, and we went trick or treating in their neighborhood. Kate loved hanging out with the kids and all the action of the night. I swear she thinks she's at least 10 already. For Halloween here in Michigan a siren goes off at 6, and all the kids can start trick or treating (another goes off at 8 to end the festivities.) Many of the houses really go all out with decorations, and almost everyone sits in their driveway with a fire going, socializing, and handing out treats. Parents with kids go for a trick or treating stroll with adult beverages in hand. I mean almost everyone had a drink with them. It was a little bit of an odd site for a residential area, but yet very fun. It was kind of like a family tail-gate party if such a thing is possible. I think the neat part was everyone in the community out and visiting with each other. Brian and I really enjoyed the wonderful company for the night, and, of course, seeing our little girl so happy.