Merry Christmas from the Davis Family

Going Green

We have decided to go green this year and save on paper and ink for our Holiday Newsletter. If you still want a paper copy, you can download the printable version by clicking on the link on the side (Coming soon! Keep checking back!). Otherwise here is the blog version which has a little more detail since I'm not confined to less space!
Our Losses

We were saddened by the losses of two special family members this year. Tom's Grandmother Davis, Teresa passed away shortly after Christmas last year at the age of 95. Her funeral was touching and memorable. Here is a photo of the girls with their distant cousin, Ridley at the wake.

In October, Tom's Great-Aunt and Godmother Millicent Lynch passed away at the age of 86. She was a sweet lady who was still independent. This is a photo that Kylie took of her during the girls' last visit with her last spring.
Our Trips

We ended 2007 with a trip to New York City and then onto Carlisle, PA to visit Tom's brother Steve and his family. We had a blast in NYC visiting the American Girl Doll store for shopping and brunch, seeing the Rockettes' Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall and had many adventures aboard the subway.

We enjoyed Christmas at Steve's with many hours of playing Wii and much laid back, fun family time - sharing our traditions and learning new ones. Here's a family photo of the whole clan and then one of the cousins together.

In July we traveled to Vermont to visit friends and attend the Vermont Brew Fest. Along the way we enjoyed visiting Ben and Jerry's, the ECHO aquarium and Sherborne Farm.

August found me and the girls in Kansas for our annual trip. They love spending time with their cousin Alex. We visited the farm, the arboretum and hung out with him at his house and kiddie pool. My dad was thankfully feeling pretty well during this visit and was able to enjoy time with us.

I went back to Kansas on my own for 8 days at Thanksgiving time due to my dad's medical setbacks. This was a tough time for all of us.

Tom's Surprise

Yes, it's true, Tom is now 40! I (along with his parents' help) threw him a big surprise bash. But the biggest surprise was the fact that his buddies from college came into town (from Florida and Vermont) to celebrate with him. A good time was had by all.

He continues to try to keep up with his running as much as possible and volunteers at the races when his schedule allows. The business is still busy as usual and keeping steady. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it's not affected by the rough economy. He has created a new blog that looks spectacular! If you go to his blog at www.northernimagesstudio.com/blog/ you can click on Videos to see him in action. You'll see the whole family if you click on the BIO section.

Kelli's Corner

I continue to keep a busy schedule with working per diem as an OT and in Tom's office as much as I can around Kylie's half day kindergarten schedule. I also continue to be a Brownie leader and Sunday School teacher and this year started a small Daisy troop for Kylie. I stay active with my group of friends and continue to write when I have the time, but mostly enjoy reading, catching up with friends on facebook and blogging.

I had an increase in swallowing problems this year and went in for my esophagus to be stretched a few months ago. The doctor found 3 rings in my esophagus that were causing some of the issues and after a biopsy also found eosiniphilic esophagitis (an allergy in the esophagus). These two issues combined were really causing some problems. I am now on an inhaler to help keep the allergy at bay. It really seems to help.

Melanie's Corner

As always Melanie is enjoying school and all her activities. She is now in 3rd grade and her favorite subject is social studies. She is making good grades and continues to enjoy piano lessons, Brownies and has traded in gymnastics classes for a dance class. She will be in the same recital this year as Kylie. This year's show will be Alice In Wonderland. Melanie has two dances she will be a part of and has to do a cartwheel on stage. Eek!

Melanie also enjoys drama. She participated in a drama class in the spring in which she performed as the Big Bad Wolf. Over the summer, she had a blast in a two week drama camp and is lucky to have a teacher this year who happens to be the drama teacher for the upper grades. They do several Reader's Theater performances throughout the year and her teacher is was very proud of how much Melanie came out of her shell for the first performance.

The Chiari diagnosis that she received at the end of last year has been debated among several doctors. Basically she does have a herniation of her brain stem of about 3 mm. The technical definition of Chiari is 5 mm, so some doctors don't consider it an issue (it's a debated subject). Also, the MRI of her spine indicated tethered cord (which would require surgery if it was there), but on further review by doctors it is now another "grey" area. It has been frustrating getting one diagnosis by one doctor, only to have another doctor dispute it a few months later. But, nonetheless, she is doing great. She is being seen by a terrific GI doctor (locally, thank goodness) and is managing very well on her medication. She continues to have painful leg cramps once in awhile but with a little Tylenol, she is able to get past them. We are relieved surgery is not necessary, but we will continue to monitor her closely for other symptoms.

Kylie's Corner

Kylie is really enjoying kindergarten and has made several new friends. She seems so grown up, getting on that big bus every day. She was a little Tinkerbell in this year's recital and is looking forward to doing a tap routine this year. She enjoys being a Daisy Girl Scout and is getting ready to sell cookies for the first time!

She has also found a new activity she enjoys - cheerleading! She's so cute as the little flyer for her team and loves the social aspect of being with that group of girls. She continues to get speech therapy at school for articulation, but sometimes I wonder if she really needs it! She certainly has a lot to say! She is full of energy, spirit and zest as well as a stubborn streak a mile long (must get that from her dad!). Her teacher says she is extremely quiet and well behaved in school. . ..huh???

Jayhawk's Corner

Poor Jayhawk has never had a spot in our newsletter due to space restrictions. But this year I thought we should let him have a say too. He wants everyone to know that he is now 10 1/2 years old, is a little greyer and a little lumpier than he was last year. He took a 2 hour trip one day and we all got worried about him and even went out in our PJs to go look for him. When he came back he was wet and sore. . .could barely walk. . .and wasn't talking about where he had been. He still loves to swim, play fetch and go for hikes. Although now after any activity he has to take an arthritis pill if he wants to climb the stairs sometime that week.

Over the summer he went to doggie camp with Melanie and actually took 1st place in the dog show at the end of the week. We all thought that was hilarious since he is about the worst behaved dog there is. The instructors said it was because Melanie had to work a little harder to keep him in line and she did a great job.

Health in the family

My dad is currently struggling with his cancer diagnosis. If you remember from last year's newsletter, he was diagnosed with stage 4 bile duct cancer after gall bladder surgery in October of 2007. He underwent chemo from January to October of this year and was going along fine until his tumor markers and symptoms suddenly increased. At that time he had to go for surgery again to remove a bowel obstruction. After surgery he suffered from many complications including sepsis that was difficult to treat. He spent 21 days in the ICU and that is when I made the trip out there. Just last week he was discharged to a rehab facility where he is very anxious to go home, but continues to have some medical issues keeping him from getting the therapy he needs. He has yet to see the oncologist again to see if she will continue with the chemo once he has recovered. It's a long tough road, but he is a fighter! Keep him in your prayers!!!!

Mom has done well after her Chiari decompression surgery last year and hasn't had any further major complications.

Tom's father continues to do well in remission from his cancer, but struggles with his own swallowing problems from the radiation he received in his throat. He has had his throat stretched several times to be able to swallow anything more than soup. It was great to spend Easter with him when he was able to eat a real ham dinner for the first time in a long time.


Tom's step-dad, Dean underwent a knee replacement in November and he has recovered very well from it.

Hope this finds everyone healthy, happy and prosperous this Christmas season! Here's some photos from our fall photo session - compliments of Northern Images Photography!

Love, Kelli, Tom, Melanie, Kylie and Jayhawk!

Halloween, Plimouth Plantation and health updates

The girls had a great time on Halloween collecting more candy than they could ever eat. (Seriously, I think I found old candy from last Halloween at the back of my cupboard - Ew). Melanie posed as a veterinarian (her future career choice), wearing scrubs made by Beach Grammy, my old OT lab coat and Janet's old stethoscope. Kylie was a little kitty with a broken paw Dr. Mel was taking care of. They came up with the idea completely on their own.


This week, I accompanied Melanie's 3rd grade on a field trip to the Mayflower II and Plimouth Plantation. It was a beautiful fall day and we all had a good time. We've been a couple of times before, so most of the information we had learned in the past, but it was good to have a refresher. Melanie enjoyed listening to the Wampanoag woman tell stories inside the long house the best out of the whole trip (picture of the woman below holding the tomahawk).

Sitting on one of the beds aboard the Mayflower. Looks like comfy sleeping for 67 days

Listening to one of the "sailors"

Captain Jones' quarters

The bow of the Mayflower II

Melanie and some friends inside a Wetu (Wampanoag summer home)

Above: All the girls inside a mishoon - a hollowed out canoe (had to ask Melanie how to spell it) Below: Watching a member of the Wampanoag nation making a mishoon

Hearing about real tomahawks

An overview of Plimouth Plantation from the fort. That is Plymouth Bay out beyond the village


The girls sitting on a cannon inside the fort

Melanie had a bout of walking pneumonia that has seemed to go away after a dose of antibiotics. She felt fine, slept fine, ate fine, normal energy level, but just had a nasty cough. She ended the antibiotics yesterday, but I heard her cough this morning. Hope it was just the dry air.

My dad has had a setback with his cancer fight. They found some nodules on the outside of his lungs and now has to have more intense chemo (although the area in his abdomen looked better). The good thing about this round of chemo is he can take it orally, so no more weekly trips to KC for awhile. But it has way more side effects than he had before and now feels awful. He has the chemo one week on, one week off and just finished the first week. I hope this week off he is able to regain some of his strength and energy and get out of the house a little. He has a follow up appointment with his oncologist this week.

Mom has been doing ok, but unfortunately has a weak, hoarse voice. She has been to her doctor and an ENT and has had repeat MRIs. One of the MRIs shows an increase in the syrinx size and she has a neurosurgeon appointment this week to follow up on that. I wonder if the syrinx could be causing the hoarseness (pressing on a nerve), but the ENT seemed to think it was just reflux and she needed to rest her voice.

That's it for now. It's been a busy fall and we finally have a day without birthday parties or other social events to go to for the first time in several weeks. Time to start Christmas/birthday shopping!

In Memory of Aunt Millicent

Tom's Aunt and Godmother Rose Millicent Lynch passed away last Friday at her home in Marshfield at the age of 86. She was a great lady, so kind and considerate of others and still living on her own right up until her last few weeks of life. She will be greatly missed by all. Melanie's middle name is Rose and she will always remember Aunt Millicent as being whom she was named after. Millicent had six children, all who will be gathered together tonight and tomorrow for her memorial services in Marshfield. Here are some photos taken of her last visit with the girls this past spring when Janet was in town.

The Big Bash

We couldn't let a opening weekend of High School Musical 3 go by without a big celebration. Our friends threw a dance party and invited just about all the girls they know. The kids had a blast running and dancing, playing "hot microphone" (hot potato with a blow up mike), backpack relay (relay race to fill up a backpack of school supplies, freeze dance and HSM trivia. After a fun filled afternoon we all headed to the movie - all 22 kids plus parents then were joined by several other friends at the theater.

The movie was great, but we need to see it again now that we know the story line, so we can just sit back and enjoy the singing and dancing. I especially liked the scene where Troy and Chad sing "Boys are Back," reminiscing about their childhoods and flashing back to when they liked to play superheroes and army men (now having to be grown up and make college choices). It reminded me of those high school days when we still liked to occasionally break out the Chutes and Ladders and dress the Barbies for the prom.

Here are some photos from the party and below are some videos of them dancing. Oh, and there's a pic in here of Kylie losing her top front tooth at church today when she "ran into" Melanie's hand with her mouth. It was quite the scene.

Did I mention that both girls had sleepovers last night? Melanie was functioning on about 5 hours of sleep, Kylie on 7. They went to bed early tonight!

Conga line

HSM 3 Bash

Melanie's Dance Day

This Wednesday, Melanie had her observation day at dance class. This is her first year in a real organized dance class. She has been in gymnastics for several years on and off, tumbling, horseback riding and a hip hop session here and there, but had never expressed an interest in ballet or tap dancing until Kylie finally rubbed off on her. At Kylie's most recent recital, Melanie decided she too wanted to be up on that stage showing her stuff.

The class I enrolled her in is a combo class of ballet, tap, jazz and acrobatics. It is for 1 1/2 hours per week. Most of the girls in her class have been taking classes since they were 3 or 4 years old, so I thought she'd have some catching up to do.




I spent the first 20 minutes of class with tears in my eyes.

Ok, I know I'm a sap anyway. I cry when the Cherubs sing at church. But, here was a girl who has been in physical therapy on and off for years as well as the above mentioned classes (all to help her balance, strength and coordination) completing plies and jetes, holding her leg out straight while keeping her balance perfectly still and completing the ballet steps in almost perfect sequence. Sure she swayed here and there and had to put her foot down on occasion to catch herself, but most of the time she was just as steady as the rest of the girls. Ballet may prove to be the most beneficial therapy she's been in just due to the sheer fact she has to have such great balance and strength to pull off the correct steps (and we all know what a rule follower she is, so she tries her best to make it just right).

Then the tap portion of the class seemed fun for her and again she kept up just fine. Jazz showed that she needs to loosen up a bit, but again very good for her. The acrobatics portion was a just a repeat of all the gymnastics and tumbling classes she's had. She is getting stronger to be able to hold her body up during handstand and headstands, but still has difficulty with her trunk strength during a cartwheel (not to mention fear of kicking those legs up high). She also had a little fear about walking backwards on the pretend tightrope (ha! just the fact that she did it is progress!).

I got a little video of her during the jazz portion, mostly becasue I was too enthralled with the rest to remember to record. It's in the next post.

Speaking of Cherubs, here they are singing last week. Kylie's on the far left in the pink dress. So cute.

jazz

Tap Dancing

Dancing Fun

Happy Fall!

Yikes! It's been awhile since I've updated my blog. . .guess we've been busy.

Our fall routine has been going well. Kylie has settled into Kindergarten and has yet to be sent to the Take A Break chair (is it possible to channel some of that good behavior at home???). She is excited about all the new friends she has made. On her second or third day of school she ran off the bus and said, "I made a friend today and she sucks her thumb too!!" She is finally showing a real interest in letters and numbers and forming words. Melanie was doing this when she was 3, so I have been patiently waiting for Kylie and now it's happening - right when it should!

Melanie seems to really like 3rd grade. She has already shown great improvements in her reading and math skills. She's already read 7 books on her own at home just since school started. That's without me making her! Her favorite subject is social studies. She is definitely a history buff (her first grade teacher picked up on that before I realized it). They just finished their unit on Sandwich history (not the peanut butter and jelly kind, Sandwich is the name of the town we live in). I learned right along with her that Sandwich became a town in 1639 formed by the 10 men of Saugus and that Thorton W. Burgess wrote 150 books and 15,000 stories! Wow!

Melanie is enjoying her first experience with a formal dance class. She has taken years of gymnastics and a hip hop class here and there, so this is something new for her. She is in a combo class that teaches jazz, tap, ballet and acrobatics. Kylie's class this year (her 4th year of dance!) is also a combo of all of the above except acro. They have their observations days coming up so I can see how they are doing and get it on video. Luckily their dance classes happen on the same night but are staggered a bit so I end up sitting in the lobby of the studio for 2 1/2 hours.

Kylie is in cheerleading again and Melanie is in Brownies. We have a Brownie blog this year which is cool. Melanie was in charge of the first story. Check it out at : http://www.btroop782.blogspot.com/ I am doing a Daisy troop for Kylie as well - keeping it small to 5 girls. We had our first meeting the other day. Here is Kylie is her Daisy smock and reciting her Girl Scout promise.

This past weekend, Tom's Aunt Jo Ann and Uncle Don came for a visit. They were in Maine on vacation and were able to spend some time with us before flying home to Florida. We were able to enjoy two nice meals out and a few drinks at home during Friday night's Red Sox game. We took them to a farm Saturday morning to go pumpkin picking which was a lot of fun. Here are some pics from the day:

That's 41 pounds of pumpkin!

Popcorn on a hayride. . .what could be better?

We had an impromptu Red Sox party Saturday night with a few friends. Too bad they didn't win! The kids had a blast running around with their friends and the grown ups enjoyed a few beers/wine and lots of snacks. I think I gained 5 pounds just Saturday. Uggh.

Today we have a day off of work and school (I have been working 2 days a week at Tom's office and 2 days as an OT around Kylie's kindergarten schedule). We enjoyed the morning in our PJs watching a movie and now the girls are dressed as fairies and planning for the next big adventure.

Health wise - Melanie has had more doctors appointments and is doing well on her meds. We got a second opinion of a neurosurgeon in Boston who agreed that her spinal cord hangs low and it is hard to really tell what is happening in there, but if it was his daughter he wouldn't do surgery. She's doing so well, that I don't see the point either and wouldn't dream of pushing for it. My dad has had a slight setback. Some of his blood work came back elevated and he has to have a CT scan sooner than expected to see what's happening. That's scheduled in a couple of weeks. I like to think they are just being overly cautious. . .keep him in your prayers!

Tom is having some video done of him in action for his website. Check them out at:

Cape Cod Wedding life

Oh, I have to share a website that I've been following and think is pretty cool. The Barnstable High School Drama Club put on the show Wizard of Oz last spring and it was a really good peformance. The WB network did a bunch of behind the scenes footage about the show -everything from the auditions to the actual performance. The episodes (or webisodes as they are called) are being shown on the WB website. In the beginning of the second episode, they show the BHS panoramic photo that Tom took. Cool. Two new shows go up every Monday. I'm hooked already (mostly because I'm such a WOO fan). You can check them out at:

http://www.thewb.com/shows/high-drama/

Ooooh. Episodes 3 and 4 just went up. Gotta go!

First day of Kindergarten

Kylie started Kindergarten today. She was so brave as the big yellow bus pulled up, yelling, "Come on Nani!" (what she calls Melanie). She was smiling from ear to ear when she got on. I met the bus at school and took a few more pictures and she was a little more subdued (after 25 minutes on the hot bus) and seemed a little nervous. But she gave me a small wave and smile and followed her fourth grade guide into the building.

Getting off the bus at school

Sean, the fourth grade guide gathers his students
Walking in with the other kids

I am watching two other little girls on Tuesdays and here they are after an afternoon of playing hard. . .worn out kindergarteners!