Showing posts with label Kayci. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kayci. Show all posts

Monday, August 24, 2015

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Kayci is Blogging!

A few years ago, Kayci started a blog of her own. She didn't update it very often - after all, she was only five when she started it. But as of today, she's revamped her blog and is determined to blog again regularly, especially with things related to baking. The girl LOVES to bake.

So check it out if you get a chance and be sure to sign up to receive e-mails whenever she posts.


Thursday, September 19, 2013

The Family That Creates Together...

This week is the Washington County Fair. The last couple of years I've entered some photos in the fair photography contest and have usually done pretty well. Last year Kayci entered a couple of photos, as well, and won some blue ribbons for her work.

This year both Pharaon kids decided they wanted to enter photos in the fair. Noble entered a photo he took with his iPod looking out the car window as we were driving one day. Kayci entered a photo she took of Noble a few weeks ago at church. Both Noble and Kayci knew exactly which image they wanted to submit and they stuck to it.





I entered three photos - a shot of a basketball player leaping, a light painting of Independence Hall at Washington-on-the-Brazos and a photo of a dinosaur statue at Dinosaur Valley State Park.



As my pal, Matt Parker, said - "the Pharaons did very well."

Noble won a red ribbon for his photo, Kayci won Grand Champion of her division for her photo, I won Grand Champion and Reserve Champion.






It was a good haul for the Pharaons, but most of all, I was proud that the kids wanted to participate and to show their creativity.

I'm so proud of our little knuckleheads.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Krause Talent Show 2013

Yesterday Kayci and her friend Kate sang Taylor Swift's "Our Song" in the annual Krause Talent Show. She did great, and we're so proud of her for having the courage - time and time again - to get up in front of large groups of people and perform. Three years ago, she danced. Last year she played piano and this year she sang a duet. We're constantly amazed at the talents of our Bitty and we thank God for her every day.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Kayci's Piano Recital

On December 15, Kayci had her winter piano recital here in Brenham. Here is the video for those that couldn't make it:

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Kayci's 9th Birthday

Yesterday was Kayci's 9th birthday, and I think it was a pretty good day.

The day started off at 5:50 when Kayci came strolling into my office where I was working.  It's not uncommon for Noble to come in early in the morning to say good morning, but it's really rare that Kayci is the first kid up. In fact, she even woke up before Mommy.  I think she was pretty excited.

We woke MommyGirl up and then woke up Noble so the birthday festivities could begin.  Noble woke up really well and was really excited about Kayci's birthday.  MommyGirl was, too.  In typical Kristi fashion, she had decorated the house for the occasion - she's so great at making us all feel so important on our special days.  I did the bathroom while Kristi decorated the rest of the house.







Kayci got down to the business of opening her presents and cards.  Noble gave her a handheld fan from Justice that lights up (or "glows up in the dark") and her present from us was to get her ears pierced and a pair of earrings of her choice.  She's been wanting to get her ears pierced for a couple of years, but we didn't think she was responsible enough yet to take care of them at the time. But Kayci has grown quite a bit in the last year, and now we have no doubt that she'll do what she needs to do with them.



Next was the traditional birthday donuts.  It started as a Kristi and Lynn tradition when they were roommates in college and has just lived on.  Don't judge.



I went to work for a half day and Kristi took the kids to an early movie - the new(ish) Snow White movie, "Mirror Mirror."  They all said it was pretty good.  Then we met up with Amy and the Clarkson kids for lunch as they traveled back to Pflugerville from Houston.  We had a good lunch of pizza and ice cream at Mobius and headed to College Station to get Kayci's ears pierced at the mall.

We went to Claire's in the mall (is there even anywhere else that pierces ears?).  Kayci said her hands were sweating.  She was excited, but not really nervous - until it came time to sit in the Piercing Chair®. The girl who worked at Claire's that would be piercing her ears had blue streaks in her hair and several piercing of her own in her lips and nose.  You should've seen Kayci's face- it was priceless.  We had joked about just taking her down to the tattoo place in town to get pierced, so it was kind of funny. But the girl who helped us was really sweet and did a great job.














Kayci did get a little nervous, but she was a trooper.  She was so brave!  Kayci didn't flinch - she didn't even blink - when the girl pierced her ears. Mommy got it all on video.  And before we knew it, it was over!  Kayci chose as her starter earring some neon peace sign earrings that couldn't be more perfect for Kayci!



We went to James Avery to pick out Kayci's real earrings for when the starters can come out, but we didn't find exactly what she was looking for, so we decided to wait and look around in the next few weeks.  And then we headed home.  Noble had swim lessons, so we needed to get back to Brenham. Kayci requested tortellini for dinner, so we cooked that, ate a quick meal outside on the deck and went off to watch Noble swim.

Kayci was born at 9:43pm, so we told her she could stay up for her birth minute.  I went to the store to get some Drano for a clogged drain and picked up (at Kristi's request) a piece of birthday cake for her to celebrate her birth minute. Kristi and the kids piled up in our bed while I worked on the computer, and went I went in a few minutes before Kayci's birth minute, I found all of them asleep.


I took Noble to his bed and woke up Kristi and Kayci so we could celebrate together. Kayci was groggy, but she woke up quickly when she saw the light from the candle on her piece of birthday cake. We sang happy birthday to her and she blew out the candle - then pushed her own face into cake. What a funny girl. She got frosting on her nose, but she was happy.  She ate her cake and headed off to bed.


It was a very Pharaon birthday (lots of traditions and pampering and sweets), and I think it was special.  I know Mommy and I had a great, fun day. Happy nine years old, Kayci!


[edit from Kristi]: You captured it well, DaddyBoy! My only correction for posterity's sake is that Noble's gift was actually a shirt that says, "My brother has the best sister ever" and a bunch of hair elastics in a cupcake thing (her birthday party is cupcake-themed). 

And so you guys don't think I picked a random print for her banner, etc., that's wrapping paper that Kayci chose to build her Nancy Drew birthday party around...then she switched to cupcakes...and went and bought all premade party stuff at Target. 

Monday, June 18, 2012

Happy Birthday, Beauty

Today is Kayci's 9th birthday.  It's a little hard to fathom that it's been nine years since she came into our lives and changed everything (for the better.)  It seems - literally - like another lifetime ago.  We still lived in Houston, I was doing freelance work out of the house, Kristi was still in the classroom teaching and, upon looking back at some of the photos of when she was born, both Kristi and I both look so much like kids.

Since then, we've moved to a new town, gotten new jobs, family members have passed away and we've been blessed with others.  In fact, it's tough for us to remember much about our lives - what we did with our time - before Kayci came along.

And it's been a great nine years.  We've watched our little Bitty grow and blossom into a Beauty - a young lady who is smart and determined and just simply amazing.  It hurts the heart how big she is. We find ourselves trying not to think about how old she's getting and what that means. We just want to savor every moment with her and relish her youth and, as the words to the song say, "let her be little."


So Happy Birthday, Beauty.  Somehow, that just doesn't say what's in our hearts.  Mommy and I love you more than you can possibly imagine and we're so proud of who you are and who you're becoming.  Somehow, you find new ways to amaze us and to make us more proud every day.



Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Talent Show

Kayci performed "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" one more time today at the Krause Elementary talent show.

Check it out...



I was so happy that not only did she play well, but that she had fun doing it and felt cute in the new outfit she got just for the talent show.

And at the end, I get points for refraining from screaming out, "Kayci has left the building!"

Great job, Bitty!

Monday, May 14, 2012

Piano Recital

Saturday was Kayci's second piano recital.  As you can see, she's come a long way from her first recital last December.

She played:
• Somewhere Over the Rainbow
• Snake Dance
• The Perfect Nanny (from Mary Poppins)
• Sugarfoot Rag

Thanks to Mrs. Foster for being such a great teacher to our Bitty.  We're so proud of her!


Friday, February 10, 2012

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Go Tell It On the Mountain

Today at church, Kayci and Noble (and the other kids at church) dressed up and sang "Go Tell It On the Mountain."

Kayci and Mommygirl made a white tutu for Kayci and a halo out of garland.   We borrowed some angel wings from a friend and her costume was complete.  It's not tough to make Kayci look like an angel.

But the real challenge was Noble.

When they started practicing the song at church a few weeks ago, he came home and said that he was going to be a wise man.  When asked what a wise man wore, he said "you know, a cape, wike a superhero."  He had it in his mind that a wise man was a superhero and that he should wear a cape.

We tried and tried to convince him that a wise man should dress like he dressed when he dressed up like Joseph at school. But to no avail.  So Kristi - being the best Mommy ever - bought him a cape to wear.

Then - yesterday - a stroke of brilliance!  If we could convince him to wear a crown, the cape might be okay.  Success!!!  So Noble wore a red superhero cape and a gold crown, a Cars tie and carried a box painted gold.  Apparently, the wise men brought gold bricks...

Here is some video if the kids singing from two different angles:




Saturday, December 10, 2011

Kayci's First Piano Recital

Today was Kayci's first piano recital!  She started piano lessons in September, and she's been practicing really hard.  Here's a video of her portion of the recital:



...and some photos of her playing:








We're so proud of our big girl!

Friday, December 9, 2011

Krause Elementary 3rd Grade Christmas Program

Last night Krause Elementary had its annual 3rd Grade Christmas program, and Kayci took part - in fact, she was one of the speakers at the beginning!  Space was extremely limited, so we didn't send invitations- but you can watch the whole thing here!

Have fun watching the cutest darn milk (Kayci's costume) in 3rd grade sing, dance and speak!  And Merry Christmas!!!


2011 Krause Elementary 3rd Grade Christmas Program from James Pharaon on Vimeo.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Kayci and Avery Play the Piano



Ladies and Gentlemen - the musical stylings of Kayci and Avery...!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Kayci's Talent Show Performance

Kayci recently performed in the Krause Elementary talent show with her friend, Kate. They did the "Hairspray" dance from their portion of the Junior Maifest coronation, and they did a great job!

Check it out:

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Kayci Dancing at Maifest Video



Kayci is on the stage on the top left. She's the tall one. Don't forget that she's got short hair now when you're looking for her!

Friday, February 25, 2011

Black History Program

Today Kayci gave the welcome remarks at the Krause Elementary Black History program. After a whole month of rehearsing and preparation (she didn't need it- she memorized the speech in less than an hour) she took to the stage and gave her speech perfectly!



She also presented the doll she made of a famous black American for a class project. She chose Thurgood Marshall, the first black Supreme Court Justice. And in addition, she and her friend, Jenna, had a special surprise. They had made a doll of Mrs. Dixon, their math and science teacher.

She did a great job, and we're so proud of our Kayci! Here are some photos from the program. You can see the entire Flickr set here.

_MG_2575

_MG_2576

_MG_2608

_MG_2612

_MG_2621

_MG_2630

_MG_2683

_MG_2691

_MG_2697

_MG_2739