SF

I try hard to like you San Francisco. I know it is usually my fault and not yours, but why is there always a hint of discomfort when I visit you? I think we are better off as friends and should see other people. Maybe someday we will try it again.

A momento from today's trip:


I was interviewing a SF babysitter for the Google holiday party. I found a great gal and she was nice enough to hop in the eurovan and direct us to a cute restaurant down the street. It had the most delicious ham croissant sandwich and Blake enjoyed his turkey sugar cookie at the end.
Squat and Gobble:

Please Santa

Santa, please bring this to my son. It is cool.

- Shannon (I have tried to be a good mother this year)

Rain Brew

This weekend was scheduled to be a brew weekend, but the rain threatened to postpone the fun. There was a break in the rain and Andrew decided it was clear enough to start brewing. Then, down came the rain so out came the pop up canopy. Don't try to get in between a man and his Christmas brew.

Rain, rain, come and stay. Please come back for another day (that is my song at least):


Happy brewers:


At the end of the last video you hear me joke about setting the house on fire. I was on the phone with my mom and heard, "Oh, s#%*." I looked up to see Andrew run outside, grab a hose, and cause this:


His brew was boiling over so he wanted to wash off the sides or else it would have burnt the sugars to the side of the kettle, making for some horrible clean up. I thought the house was on fire.

Andrew has been super frustrated with brewing lately because his last few batches haven't turned out right. He figured out his thermometer was broken (twenty degrees off), which led to his wort not fermenting right. Using too high of temperatures makes a wort that isn't as fermentable leading to a sugary, unbalanced, weak beer. This batch seems to be progressing in the right direction. All is calm on the brew front.

Evolution

Out with the old...


In with the new...


Nothing like an E-book story before bed.

Shhh...

Secret quilting plans. I love the planning stage before the sewing madness begins.

Hungry

I'm hungry. Today is one of those days where I just can't seem to fill myself up (and candy hasn't even played a part!). So tonight I am going to turn to Martha Stewart for some home cooking. Why not try her cute Kid's Turkey Meatloaf:


I made Reade a barn out of his Holztiger farm animals (thanks Grammie, he loves them):


Two minutes of baby play just for the Grandmas:


P.S. Ellen made the best quilt for Reade and I have been trying to take a picture of it for days now. Stay tuned! There will come a time when both boys are awake, lighting is good, and we all aren't eating.

Reade (Six Months)

At 6 Months I:
* Can sit up on my own
* Only wake up once or twice a night (if I have the room to myself)
* Started putting things in my mouth
* Eat solids now
* Eat solids in large quantities (more than my brother did)
* Am becoming a bit more cautious when put in other people's arms
* Still think my brother is the big cheese
* Roll over in both directions
* Have started attempting crawling motions
* Gained enough dexterity to break some of my brother's toys
* Started spitting up again
* Love, love, love my daddy
* Enjoy baths
* Can sit in the tambark at the park and play with tractors (w/ mommy's help)
* Coo on a more advanced level with lots of raspberries thrown in
* Hate to be put down on my back so I am always put in a walker or other baby contraptions
* Take life pretty seriously and only really laugh at daddy or my brother
* Drink from a sippy cup like a champ
* Celebrated my first, real holiday and dressed up like a robot
* Make my mom melt at all times


Check out my Five Month photo.