Winding Down

Christmas Eve memories before the rains.

Sandy and Paul's neighbor:


Oh, how I love strolling down country lanes:


Posing for daddy. I love how Reade looks like a tree gnome:


So much for being happy with what I have. I made Andrew and the boys go on a mini hike today in a San Mateo neighborhood. I love that there are hiking trails at the end of the neighborhoods near 92 and 280. We both decided the neighborhood wasn't completely worth the additional commute time. Too bad. Tomorrow, Andrew is going to show me around the hills of Cupertino because he loves to bike through the area and we can always dream that someone in a two million dollar house wants to rent it out to us for $2000/month (ha!).

Merry Christmas

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We ate, drank, and opened gifts with great family around. Some people pooped out in the middle of opening gifts:


Smiles were abundant on all of the faces:


Aunt Shirley kept the spirit of Christmas alive with her Nativity Pageant:


We then gathered in the living room of Sandy & Paul's new house to open a second round of gifts for us:


Today is a day of rest for us, but other people get to keep on partying:

Nested

My tree is now topped. I climbed up and gently removed the bird's nest that has provided us with entertainment for two years now. A small egg dropped out of the nest when I was eking it ever so carefully. It wasn't a fertilized egg so I didn't feel so bad. There were two nests, one on top of the other, and I hesitated to separate the two for fear of finding something icky. Again, I was relieved to find nothing that was once alive. So down it came to be hair sprayed for preservation (thanks Ellen for the tip):


Here is the bottom of the nest getting swept up with some nearby leaves. I figured the nest could go into the green waste bin since it was once green and now it is waste?:


It has been hard to photograph the nest. It always gets lost when I take a picture with my small camera. Nature intended it that way I suppose. I wish I had time to swing by Michaels and buy a red cardinal mushroom bird for the nest:

Shop

I came across this shop today in downtown Palo Alto. What a great shop!!! It is the first environmental shop with reasonable prices. There is something for everyone here. I wish I had found this shop a month ago, before I bought everyone their gifts.

If you are in the area then stop by: 158 University Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Their website isn't as exciting as their shop!

Bustle

Next year I am going to knit/crochet one of these for everyone. If you can't wait until then, head on over to Anthropologie and get one for yourself today. Don't let your jaw drop at the $238.00 price tag either:


Shrewd Stitches Stole

Our sills are filled with a bustling life of its own:


The three Kings are making their way toward our nativity:


In current Shannon fashion, I am late with Reade's 7 month photo (my goal for tomorrow's post). Stay tuned.

Reade (Seven Months)

At 7 Months I:
* Got up on all fours
* Can somehow get across the room without crawling
* Make a "phfffff" noise when I am really happy
* Cry quickly when my brother starts tackling me
* Laugh a deep laugh when my brother tackles me and I am in a good mood
* Have juicy thigh fat
* Still have reddish hair
* Started babbling by saying "blah blah blah"
* Can blow different kinds of raspberries as a way of communication
* Do a funny thing with my tongue that makes everyone think I am chewing on something
* Impress my mom with my finger dexterity
* Enjoy eating solid foods now and prefer the veggies (I love the peas the most)
* Still wake up in the night, but only fuss for a minute or so before going back to sleep
* Have been dropped on my head by accident (thanks mommy!)
* Am less serious and am entertained by the world around me
* Make my mommy want more babies because I am so fun

Check out my Six Month photo

Pine

It was my intention to march our family out to the wilderness and cut down our own Christmas tree. There is no time for that though. So zip went the Prius to a tree lot I researched on Yelp. All of the trees were around $65-$140. That wasn't going to fly with my lackadaisical watering history. I saw a big sign towards the back of the lot stating, "Discount Trees - $21.99." That's more like it.

Blake making friends with Frosty:


I instantly fell in love with one of the two puny, sad trees in the discount area. Andrew rolled his eyes and tried to walk away, but I knew this tree was perfect. We only have a small spot for the tree and with a little TLC (minus watering) and a box to sit upon, it will be great:


Reade will never know it was a discount tree (unless he checks the archives of this blog someday):


Blake rolling with the punches:


All I have to do now is climb up a ladder to get the old bird's nest down from our outside eaves to use as the tree topper.