Holidays....DONE

Hi Everyone,
So the holidays are officially over. Sort of sad. Sort of relieved. Here are the highlights, as seen through Sadie's eyes, of course.

Christmas Eve was at our house. I made two kinds of lasagna, we had cracked crab, salad, bread and the aunties supplied a scrumptious chocolate cake. Was delicious. Amara was dressed in a little velvet suit, so I shoved Sadie in to similar attire. A dress buried deep in her little armoire, at the ready for a special occasion. Too bad this will be the only time she will wear it! She had already grown too big for it and it was so tight on her little (but big for her age) body..



Here are the little birds on display for their admireres, giving kisses and being irritated by the flashing camera.









Hannah did another lovely table setting (though the tablecloths are a little hodge podge, note to family--next year, for Christmas, I need a new tablecloth)...



Frida was more nice than naughty...




Sadie eventually was put in to something a bit more comfortable. Though not as festive, she was a lot happier...



Linda stopped by and gave Sadie some new books. She LOVES books.



Look at her little face. So excited.



The next day, Christmas day, was spent at Nina and Dan's where they made a yummy brunch and we all opened presents. Sadly, I have no photos of this event, probably because I was too busy preventing Sadie from eating ribbons and wrapping paper. After a walk through chilly San Rafael, we headed to my dad's house.
Here we are opening presents on the stairs (not quite sure why we parked it there and whenever I look at these pictures I remember a nasty spill I took at the bottom when I was in high school and I heard my cat getting in to a fight out in the street and tore down the stairs to rescue him only to turn my ankle at the bottom ending up in the emergency room with a trick ankle every since....but I am seriously digressing here)...



At this point in the evening, Sadie was over it, hence the dour look, no matter how hard I tried, this was all she would give...



And I really tried...



Then Amara joined the stair party...




And discovered they were fun to climb...





Oops...



...and just like that, Christmas was over.



New Year's ever was fairly uneventful. We were in bed by 10. We had drinks and appetizers at our friend's, Elizabeth and Andrew, way up the street. There were kids, so Sadie got to crawl about...



Then we walked down the street to Linda and David's and had dinner...



Sadie wowed everyone with her trick of pulling herself up and standing...



...and then got really tired...




so we walked home..

But New Year's Day...we actually have a tradition. An, I believe, six years and counting tradition of driving out to Tomales Bay, to the little blink and you'll miss it town of Marshall and getting BBQ Oysters (or raw if you are in to that sort of thing). The best BBQ oysters, and clam chowder and garlic bread. It just so happens Elizabeth and Andrew also wanted to start a similar tradition so we took them along. I swear, six years ago, maybe there were ten people there. But now, it's a total scene.



It was a beautiful day and Greg and I, once again, reminded ourselves we need to explore this amazing area we live in. We are really lucky.




Plus the light was amazing, so we got some good shots of the little Wren Bird..



Even if most of the time she was giving her best, 'You talkin to me?' face..



...or, better yet, the back of her head.



Happy New Year Everyone. Without the birth of my daughter, I would definitely chalk 2008 up as one of the hardest years of my life. I know it's a cliche, but whatever doesn't kill us, right? And I'm still here. And that's a lot to be grateful for.
Love,
Rosalie