A Rant and then Christmas 2010

Yes, yes, I am cheating the date on this blog post as I do for most all of them.  Today is January 10th and after being asked by almost every member of my family, I am finally updating the blog.  Even though I started maternity leave over Christmas weekend, I have found my time taken up with everyday tasks which have not included blogging.  So here is my morning effort to dedicate some time to catch up on the blog before our family size increases with the addition of our second daughter on January 20th and my time really is going to be dedicated elsewhere....

Ah - to have Christmas morning in our new home was a blessing.  Weeks before I brought home a small Afghan Pine tree from the nursery where I work.  Though it was the perfect size for our little nest, Afghans' don't produce the Christmas Tree smell.  So with the help of Yankee Candle Company, we were able to pull off the scent as well.  As you see, our tree is a humble tribute to our small family.  Although Andrew and I have been together for 13 years this month, our ornaments are few.  When we first met Andrew provided me with a moose ornament from his family ski trip in Utah that year, but as he reminds with every Christmas, I misplaced it a long, long time ago.  So, with the start of our family we have the start of our tree.  It will grow as we grow and become a living treasure chest of memories as the years pass by; but for now, there are a few special ornaments that keep the tree sparkling with love.

Tatum really got into the holiday spirit this year.  Although the idea of receiving presents really did not set in until late Christmas morning.  This I cherished for possibly the last year because it allowed the morning to be lazy and comfortable instead of a 5am frenzy of torn paper (which I expect will happen next year!).  Tatum woke around 6:30am and was easily convinced to watch a Yo Gabba Gabba show and let Dada sleep 7am.  When Andrew did wake, we made morning coffee, which for Tatum is chocolate milk, and sat down to our stockings and presents.

Tatum models her new dinosaur towel  & princess slippers

Starting with the stockings, Tatum clued in quick that Christmas is awesome.   She reveled in each and every gift, except maybe the pack of white socks I got her.  Tatum played the Santa roll and delighted in picking out presents and providing them to each of us.  She would say, "Momma needs a present now.  Which one is for momma?"  or "It's Tatum's turn.  Which present is for Tatum?."   Her consideration of others was apparent as she insisted on everyone having their equal turn.  Part way through our morning, Tatum turned to me in her Tatum style by placing a hand on my shoulder, cocking her head to the left, and then expressed sweetly "Momma no work today!"  That is right sweetheart, momma doesn't have to work today.  It melted my heart.  

Andrew and I each got Tatum a big gift.  Yes, through nearly eight years of marriage, we keep separate bank accounts and we enjoy getting our separate gifts.  It works for us.  Andrew presented Tatum with a baby doll who talks and eats and plays.  When asked, Tatum said her baby's name was Hazel.  Hum.  For those of you who didn't know, this is the name we have picked out for Tummy Nut.   I presented Tatum with a scooter.  Yep, she loved it. 

Christmas was a special morning to share together as a family.  We are starting to lay down our own Christmas traditions - like french toast made from Montrose Bakery's Cinnamon Roll Bread, which Tatum helped to make - and this makes the season all that much more magical.  Next year there will be four stockings hung, and our experience of love and blessings will be that much more!

My little kitchen elf helping with breakfast

Below are some additional shots taken from our Christmas morning.  For all our East Coast Family, while you enjoyed your almost white Christmas we enjoyed scooting around in the crisp 60 degree weather of Southern California.  Remember, you are welcome to visit anytime!

the view from our front porch Christmas morning

Tatum cruises by our house on her new scooter

Scooting Sillies under a Camphor Tree

Safety Talk with Smiles

Late morning doings - popcorn and a viewing of Tatum's new Princess* DVD

* as much as I thought I would keep the world of princesses away from Tatum, there is no stopping their power.  After flying home to NC last year to share Tatum's second birthday with her cousin Sophia for a princess party, there has been no stopping Tatum in her affinity with these Disney characters.  And I too have become charmed along the way and indulged her with some princess gifts from Santa, which she loved.  Really, the princess fantasy is one most every girl has, I know I still do - what is better than marrying a rich prince and living happily ever after.

Thankful for Family

Thanksgiving has always been a favorite holiday of mine because it was the one time of year that we are guaranteed to spend the day with family. Since moving to California eight years (8!) ago, we have spent the holiday at Andrew's cousin's home in San Diego. Mark, Jeannie, Liesel, and Max welcome us every year on this day, and we spend our time together like most families, watching football, eating, visiting, and playing guitar hero! This year Tatum got into the action.

Halloween Revisited

And by revisited I mean that we stuck to the same Scooby Doo crew costumes as last year. Hey, they fit, and since I hand-dyed, hand-sewed Tatum's costume last year, it's best she gets two years out of it. And you must admit, Thelma, Shaggy and Scooby are a pretty cute group. Our friend Sonja invited us to a family friendly party in Pasadena where Tatum had her first chance to walk the block and get candy for her parents. Yes, we are that family, having our 18 month old hold out her bag so her folks can enjoy candy later that night.

Tatum and I went to the LA Arboretum in the morning so mom could study trees. To our delight the Arboretum was sponsoring a Halloween event for kids. Tatum was a bit small, but we still took pictures and had fun playing with the balloon and seeing kids in costume.

Mojave Moon and More

This shot was taken at the LA Zoo Bunny Extravaganza. She's not the most excited bunny in the patch.

During Easter weekend we packed the wagon and headed out on another Shearer Adventure - this time to join some friends in the Mojave Desert for some Easter fun. Tatum didn't find any Easter Eggs, but she sure loved finding desert rocks and licking the sandy dust right off of them.

MMMM - nutrients from the soil do a body good. As you can see it was a dusty scene, but full of new friends for conversation, open space for kite flying, and enough room to set up our new 170 square foot tent!



That's our red tent with the grey roof. It's big enough to set up the pack and play - which is the essential key element for Tatum to rest well during our big camping adventures like this one. The tent's main room actually has enough space for two pack and plays - so this tent will serve for years and years to come.


The night was filled with music, dancing, star gazing (including an awesome telescope glimpse of Saturn and her rings and moons), and of course eating. Tatum missed out on the night scene, as a baby should. In the morning we woke early, because Tatum always does, and took to the hills for a small hike after breakfast. It was a chilly morning and the walk must of been a cozy one for Tatum because she fell asleep in the pack and stayed asleep until after we were done packing up the tent and car. See the fleece pink hat and stripped legs - that's our sleepy silly!

It was a memorable full moon night in the Mojave.

Tatum's First Christmas

Ah, Baby's first Christmas. It was one year ago on Christmas Eve when I first felt Tatum move in my belly. This year she moved through the day without notice of it's uniqueness, but this will change as the years pass by. For our Christmas Tree, I adopted a Deodar Cedar from our nursery and brought it home last weekend. We decorated it with lights, a red feather boa, a lace bow and an ornament celebrating Tatum's first Christmas. Christmas Eve was spent working. Tatum's daycare was closed, so she helped me at the nursery. She had a hard time napping, so we called it an early day and went to Whole Foods to pick up goodies for a special Christmas Dinner. On Christmas morning we opened gifts. Andrew got a home brew kit, I got a bike seat for Tatum, and Tatum received a helmet. Don't worry, we won't mix the drinking with the biking.

We spent Christmas day with the Cohen's celebrating our second annual "Jewbuhmas" gathering - a collection of Jewish and Buddhist friends gathering on Christmas (by collection I mean the Cohens and Shearers). We spend the day in our pajamas eating, drinking, laughing, watching movies, and rejoicing. We hope that your Christmas too was filled with love, family, and laughter.

Holiday Travels Home

We jetsetted again and took off for another whirl wind trip of NC during the second week of December- visiting family and friends in Asheville; driving across the state to spend a few days on the Shearer Adventure, and ending up with a few holiday celebrations in Charlotte at both of our sisters' homes.

This time more than the last I feared the plane trip. Last time we traveled to NC Tatum was three months old. She seemed to sleep better then and was definitely not as involved with her surroundings. Now at nearly seven months Tatum sleeps, but not without a few minutes of whining and if there are folks around to flirt with, there's no way this babe is going down. So I was nervous and fearful. Oh - there's just nothing like wasting time fretting over fears of a situation not yet encountered. And fortunate for us and our fellow travelers, we did not have to encounter "it". On the first flight we were given an extra seat and were able to bring the car seat aboard. On the second leg we were on a small commuter jet and were not as lucky. BUT we had the trusty night cap - a tight fitting cap that covers Tatum's eyes when she is unable to shut herself down. This was the perfect trick for a peaceful trip. The hat allows cuts her visual field and thereby allows her to get the sleep she needs but attention from strangers prevents. Tatum needed this sleep aid when she was younger, but I had not needed to use it in months. However, when we were leaving at 4:30am I grabbed it just in case. Let's just call that a mother's miracle of intuition.

We stayed with our cousins Amy, Kyle and baby James in Burnsville. We were able to make it into Asheville for the day on Sunday and meet up with Jen and Andy and the boys who were on their way to the Polar Express. We shared lunch at the famed Asheville Pizza and Brew Company (where Andrew and I have a pizza named after us called The Shear Delight). Tatum showed off her new sitting skills by hanging out in a high chair - another first experience that was repeated throughout our travels).



On Monday we enjoyed our cross the state journey away from the balmy 24 degree weather in the mountains to the sunny skies of 60 degree weather on the coast. Last time we were on the Shearer Adventure Tatum slept with us; but this time she slept in a pack-n-play in the captains quarters. She took naps down in our room - all of which we had to wake her up from. I guess it was the rocking of the boat, but Tatum ended up taking 2 and 3 hour naps. During our stay, Mimi and Boo treated us old folks to a night of our own by taking care of Tatum while we shared our first dinner out alone. Andrew and I walked to the end of the dock where we enjoyed a meal and a bottle of wine. It was special to share in a simple pleasure again.



On Thursday we stopped through Southern Pines on our way to Charlotte so that Tatum could meet her Grandma T and visit with the Hillgroves.


We stayed the weekend in Charlotte enjoying the company of our families. Julie and Craig's kids Nicolas (3) and Sophia (18 months) enjoyed spending more time with their only cousin Tatum. We celebrated Christmas with our annual trip to Kybutos and returned home to open presents. Tatum was a party pooper and crashed out early before opening a single gift.

On Saturday we moved over to the Littles. Drew and Ethan (4) were thrilled to have us visit. Drew welcomed Tatum by reading a book to her and Ethan gave her one of his bears. Lala came to town and we were able to spend time together as a big family. On Sunday morning we had breakfast with Santa. Just in time, ten days before Christmas, Tatum was able to meet Santa



We returned after a long travel day. Again, Tatum was awesome on the flight home proving that she's a happy traveler, for the most part.

Scooby Doo - Where are you?

We rocked the Halloween scene as Scooby Doo, Velma and Shaggy. Scooby and Velma started the day at the LA Corps graduation and then toured around the LA Zoo. We visited our twin friends Sadie and Jack before heading to a costume party at Jane and Jon's later in the night.

Just to answer the questions I know you are asking - Yes, Andrew is wearing a wig. It would have taken too many hair products and hair irons to get Andrew's hair to look like that otherwise. And yes, Tatum's costume was homemade. I died two onesies, a pair of tights, and a hat tan brown. I cut one brown onesie to create the ears and tail and then I cut black onesie to create spots. The collar was sewn on using blue felt and I used one of her toy rings for the chain. If you can't tell, I'm pretty proud of myself. Plan on us being the Scooby clan for the next few Halloweens. It was fun and easy - and we got to get our money's worth out of Andrew's wig.

The Cutest Pumpkin in the Patch