O' Christmas Tree

There's been so much going on lately it's difficult to sit down, let alone take pictures. YiaYia and Mimi arrived on Wednesday to many squeals and giggles. I have only seen Athena in passing since then, she has become Mimi's child. The first night she actually woke up crying for Mimi twice (separation anxiety?) and is never more than two feet from her. Mimi is lapping it all up because she knows the tides will turn when Unca Stu comes to visit.

Wednesday was also Mimi's birthday. The girls helped her celebrate with a princess birthday cake and candles (picked out by you-know-who). We did not, however, make her wear a tiara when she blew out the candles.

The next day, we had plans to escape to LA for some beauty maintenance and IKEA shopping while the girls were in school. However, Zoe's up and down fever was up and staying up. She also woke twice during the night, flushed and hot and dazed. A trip to the pediatricain revealed ear infections in both ears and bronchitis, poor baby. She was listless, feverish and quiet for one day but back to herself by the next.

Friday night we planned to decorate the tree. Originally, we wanted to do this on Mimi's birthday, but it was pouring rain outside, so we put it off until Friday, six days before Christmas. Our hunting party (consisting of Mimi, Chris and Athena) went around town for over two hours Friday evening, existing solely on M&Ms, and did not find any trees. They came home with only a pine branch that Athena found at one of the empty spaces in the Home Depot parking lot.

Over our very late dinner, the family convinced me that maybe a live 8 foot spruce was not going to happen this year. So, with head hanging low, I let them go back to Home Depot and get one of the fake firs on sale for half price. This, they say, will be our back up tree and not a commitment to non-live trees for all our future Christmases.

Although I was very suspicious at first, it doesn't look half bad and, hey, no pine needles.

We were not quite tall enough to put the star on the top of the tree.

Athena was a big help decorating on Saturday morning, but, there are alot
of ornaments hanging on the bottom branches of the tree.

Check out the preggo belly behind Zoe.

In spite of her high fever, Zoe was able to choke
down a little bit of birthday cake.