Merry Christmas

We had a very wonderful Christmas this year and it was especially wonderful because it was Santiago's first Christmas. Christmas Eve we went to mass at 4 pm with Hector's parents and sister and then we had an enchilada dinner at the Ornelas'. At church, Santiago wasn't too loud (thank goodness) Sometimes he makes loud noises and church isn't the appropriate place to do that. He got very excited to see the poinsettias. He "oohs" and reaches out at things that he wants to see. I had to take him into the lobby area of the church for a short while because he wanted to move around. He constantly is grabbing our hands and walking us around and he didn't understand that he needed to sit still at mass. There were many other babies and toddlers doing the same thing as us. Santiago liked looking at the beautiful nativity displayed and a 2.5 year old little boy picked up some of the hay and threw it at Santi. He just wanted to play with Santiago but his mother was mortified. I told her not to worry. Christmas morning we woke up and opened presents from Santa Claus. Santiago was able to tear open presents and pull paper out of gift bags. He loves to play with paper so he had a fun time ripping open the gifts. Birthdays and Christmas' to come should be lots of fun!

Later Christmas day we went to Bianca and Matt's house to eat dinner. She hosted Matt's side of the family and ours and we had a really great time. Here's Grandpa and Santiago in front of Bianca's beautiful tree.

Santiago was getting really sleepy but we hadn't opened presents yet. It was past his bedtime but we decided to see what happened if we kept him up a little longer to open gifts from Aunt Bianca. He got a second wind whenever we sat down and put gifts in front of him.

Here's Santiago playing with Madeline, Bianca and Matt's niece who is 2.5 years old. After a very long wonderful day, Santiago finally went to sleep at Bianca's and when it was time to drive home - he stayed asleep. I was shocked that he stayed asleep with all the transitions in and out of the car seat. All in all, we had a fabulous Christmas and we hope you did too! Thank you everyone for all the wonderful gifts and for being part of our lives. We love you!