Our Christmas

My last posting was 12.18.08, so I’ve got a lot to catch up on. I think I’ll do lots of pictures, otherwise it will be talk, talk, talk. All of our Christmas festivities have been wonderful, mostly because the five of us were together this year! Here are a few of the highlights from the past few weeks:

Precious Catalina was the “O” in “J-O-Y” at her pre-k Christmas program. She did a great job and was very serious about her job, as you can see in the video below:



Gus and Max were really good during the program. The minute after it ended, though…well, this picture says it all:



Yes, he kicked him in the head on purpose, just as Louie snapped the picture. Catalina saw the photo and said, “Mama, why were you smiling because Gussy kicked Max in the head?” It took a long time to convince her that, at the time, I didn’t know what was happening, I was just smiling for the camera and I foolishly thought everyone else was, too.

The next day, Cati’s class had a fun Christmas party during which they decorated cookies and exchanged gifts. I attended with the boys, thinking that I’d be ready to leave at any moment if their behavior turned south. But, they were both great and Catalina, as always, was very attentive to them and included them in her party every chance she got.









The kids were thrilled that my parents came for a visit a few days before Christmas (actually, Louie and I were thrilled, too). It was so nice having them here and I was sad to see them go on Christmas day. During their visit, the kids got to decorate cookies, play at the park, eat sushi (one of their favorites), and went fishing.

Grandad definitely put in some time at the swing set:



And, Bibi did lots of following (and hugging) little Max while he ran around the basketball court:





Cati pushed Max on the swing for a while and, by the end, he was almost asleep!



Sleepy eyes (I couldn’t catch him when he was nodding off):



Decorating cookies for Santa:





The next day was Christmas Eve and it was filled with lots of fun. My dad and Louie took them fishing (I love these pictures because you can see downtown Tampa in the background, plus they’re just really cute!):



The big pier was closed, but that didn’t bother the kids one bit. They still had a great time!



I love Gussy sitting on the bucket:



All five of us, plus my mom, made it to church on Christmas Eve, but barely. We actually had to sit outside and couldn’t see or hear what was going on inside, except for the music.

Walking to church:



After church:



I was reading the bulletin during church and I saw all of the poinsettia dedications (“In memory of…” or “In honor of…” loved ones). It was amazing to think that last year, at Christmastime, Catalina and Gus dedicated one in honor of their sweet baby brother in Guatemala. This year, he was there at Christmas Eve service with us. Just another reminder of how blessed we are to have him in our lives and how special it is that these three can grow up together!

I have to run, so I’m going to cut this posting short and finish up on another day with all the gift-opening and new-toy-playing. I’ll end this one with a couple of pictures of the kids putting cookies out for Santa. So, the cookies…first, Cati dropped them on the floor:



Then, Gussy decided to sample them (Cati wasn’t exactly happy):



But, Santa still ate them all up and left a note thanking them for the snack! Hope that each of you reading this had a blessed and wonderful Christmas!