Christmas Day

Christmas Day went great, but unfortunately, it was a complete whirlwind and I missed out seeing the kids expressions at certain gifts, due to so much going on at the same time. I hated that part!

We managed to keep our tradition of wrapping gifts in secret and hiding them until Christmas morning. When Esteban came home from work that morning, I got up and started stashing presents while he went to the shed and into the attic to get the rest of the stuff. While I did wrap each gift, I was sad that I never had the time to go back and dress the packages with ribbons and bows. After everything was tucked under the tree, I filled all the stockings and put one on each door. then I put the pernil in the oven and crawled back into bed to wait for the kids.

It was awesome. Jayden said look guys, Santa came! and they each had their stockings. When I went out to greet them, they had everything put back in their stockings as if they hadn't already gone through them. hehehe And during gifts, I decided to ask Ricardo to pass out gifts so I can focus on the camera and video. Even then, I failed miserably at both tasks. I should have asked Esteban to do it. He probably would have been more organized.

Anyway, the kids were thrilled, excited and giggling at all the gifts. I always love to see their reactions to clothing, especially Jayden. He usually flings it behind his back and moves on to the next package. Maya was surprisingly into the clothes and was thrilled at her new girly socks. Antony and Ricardo were utterly grateful for everything. The best gifts were Jayden and his train set, Maya and Jayden with the kitchen, Antony and his bike and new sneakers, and Ricardo with his shiny new iPod and matching Vans.

Afterwards, I made my traditional Christmas morning breakfast. French toast stuffed with a yummy cream cheese mixture and chocolate chips, topped with strawberries and bananas. Yum! Afterwards, we cleaned up and packed up the pernil along with the rest of our things and headed over to Mari's where we had Christmas dinner with family and friends. It was awesome! Except for Esteban's grumpiness (due to lack of sleep) and not having enough hands to record and photograph each moment, it was the best Christmas Day I've ever had!

Unfortunately, these are the few pictures I managed to get. Here are the kids with their stockings.Jayden got a helmet piggy bank. I love it. It's digital and keeps track of his savings. Plus it says "Score" and applauds every time you put a coin in.
Antony is a huge fan of soccer, but since he arrived he's really gotten into basketball and football, so we got him a football so he doesn't' have to use Jayden's baby sized one.
Maya and her cute girly socks, which she adored even though you can't tell from this picture.
Yeah, it was pretty much a mess and I didn't get not even one picture of Ricardo or Esteban for that matter.