Christmas Day

Christmas Day

It's Christmas morning. The kids are still asleep. Puyat sila from last night's revelry. We did not really do much last night. But when you're with kids, even simple things create lasting memories, right?

As usual, kaming pamilya lang naman ang nagsalo-salo para sa Noche Buena. It really isn't so bad anymore. With my two kids running around, Christmas does not feel as lonely as it first did when I moved here to the States. Christmas of 2000 was the loneliest so far. I was with Dex, yes. But I was away from everything and everyone else I loved. It was only Dex and I celebrating that year. I remember crying because I was just homesick. It got better as the years went by. Kids started to add to our family. Now, we're awaiting our third.

Anyway, back to last night.

We went to church for the 6 pm Vigil Mass. Got home. Took some pictures of the family. Watched "I,Robot" on DVD as we waited for Abbie & Ned ( my hubby's siblings) to arrive. They arrived at about 9, I think. Then, we had our Noche Buena.

It was my usual Noche Buena spread - roast beef, Honeybaked ham, baked salmon, green salad, mashed potato & gravy, leche flan. Sabi ni Victor (my bro), masyado daw akong gaya-gaya kasi yun din ang handa ng pamilya ko sa Pinas. I guess I can't really help it. Christmas is mostly about traditions, right? And of course, I want my Noche Buena to be as similar to Noche Buena's of my younger years. Not that I'm that old, mind you!

At about 11 pm, we started opening our presents. Or should I say, the kids started opening their presents. And they just had a blast! First up was their Tito Ned's gift - a RadioFlyer Wagon. Woohoo! I've always wanted one of those! Nyek! Yung Mommy pala ang exited. Next came Ninang/Tita Abbie's gifts - pajama sets for each. Then came our presents to the kids. Miguel got an RC Lincoln Navigator. This was something he really wanted. And he specifically wanted the Lincoln Navigator! Grabe, the joy of seeing his eyes widen, a big smile forming on his lips as he shouted "Lincoln Navigator!" when the gift was finally unwrapped is a memory to cherish forever! Dex and I were just as excited as he was. It really was a great evening.

Gabrielle opened her present too and was equally excited to see her toy. She hadn't articulated what she wanted. Too young for that. We got her this ball toy. Di ko alam ang pangalan. You put the balls into a slot, pull down a lever and the balls go down a slide. Couldn't take her away from it for a long while. I think she was just really excited to have her own toy. Until today, I don't think she really had a toy she could really call her own. We don't buy toys for the kids. They have enough already. So, most of the toys she had been playing with were hand-me-downs from her Kuya Miguel. It was fun watching her playing with her other gifts as well. She had that ball thingamajig from us in front of her. There was a Little Mermaid cellphone and purse on her left. A Barney hand-vac was on her right. Natataranta sya! Di nya malaman kung anong uunahin nya! Hahahaha... She'd pull down the lever to get the balls down, push down the keys on her cellphone, and press on the Barney button to hear him sing "Clean-Up". Again, another memory to cherish for me. I knew she was just having the time of her life. When it was time for her to get to bed, there was no fussing or whining. I gave her bottle of milk, tucked her in, kissed her goodnight and off to dreamland she went. It was a good night.

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