I have to say... Christmas took forever to get here, but once it did, it was definitely a strange one! Maybe it was because I had to work on Christmas Eve going into Christmas morning for the first time in a very long time... or perhaps it was because Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh were coming into town sometime Christmas morning... or maybe it was because there weren't any Christmas presents we had to buy and wrap with us only doing stocking stuffers this year. But after thinking about it for a while and trying to pinpoint why we felt Christmas just didn't feel like Christmas this year... it probably had something to do with us anxiously awaiting the fourth member of our family! Jei & I both had a feeling the little guy was going to introduce himself smack-dab on Christmas Day... so the idea of us having a normal Christmas morning (what we consider normal anyway) with a big tree, tons of presents, and lots of family all together just wasn't gonna happen this year... as the imminent birth of our son gladly took precedence and just about consumed our Holiday!
With Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh not expected to arrive until Christmas morning... Christmas Eve was spent with 'Wela' as we enjoyed a traditional and delicious Tamale dinner together.
And for dessert... our favorite,
chocolate chip cookies!
Like father - like son...
Allen sneaks in a few bites before they go into the oven!
Cookies left out for Santa by the tree...
the last thing we did before heading up for bed.
Santa Claus must have really enjoyed those cookies...
because he left Allen his very own whiteboard easel to draw on!
Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh arrived just as we were coming
downstairs to see what Santa had brought.
At first, we all just sat around staring at Allen
waiting for him to draw something spectacular!
But once we realized all we were gonna get was a bunch of squiggly lines... Dad-Oh had to step in and help him out a bit.
With all of us finally together and Allen enjoying his new gift from Santa... Christmas morning started out with all smiles and lots of laughs!
Of course the easel wasn't the only
present left under the tree for Allen...
Moe-Joe got him a cool new puzzle... and after realizing that it was a tad bit beyond his skill level, he decided to improvise a little.
It was definitely not a white Christmas here in SoCal! The weather was fantastic... so after opening & enjoying a few presents inside, we inevitably headed outside to play a little.
At first it was out front... where Moe-Joe
watched Allen play in the cul-de-sac with his bike.
And then Moe-Joe handed him off to Dad-Oh
to go play in the backyard.
"Red rover - red rover... send monkey boy on over!"
And while the boys enjoyed playtime outside...
the ladies enjoyed happy hour inside!
Allen eventually came back inside...
to do some puzzles with his 'Wela'.
Not real sure who this is exactly... but he seems to be in the kitchen using a knife and cutting board to prepare a side dish for dinner. Weird!
It seemed like the day went by super fast... as it usually does on Christmas day. Before we knew it the sun had gone down and it was just about time to sit down for Christmas dinner. But before we feasted on yummy goodness, we all put on some happy smiling faces for a few family pictures in front of our pathetic little tree.
Spending Christmas day with both his Grandparents,
if only Allen knew just how lucky he was!
Our last Christmas...
as a family of three!
Jei & I were definitely happy to have Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh here for Christmas... but not as happy as a certain little somebody was!
Finally... time to eat!
Dad-Oh did the honors and carved our turkey.
One last group photo before we
stuff our faces and gain a bunch of weight!
Believe it or not... we were having so much fun throughout the day that we had totally forgotten we all had stockings to take down and empty out!
So after dinner was well digested... we each claimed a seat, grabbed our respective stockings, and went to town!
Peanut M&M's for Moe-Joe...
what a surprise!
Dad-Oh was clearly flabbergasted at his
treasure trove he emptied from his stocking!
Allen was convinced his stocking was empty...
but Jei insisted he keep on diggin'!
After all our stockings had been emptied out...
somebody still had Christmas presents to open!
A new sippy cup and a 'Cars' bubble maker... that somebody must have been one heck of a good kid this past year!
Me & Ming... sittin' back and relaxing,
and enjoying such a happy atmosphere.
The aftermath...
one of the best ways to tell if it was a good Christmas!
And a good Christmas it was indeed! Santa didn't bring us a baby... but we had family, gifts, a good meal, and lots of fun hanging out with each other and playing with Allen. Given the circumstances, I don't think we could've had a better Christmas at home.
