Christmas Vacation - Day 4 - Nochebuena

Dec 24,

Today was all about getting ready to host our family for Nochebuena. The girls and I spent a good part of the day in the kitchen, mostly baking our desserts. But we also did prepping for the rest of the meal. We finished right at 4:30, and then I took a quick shower so we could stop by Isabel's house for a little bit, since her family had invited us and they are always nice to us. 

By 6:00 pm our family arrived, and we started with the program the girls had carefully planned with lots of love. Bella did a gymnastics show, and then we played a game that my parents and Gabi happily won. After dinner we handed out the gifts the girls and I made, and other gifts we bought for every family member. Everybody has helped us out so much this year that we wanted to do something nice for them too. This year our handmade gifts were a personalized ornament, a personalized planting pot, and a cute little snowman that Sofia made.

To close out the night the girls said good bye to Elfie Chica, left milk and a cupcake for Santa, and went to bed.

Christmas Vacation - Day 3

Dec 23,

Yesterday Lionel was disappointed that the girls didn't join our lunch, so today all 4 had lunch together. He still had to work, but going out for lunch with us was a nice break to his day. Other than that we took it easy during the day. At night Lionel and I went out for dinner and a movie with some friends. The dinner was nice, but the movie was definitely not our cup of tea. It was long and slow, and we couldn't quite understand how come it had so great reviews. 

Christmas Vacation - Day 2

Dec 22,

Today the girls and I spent part of the day getting all our Christmas gifts ready. We also went to buy food with Monique. Then I went out for lunch with Lionel, who still had to work, while the girls stayed home with Monique. On my way back I ran a couple of errands, but took it easy the rest of the day. At night Lionel went to see the latest Star War movie, which I had zero desire to watch. So I was happy to stay home in the meantime.

Christmas Vacation - Day 1

Dec 21,

After a very hectic last few weeks, today was finally my first day of Christmas vacation. We spent the morning working on our hand made Christmas gifts, but eventually got dressed and went to Panera for a late lunch - the girls favorite!

In the late afternoon Monique and Philippe arrived in Cincinnati, and we went out for dinner. Other than that it was a relatively chill type of day. Exactly what we needed.

Ivy Hills Neighborhood Christmas Dinner

Dec 20,

2016 Christmas Piano Recital

Dec 18,

Today was Sofia's winter piano recital, the 4th one already! This time around the recital was at an actual music venue. Getting there was a bit of a pain, because we didn't know exactly where we were going, but we eventually made it there. We saw our friends Purnima and Sameer, because their kids take lessons with the same teachers, and stuck around for a little bit because I always feel rude leaving right away after my kid is done. Sofia did really well - at this point she no longer seems to get nervous - and even Bella seemed bummed that she wasn't part of it. She was there just as an attendee.

Bella's 1st Pancake

Dec 18,

This morning Bella wanted to make our special breakfast (pancakes and freshly squeezed orange juice), and she made her very first pancake - all by herself.