Three Christmases and a New Year's Eve

Sit back, folks, get a cup of tea, and prepare for a lengthy read. I've got a lot to update!

So Mat's first Christmas was spent at our house with my parents. All of us received some nice gifts, but Mat was the winner! He got hats, mittens, clothes, toys, piggy bank, etc. He especially liked the singing reindeer that my mom bought. In case you aren't aware, my mom suffers from a (hopefully) noncontagious disease which compels her to purchase and distribute singing, dancing stuffed animals. I think my favorite gift was my big box of used books. I've read a handful of them already, and I've liked every one. I'm also especially fond of my new pair of Oakley running sunglasses. Anyhow, after we exchanged gifts, Rafi made us a great alternative to the traditional Christmas dinner - steaks, rice with guandu, and chimichurri. Delish! If you are unsure of those foods, just Google it. (Hehe... I love how "Google" is now a noun AND a verb.) We didn't have a tree (as we were leaving town a day later), but I did create a Christmas mantle with stockings. Hey, better than nothing. Next year our Christmas in Texas will be bigger and better.

We also had a mini-Christmas spent with our friends Greg and Tina. Funnily enough Tina and I both gave each other slippers among other things. But since our brains seem to be on the same wavelength, I guess it's really not that incredible after all. :-) We say thanks to them for our gifts and Mat's cute little moose outfit!

On December 19th we left for Panama. The flight in general was okay... until the end, that is. As Rafi was taking him to the bathroom for a diaper change, Mat threw up all over him. I felt bad for Rafi, as the smell was bad enough just sitting next to him. I know it was much worse for him having it right under his nose. Fortunately I had packed an extra onesie for Mat. Unfortunately I didn't pack an extra shirt for Rafi. But the short of it is that we made it!

Christmas in Panama was great. Rafi's parents hosted it this year. It was a full house, as along with his parents and us there was Rafi's brother and his family, as well as a varied assortment of in-laws. Rafi and I both received some nice gifts, but Mateo made out like ... well, like a kid at Christmas! He has so many new clothes. The dinner Rafi's mom prepared was really good - three kinds of meat. And I will pat myself on the back by telling you I did the dishes (including cooking dishes) afterwards - by hand! And we're talking 18 people here! If you know me well you might recall that I sort of have a phobia about food mixing with water, but for some reason I actually enjoyed it.

After the Christmas festivities, Rafi, Mat, and I spent three days at DeCameron resort. Our days at the beach weren't quite as relaxing as they used to be. We used to read and nap on the beach, have drinks, and swim at our leisure. This year we were in the room two times a day (for Mateo's naps) and in bed by 8:00ish! Still we really enjoyed watching Mat feel the sand and swim in the ocean for the first time. We find it amazing that he really liked the ocean! He liked the swimming pools even more - especially the kiddy pool where he could "walk" around in his little floaty tube.

We spent our New Year's Eve eating dinner at a hotel with beautiful desserts. Too bad they didn't taste as good as they looked! Mat and all his cousins enjoyed being together, though, any chance they got. Then we went to Rafi's brother's house where Mat slept through some seriously LOUD fireworks for about a couple of hours - nonstop. Since I'm not particularly a fan of fireworks (especially after having one blow up in my face a few years ago) I stayed inside with my 4 year old nephew playing "Tumblin Monkeys." We went to bed around 4am. Sadly we forgot to eat grapes AND black eyed peas. Hope this doesn't spell disaster for 2008!

On New Year's day we drove to Altos del Maria to visit the plot of land we bought last year. I'm so happy with our purchase! It's a little steeper than we remembered, but it's no problem to build into the land or to have the land built up. Actually this was included in our purchase price. The best thing about it is that we're at the top of the hill, so we have an incredible view of the mountains. The climate there is different than in the city. It's cooler and windier. So while it'll be a few years yet (if not longer) before we can build a vacation home, we plan to enjoy coming up with (and probably arguing over..haha) the design. The picture to the right was taken while standing in the lower half of our 1,419 square meter lot (a smidge over a third of an acre). The view from the top is even nicer.

On January 3rd Rafi's parents hosted a party for Rafi and his friends. Tita made a HUGE quantity of arroz con marisco, and I made some extra special margaritas (which can be viewed to the left). Everyone enjoyed seeing the baby, but alas they still had to work the next day, so the evening wound up at a relatively early 11:00. A couple days later, though, we enjoyed a bbq at Toño and Cinara's home, which gave Rafi some extra time with his boys.

Our last few days were spent shopping and meeting King Kong for lots of souveniers for friends and family. We also had a nice last family dinner on the causeway. Afterward everyone fed bread to the fish down below the pier. Those fish were bread addicts, I think, judging by the frenzy. Rafi's Mom's Tia Yolanda came to visit the night before we left. She sang songs to Mat to make him dance. I think he enjoyed that. :-)

Our trip home wasn't so bueno, as they say. Our first flight was two hours delayed, so Mat (already in need of a nap) was SUPER antsy by the time we left. He was cranky and tired but only slept about 40 minutes on the plane. The first flight was 4.5 hours of annoyance. Mat would not stay still. If I sat him down, he wanted to stand. And if I let him stand, he wanted to sit. But at least there was no puking. Since the first flight was delayed, we missed our second flight from Dallas to Austin. So they put us on the next one - first class! The first class part was nice, but we had to recheck our bags, go back through security, take a tram to the gate, and RUN to make it with roughly 5 minutes to spare. Whew!! And wouldn't you know he was a perfect angel sitting on my lap during that trip. I told Rafi it's his way of saying that he ONLY does first class. ;-)

So that's about it. The new year is here, and with it comes resolutions to get back in shape, eat healthy foods, practice my Spanish, floss more, and continue working on our home. You know, the usual. While our trip was loads of fun, I do admit I'm happy to be back to my dogs and dishwasher! Thanks to Tita and Luis for allowing us to room in their home and for watching the baby all those times so we could sleep late or go out at night. We will miss the babysitting, food, and fun! :-)

(As a special bonus feature, I've included an album full of people Mat met on this trip posing with him. Enjoy!)