Day 8 - Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve started off nice and slow but got busier as the day went on. Until about 3pm we had no water, so that put showering and all that good stuff on hold. Basically we lazed the day away and played with Mateo. Well, I did. Rafi was very busy with his dad delivering gifts to friends.
On a funny note, Mateo got into some cookies that Rafi had purchased. With Rafi there I asked Mateo if he had asked Daddy if he could have one of his cookies. Mateo's response: "Sure I can!" Man, this kid is slick!
Rafi's good childhood friend Yiyo and his wife Yariela came by for a visit with their little girl. I really think their daughter Camila has to be one of THE cutest babies I've ever seen. And her personality is so bold. She was curious about everything, wasn't shy at all, grinned with all four teeth showing, and showed us how strong she was by carrying this chair around. Can you believe she's only 14 months old?
Christmas Eve was spent at Rafi's brother's house. After taking turns saying a group prayer (I'm hoping my American accent didn't sound too funny as I read my piece), we ate our Christmas meal. Two interesting items on the menu were Panamanian tamales and Venezuelan pan de jamon. We drank wine and the kids danced to music (I'm bummed I didn't get a photo of the break dancing) and played with flashy starfish necklaces and the Wii.
The highlight of the night was a visit from Santa Claus! He was a very good Santa; he spoke Spanish, English, and French. He was very lively as he passed out gifts to everyone. Even Molly the dog got a gift from Santa! Mateo was not, however, thrilled about him at all. He clung to me like a baby monkey. He did muster up the courage to open his gift, though.
Speaking of gifts, thank you to everyone for all the many wonderful gifts that were given to Mateo, Rafi, and myself, especially the cinnamon candle holder that Maria Sofia, Nicole, and Luis Raul made for us. Everyone was much too generous! Mateo was in love with his new barn and animals, Luis Raul seemed to like his new watch and Spider-Man stuff, Maria Sofia was into her fancy microphone, and Nicole.... Well, let's just say Nicole is in luuuuuv with the Jonas Brothers. And because of this I now know all of their names. :)
Also cute was how attentive Maria Sofia was toward Mateo. She'll make a great baby sitter someday.
Now this was a testament to Luis Raul's patience. Mateo kept hitting him up for Cheetos. Initially it was innocent enough with a please and a thank you, but it quickly went south with the elimination of spoken words and just the hand motion for "gimme." Luis Raul was very kind to oblige Mateo's requests.
Midnight struck and so did the fireworks. We watched them from a balcony upstairs. Mateo had a love-hate relationship with them. He loved them on the 4th of July, but these were much closer and louder. He liked watching them but didn't like the loud noises, so we watched at times from the safety of the bedroom.
Around 1:30 we got our tired selves into the car and came home. Mateo was such a trooper to stay awake so late (though he did crawl into their dog's bed a few times and announce he was tired and was "schweeping"). Everyone went to bed exhausted but happy.
On a funny note, Mateo got into some cookies that Rafi had purchased. With Rafi there I asked Mateo if he had asked Daddy if he could have one of his cookies. Mateo's response: "Sure I can!" Man, this kid is slick!
Rafi's good childhood friend Yiyo and his wife Yariela came by for a visit with their little girl. I really think their daughter Camila has to be one of THE cutest babies I've ever seen. And her personality is so bold. She was curious about everything, wasn't shy at all, grinned with all four teeth showing, and showed us how strong she was by carrying this chair around. Can you believe she's only 14 months old?
Christmas Eve was spent at Rafi's brother's house. After taking turns saying a group prayer (I'm hoping my American accent didn't sound too funny as I read my piece), we ate our Christmas meal. Two interesting items on the menu were Panamanian tamales and Venezuelan pan de jamon. We drank wine and the kids danced to music (I'm bummed I didn't get a photo of the break dancing) and played with flashy starfish necklaces and the Wii.
The highlight of the night was a visit from Santa Claus! He was a very good Santa; he spoke Spanish, English, and French. He was very lively as he passed out gifts to everyone. Even Molly the dog got a gift from Santa! Mateo was not, however, thrilled about him at all. He clung to me like a baby monkey. He did muster up the courage to open his gift, though.
Speaking of gifts, thank you to everyone for all the many wonderful gifts that were given to Mateo, Rafi, and myself, especially the cinnamon candle holder that Maria Sofia, Nicole, and Luis Raul made for us. Everyone was much too generous! Mateo was in love with his new barn and animals, Luis Raul seemed to like his new watch and Spider-Man stuff, Maria Sofia was into her fancy microphone, and Nicole.... Well, let's just say Nicole is in luuuuuv with the Jonas Brothers. And because of this I now know all of their names. :)
Also cute was how attentive Maria Sofia was toward Mateo. She'll make a great baby sitter someday.
Now this was a testament to Luis Raul's patience. Mateo kept hitting him up for Cheetos. Initially it was innocent enough with a please and a thank you, but it quickly went south with the elimination of spoken words and just the hand motion for "gimme." Luis Raul was very kind to oblige Mateo's requests.
Midnight struck and so did the fireworks. We watched them from a balcony upstairs. Mateo had a love-hate relationship with them. He loved them on the 4th of July, but these were much closer and louder. He liked watching them but didn't like the loud noises, so we watched at times from the safety of the bedroom.
Around 1:30 we got our tired selves into the car and came home. Mateo was such a trooper to stay awake so late (though he did crawl into their dog's bed a few times and announce he was tired and was "schweeping"). Everyone went to bed exhausted but happy.
Labels: Vacation
posted by Jodi C. at 8:22 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home