December... Diciembre

We were so happy to celebrate Pascuala's birthday on the 26th. Carlos made a tiramisu cake for his mom's 52nd and Angelica, our conmadre, made atole, a traditional Mexican drink that is a little like hot chocolate and a little like Ovaltine.

This is Yaretzy with her abuelo, Juventino after we sang las mananitas (the little mornings) to Pascuala.
We took Saul, Juventino and Pascuala to the Magic Gardens, where we were married in September. They enjoyed seeing the art in the basement where there are figures on the walls and on the ceiling.
Saul and Christopher pose for a photo outside the gates of the Magic Gardens.

Christmas Dinner... Cena de Navidad

We had langostinos, or large shrimp, and paella, a Spanish rice and seafood dish, for Christmas Eve dinner. Carlos and Claudio worked hard cleaning and grilling the shrimp. It was delicious!

This is a photo of Yaretzy in her Reindeer horns. We had friends and family join us -- there were over 20 people at the table!
Here is Alvaro at the set table. We used our new plates, silverware, and glasses. We made the napkins and tablecloths and reupholstered our retro dinette chairs for the occasion.

Winter Decorations ... Decoraciones de Invierno

We made a few changes to the house this winter, adding a photo wall to our upstairs sala, or living room.We also had our first tree. We hosted Christmas dinner this year, and wanted it to be special because Carlos' parents and brother were able to join us. The kids got everything from Transformers robots to easels and books to helicopters.
Even the cats got into the spirit of decorating (or, rather, undoing the decorating)... They loved the garland. We loved it too, for the first day. Now, it has found a new use -- outside decorating our window frames where it doesn't matter if the needles drop.

We forced paperwhites and amaryllis. Even though it was blustery outside, it was verdant and warm inside.