Merry 2010 Christmas and Happy New Year!

Get ready everyone, because this month was FULL of events!! We were planning to spend a quiet Christmas just the four of us when, on December 16, I was pleasantly surprised by the arrival of my parents. Apparently, everyone knew about it except me. John had been lying to me for over 2 months and had helped my parents plan the surprise trip. According to him, he had dropped quite a few hints but I had missed every single one of them. Duuuhhhh.... The point is, mom and dad were here, I was in shock, thrilled, amazed, excited and they were staying until January 2. Perfect!! But the surprises didn't end there,....nooooooo......My sister-in-law was supposed to deliver their first child on January 6 but little baby Clara decided that December 20 was a better date so I became an aunt for the first time this year! She was born at 6:40 p.m. and weighed 5.9 lbs (2,710 kgs).

Below is the video of our family welcoming baby Clara to the world and a picture of the little princess smiling at everyone!

I also had a chance to surprise John but only had to lie for about 5 days. His dad also came to Dallas for Christmas and he came bearing gifts, just like Santa, but the kind of gifts the adults LOVE to receive: oysters, crabs, shrimp, ham, and desserts! Thanks Dampaw!!

John made his seafood gumbo for Christmas Eve, my dad did the portuguese "pudim" that I looooooove, and my father-in-law took care of the ham for Christmas Day. All my mom and I had to do is take care of the side dishes, play with the girls, and do the dishes. VERY relaxing. Oh, and I was recovering from my tonsil surgery so I had a great excuse not to help that much....lol Basically, I made sure to record everything for posterity.

The proud daddy with his two little princesses.

 Dampaw bought cookies to decorate and the girls had a blast with the M&Ms and the food coloring.

Our Christmas table and meal ready to be devoured. The main dish was, of course, the famous gumbo. But the ham looked pretty good too.

 The rest of the days were spent making the most out of my parents' stay here with the girls. They played a lot with them, read them stories, went for walks around the neighborhood and changed as many diapers as humanly possible (YES!). I know they will miss them a lot but we will see them again and everyday on Skype, just to make sure the girls feel like they are really close by. I miss them already and I can't wait to see them again for the summer, when we will have three girls playing on the beach. That will be a blast!

New Year's Eve was spent quietly at home, just us. John had to work, unfortunately, but he called just in time to spend midnight wishing me and the girls an incredible 2011. We love you, daddy!! It was better to spend it at home because both girls were a bit sick and I was still recovering from my tonsil surgery. We are now ready for an exciting 2011! We leave you with a video of some moments spent with the family having a good time. See you next month!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Seasons Greetings everyone and get ready, because Christmas is just around the corner!! But for now, let's start with Thanksgiving. We begin our journey, and yes, it is called a journey because it was a multi-city adventure tallying up nearly 1500 miles (2200km). We left home and first drove to Cleveland, Mississippi, where we spent three days at the Tedford's, our cousins from our Dampaw's side of the family. This is the second year in a row that we have spent three days of the Thanksgiving week there and think this might turn into a tradition, even though it takes 6 hours to get there...lol. We were so excited to see everyone and once again were warmly welcomed by Lee, David, Ms. Lois, Jessica, Joyce and Robin. Above is a picture of the whole group. You will notice how tightly Lee is holding on to Julia and Joana because after three days of cuddling and holding them, she was not ready to let them go. They miss you too, Lee, so come and see us soon!

The highlight of our stay is every evening, which is spent outside in the cold, around a huge fire pit, holding a drink and laughing until our tummies hurt because Joyce, Lee and others just can't stop telling jokes or funny stories. The boys had a chance to go deer hunting and had no luck spotting a deer....but Jessica did, a four-point buck which she nailed with one shot...HAH!! Go girl!! Anyway, the boys were excited that Jessica got here first deer and they spent the rest of the week shooting at targets. Even Joana shot a rifle....yup, that's right. She sat on Dampaw's lap and was cheered on by cousin Tyler and Daddy before she pulled the trigger. After she

sot the rifle, she turned and said: "Daddy I shot it!!"

We enjoyed Dampaw's crawfish stew and fried shrimp, and were spoiled by Aunt Lois and Maw Maw O with their breakfast bonanza every morning. Great-grandmothers are gifted in spoiling everyone with their good cooking. Here is an adorable picture of the girls with Mawmaw O and Ms. Lois on her birthday, a day before Thanksgiving.

We even had time to take the girls to a picture studio to take their first formal Christmas pictures together. You will see those on next month's blog.

One of the funnies moments there was capture in the video below. Ms. Lois's house has a ramp that goes from the carport to the entrance of the house. Well, the girls thought the ramp was a slide as used it as such. Check it out...lol

After three days, we were off to New Orleans to spend the rest of the Thanksgiving week with Namaw & Steve, Ti-Ti Jen & Dylan, Uncle Bill & Uncle Roland, Nanny & Uncle Terry, Muggy & Nicole, Maw Maw and lots of other family members. We had Thanksgiving dinner at Maw Maw's house and everyone was there. It was great! Uncle Bill gave daddy a really cool Saints Super Bowl poster along with some other Who-Dat goodies....Awesome! Daddy made his world famous Who-Dat Gumbo, Maw Maw put together her amazingly delicious Rice Dressing, and Nanny baked up a box full of Pecan Pies. Julia loved the gumbo and the pecan pies, which was all she wanted to eat for three days straight. Nanny should be happy to know that the pecan pies were gone before we made back home...mmm! The girls loved spending time with everyone, especially Namaw and Maw Maw. Namaw played hide and seek, chase, and peek-a-boo with Joana & Julia. Maw Maw played horsey with them by bouncing them up and down on her legs, which is pretty good for a 75 year old biddy. Below is a picture of Julia after waking up being spoiled again by Namaw and Pawpaw Steve.

After three days there, we were off to Texas again....and seven hours later, we arrived home safe and sound. Thank heavens for the DVD player and the Dora DVD because without them,....it would have taken us twice as long to get home. Julia looked pretty tired, don't you think?

Now it's time to deck the halls, decorate the tree and get ready for Christmas. We will spend it here at home and we can't wait to see what Santa will bring the girls. I hope this coming Christmas will be full of Joy & Cheer and many great surprises for everyone. See you next month!