Christmas in Los Banos: Part 2

Wow. I can't believe how long it's taking me to get this post done.

Anyway, here is the Christmas mantle with the stockings hung by the chimney with care.  See those four sweet handmade stockings with the red and green polka dot cuffs??? Those were made by yours truly. I am so pleased with how they turned out.  

And here is the tree shortly after Santa left, or at least before the kids got to it!

Easton really had fun opening his stocking.  He quickly got the hang of it, and started digging down to see what was inside. When he couldn't find anything anymore, he started signing for "help", like there's something wrong, I can't get anything else out of this (totally darling) stocking!!

Gabriela was very excited about everything she pulled out of her stocking, starting with a ginormous cherry candy cane. What the heck was Santa thinking when he got her that???

TOOTHPASTE!!!!

Have you ever seen someone more delighted to have Strawberry flavored toothpaste in their stocking??

AND rainbow Hello Kittie socks??? This girl scored.

Big time.

Easton was excited about everything in his stocking, even the diaper area spray. 

Andrew makes the best gift opening faces.  

Gabriela is also opening her mixer that she asked Santa for. It's the cutest little wooden

 kitchen aid-like mixer

Easton, our little elf, loved his little wooden rainbow popper toy from Santa. Here he is, giving it the inaugural whirl around the living room floor.

Papa gave Gabriela and her cousins a really special handmade gift this year.  One that should last forever. I really hope Gabriela is able to bring out this gift and watch her grandchildren enjoy it

That's a big box, Papa!

It's a baby doll cradle!  So beautiful! And it has a little hand crocheted "mattress" made by Nana. Gabriela was jealous that hers was white but Mina's was purple. So her sweet Nana crocheted her a beautiful pink blanket to put on top of her dollies when they are in the cradle.

Easton loved his water bottle.  He couldn't stop drinking from it the rest of the morning!

Here is my mom just starting to cry over the gift I gave her.  When we told my parents we were pregnant with Gabriela, we gave them a photo album engraved to say "Baby Grover". My mom gave it back to me a few months before Christmas and asked that I fill it up with photos. It wasn't easy, but I picked 62 photos over more than 4 years for her album. I made sure to pick special photos of them together, of Gabriela and Easton with things my mom has made for them - blankets, hats, dresses, baby Gabriela in her "I love my Nana" bib.  My mom was all out sobbing by the time she got to the end, and she told me she would cherish it always.  Now that's a special gift. (if I do say so, myself)

There was a ton more gift opening, but we were too busy oohing and aahing over the gifts and helping kiddos open theirs to take many more photos.

But here's one of Gabriela and me enjoying her super fancy Alice in Wonderland pop up book.

Then there was a candy cane photo shoot with my little goof ball.

Easton and Daddy in their Christmas best.

Auntie Cynthia loved getting to put Easton down for a nap. She gave him little snuggle bugs and he went right to sleep for her. I think her heart may have just melted.

Nana made sure we ate wonderfully well, keeping a batch of tamales always ready for us to eat. Talk about spoiled! My parents were also excited to bust out with the fancy wine they bought earlier this year on the wine train in Napa, that they had been saving to enjoy with their kids at the holidays.