Last Christmas weekend was epic. It was baby NJ’s first Christmas and our first also as parents. The hubby and I were ecstatic we got to experience this precious moment. Our family shared in the joy, of course. I was happy we got some decent pictures with baby NJ (she was somewhat in a good mood because she had just taken a nap before our photo session!). I chose the best one and turned into our official Christmas pic which I sent to our family friends and to those select people who greeted us a merry Christmas on social media.
Our Noche Buena was spent at my parents’ place. This has been our set up for the past years or so: Noche Buena at my parents’ place and Media Noche at our place. Parang ang layo naman ng bahay namin sa isa’t isa eh kabilang bakod lang naman, hahaha. My little sis Jodie was in-charge of the cooking and I contributed to our Noche Buena spread by making kani salad using store-bought sesame dressing (that Kewpie brand was really good!).
On Saturday, we went to our condo to do some cleaning. We brought Mame and Jodie along because they wanted to swim after. I opted to join them in the pool and I soon realized it was actually my first time to do so since the condo got turned over to us in September 2019. (Family didn’t allow me to swim while I was pregnant with baby NJ for fear that I might catch a virus in the water). So, the swim was quite memorable, haha. We only spent half an hour swimming because we got hungry. And since there was a little cafe at the condo’s lobby lounge, we had a quick merienda there before going home.
Here are several photos from our lovely and memorable Christmas weekend:
baby NJ opening her presents on Christmas eve (it should have been Christmas morning but she was giddy with excitement and could no longer wait, or was it the parents who couldn’t wait? :P)
Mabalay family minus my brother Dan (who was still on his way home when this pic was taken) on Christmas Eve
tongue-out moment between baby NJ and her daddy on Christmas morning
my Christmas gift wrapping theme this year — eco friendly with style 🙂
wannabe chef Jodie’s three-cheese lasagna was a hit during Noche Buena…
…and so was my kani salad 🙂
souvenir shot of my first swim at the condo’s pool 😛
with Mame and Jodie
merienda with the condo cleaning crew
our official family pic for Christmas 2020
Merry Christmas from our family to yours! 🙂
May you choose happiness always,
