Christmas 2013

Sa 12.21.13

• we had to take James to see Santa, of course
• the city of Buenos Aires creates a "Parque Navideño" at a park in Recoleta, not far from our house during the month of December

• we remember running past this last year and thinking how strange it seemed to see elves in shorts and Christmas decorations strewn about in the extreme heat on a sunny summer day...in December...all very strange, but we thought it'd be fun for James' first Santa experience

• the grass may have been dead but the park sure was alive with holiday cheer

• our main objective was to meet Santa, so we got in line right away

• luckily the wait wasn't long because in this 95+ degree weather, we were H-O-T!
• we got in, snapped a couple shots and were outta there

• photo courtesy of the BA Ciudad Navidad facebook page

• this was a fun photo opp with an elf in a snow globe...do people decorate with snow globes in BA?

• then we checked out the rest of the scene

sadly no one took the stage in the 20 minutes we were there

• James posing with both the Prince of Peace and a piece of majestic, machismo art

• goes nicely with the North Pole, wouldn't you say?

• we had some last minute shopping to do, and a hot, hungry infant who just barely made it to the Recoleta mall in time where we found AC, shops, and food
• btw...right when we walked in we were greeted with cool air...and a Santa seeing kids right in the middle of the mall...ok, so that would have been a more comfortable Santa experience, but the park was WAY cooler!

tree outside Recoleta mall

• now that James met Santa (and told him his wish list, which consisted of milk and cuddles) and we finished our shopping, we were ready for Christmas!

Tu 12.24.13

• Christmas Eve and getting into the spirit with holiday tunes, cookie baking, and of course a Christmas apparel...
• Grandma Feauto brought along the cutest little "My First Christmas" outfit...I mean look at the behind!

• James preparing for our Skype date with Grandma and Grandpa La Liberte, Uncle Noah, and Aunt Tiffany

• all the excitement got him sleepy

• although he slept through gift opening, we know he's super excited to sport this lil' suit at Uncle Mark's wedding in May (thanks Grandma and Grandpa)!

• amidst all the excitement, mom and dad were trying to order dinner...just a simple pizza on Christmas Eve (trying to make it a tradition?)
• but...I'm not sure if you see the screen, but CERRADO means CLOSED...and all the places we called or tried online were closed...kinda forgot xmas eve is celebrated more here than xmas day, and therefore most places were closed

• James was like, "Well at least I got my food!"
• and Jake and I resorted to salad, frozen pizza, and It's a Wonderful Life

W 12.25.13

• Christmas tree inside, sunny and summer outside...James, your next Christmas will be VERY different from this one

• after a bit of sleeping in, James was just too excited to see if Santa came
• so we got some cinnamon rolls and coffee ready...and saw that the reindeer had eaten some of the carrots and Santa drank his milk and had some of his cookies (he left the pan dulce because let's be honest...it's a little dry and not that good)

• James opening his first gift:

• and daddy his (mid-cinnamon-roll-chew):

• James' red bear from daddy's co-worker (he LOVES it!)

• ...and a book for James (he got three, but I think this one might be his favorite)

• daddy got mommy a necklace...ooo! nice find, honey!

• and the gift that mommy didn't know about because daddy picked it out himself at the San Telmo Market

• best buds

• it was the perfect first Christmas morning together as a family of three

• before long we had to get ready for church...here we are taking the elevator from our apartment (maximum capacity = 3 people...or 2 adults, a baby, and a stroller)

• walking across the park to church...really only took this shot because of what's in the background...sunbathing ladies

• James and the church's nativity scene...luckily he didn't cry like this through the whole mass (he was great until communion!)

• then it was time to go home and put the men Jake to work, as is the Christmas morning Greer family tradition (no, I didn't let him get out of it just because we're not back home...sorry, and thanks husband!)

• Jake was busy making scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, fresh fruit and mimosas (I helped him out with the cinnamon rolls...because my mom always makes these anyway)

• what a spread!  James is ready to eat with his super cute bib on (thanks Aunt Jenny!)

• we spent the rest of the day enjoying our Christmas presents, and finishing up some Christmas cookies to bring to dinner later that night

• ...and we found the cutest little bundle under the Christmas tree...

with his new ornament from Grandma Feauto...a horse, of course! 

• I think we'll keep this one...he's pretty great, and the best gift we could've asked for this year!
• growing up, my dad always made us line up our gifts and tell the video camera our name, age, and what we got for Christmas
• so we made James do the same...come on, humor us son!

"My name is James and I'm 5 weeks old and I got three books, a red bear, and a monkey!"

• after some Skyping with the Feauto's (*not pictured: super cute Adidas track suit for the little guy (from guess who) along with some other sweet gifts from Grandma and Grandpa) we had to pack up and get ready to head over to some friends' house for dinner

• we felt blessed to be able to share Christmas evening with friends, another expat couple and their two sweet babes, one of which, little Alex, was born just a couple months before James
• here are the little guys at just over 1 month and 3 months old:

• and our funny/sad attempt to try to get a side-by-side comparison shot...haha

• and there's big sister Gretchen getting in on the fun!

• and I'm still thinking about that meal and how I need to start making more meat...we had the best lomo with stuffing, mashed potatoes, yorkshire pudding, salad...I'm drooling...and they sent us with leftovers!...oh my goodness...
• Dawn and Jon THANK YOU! we had a great evening celebrating Christmas in the presence of friends...something always treasured by expats during holidays
• MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!  FELIZ NAVIDAD!