Christmas and NYE 2016

And just like that...the holidays are over! I don't know about you guys, but I was just NOT into it this year. I think a majority of it had to do with me being sick, which started just a few days before Christmas. Nevertheless, I enjoyed watching Owen truly experience the magic of the holidays this year.

Before we were blocked out for the holidays, we went to Disneyland to look at all the Christmas decorations. As usual, everything was beautiful, and Owen kept saying "Woooooow!" at everything.

I wanted all of them, but they were expensive! I can buy 5 churros for the price of one of these things!

Thank you, Disneyland, for letting us experience "snow" every 15 minutes LOL!

Owen also enjoyed ALL the sweets he got to eat. We made sugar cookies, which was so much harder (and messier) than I thought it would be. We also made a gingerbread house, but...let's be honest, I was the only one making it while Owen just kept grabbing candy from my hands and shoving them into his mouth.

Ralph contributed by putting that green Gummy Bear.

On December 20th, my company gifted me a "shopping day", which is basically a paid day off before Christmas. The 20th also marked a whole 10 years with Ralph; unfortunately, I got sick the night before, so I spent the next couple of days in bed or on the couch, nursing a fever, headache, cough, and sore throat. *Sigh* What a bummer. Hopefully I can make it up to him on Valentine's Day or something.

We spent Christmas Eve with my parents, and then we spent Christmas Day with Ralph's families in Riverside. Owen was spoiled rotten, and he was very happy to receive a lot of "cohs" (cars). I was also very happy to see that he received a lot of "bear" items (books and stuffed animals).

We didn't quite wait till midnight to open presents because Owen would not have lasted (and frankly, I wouldn't have lasted either). Still, he slept past his bedtime, and he struuuugled to get out of bed Christmas morning.

He did get up, eventually, and he went downstairs to get his gifts from his stocking. We also gave him our present, which was a Radio Flyer 2-in-1 scooter.

He didn't care for his chocolate or Elmo...

...he just wanted his Hot Wheels.

And he was kind enough to show us that he cared for his scooter for a whole minute before putting all his attention back to his cars.

We spent the whole day playing with cousins and just eating (actually, Owen played; Ralph and I ate). I hardly took any photos, but that only meant that we were so busy having a good time...though I did manage to get a photo of Owen and his cousin Ryanne, which is great, because we always miss this little girl during family gatherings.

The day after, we all just stayed home so I could recuperate (I was voiceless and coughing all hours of the day AND night). Owen, on the other hand, was just having the time of his life with his new batch of toys, including his scooter. He proved that he was too big for the sit-down version, so Ralph changed it into the standing kind.

He'll get it...eventually.

On New Year's Eve, we headed for Vegas to spend time with my Uncle Ian and his family. We left home at 5am and hardly hit any traffic. Thankfully, Owen slept a majority of the time.

It was Christmas (again) as we exchanged gifts; and at this point, Owen finally understood the meaning of opening presents. A week ago, he would open a present and would want to play with it, disregarding the other wrapped gifts; but at my aunt and uncle's, he wanted to unwrap EVERYBODY'S.

He loved the bear that Emi got him!

Soon after opening presents, Owen went to bed. We rang in the New Year without him, but just a few minutes after midnight, I snuck upstairs to give my baby a New Year's kiss and to snap this quick photo.

On New Year's Day, we ate, played games, and later had a bonfire to make s'mores. Again, I didn't take too many photos because I was truly enjoying the time with family (but I did, at my mom's request, take a bunch of photos of Owen and his "Wowo" during their morning walk).

Emi and Cawee. <3

Chopper! (Emi and Cara's dog...isn't he CUTE?!)

I don't want to get too emotional, but spending New Year's Weekend with my family meant so much to me. I have family in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and the Philippines, so it's hard to have all of us together under one roof during the holidays. The last time we were all together was Christmas 2008. Only one person was missing, and that was my grandfather, who passed away just a few months before. It was the best Christmas I ever had, and it makes me sad that it can't be like that every year. Hopefully, that can happen again.

As for the year 2016, it was a rough one, but I will forever be grateful for the many blessings and memories that it has given me. Here's to 2017 and all that it will bring!