Christmas 2013

We had a wonderful Christmas with Matt's side of the family. My side congregated at my sister's place where everyone was eagerly waiting for her second son to be born! Henry finally made his appearance and he is the cutest little thing. Checking their blog (between classes, or right in the middle of class) is my favorite thing to lift my spirits. Here he is just a few days old. I shamelessly brag about him to all of my students.

Just before Christmas, Matt and I decided to check out Buffalo. Thanks to my brother-in-law, we were able to use some guest passes to the zoo that were about to expire. We went on the foggiest/rainiest day (oh, central NY!), but the baby gorilla was totally worth it.

Of course, my absolute favorite are giraffes.

We ate lots of unhealthy food at Duff's. Then, we saw the movie Catching Fire!!

Christmas Eve was a big get together at my in-laws' house, as the tradition goes. We missed the sibs down south this year, but we're thankful that most were able to join. Here are a few pictures of the family hanging out, eating a delicious brunch and playing with new toys.

  

This is the littlest, who's not so little anymore. She and I became buddies. She's not yet two and she

makes lots of short sentences and questions, like "where's da kitty cat?"

Caleb broke his arm, but he was really courageous about the whole thing (and he loved the toys the hospital gave to him). His orange cast is super impressive. At this moment, he probably doesn't like the vegetables his mom is trying to feed him. In the background, Matt is snuggling with Zach. 

 Zach has changed so much since Thanksgiving. His eyebrows came in!

Siblings love each other. 

 But apparently husbands don't like to be adjusted before a picture....

Corrie helped all of the kids open up their new toys--why do they make packaging so complicated??

I was really excited to give my niece the puppet show I had been secretly making (the red is awfully bright in the picture). I think it turned out great. It's collapsible because of the tension rod that holds it up: so convenient! Thank you Pinterest!

 Matt explains to his dad how the remote helicopter works.

 I love this picture of Matt and his mom!

On Christmas day, it was 2 degrees. No, that's not a typo. We actually saw the sunshine that morning, so we decided to go for a walk. Why? I don't even know. The Christmas Cheer must have gotten to my head and messed with my judgment. 

Matt said "we'll walk through the backyard and into the back field to touch the pole (see below) and come right back". I was bundled up so much it was hard to bend my limbs. We wore snow shoes.

Proof that we made it. 

After spending Christmas with Matt's family, we visited with his grandparents, then made our way to Baltimore, MD for a little weekend to ourselves. We stayed in the cutest row house (airBnB) and spent the days walking around different neighborhoods, eating out and going to the Aquarium. 

I learned I have a fish named after me: the Rebeca Fish: 

 What a coincidence! I love fruit and snails too!!

Matt's favorite was the dolphins: 

We ate at an Afghani restaurant called Helmand. Apparently, the country's president's brother is the owner. It was delicious food!! We tried a Mexican and Italian place too. All good. Baltimore is cool, though some parts are really ghetto and torn down. It's a shame, because you can tell those homes used to be grand and beautiful.

On Sunday, we went to a Baptist church and we were the only white people. I must say, even though I knew I was surrounded by other believers, family really, it felt so strange and the stark difference was hard to ignore. Since we were clearly visitors, everyone went out of their way to say goodmorning and make us feel welcome. The service was very emotive and basically 1.5 hours of worship: praise God for this, praise God for that, give it up for God because He is (insert adjective). It was a whole different experience for both of us: very God centered, very engaging, very joyful, very loud. It was neat. 

Finally, on our way back to our row house, we passed 34th street and this is what we saw: 

Our host explained that they do this every Christmas season and they open up their homes (just in that tiny block) for hot chocolate and home tours, etc. It's a huge attraction!