A Christmas Card from us to you 2017


Merry Christmas! Here I am again to carry on the tradition of my annual Christmas card blog. This is officially year six and you can look back at all our other posts in the following links if you are curious:
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012

Even though 2017 started out on a bad note with Laura being in the hospital for a few weeks and me having to leave my job, it ended up being a pretty good year. Looking back through past years´posts makes me realize how much things have changed over the past six years. We no longer travel as much, although we did get to visit Michigan this past summer. We have been living in our apartment for five years, although we are quickly outgrowing it and may be on a new house hunt in the coming year. Our lives are no longer consumed by bottles, feeding times and naps, although we are still holding on to one daily snooze for the girls. What I mean to say is that, life is good. Really good. And we have a lot to look forward to.

 As always, here is our top ten from 2017:

 10. Celebrating the girls´first birthday because  hey, they survived an entire year! Hell yes! And now, almost two years. I call that a parenting win. Laura and Vera keep getting more fun and funny by the day. We love them so much!
9. Another thing that has been pretty great this year is watching with wonder as the girls have begun to talk. Jose and I are making a lot of effort for them to be bilingual and it has been nice to be able to see the fruit of that labor. They have been talking a lot more this past year and it is amazing.
8. My parents came to visit us last spring for about four days and we had a lot of fun with them. Laura and Vera love their Noona and Poppa Walrus and we had a laidback visit.
7. We flew to Michigan for another summer of friends, family and fun. This past trip we got to see literally EVERYONE that we wanted to see I think. Even if it was for a brief time, we got to catch up with friends and family that we haven´t seen for years. We all especially loved staying with my sister Katie, Spencer and the girls´favorite person in the world, Daphne. We also crashed at my other sister Chrissie´s house for a while so that we could soak up some time with my other nieces Cawaline and Eve. It was fantastic.
6. While in Michigan we celebrated another GAGME trip to Indianapolis. While running around in our themed-gear we went to the zoo, the Children´s museum, the NCAA museum and out to eat with my parents, sisters and nieces. So fun.
5. We also got to hang around in Chicago with my sister Andie and Unkie Eric on our way in to the States and on our way out. We bought our flights so they would be direct from Madrid to Chi-town so that we could spend some time with Noodz and it didn´t disappoint.
4. Laura and Vera went to their first feria this past spring and dressed in their flamenca dresses. They were adorable. They even went on a few of the rides in the midway.
3. My mom came to visit us right at the end of 2016 and beginning of 2017 so she was here when Laura and Vera got to celebrate their first Reyes Magos experience. We all went to Jose´s hometown to see the parade and try to catch some of the presents they were throwing out to the crowd. 
2. We have also had the opportunity to spend time with Jose´s sister and her family a few times when they have come down from France to visit. One of our favorites was the weekend we all spent together at the beach in Portugal. The girls love their cousin Eva even if they don´t always get along when they are together.
1. Another of my favorite memories of this past year has been seeing how much Vera and Laura love their abuelos. They spend one afternoon with them each week when both Jose and I have to work and I know that they have a BLAST when they are all together. They love their Alolo and their Abuela and I am blessed to have family here who go out of their way to help us out when we need it and who love our girls as much as we do.

 I hope that your 2017 was as good as ours and that you have a wonderful holiday season!

 Merry Christmas to everyone. Feliz Navidad!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

La mesa camilla

Image
The mesa camilla is a very Spanish invention (in fact I believe it to be a very southernly Spanish invention). It consists of a table, a heater and a heavy, long tablecloth-like fabric that drapes over the sides. The idea is that you put the heater under the table and when you sit down you put the fabric over you like a blanket. The truth is that it does keep you quite warm. The downside is that once you get up and move, you lose the heat. Since the houses and apartments here in the south of Spain are not created for the cold (no central heating) a mesa camilla can be found almost every where.  We didn't have one last year and survived with blankets, space heaters and flannel pajamas throughout the winter. This year Jose decided we needed to get a mesa camilla. I fought the good fight (since often times they look very similar to the option in the picture above) but we ended up ordering one not too long ago.  Typically the mesa camilla is made of wood and can be stored throu
Read more

Simple Spanish recipe: Chipirones a la plancha

Image
Ok so I know this picture is a bit blurry and I apologize but it is the final result of my having cooked chipirones a la plancha for the first time. Let me explain, chipirones are small squid and a la plancha means grilled. They are served in an olive oil, parsley and garlic sauce. At first I wasn't sold on the idea of this recipe but believe me, it is pretty awesome and super healthy. It is a really typical tapa that you can order at almost any bar here in the south of Spain. Chipirones a la plancha is usually served on a bed of lettuce or with a small side salad. Yum! Here's the how: First you need the chipirones (small squid that come with the heads and tentacles attached). I can buy them at my local grocery store in the fresh seafood section. I bought a package of 400 grams though the good thing about this recipe is that you can make as much or as little as you like. Allow me to also explain that here in Spain people tend to eat a lot more fish and seafood than
Read more

Spanish names

Image
Maaaaaaaria, I just met a girl named Maria Hopefully you just read that and sang the song from West Side Story in your head. Let's just say that from what I have experienced here in Spain, people really, really like this name. In fact, there are times when it seems like EVERY woman or girl is named Maria (or Maria de/l something) and though they might go by the second part of their name, their given one is still Maria. People definitely opt for traditional names here, unlike the US where names go through trends.  Recently a friend on Facebook posted a link which contained a GIF  (originally from The Atlantic)  showing the different female names that had been popular in the US since 1960. It is interesting to see how a name like Jennifer would be popular in one region and then would sweep the nation. Such a map would not be as cool here in Spain since not a whole lot would change. Maria. Maria del Carmen. Miriam. Marian. Mirian. Variations on a theme. Religious names I
Read more