Beaniebaby, and her Little Brother: Christmas Vacation, Part 1.

Happy 2011!

The blogging hiatus is over, and so is the vacation. This trip was probably the most relaxing one we've ever been on. I don't think I've slept that much in well, almost 4 years. Come to think of it, I don't think I've eaten that much in 4 years, either. Daily walks by the ocean, family & friends all around, no snow to shovel, green grass in the middle of winter, no house to clean, and meals prepared for us each and every day. Glorious I tell ya, glorious!

The break from blogging was quite nice as well. We didn't even take our laptop to BC this time around. In addition to ourselves, there was luggage and carry-ons for 2 kids, winter coats and boots, 2 car seats, a stroller, a baby bjorn and my camera. Not to mention Christmas presents to take home. Phew. I'm tired just thinking about it all again! Taking the laptop was just another heavy article to carry on the plane, so we chose not to. Besides, Santa bought me a snazzy new iPhone4 for Christmas, so it's really all that we needed. We were able to keep up with all things internet that way. And by not blogging, I had the time to play around and learn all about my new toy! And sleep. And read. Books!! (I find reading books so difficult with young children. The only real chunk of time I have to read is before bed and well, I'm so exhausted that I usually only get through a few pages before I'm fast asleep.)

One of my favourite Christmas presents was given to me by Alejandro. He gave me the fabulous gift of sleep. To be exact, 8-10 hours in a row. Regularly! At 4 mos old! Yippee!!!! Here's to hoping this isn't just a phase...

The next few posts will include some of my favourite photos of our 10 days in Victoria. Ysabella had a blast. She especially loved her cousins and the plane rides (even the turbulence!). Alejandro did quite well on the plane rides himself. And surprisingly, none of us ended up sick while on vacation, which was a bonus!

Without further ado (or is it adieu?!)...

Part 1: Traditional Christmas Eve Dinner at Vicky & Sal's house.

Can you guess who was Bella's new best friend? :)
Bella & Big Cousin Savannah.

Tia Vicky (Hi Vicky!!) :) and Alex (wearing a slightly-too-small Santa hat.)

The cousins, minus Bella's biggest and oldest cousin, Alan, who unfortunately, had to work. :(
My favourite pic. I love these kids.

Christmas Eve dinner. Yum-yum! Let the gluttony begin!

Bella didn't make it much past dinner. With us arriving just the day before, and her usual bedtime of 730pm EST, she was exhausted. This picture was taken around 9pm, PST (midnight, EST). And there was no way she was waking up for presents!