ham and potatoes

The Office .......

the pecan bars were rich as always

It was an evening laced with incredible food [scalloped potatoes, ham, beans...the appetizers were incredible!], sugar and candle light.

It was the first year that Maverick cared about that person named "Santa" enough to talk to him.  A more peaceful experience compared to his first year where he screamed his little one year old lungs out every time Michael put him in front of Santa's face.  I have the video of that somewhere.

......later, on the way home, he wanted to see where Santa went...."I wanna see him fly on his sled..."  Only a parent would think this to be so adorable coming out of the five year old baby of the family...who we still call Boo.

It was fun to see Josie Garcia and Catherine Koon [Santa's wife] as part of the caroling crowd that sang for us.

There was no thievery in this year's gift exchange method.  With such a big crowd, I s'pose I could understand.  However, it still didn't have that mischievous fun as years before.  Yes, Mike and I missed that.  The whole time the question wouldn't stop spinning about "Is this really our last radio station Christmas party??"  There's sentimental bitter sweetness with that as even these weeks we've been verbalizing how much we already wish to be experiencing Christmas in Manila....in shorts even!  Filipinos know how to celebrate Christmas.  The first Christmas party with The Edge radio family is sure to be full of sentimental moments within the beginning of a beautiful new chapter.

A week before I learned that RJ's wife [and RJ himself] are just as much against the hoax of vaccinations as we are.  She talked of  how...somehow my name is still passed around town as the person to talk to when parents are looking for what turns out to be incriminating information from CDC and the pharmaceutical companies themselves.  Too bad I can't help  other brand new parents in the coming years.  

We had fun watching and being part of all the fun in the body heat filled room of good cheer.  The baby belly is definitely obvious these days.  

One of my favorite pics of our big boys....suave as they be.  It's painful to think that we have less than four years left with these babes.  I will always wish to have been a far better mom than I have been.  

Mini Me loves the camera.  Charlie Koon is the best looking Santa I've ever seen in my entire life.

We're in SO MUCH trouble with this here Victorian beauty.  No, not Charlie.

Everybody [including nearly all the adults] wanted to sit on Charlie's lap.  Dave and Mike here look like Snow White's dwarfs.  They just needed the dwarf costume.