Here's to change, and to 2006.

There's so much to write about what went on during the holidays, but I've been so busy trying to catchup with all the work I put off.

To start off, Jay and Mama (his mom) were in Boracay for an Oakley/Reef event from December 26 to 31. The kids were out as well, so Layla and I spent most of our time with the Vargas girls.

We started December 31 really early. Mama's plane from Boracay was arriving at 9:00am, so Layla and I hitched with the driver to Aba's house at 8:00. I think Layla was a little shocked to see her environment change so early in the morning, but she had a good breakfast and a lot of sunlight in the lanai as I rocked her on my Abuelita Nina's rocking chair. Aba also treated me to a good end-of-the-year facial. Hehe. So it was nice to have her tend to Layla for a while.

I love how Layla is so comfortable in Aba's house. She doesn't even mind Max's loud barks. It's as if she understands that it's a second home where loved ones take care of her when Jay and I are away, which is good because she needs to get used to being taken care of by other people...or else I'll never be able to go out. Hehe.

In the afternoon, my sisters and I went to town center where I bought very late gifts for some kids and met up with Camille and Nikki for coffee. There were lots of Zobel people in Seattle's Best and I had lots of fun actually talking to them about things other than "babies". I mean come on, I see my baby everyday. Haha!

Then we went home and had a yummy "finger food" dinner to welcome the new year: cold cuts, ham, cheese and crackers, sausages, salmon...the recipe for a no-hassle new year's...because there's nothing much to wash afterwards.

Layla and I had to go home right after dinner because Jay had already arrived from Boracay. We had our photo op by the Christmas tree and tried desperately to make Layla smilke. Luckily she LOOKS LIKE she's smiling in the photo with me. Haha! Anything that looks like a smile is good. And then we had our long goodbye's...it was my first time to spend New Year's Eve somewhere else and I think it was a little hard for Aba and my sisters. As much as they wanted us to stay and give Layla the whole Vargas New Year experience, we had to be with Jay and the other kids, our family, and they understood and I love them for that. I love them for always being there for me, for respecting my decisions, for accepting change and for seeing the good in it. And besides, Layla's bedtime's before midnight. Hehe.

So there have been a lot of changes in the Vargas family. A baby girl has been added to the bunch and with her comes a whole new family experience. Our family's actually bigger now because the Vargases spent Christmas with the Ortegas and the Roys! But I'll post about that soon. In the meantime, happy new year to everyone and I hope that 2006 will be good for all of us.

PS. By the way, meet Jack! From The Nightmare Before Christmas. He's Layla's new bodyguard, so you'll be seeing more of him in the future. :)