Christmas -- the most magical time of the year

Christmas felt like a 3 day special this year. On the eve of Christmas Eve, Robyn and Chris joined me for a visit to grandma & grandpa's. As usual, their set up at the house was lovely. When we were growing up, holidays at their house was the best because they went all out. Obviously, as the years went by, the decorations decreased. But, there's always a little bit of that magic there that I felt as a kid. (This is the same apartment my dad grew up in! He is the oldest of my grandparents' 4 children).

Later that night, I went back to Jonathan's as his Aunt Ro & Uncle Dom were coming in from Florida, as they do every Christmas.

Haha...goofy Grinch like face.

Christmas Eve was quickly upon us and I parted ways with Jonathan for the day/evening as I would be going to Long Island with my family. It's a Christmas Eve tradition for us and last year was the first time we didn't go so this year was extra special, with the return of the usual plans and Alexandra being pregnant and Amanda (my cousin) having a 5 month old. It was also the first time we'd be meeting Kaeleigh, the baby. Excitement all around!

Sleeping angel!

Haha...whose got the bigger belly?! ;-)

Kaeleigh is awake! She is gorgeous.

Kaeleigh with her Aunt Morgan.

I'm pretty sure my mom missed holding babies...after having 4 of them LOL

Kaeleigh was the star of the show.

Baby's first Christmas!

I wanted a good photo with her but this was the best we got because she was squiggling around LOL.

The evening wrapped around 9pm so I headed back to Queens via the LIRR with my mom and sister. The trains weren't running too well so by the time I got back to Jonathan's it was 11pm and everyone was pooped. But, it's common knowledge around these parts that I'm dating an elf (LOL) so we stayed up to 2am, wrapping presents for the next day. Needless to say, waking up the next morning, not even coffee could make me feel human. But presents? Oh yeah! Jonathan surprised me with a point and shoot camera (this one) that I've been wanting, among other things. He always knows exactly what to get me :D And I think it's safe to say he LOVED his Playstation 3, because he's been wanting that for...forever. Once we opened the gifts, we popped into the nearby church for awhile. I am very disappointed that I didn't go to the midnight Mass because the next morning, I knew we'd be pressed for time but I stupidly thought I'd wake up early enough LOL. But oh well, that's another story for another time. It was a lovely morning anyway. That afternoon we went to White Plains, to Jonathan's other aunt and uncle's house and had a delicious dinner with great company.

Johnny is the next Beethoven, don't ya think?

More gift opening when we got to Aunt Connie's. It's not pictured but she was generous enough to get me a small Coach bag -- I was floored!

The table was beautifully set.

Johnny sat long enough to watch an episode of his favorite character ever, Thomas the Tank Engine.

Jonathan's dad is clearly ready to eat! =P

It was easy to get him into his chair since he seemed to be in some sort of daze. Hehe.

The Ambrose Christmas tree was gorgeous! Photo credit goes to Jonathan.

I hung out with Jonathan's cousin Danielle in her room. She has the coolest set up -- any Disney fan would love it!

Look how neatly she lines up her cards!

A sweet shot of Jonathan and his cuz.

When we got back to Queens, Jonathan and I hit up my parents' house to see them before the night was over.

Haha...the things I make him pose for.

My reaction to Alex's gift LOL. It was a scrapbook + scrapbook accessories! Perfect for me -- especially because I wanted something to commemorate 2010. She knows me too well.

Much much later that night, after Robyn and I both got out of our respective theatres, we went back to Jonathan's house to open the remaining presents we had for each other. Plus Robyn and Jonathan had a little something for each other as well.

And the magical day was thus over.

I really have to thank everyone for their generous gifts this year. My parents, Jonathan's parents, his sister, his family, my family and friends (like Tiffany, John, Stephen, Wilfredo & Jenn) really made my day with their generosity (and company.)

movies & shows galore

This month, I have seen so many different movies and shows, I thought I'd post about them before I forget.

Love & Other Drugs pleasantly surprised me. Robyn and I have taken to watching movies with closed captioning in theaters so when she told me she and Tiffany had plans to see it, I jumped on board. It was more than just 'the-movie-where-Jake-Gyllenhaal-and-Anne-Hathaway-were-naked'. It was surprisingly moving. The first half played off like a comedy but the second half took a serious turn. Anne's Maggie the artist has early onset Parkinson's and Jake's Jamie the pharmaceutical rep falls for her, much to his (but not our) surprise. They both gave great performances, in which my sister bawled like a baby in the second half, LOL.

Tangled became my favorite movie of the year. One, I am a sucker for Disney movies and two, Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi (although in cartoon) have great chemistry. You all know the beloved tale of Rapunzel. Goldie-loooooong-locks stuck in a tower by the evil mother....I felt Disney put a fresh spin on a familiar tale. You have to see it for yourself to know what I mean but I will say, the end credits song is now my most played on my iTunes list!

I'm not sure why I agreed to see Burlesque when my sister suggested coming with her but I did. And boy...am I glad. It IS a cliched movie. I mean, small town girl makes it big, little girl with big voice...it's been done before. However, maybe it's because of a solid cast or because of Christina's pipes, whatever it was...I was sold. Great musical numbers (Express is a personal favorite) and great acting by everyone (cast also includes Cher, Stanley Tucci, Cam Gigandet, Kristen Bell). If campy movies involving music are your thing, by all means, see it! One website I read argues this movie isn't really campy enough to be a guilty pleasure but I disagree.

On the 5th, a group of us (thanks to John's coordinating) went to see Wintuk, a stunning display of "acrobatics amid flakes" as one website puts it, to tell the story of a boy's quest for snow. You really have to see it yourself to get how insanely talented these performers are!! Some of the stunts are truly mind boggling. I would have seriously injured myself doing any of them. Major props to John for suggesting we see this. Very sad Winktuk isn't coming back around for another run at Madison Square Garden.

Here comes St. Nick...

My favorite time of the year...

...when the houses are lit

...and the yard is ablaze

...and the wreath is hung with care.

The living room always seems to look better with this ol' thing in it, doesn't it?

It really is a time of reflection.

But of course, the gift giving isn't so bad either. I only have TWO more left to get on Wednesday and then I'm finished!! I might get a few extra little things to add but all in all, I'd say this is my most successful Christmas shopping experience yet.

One of my favorite parts of Christmas though, is seeing the Advent candles lit each week at Mass. It represents the period of waiting for Christ's birth. For other details, check out this great site here.

Jonathan was great about decorating the house for the season.

On the 10th, Stephen put together a Christmas dinner for a few friends and we had a nice turnout. The choice of locale was Portofino's. Jonathan and his family know the owner so he (as he does everyone) welcomed us with open arms. Very warm and accommodating man. Food was delicious, company was great...in short, great job done by Stephen!

Our host for the evening. I'm mad this photo came out so blurry but I didn't want to delete because Stephen still came out great LOL

That Saturday, Jonathan and I spent the majority of the day helping his sister and brother-in-law move stuff into their new home. It's a gorgeous house, the kind that makes you want one for yourself, haha. Neat fact about the place: former Brooklyn Dodger, Pee Wee Reese, used to live there!! We had fun putting up the tree and such. They were nice enough to treat us to dinner at the end of the day (I was so hungry, I think I ate like 3 helpings of Chinese food). And of course, seeing Johnny was one of the best parts of the day! The little guy is getting SO big and he looks so grown up with his hair cut. He's not even two and he knows all these words and such...whatever teacher gets him once he starts school is in for a real treat, hehe.

This month is like a whirlwind. Before we know it, 2011 will be here and this past year will be nothing but a memory.

SCARY.

And exciting.