No it’s not… well, ok, yea it is April Fool’s Day, but more importantly, it’s also our anniversary!  Yes, too many four years of wonderful marriage.   With the birth of our first born and our anniversary landing in the same month, April is a month of reminiscence for me.  I won’t go too into it, but a lot has happened in those four short years… a LOT.

It’s funny how as a bachelor (*cough* living with my parents *cough*) life was simple and slow.  Now, every month is another friggin’ grey hair.  Not that I mind, I actually enjoy seeing a grey hair every now and then, but it sure is exhausting at times.  Complaining aside, overall, I’m a  happy dude.  There’s no person I’d rather be with than my crazy ass wife.  I sure as hell wouldn’t give my Izzy up for a different life either.

Anyway, I was looking up the traditional gifts for a four year anniversary and found out this year is flowers. Flowers! Gaw! This is gonna be easy! Ha!  I also noticed that the fourth year modern gift is an appliance.  Uh. No. Flowers.  Besides, I just bought her a damn Belgian Waffle maker.

So I have this cool idea in mind but it’s another top secret project that I can’t divulge on here just yet.  Look for it tomorrow night.  And no, it’s not a simple bouquet of flowers… although that would be a great gift since it is April Fools day. Heh.

Speaking of which, Izzy and I have been hard at work perfecting our April Fools joke.  Alas, her learning capacity is not what I hoped it to be.  I’m trying to teach her to fall down when I pretend karate chop her in the neck.  Positive reinforcement doesn’t work, and a real karate chop to the neck doesn’t sound like a good idea.  I’ll just have to wait until next year. 

Flickr: CreativeSam

Ok.   Here’s the deal.   I’m good.   Damn, good.   I know how to woo my wife.   I can get her gifts that surprise her every dag-on time.   Not only are they surprising, but the moment seems to last forever!   If I am in trouble, I remind her of her last Valentine’s/Anniversary/Birthday/Christmas gift, and all is forgiven.

And every gift tops the previous – she’s never received the same present twice.   Stop smirking, that is a bad thing!   Sigh.

I am out of ideas…

I’ve been racking my brain going over every memory of conversations we’ve had recently.   Analyzing every word and gesture she makes in order to find some inspiration or idea.   It doesn’t matter how many times I go over it… I get nothing!

Then, like lighting, it hit me.   I need a reboot.   It’s genius!   I’ll forget Valentine’s Day on purpose!   That way, the next gift she gets from me will be wonderful no matter what I get.

We’ll still go out to dinner and I’ll put on a tie for her… but no gift.

There’s no way this can backfire on me.   No way.

Izzy in Christmas Dress

Christmas came and went this year.   Izabella got to open lots of presents in her very cute Christmas clothes.   In the end, she played more with the wrapping paper than with the toys themselves, but that’s the way it goes, right?   Buy a toy and they play with the box instead.   Wait until we get really big boxes, then daddy can play too!  

We spent a lot of time with Ciri’s dad and step-mom this Christmas.   Thanksgiving, everybody came down to our house and made tamales.   Christmas we drove up to their house for dinner.   Two days later they came back down with Ciri’s younger brothers for a night of grilled food and board games.   Tomorrow we head back up to their house for a night of celebration and buneulo making.

This is what the holidays are all about, there is nothing more important than love and family.   Most of our family lives in California and we miss them dearly during these times, but it is important for Izzy to grow up knowing what is important.   Even if we can’t visit all of our family, we can at least be thankful for them being in our lives in one way or another.

So, back to Izzy’s Christmas.   She pretty much knocked out around 8 pm every night so she really didn’t get to enjoy the after hours part of the celebrations.   She didn’t miss much, just lots of talking and cursing at board games!   When she was awake, though, she was the center of attention.   She transferred from one set of arms to another on a constant basis.   It was fun tracing her travels around the room as she wandered from uncle to uncle to grandma to great grandma to grandpa and so on and so on.

Izzy and more Christmas gifts

I’m proud to say that she is still a trooper.   She loves meeting new people and she is a intersting judge of character.   She’ll analyze people for a few seconds with an expressionless face and if you pass the test, she’ll smile and maybe even reach for you.   If you fail the test, she starts to pout and if you don’t leave her sight immediately, she will start to cry.

Her uncle Luke is a great example of this.   We’ve tried it a bunch of times.   She first met him on our trip to California last month.   She cried then.   Last week, one look and she started to pout.   We feel bad for Luke, but can be a little butt-head sometimes.   We think that she can pick up on that.

Izzy had a fun first Christmas, it could have been better only if both sides of our families we out here.   Hopefully, next year she will be able to celebrate Christmas with my side of the family as well.

I am decorating the blog with some nice Christmas stuff.   Started out with that nice little garland of lights and it will continue with a snowman, maybe a snow angel, and a Christmas Tree.   It’s a little late for decorating, I know, but my online time has been a bit slim lately due to other commitments.   Oh well, it will pick up again this week.   In the mean time, enjoy the changes!

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Tree '06

Christmas is my favorite time of the year.   I love to give, but that’s not the real reason why I love the holidays.   I enjoy the atmosphere.   The cold weather makes people closer.   Snow ball fights seem to draw in even the most reserved grown up.   Christmas music filling the crisp air.   All of it. I love it.

But something is wrong this year.   Is it me, or is this year not as lively?   Not as “holiday-ee?”   Is it the economy?   Has 2007 left a bad taste in humanity’s mouth?

Except for Izzy being born, 2007 hasn’t been all that great for us either, but I wouldn’t go as far as saying it was horrible.

We have a roof over our head, a lovely daughter, five annoying wonderful cats, and, most importantly, our health.   This is the root of the feelings during Christmas.   To be thankful for all that you do have.

For us Catholics, Jesus gave His life for our sins, and we are grateful for His sacrifice.   Christmas is the observed time of His birth, and it’s a great time to celebrate a new era.

But not everyone believes in this, so what does Christmas mean to everyone else?   If you take away the gift opening part and just concentrate on emotion, what is it that Christmas means?

Should be the same – the overall message is exactly the same.   Celebration, understanding, acceptance, love, peace.   This is what it should mean to everyone, not just people of religion, but to all of humanity.

Charlie Brown’s pathetic looking Christmas tree is not just a tree in the story.   The tree is Christmas spirit.   When the children first see it, they see a scraggly looking tree with about three branches.   But when the kids discover their Christmas spirit, the tree comes alive!   It’s branches numerous and full of needles.   It becomes strong enough to hold the star without sagging!   It’s all about your spirit.   Gift giving is fun and exciting, but without the spirit, it means nothing.

In our home, this year, we’re going to make dinner together with Christmas music in the background.   Drink some eggnog (non-alcoholic for the preggo!), probably play some Mario Kart, and prance around with little Izzy dressed like an elf.   I am excited.   I can’t dream of a better Christmas with my family.   Our little Charlie Brown Christmas “tree” is decked out – and we don’t have an actual Christmas tree yet, if you get me.

I hope your tree is green, full, and bright.