Happy Thanksgiving!

Yesterday was Derek's 1st Thanksgiving and he was able to spend time with both sides of our families. Round 1 was at the Buenaventura's. We arrived at around 11am for Thanksgiving lunch. Erica brought her signature yams. We also had turkey, stuffing, homemade mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, pecan pie, pumpkin cheesecake and dinner rolls. The attendees included my parents, grandma, oldest brother Ron, sister-in-law Joanna & her kids, Jalen & Jolene, my mom's sister Auntie Baby & her husband Uncle Boy, my cousins Sam, Don & Charm, my cousin from Long Beach Katrina, Erica, Derek and I. My older brother Jay, had to work until 2:30 and we had to drive up to Delano at 1:00, so we just missed him. For the first hour, we stuffed our faces. Suprisingly I only ate one full plate of food. Afterwards, Derek hung out with the family and we took plenty of pictures. Somehow, Derek ended up staring at a bunch of animated singing Santa Claus toys. Also, we believe that yesterday was first time that his Nanay held him(we don't know for sure but judging grandma's expression, it was the greatest thing in a long time for her). The coolest thing was when anyone in the family would take a photo of Derek and there was standing ovation like we were in Qualcom Stadium at a Charger Game. Everyone was cheering and clapping to get a smile out of Derek. The 3-hour window at Thanksgiving lunch was short but we made the most of it. Next stop, Delano for Thanksgiving Dinner.



Round 2, Thanksgiving Dinner with the Sison's. We left San Diego at around 2:00 for Derek's 2nd Delano road trip. The first 45 minutes road trip was spent in traffic. We didn't realize that there were so many people headed to their loved ones for Thanksgiving. Derek had another successful road trip and cried once for a diaper change and then cried one more time because he was hungry. Other than that, he did really well in the car. He was awake playing with his toys and slept a good amount. We made it to Delano at around 6:00 for the dinner. This meal included Erica's yams, turkey, stuffing, honey baked ham, pumpkin pie, pancit and lumpia. Notice the difference between the two family's dishes? My family has strictly American food while Erica's family mixes in American and Filipino food (lumpia & pancit). Once again, plenty of pictures taken with the family. After our 2nd Thanksgiving meal that day, we watched the rest of How I Met Your Mother Season 3 and passed out.