Aubrey's 1st Christmas

This year was Aubrey's 1st Christmas, nearly 2 months before she turns 2 years old. As usual for each Christmas celebration, Christmas Eve was spent in San Diego with the Buenaventura Family. Each year the family hosts the celebration at a different location from the last year. It was our turn to host Christmas Eve and what a better place to have Aubrey's first Christmas than in our home! Upon opening gift, Derek received an ipod touch, a leap frog leapster leappad tablet, a razor scooter and some other toys. Aubrey got a rockin' elmo toy, some clothes, other toys and money.











After the celebration of Christmas in our house, we immediately packed all of our presents, clothes and items and headed up north to Delano for Christmas with the Sison's. WIth no sleep, we hit the road at around 2AM and got to Delano at around 5:30 AM. From there, we settled for a couple of hours and then the whole family opened presents. We spent several days in Delano after Christmas and then came home to open the rest of the gifts.

Turks & Caicos For Michelle & David's Wedding

On December 8th through 12th, we spent several days in paradise at Turks & Caicos in the Beaches Resort for our close friends and Aubrey's godparents David and Michelle Vickers' Wedding. We also made it a 5-year wedding anniversary trip for Erica and I.







Just in case you guys didn't know where Turks & Caicos is located at, it lies withing the Caribbean, 550 miles southeast of Miami, Florida, just below the Bahamas chain and just to the east of Cuba and the island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti.) We traveled with Derek's godmother and Erica's BFF Nora, along with her daughter Bella, her Mother and Aunt V and good friend Armando. For this trip, we left Derek and Aubrey with the grandparents in San Diego for 5 days. This was the first time that we were away from our kids. We had a lot of fun while they had fun with their grandparents, but we also missed them so much towards the end of the trip.







Now about the trip...To summarize, we ate an unlimited supply of really awesome food, including jerk chicken and pork, steamed cabbage, sushi, fish, endless breakfast buffets, burgers, onion rings and a habachi-style grill. Not only was the food great and unlimited, but also the alcohol was all inclusive. It was great to not have to worry about paying for drinks or tipping. The concept of paying for drinks now is insane! Some of the drinks we had were BBC's (Baileys, Bananas, Colada Mix), Bahama Mommas, pina coladas, Frangelico, Caribbean Islands(long island iced tea with a bunch of random rums), tequila, sake bombs and others. We also did a bunch of activities including riding a hobie cat boat, snorkling and chilling at the beach.











CLICK HERE Check Out The Highlights of the Trip in This Album!

Overall, the trip was amazing! Not only were we there to for David & Michelle's special day, but we also had an awesome vacation. We would totally go back to Turks & Caicos and highly recommend it to anyone!

Aubrey's 1st Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving for the S-B's follows the same tradition since Erica and I got married. We celebrate lunch at the Buenaventura's and then dinner at the Sison's. This year's celebration was special because it was Aubrey's first Thanksgiving.




At around 11:00 AM on Thanksgiving Day, we arrived at Mom & Dad's house in San Diego. We had the traditional turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, honey-baked ham and a ton of desserts that included cheesecake, apple and pudding pies and cookies. Not only was it Aubrey's first Thanksgiving, but it was the very first time that she eaten table food and on her own. We chopped up some turkey and veggies and placed the food onto her high chair tray, where she grubbed her food. By the time she was done with her meal, there was no food left.












After we ate lunch and took photos, we took a took a 3.5 hour drive up north to Delano for Thanksgiving dinner. We made it just in time for dinner with the Sison Family and spent several days in Erica's hometown.

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Aubrey's Baptism

On November 12th, 2011 our little Aubrey was baptized. The ceremony was located at the very first mission in San DIego called the Mission de la Acala, the same church that Derek was baptized. On this day, Aubrey gained two sets of god parents, our close friends Michelle, Steph, JR and Sam. Those in attendance included our immediate family and several of our other close friends, including Derek's god parents Nora and Joel, more friends. The baptism went well and Aubrey did not cry at all when she got her hair wet.







After the baptism, we hosted a reception at Nico's Steak & Chophouse, located in the Otay Ranch Mall in Chula Vista. The Menu was buffet style and included House Salad, Baked Fish, Stir Fried Teriyaki Sirloin Flat Iron Strips w/ Mushrooms & Onions, Chicken Pasta Primavera, Seafood Paella Espanola,Beef Sliders, Tuscan Potatoes, Macaroni & Cheese, Sweet Potato Fries and Dinner Rolls. There were a total of 65 guests, including some of our closest family and friends.

Halloween 2011

This year's Halloween was Aubrey's 1st as an S-B. All four of us dressed up for the occasion. Aubrey was dressed up as a cupcake, Derek was a firefighter, Erica dressed up as a woman firefighter and I dressed up as a baker.



Earlier in the month, we checked out a mini pumpkin patch adjacent to Southwestern College in Chula Vista. The "patch" had pumpkins and mini carnival rides for the kids. We took advantage of groupon offering $30 worth of ride tickets for $15. Derek was able to ride a train, a ferris wheel, cars and swings.


















On Saturday October 29th, Aubrey and I went to our local Homeowner's Association meeting for a gathering and free Phil's BBQ. We thought it was contest but turns out it was just a raffle and a meet-and-greet. Aubrey wore her cupcake costume for the very first time and I was a baker. Our baby girl received a lot of "very cute costume" comments. Erica also snapped some photos after the HOA event.








The next day, we took pictures at Sears for some portraits. All four of us dressed up in our costumes and Erica and Derek paired up as firefighters while Aubrey and I were our baker and cupcake tandem.





After we took our photos, we got some lunch and the kids knocked out for their afternoon naps. Erica printed out some designs for jack-o-lanterns and as soon as Derek woke up, we carved out pumpkins. We made a Wonderpets "W" for one of Derek's favorite shows, a Manny Pacquiao logo pumpkin and two smiley faced pumpkins.




Halloween night was a blast! We passed out as much candy to the kids in the neighborhood and then headed out for some trick-or-treating. By then, Aubrey was over the cupcake outfit so we just dressed her up really warm and went outside. We met up with our good friends and neighbors Brendan, Nathan, Jenn & Ivan so that Derek and Brendan could get candy together. Pure coincidence that Derek was a firefighter and Brendan was a policeman. We didn't plan that, I swear! We were out for a good hour-and-a-half to two hours and the boys had a great time.







Derek's preschool had a Halloween party the day after Halloween and all of the kids in his classroom wore their Halloween costumes. Derek wore his firefighter costume for the third time and from what he told us, he had a great time with his classmates. The teachers threw a pizza party and all of the kids brought food, drinks and party supplies.



Overall, Halloween was a success. We had a great time celebrating and cannot wait until next year's celebration, when Aubrey can walk to the houses and get her candy too!