Anna's first Christmas was very busy and very fun! We started it off on Christmas Eve at Uncle Mike and Aunt Emily's house up in Crystal Lake. We had a lovely brunch and opened lots of presents! There were too many presents to actually list, but they were all good. There was enough time that we all got to rest a little bit before heading to the cemetery for the second part of the festivities. The weather was pretty yucky - cold and rainy - but it at least let up for the outside portion of the day. Tim's family always gathers at the cemetery before they start celebrating, because his cousin Paul was killed in a car accident several years ago. We listen to some tuba Christmas music (he played the tuba) while sharing some memories and a prayer. I hope that when Anna gets older it will help remind her to bear in mind that Christmas is an important time to think about others, especially God and family. Back at Uncle Mike and Aunt Terry's house, the Kniola family gathered for a huge feast of homemade Bohemian/Polish goodies, including pierogies, mushroom soup, many kinds of breads, ham, and roast beef - yum! Anna was a big fan of the cheese pierogies, that's for sure. Then there were even more presents, and then it was pinata time. It was getting late, and it's a long drive home, so we had to leave shortly after that. It wasn't a fun drive home for Tim, because the rain was just pouring down at that point. Not very Christmasy!
The next morning Anna got to open her presents from us and Santa. Santa brought her a big Radio Flyer wagon! She loved the box :) I got Tim an Ipod Touch, which I'm pretty sure he liked a lot. Then we headed over to the Lyczaks for more presents and fun. Anna got a ton of new toys, included her first rocking horse from Auntie Loonie, and her first riding toy from Grammie and Grampy! She also got her very own remote control, which she absolutely loves! We had a nice breakfast, relaxed, went to church, played with our new stuff (I got lots of new Beatles goodies!!), then ate another feast! We managed to watch Christmas Vacation without falling asleep, and then it was time to go. At this point, the rain had turned to snow, so we did actually get a White Christmas (just a little late, that's all). Anna seemed exhausted, but she was just too excited about everything to fall asleep once we got home. She stayed up, played more, then finally fell asleep with Daddy.
Anna had a wonderful first Christmas, and I'm glad everyone did such a great job of making it so memorable. She is at such a perfect age for it too, because she was able to help open her gifts, she got excited when she saw them, and then she was able to play with them too! It was the best Christmas in a very long time for me, that's for sure, and it's just the beginning for Anna!!
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