Christmas (Continued!)

This weekend, we had our Christmas "encore."  We saw the Plaza lights (finally!), listened to The Snow Globes one last time, made our final batch of dill dip, read and re-read The Sweet Smell of Christmas, and packed away the decorations.  It was a wonderful time to reflect on the 2013 holiday season.  For us, it truly was a full season rather than a special day or two.  With my work schedule and with many dear relatives to see, we ended up having multiple Christmas celebrations over several weeks.

The weekend before Christmas, we gathered with Adam's immediate family and his Hannah grandparents.  Annalise was quick to try out the new chairs under the tree...

 

To pass the time before gift opening, Annalise played one of her favorite games...one, two, three, jump off something.

When handed a present, she seemed to know exactly what to do and made quick work of the wrapping paper.  Rip, tear!

The kitchen accessories were a big hit, and barista Annalise was happy to serve a cappuccino to anyone who was thirsty.

  

She, appropriately, switched from cappuccino cup to bottle for her new baby doll.

  

From Grandma and Grandpa Hannah, the grandkids received toy horses, which were a hit among the children and adults alike!

While Mommy worked during Christmas week, Annalise and Grace kept busy checking out the gingerbread houses at Crown Center.

 On Christmas Eve, we put on our special jammies.

While Annalise and Tini slumbered, Adam and I labored to assemble a kitchen set.  Knowing our strengths, he tackled the nuts and bolts assembly while I meticulously applied the numerous decals.  Truthfully, the whole process only took us one hour, two hours tops, and we had some wine and Snow Globes to keep us in a festive mood.  It made me quite nostalgic, as I still remember the Christmas morning when I discovered my own stove, sink, and fridge from Santa.  The finished product...

On Christmas Day, I fortunately only had to work 9am to 5pm.  I made sure that everyone was up early and we had plenty of time to open gifts before I headed to the hospital. 

 

The day after Christmas, my family arrived from St. Louis.  We kicked off the festivities with our signature sangria and snacks, followed by a rapid fire gift opening in the living room.  It was so rapid that I didn't even get any pics, though Adam did break out the video camera. 

The rest of the visit was filled with lots of play time...

As is customary, the guys and girls parted ways for one afternoon.  We hit the sales and enjoyed lunch at Yia Yia's.  The dudes devoured Wai Wai Thai and then headed to a 3D movie.

At the end, we toasted another amazing holiday season, filled with more than our share of love and laughter.