Friday, January 2, 2009

christmas

Luke had a very busy first Christmas. As always, we have four Christmases to make it to each year (yes, just like the movie), but we thoroughly enjoy seeing everyone of our family members. This year I'm fairly certain every one enjoyed seeing Luke and that Keith and I were viewed as added bonuses, along with being his chauffeurs. At this point, we're used to that reaction and have started to expect people coming up to us 10 minutes after arrival saying something like, "Oh yeah...Merry Christmas to you too!" Totally fine with that; I'd probably do the same thing if I were in their shoes. He is an incredibly handsome kid if I do say so myself.

We started off Christmas Eve at my grandparent's house for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner. They are amazing cooks and I love eating all the food they make. It just wouldn't seem like Christmas without making a stop there. After dinner, we headed over to Keith's aunt and uncles house for the Waltemeyer's Christmas party. Luke had a great time playing and following all the kids around. He is just so enthralled by other kids. I think he started the gift opening a little early though. He saw the presents laying on the floor and continuously made a beeline for them. Eventually we gave up trying to stop him and all the kids were able to dig in and rip open their gifts.

I love watching kids open their gifts at Christmas. Typically they have one of two reactions that I seen in my time being a kid and observing them. In one instance, they have this magical look on their faces that can just light up a room. You can tell they have nothing better in the world than what is in their hands at that moment and they are completely thankful for all the times they really tried to be good over the course of the year. In the other instance, they either have no clue what they just opened or have no desire to go near the gift at any point in the future. The pasted-on grateful look is humorous to see. We were able to witness many of both types of reactions over the course of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Every Christmas morning since I was little, I've always been with my family Christmas morning, very early Christmas morning, opening gifts and then my mom makes a big breakfast. Keith was even nice enough to continue this tradition with us when we got married. We'd trek to my parents very early in the morning, still in our pajamas, usually with Rosco in tow. It was really hard this year not having them here, but I modified the tradition to work for us. Very early in the morning, though not nearly as early as usual, Jeanne, Don, Holly, and Corey came to our house to open gifts with Luke and then we made a big breakfast. We were still surrounded by family; I couldn't imagine a better way to celebrate a day that is based upon the creation and addition of new life to a family.

Luke's ready!

Luke helping Dad open the drum.

Jammies from Nonna!

Monkey backpack from Corey and Holly.
Can I open it Dad? Luke loves Christmas...and the monkey backpack!
Off to open Aunt Holly's gifts too.
Luke will learn to love baseball.
An overwhelming amount of toys to Mom and Dad.
The Finleys.
We caught Corey having fun with Luke's toys. We'll get you the drum set next year Corey.
Us. H and J.
The breakfast spread.
After breakfast, we headed out to Mass and then to my Aunt Terri and Uncle Tim's to celebrate with my dad's side of the family. No matter where we celebrate Christmas with the Feidler's, it feels like going home. There is always a huge crowd of people, lots of talking, food, and fun. I even found the pickle that was hidden in the Christmas tree and won $2 from the scratcher I was awarded. Thanks Aunt Terri!

We finished the day with an amazing dinner hosted by Jeannie at her house. She always knows how to throw a dinner party. The table was decorated beautifully and the food was absolutely delicious. She made this twice-baked potato casserole that melted in my mouth (thank you Paula Deen--said in my best southern accent). I think that should definitely become a yearly staple at Christmas dinner.

Holly and Luke. Somehow Luke's head looks almost as big as Holly's. Hmm.
By this point, Luke was clearly worn out so we took him home. It was time to pack for New Mexico...

2 comments:

Traci Tenkely said...

Oh my goodness I feel tired just reading about your day!

Unknown said...

What happened in New Mexico?