First Christmas

Well, it's over. All the excitement and waiting and fun and now it's all done. And, I really can't say I mind! It was a great Christmas, but we're all worn out. We started out with Christmas Eve at my mom's. We had a ton of fun with the whole family there, including my niece Samantha's boyfriend Matt. I am hoping we didn't scare him too much with our antics...we get a little, ah....nutty. :) It was sooo nice to see everyone together. There are, let's see....twelve of us counting Maelie. There were sooooo many presents. We all tend to go overboard, and I LOVE it. I love the giving. But, we didn't get home until 2:00 a.m., so, that started out our tiredness. And yes, I DO have photos...I haven't downloaded a single one yet!!

We all slept in on Christmas Day, and then we drove to Mike's parent's house. It was just his parents, sister, and her husband. It happens to be his sister's birthday, too, so we really were just celebrating that. I was so happy, though, to have my in-laws share Maelie's first Christmas. It was a nice, low-key kind of day there. We figured we would come home and open our gifts that evening. We got home around 4:00 p.m. and Maelie was tired, so we thought, sure, she'll have a nap, and THEN we'll open gifts. Well, Maelie had a different agenda. She woke up at 6:00 p.m. and we had dinner, and then off to open gifts! NOPE. She was down for the count. Didn't want to eat, didn't want ANYTHING but her bed again. So, that night Mike and I opened our gifts from each other.

Friday rolled around and FINALLY that afternoon/evening we got Maelie's gifts opened. We had fun, but by the end, Maelie was done with presents and tired. Poor girl. She was just worn out. Santa and Mommy and Daddy brought her a lot of nice things that she loved, though, including the new Elmo, which she loves.

Saturday it was back to Mike's parent's for our Christmas celebration. His brother, wife and three kids drove up and we all had a great time. They have three kids; Elizabeth is 12, and then Nick and Alec who are 6 and 4...I think....Cathy, don't kill me if I have the ages wrong!!! :) And, Mike's sister Therese was there, too. Again, lots of presents, lots of chaos. Mike's dad has been ill of late (I'll explain in another post soon), so I know all the chaos took its toll on him. But, it was wonderful to share the day with him, and everyone. The cosmopolitans didn't hurt, either! Wink! Thanks, guys. :)

Yesterday, we spent the day getting Maelie's toys out of the packages. I am sooooooooo sick of those little metal twist ties on toys!!!!! BAH. But, Maelie had a good time finally getting to play with her new toys. And, our house looks like Toys R Us threw up, but, it was fun. Maelie needed toys, oddly enough.

Today, it's back to our usual routine, and I have to say, I don't mind a bit. I was so anxious and excited for this Christmas, and I wasn't disappointed in the least. Maelie had a great first Christmas. Thank you to everyone who made it so special.

Photos will come soon, I promise!!!!!!!