Christmas came and went and I have to say that this was the most enjoyable Christmas we’ve had so far with Sydney. Sydney was able to open her own presents and took interest in doing so. She seemed kind of bummed on Christmas day when there wasn’t anything left to open but at the same time didn’t seem to understand that she got to keep the toys. She said “My presents all gone?” a few times.
For Christmas Eve, we jumped in the car after nap time and went to visit Meghan’s dad Ed as well as Sarah and Nate. We ended up running late but managed to spend about 40 minutes there. Sydney didn’t really warm up but was still cute. She also managed to completely shred Meghan’s pantyhose with her shoes in a matter of seconds after we got there.
After we left Ed’s we headed to Meghan’s Uncle Mike’s house where the entire Gresk side of the family was congregating. To our surprise, Sydney loosened up. She even played with her cousins (or aunts as we’re calling them) Natalie and Elizabeth (without us in the room) for awhile. She did some talking and seemed to have a really good time aside from the moments when the Gresk family beagle entered the room. Based on her screams, you would have thought he was eating her.
We left Mike’s around 9 or so and Sydney crashed hard in the car before we got on the highway. She was so worn out in fact that I was able to move her from the car to her bed and get her coat off without fully waking her up. Had I not accidentally pulled her hair when taking her coat off, she wouldn’t have woken up at all. She was a rag doll and felt totally limp.
On Christmas morning, Sydney started the day by calling for Meghan (During a recent stretch, only Meghan has been allowed to get her up. In the YEAR prior, only I was allowed to.) Meghan carried her into the living room where she saw a bunch of presents under the tree and a little red wooden play kitchen. The typical morning whining was cut short as Sydney stared at it, and then something clicked and we went into Christmas mode.
Opening presents on Christmas morning took about 2hrs. Sydney opened a gift, played with it, and then opened another one. She seemed really happy doing it that way and there was no rush to do anything because we were at home. She was also clearly tired and yawned throughout the day. I didn’t think we were going to make it until bed time.
The day after Christmas, we headed to my parents’ house in Litchfield. Although we normally wait until nap time for such a drive, we packed up and got on the road early. To our surprise, Sydney crashed and took her nap about 2hrs early in the car. She actually slept for the first 3 hours of the trip.
At my parents’ house we had another Christmas with them and with Jenny, Abe, and Cassie. I think everyone enjoyed it as much as prior years even though it wasn’t on Christmas day. Sydney and Cassie had a great time. We stayed a few days and drove back on Wednesday the 29th.
One exciting thing we did while at my parents’ house was to attempt to take Cassie and Sydney sledding. Jenny and Abe bought saucer sleds for them. Sydney seemed most comfortable watching. Cassie seemed to enjoy being pulled around my parents’ yard. We got Sydney and Cassie on together briefly, and at one point, I held Syd with my dad pulling. She really wasn’t into it though. In other news, I took the sled down the hill myself a few times, crashing into the ditch, and realizing I’m 35 not 16.
Our final Christmas was on Sunday, January 2nd at Mee Mee and Papa’s house. Pam came over as did Emily and Kendall. Again, everyone seemed to be very happy. It was really good that we were able to spread Christmas over a week as opposed to 2 days. I think we were all more relaxed and less worn out.