Christmas has come and gone, and Ethan celebrated the Holidays for the second time in his life. Last year, he was so young, that he was completely unaware of what was going on, all he knew was that we kept putting him on the lap of a guy in a red suit. This year was pretty much the same, except for the fact Ethan realized that if he cried hysterically, he would be immediatly taken off of Santa's lap. Ethan used this technique multiple times throughout the course of the holidays.
That being said, we really enjoyed spending time with Ethan this Christmas. We decided to remain home in Maryland this year for Christmas, so the weekend before, we made a trip to Jersey to see Daddy's family. We made the drive pretty easily, and we got there early enough to let Ethan run around for a little. In the past, we'd try to put him to sleep right away, and that plan would usually fail. This time we let Ethan run around and get used to his surroundings, and when we put him down to bed, it was pretty easy. We spent 3 days at Grammy's house, and we enjoyed hanging out with Grammy, Poppy, Uncle Keith, Aunt Vicky, Krista, and Jenna. Ethan got to meet Santa, who made a special stop over Grammy's house for the Rechenberg family hootanany. Ethan really didn't enjoy sitting on Santas lap, he did however manage to sneak behind Santa, and steal a candy cane off of the Christmas tree.
While we were in Jersey, we had a chance to stop over Grandpa's house and see his side of the family. We all hung out in Grandpa's house, visited with all of Daddy's Aunts and Cousins, and played with Krista and Jenna, It was really nice to have everyone go out of their way to visit with Ethan, and give him gifts. Ethan had fun with all of the new toys that he got, and he really enjoyed playing with Jenna's playdough.
Christmas was spent back home in Maryland. Grammy Litsch and Uncle Joe took the train down on Christmas Eve morning, and they stayed with us until the 26th. On Christmas Eve, we all went out to eat with our neighbors, the Hesketts. We all had dinner, and then Ethan and Isabella ran around the restaurant smiling at all of the other patrons. It was so cute when Ethan even gave Isabella a spontaneous hug and kiss. Ethan even made friends with another 18 month old named Teagan. They sat in the chair and talked to each other for a few mintues, then Ethan gave her a hug and ran away. It's good to see that Ethan has good social skills, even though he doesn't go to a daycare, or interact with too many children his own age that often.
Christmas day, we all hung out in our pajamas, and relaxed. Ethan opened his popper toy at 630 am, and was totally entertained until we all woke up and open presents. It was the first Christmas in a decade that Daddy and Mommy haven't driven to another state to visit relatives, and it was really nice to be able to stay home. Daddy decided to get a real tree, and even though Dinga drank all of the tree's water, it stayed really fresh for a few weeks. Suprisingly, Ethan didn't destroy the tree. We were concerned with him messing with ornaments and lights, but he was really good.
As if two Christmas's was enough, Grandpa came to visit the day after Christmas. He braved the traffic and spent 5 hours in the car to come see Ethan, and Ethan rewarded him by being as sweet as he's ever been. Grandpa gave Ethan some new books to read, and when we went to the store, Grandpa bought Ethan a giant bin full of his first legos! We all went out to eat at Bob Evans, and Ethan ate grapes and grilled cheese, then he ran around for 30 minutes while Mommy finished eating. We all love when Grandpa comes to visit.
All in all it was a great Christmas, and we can't wait until next year. Maybe Ethan will like Santa next year when he realizes that Santa brings him presents!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
