Christmas

This Christmas was the first one that Auggie actually FULLY enjoyed.  He started looking forward to it right after Thanksgiving and found joy in every Christmas event and tradition leading up to the big day.  And of course, there was the daily countdown, which can be quite difficult for a 4 year old who does not have a complete understanding of days, weeks and months.

Two days before Christmas, Jacci and Keith arrived from Tulsa. 

Before they got home, Auggie, Agnieszka and Ella joined close friends on yet another tradition: Tilden Holiday Train ride. At dusk, we huddled together on the outdoor train, in 40 degree temperatures, and passed through a beautifuly lit and decorated Tilden Park.  The pictures are all blurry, so you will have to use your imagination. 

That evening, we celebrated Jacci's birthday (sorry, again no pictures) and both kids got lots of Giggy and Keggy cuddles. 

The next morning, we went to Ikea for breakfast. I only mention this because - unlike previously mentioned events- we do have a few cute pictures from this trip:

We celebrated Christmas Eve at Babcia and Dziadek's house.  Most of the regulars were there, though we missed the Parkers (who were in Arkansas) and Misia (who had recently moved back to Poland). Ella did not seem to mind the noise and people and remained fascinated the Christmas lights. She and Auggie each ate some borscz and uszka, too!  As is Polish tradition, Auggie got to open some gifts on Christmas Eve and had a wonderful time playing with them before the night ended.

The next morning, Auggie woke up before sunrise...and so did the rest of the house. To be fair, I think we were almost as excited about seeing Auggie's joy as he was about experiencing Christmas morning.  Ella became a little overwhelmed with the gift wrap and noise, but was soon delighted to discover her new favorite means of transport: a tricycle, which her brother could push her in around the house.  Her second favorite gift was the baby Puffs snack that she received in her stocking from Santa. Santa introduced Auggie to the Pez dispenser and the whole family benefited from that contraption over the next few days.

Auggie playing with Ella's new toys - of course - and one of his new Superwings figurines

Ella sticking to an old favorite and trying to stay away from the developing chaos

Puffs!

Yep, almost done opening gifts and it's still dark outside!

After we finished opening gifts, we spent the late morning (e.g. 7am and on...haha) enjoying all our toys (and sampling some pre-breakfast candy treats).

Auggie learning about TicTacs (Agnieszka's favorite childhood candy after Pez)

Giggy getting carefully covered with Ella's new building blocks

Auggie showing off his shiny shoes. He asked for two things for Christmas: shiny shoes ("like Maya's") and shiny paper.  He was not disappointed. 

Auggie playing his new game Sequence For Kids with his grandparents

In the afternoon, Babcia and Dziadek came over for dinner. Agnieszka -gasp- cooked a pretty good dinner (especially since the large ham was already pre-made and just needed a few hours in the oven).

After dinner, we decided to take a walk on the bike trail to check out a new El Cerrito playground.   Auggie and Daniel raced ahead on their scooters.  The temperature was chilly when we started and got colder as the sun set, but everyone appreciated the fresh air.  Auggie (and Babcia) had a great time checking out the new climbing equipment.

The next day, we had a visit from close friends and began what became a weeklong endeavor to sample all the delicious cookies from a very fancy biscuit box they brought. Auggie taught Keggy a new game to play with nuts and popsicle sticks he decorated at school.