The best gifts...ever!

Christmas started at midnight for all of us with Mass. Annie ate all her grapes before mass even started..then on to the cheerios which she traveled back and forth sharing them with the whole family until...she spilled that bag. She was entertained while the music was playing ..but I would say she was a bit... of a fidget!

At one point she was under the pew removing the contents of my purse. There is a small outside pocket which she found interesting and then...astonishing... In the pocket she found a long forgotten half eaten bag of M & M's. Although we really don't like her to have candy or chocolate it saved the day or night I should say.

 When a 3 year old stays up until 2:30 AM they don't wake at the crack of dawn even for Santa.

 10;00 we started to open presents. It didn't take Annie long to figure out how much fun this is! Then Meaghan rolled in the mini (exact replica) of a shopping cart, complete with grocery item...including tomato paste.  Annie was delirious with pleasure and gratitude. Everything goes in the shopping cart as she wheels it all around the house....the cabinet and wood work are taking a beating but we could care less.

As if that wasn't enough, Timmy produced the cutest hand painted wooden rocking chair. Annie ran to get her baby so she could rock her in it and pretend she was sleeping. The chair is pink to match her room, intentionally distressed with six butterflies on the seat. Annie is painted on the front and her Chinese name on the back. The chair belonged to Timmy, given to him on his first Christmas in 1981. I had saved it up in the attic even though it was well "loved" and needed repair. Timmy put it back together, hand painted himself and proudly gave it to his new sister for her first Christmas as a cherished member of our family. Molly said it's history makes the chair 20 times cuter than it already is.