Teddy's First Chanukah!

Teddy has enjoyed celebrating his first Chanukah!

(above) Teddy figured out how to roll his ball off of the stack of presents!

Shae and I are grateful to have so many family members that live close to us. We got together on Saturday night at my brother and sister-in-law's house to celebrate the fourth night of Chanukah. Jenn cooked traditional potato latkes along with the less traditional potato-broccoli latkes.

(above) Hal and Jenn ate on stools because they didn't have enough chairs for everyone.

Below: Cousins hanging out

In the next picture Teddy is watching his Uncle Hal light the menorah that once belonged to Teddy's Great Grandpa Fischer.

(yes.. in the background that is the traditional Chanukah football). After we sang the prayers and lit the candles- it was present time. Between a Grandma who loves to shop, and several aunts who also like to spoil Teddy- he got plenty of practice opening presents. Good thing since his birthday is coming up!

I think he got the hang of it:

Below: Teddy plays with the best thing ever- the box his present came in!My goodness, is there a baby in all of that mess???

My sister admitted she is turning into my mom. She bought all of the cousins these adorable PJ's and then asked that they put them on and pose for a picture:

COUSINS!

Teddy wasn't the only one having fun:

(above) yes, that is Maggie's headband on Shae's head!

Violet's big present from her parents was a kitchen from Ikea. Although she did not seem very interested in it, Teddy seemed to love it:

Teddy snuggles with Shae after a fun night:

The next morning I put together some of Teddy's new toys. He LOVED playing with them.

Shae was happy Teddy's presents are diverse. Here Teddy plays with his new farm set. Note: Teddy's cows are only grass fed, and his chickens are cage free. Teddy also received this awesome recycling truck:

Teddy gave us a concert from his new piano:

On Sunday night, we hosted the family for our second annual traditional Chanukah Taco night. Shae prepared his mom's delicious taco shells:

And they were a hit! Maggie, on the left, typically does not have a very big appetite. However, she stated, "I can't stop eating these tacos" as she helped herself to her 4th taco!

Teddy LOVED his Grandma Susie's taco shells! He also loved the hamburger meat.

After we ate, it was time to light candles and sing the prayers again.

Goodness there are a lot of people here:

After we opened presents, I enlisted the Gibson children to help me make our "chocolate dreidels" out of marshmallows, Hershey kisses, pretzels, and frosting. Wonder why they love to help with this activity?

My goodness hosting is so much fun.... but it is also very tiring!

We went to my parents' house on Wednesday night to celebrate the last night of Chanukah.

Here's a shot of the Best Profile EVER:

Teddy got even more toys. Caroline and Maggie love playing with Teddy:

This next picture is for cousin Amy. Teddy found this little champagne glass and carried it around pretending to drink out of it. I guess he is fancier than his cousin who sticks to beer!

Teddy loves the ball he got as a gift. Here he is with Grandpa Bud:

We had a wonderful holiday and are most thankful for our family and health!

In other news- Shae was taking care of Teddy Monday night while I was at clogging. He was surprised to notice not one, but two new teeth that have broken all of the way through. Neither of us were aware of them. They are in the back, past the incisors, so we had not seen them. That makes 9 teeth before the age one. I guess this little man wants to be able to eat!

Lastly, December is an extremely busy month for us. Not only do we celebrate Chanukah and Christmas, but we also have our anniversary, and Teddy's birthday. Add a trip out of town, and we have one very hectic month. I have found myself making list after list of everything that needs to be done and it's deadline. Check off Chanukah.... now on to preparing for travel. We are so excited to see Shae's side of the family. But before I can start packing, I better do the laundry: