Kyla's First Christmas

The holidays have always been a busy season for Becky and I, but having an infant along for the ride makes things more demanding by an order of magnitude.

The first celebration was at my Aunt Judy and Uncle Tom’s on Christmas Eve. Every year, my cousin TJ (or Tom, or Tommy, take your pick) and I, pass out the presents, which easily number over 100. Kyla and her new cousin Rylee were passed around to everyone and her other cousins, Spencer and Alanna, put on a Christmas play for us.

On Christmas Day we had our own little gift exchange, followed by breakfast here with Becky’s mother’s family. Kyla still hasn’t figured out how to open presents, she instead opts to chew on them, which is what she does with pretty much anything you hand to her. We finished the day at Grandma Dot’s where I put together Kyla’s new jogging stroller Grandpa Doug got her while Becky assembled Kyla’s new Learning House.

The day after we headed over Snoqualmie Pass to Ellensburg and my mother’s place where we spent a couple of days eating, opening presents, eating, playing games, and eating. We also took a short trip to Yakima so that Kyla could meet my paternal Grandparents Marian and Larry. They have 16 grandchildren, of whom I am the oldest, and Kyla is their first Great Grandchild.

Finally on New Years Eve we had Christmas number seven with my dad and stepmother, Kerry, who babysat for us the night before while Becky and I went to a movie. This was fairly traumatic for Becky and we hurried home as soon as the credits began to roll, though Kyla didn’t seem to notice.

Overall we thoroughly enjoyed Kyla’s first Christmas, despite its hectic nature, and she appeared to feel quite content with all of the attention she received.