We spent Christmas Eve downtown with my family at the Embassy Suites(we got a great deal that included drinks and breakfast for only 99 bucks)! It was nice to not have to clean up or cook especially for my mom who has been taking care of my grandparents for a few weeks (rock star award). Despite the cold and windy weather we walked down to see the windows 
(do not even get me started on the fact that they are now Macy’s and not my beloved traditional Marshall Field’s and that they now are 2 full windows short- cheap Macy’s) and also stopped by the giant Christmas tree and market at the Daley Plaza. We opened presents with my brother and his girlfriend Annie, my little sis who survived her first semester at University of Illinois and is as I type in California getting ready to perform at the Rose Bowl (I’m a proud big sis), and my parents. Anni got some fun outfits and my mom got her this ginormous crazy doll set (I also find this amusing as the doll accessories Anni now has probably cost 5 times more than her 7 dollar doll we got her but you know Grandmas š The best part of that gift was watching 4 adults desperately try to assemble the stroller while Anni stood whining in anticipation. We finally decided to distract her and forgo the assembly until we were home with proper tools. Lesson learned: Do not give a toddler a gift they cannot play with right away. My parents were (as always) very generous and it was fun to watch everyone open their grab bag gifts. Annikah stayed up late but amused us all with her cuteness and went right to bed (as an aside she is getting so great at sleeping in random places with all our travels lately- thank you God!).
(do not even get me started on the fact that they are now Macy’s and not my beloved traditional Marshall Field’s and that they now are 2 full windows short- cheap Macy’s) and also stopped by the giant Christmas tree and market at the Daley Plaza. We opened presents with my brother and his girlfriend Annie, my little sis who survived her first semester at University of Illinois and is as I type in California getting ready to perform at the Rose Bowl (I’m a proud big sis), and my parents. Anni got some fun outfits and my mom got her this ginormous crazy doll set (I also find this amusing as the doll accessories Anni now has probably cost 5 times more than her 7 dollar doll we got her but you know Grandmas š The best part of that gift was watching 4 adults desperately try to assemble the stroller while Anni stood whining in anticipation. We finally decided to distract her and forgo the assembly until we were home with proper tools. Lesson learned: Do not give a toddler a gift they cannot play with right away. My parents were (as always) very generous and it was fun to watch everyone open their grab bag gifts. Annikah stayed up late but amused us all with her cuteness and went right to bed (as an aside she is getting so great at sleeping in random places with all our travels lately- thank you God!). After she was snug in bed we had delicious pizza from Pizzeria Uno (My dad’s fav) and played The Christmas Story trivia game (50 questions and the high scorer is yours truly with 38 correct after all I have seen that movie about 250 times). After hitting the hot tub we called it a night. Anni actually spelt in the next morning as did Jason and I and we awoke to empty city streets. It was really peaceful and quiet, no one out at all, a sight you never see downtown. After a fabulous breakfast we took Anni to the pool before heading home. It was a relaxing and fun time with family.
Comments Off on Christmas with the Rohrbacks