The Festival of Lights

As luck would have it Elley actually got to celebrate Hanukkah twice in her first year of life. Due to the Jewish calendar Hanukkah started on December 16th in 2014 and on December 6th in 2015, which meant her December 11th birthday really worked out. Although this year's celebrations were quite a bit different from the last.

1st NightShe was actually quite good at ripping off pieces of wrapping paper and handing each one to us.

2nd NightI also think one present a night was much more her speed. She was able to open something each and immediately play with it, instead of having the burden of more presents to open.

3rd NightWe brought the Mensch out this year, and while it may have been a little short on miracles this time, I'm guessing next year it will find its way all through the house each morning that we're celebrating.

Our Mensch on the 3rd NightElley got to try latkahs, the traditional Hanukkah potato pancake. First at her daycare's Hanukkah party, which was actually pretty cute. They had an obstacle course set up, games of dreidel, art projects, and cookie decorating. Although Elley and I mainly stuck to the snack table and the fishing game. The point of the game may have been to use a fishing pole to catch felt fish in a box, but she may have had a blast catching fish with her hands. (Which if you think about it, is quite a bit harder.)

4th NightIn addition, we also had latkahs at home with my dad who was visiting for Elley's birthday.

5th NightOf course her birthday fell right in the middle of the holiday this year, which I imagine as she gets older will be more difficult to handle, but with her being as little as she it wasn't an issue yet.

8th NightTo wrap things up, here's a photo of me and Elley celebrating on the 6th night, which happened to be her actual birthday.

Hanukkah 2015For a fun comparison, here we are just a year before which is kind of crazy to believe.

Hanukkah 2014It was definitely a fun holiday, although considering how different this year's holiday was than last I can only imagine how different next year's will be.