A young Monroe County girl got her biggest Christmas wish this year as a friend of her family went out of his way to design and build a custom toy car that should keep her cruising for a long time to come.

Annalee is the eldest daughter of Waterloo Zoning Administrator Nathan and Columbia Middle School nurse Molly Krebel.

The Krebels’ other children include Henry and their youngest Eleanor, who suffers from Transient Myeloproliferative Disorder, a condition related to Down Syndrome that led to her battling cancer at a very young age.

Annalee has been diagnosed with Mowat-Wilson Syndrome, a genetic disorder that can present through a range of symptoms including delayed development.

Molly explained that, although Annalee has delayed development and is nonverbal, communicating through an augmentative and alternative communication device, she performs quite well in school.

Molly also shared that Annalee’s favorite toy for many years has been the Cozy Coupe, an iconic red-and-yellow plastic car kids hop inside and drive around in, propelled by their own feet.

Unfortunately, however, the family has found that Annalee has effectively aged out of the toy.

“Her favorite toy is the Cozy Coupe, the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe, but she’s now 10 years old and probably five feet tall, and she doesn’t really fit in it anymore,” Molly said.

With Annalee left stuffing herself into a plastic car meant for a child much smaller than her, legs either squashed or hanging outside it, the family tried to find alternatives for her.

This search was in vain for some time, with emails to Little Tikes and elsewhere proving unsuccessful.

The latest attempt to find a solution came earlier this year as the family stumbled upon a UK charity specializing in this sort of problem, though this longshot hope was also unfruitful.

Molly recalled making a post on Facebook to share the family’s problem, and it was then that the owner of Better Homes with Brad Horn stepped in to save the day.

Horn also spoke with the Republic-Times, noting how he has long known the Krebels – Molly as an old classmate and Nathan through his time contracting in the city.

His business often having him work on niche or outside-the-box jobs, putting together a car like Annalee was looking for seemed to suit him just fine.

“I saw Molly’s post on Facebook, and I’ve known Molly my whole life,” Horn said. “We went to school together from kindergarten through high school and confirmation together and whatnot. I’ve followed Annalee’s story somewhat and definitely had a soft spot for them. So when I saw the post, it seemed like, ‘Well, yeah I can build that. Why not?’”

Horn said he emphasized to the Krebels that he couldn’t make any promises when it came to getting the car put together before Christmas, though he found the idea constantly on his mind and managed to put the thing together in time for the holidays, doing the bulk of the job in just three or four evenings.

“Pretty cool, unique, meaningful job, and I’ve gotten quite a few people come up to me about it or ask about it,” Horn said. “I just built it in my head, and then built it in real life.”

Though Horn designed and built Annalee’s car free of charge, he said he quickly heard others in the area – and even quite a bit beyond Monroe County – expressing interest, prompting him to consider an offshoot of his business.

He has since started the Facebook page Annalee’s Custom Cars and is looking to gauge interest in the concept. Horn noted he is particularly hoping to gather sponsors or other assistance in order to keep costs down for those families looking to get such a toy for their child.

“There’s been quite a few since then wanting me to build them for their kids as well,” Horn said. “I think that this has a lot of potential, and I’m looking to invest in it and expand upon it.”

While other children might enjoy Horn’s work down the line, one young girl was reportedly delighted to get behind the wheel on Christmas day.

As the family has received support from the community before – chiefly for Eleanor and her battle with cancer – Nathan had great praise for Horn and the kindness he showed to Annalee.

“I was pretty blown away,” Nathan said. “Someone who went completely out of his way to create something for someone he’s never met, it’s a great feeling. We’re in a wonderful community that’s always finding a way to give to someone else. You don’t find that everywhere.”

Molly, too, spoke to the generosity she’s seen from Horn and the rest of the community.

“We have never been let down by the community. They’ve always rallied around us,” Molly said. “As a special needs parent in general, you realize how hard it is to come up with things for your child to make their life easier, more enjoyable.”