Christmas 2008!

A quick look back at last year...
And then, to this year...
have so much to post about Christmas this year so I am trying to condense it into one or two blogs. Eli absolutely LOVED the holidays this year. It was so much fun because he was really 'in' to everything. It was filled with enough memories to last me a lifetime and I feel so blessed to have a such a loving husband and sweet son!

Notice Eli is eating M&M's...that Santa knows exactly what he wants in his stocking!!
Too bad he only left 6!

The Christmas tree with the 'hat' on top(as he called it) which later became known as 'hat angel', one of those precious moments.
Everyday when he would see the tree he would say "daddy lights" and point to the tree. Then, when Adam would walk over to plug it in he would say, "Go Daddy Go" with all the excitement in the world! Another addition to the tree were all the other "hats" that Eli wanted to add...aka the little yellow shapes from his shape sorter.
Another favorite were the outside lights! Every night we walked around the neighborhood and picked out our favorites. After the first night, he knew what his favorites were! Among the top on the list were; Santa, snowmen, candy cane and train. He quickly learned what they all were and made sure to tell us when he spotted one. Every morning when he would wake up, we would bring him into our room and he would say, "more lights". Adam and I then pulled the blinds up on all the windows in our room and he would look out at all the lights from the night before. Remember...still dark when this little man wakes up!
This year Eli made ornaments so that everybody could have a little something to hang on their Christmas tree(or Auntie M's and Uncle Andy's poinsettia plant...really gotta work on that next year guys!!).

When I was a child during Christmas we would always read The Polar Express. My mother had a silver bell that was my grandmothers that had the exact same magic as the one in the book.(hoping to get that next year...wink, wink Mom!!!) Anyways, I didn't think Eli would be particularly fond of the book because it is so long and the pictures are a bit dark. He LOVED IT! It melted my heart at how silently and in awe he listened to the story. It was as if he knew all the magic involved in the spirit of Christmas and that you have to believe to receive!!! :)
Christmas morning when Adam and I went to get him from his crib, I told him that Santa had come. His eyes lit up. We looked out his window and I told that last night I heard Santa's sleigh and all the reindeer leaving our house. He looked at the sky in utter amazement and to this day, he points out the window in the morning and says, "Santa come HO HO"(he only says it with 2 Ho's). Too sweet!
Adam and I put together all of his 'big' presents and had them waiting for him under the tree. The look of pure joy on his face was priceless!

We were so blessed to have my sister(Auntie M) and brother in law(Uncle Andy) here with us on Christmas. Although I am sure we woke them up much earlier than they would have liked...it was fun to be able to share the day with them. My parents later arrived with a special package, my grandmother. So, we had the whole family together this year. It was filled with many fun times and celebrations. Eli was particularly fond of his great grandma and they spent much time conversing and talking about the latest happenings. It was precious. We had wonderful food, our traditional Mexican feast that included fajitas, enchiladas, guacamole, etc... In addition to some fantastic treats that my mom whipped up! (and yes, the are homemade!)He had fun spending the day exploring all of his new toys and basking in the attention that was given to him by all!
A few days later, Adams parents came into town and we had another round! Although, I will say that I was so tired I didn't even make a big 'Christmas' meal but we still had a good time talking and spending time together...something to aspire to next year I suppose!
Eli was more than blessed this year by many wonderful presents under the tree. He is appreciative of every single one of them. He would like to thank
His Aunt and Uncle for their extremely wonderful gift that will be enjoyed by ALL for many years to come. Really...who hand makes picnic tables, a true treasure that we are so excited to have! The big one has become Eli's favorite jungle gym and peek-a-boo spot. Yes, that's right...not only did he make a little table just for Eli but also a bigger version for Adam and I!!!
His DG and Papa Bob for the very cool addition to his trike...the trailor.

Did you see what this is???

A new resting spot for many leaves and acorns! It too will be loved for many years!
Adam's parents, Eli's Grammy and Grandpa got Eli his very own rocking horse... Notice Eli pressing the ear...it makes sounds and everything! It just melts a little boys heart!

The most important thing during the holidays is to be thankful for all that God has given you and what you are blessed to have in your life. This pictures captures the whole season for me. Eli taking time out of opening his presents on Christmas day to give the Baby a kiss. Unprompted.
**note: it seems as though my uploading capabilities failed and it deleted TONS of pictures...so, that is why so many pictures with people are missing!**

The perils and pitfalls of potty training!(pt. 1)

We have made the switch from diapers to big boy underwear! Adam has taken a week off of work, I have 2 weeks home with him and this is our goal!
Eli is starting his new sitter in January(remember Phyllis only had room for him until January). My friend from work who just resigned to spend more time with her 6 month old is going to be watching him( a truly lucky occurrence for us!). The baby is coming in February. There is no other time. This is it...wish us luck! We have a smart boy and I know he can do it!

(notice the red marks on his legs...unpadded potty seats not a good option)

Here is the lowdown on day 1:
Accidents: 3
Successes: 0
Tears: a couple
Things learned:
1. That he can hold it for a long time!
2. That the potty seat downstairs causes many tears(see above pictures). Apparently the unpadded potty seats really aren't that comfortable...poor little man!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

The season is upon us and this year has already been so much fun! Eli is more 'into' everything this year and is really soaking up all that the Christmas season has to offer. He loves to go look at Christmas lights every night before bedtime. However, he gets so upset when the lights aren't on during the day...just too much to understand! We had fun going to get our Christmas tree and opted not to go cut one down ourselves this year because I really wanted a Frasier Fur!

Eli telling me which tree he thought was the best!

It was sunny but COLD

We have had so many fires this year as it has been pretty chilly on some nights. Here is Adam's attempt at the first fire of the year!(bless his heart, I really do love this man!)

I kept telling Adam the house was smoking but he didn't believe me until I took the picture!
(he has made sure to open the second vent everytime since then!)
(but really, who knew there were 2 vents?)

Eli has loved decorating the Christmas tree. He helped me take all the ornaments out of the box and was quite upset when there wasn't anymore.He was very methodical is deciding which one he wanted to put on next and where!

Many more Christmas adventures still to come. Unfortunately we haven't been able to celebrate Advent at church this year because Adam and I have been taking a 2 hour class at church every Sunday for the past 10 weeks and Eli just isn't up for more time at the church after that! Something to look forward to next year!

Random

Looking like such a "little" toddler A new playground that we discovered near our house! Do you think he approves?

Peek-A-Boo

Sick time with Little Einsteins and breakfast in bed

With his dad...a self portrait before work one morning!
(I find so many of these pics on the camera, too cute!)

All wrapped up for a cold day!
That is until I read you aren't supposed to use a jacket with a car seat...I had NO idea!

Ever expanding belly
Just grows bigger...and BIGGER!Adam and I doing a self-portrait before the rehearsal dinner
(not too bad after a couple of tries!)

Thanksgiving and other fun things...

I just realized that I never even posted about our Thanksgiving. Seeing as though Adam and I had just been out of town for my best friends wedding the weekend before I decided it was a better option to have Thanksgiving at our house this year.
We have made it a tradition to take Eli to watch my dad and all his Calvary happenings on Thanksgiving day. Luckily the big game was in Austin this year so our plans to not travel worked out well. We woke up early(like always) on Thanksgiving day and headed out to see all the 'neighs' as Eli says it. He had a great time and got to experience so many fun things.
His PaPa Bob took him on every tractor possible as well as a big 18 wheeler. They had loads of fun honking all the horns(except on the 18 wheeler because that scared him!). Of course he also got to ride on the horses! He was attached to his PaPa Bob that day and wouldn't let him out of his sight!
After all that was said and done, we had Thanksgiving at our house on Friday. With a HUGE amount of help from my mom I was able to pull it off. I will say that our turkey was possibly the best ever! It was the 24 hour brine before hand and stellar cooking techniques thanks to Alton Brown.

Eli had so much fun playing with his Uncle. They are true pals and Eli wore him out. Andy has been in Austin going through the UT police training and that days his knees were particularly sore from some grueling workout but that didn't stop him. Andy and Eli played chase and hide and seek ALL day.
This is Eli playing hide and seek. He hides stuff between his legs and then says, "where did it go?"

As if all that wasn't enough. I decided to cut Eli's hair for the first time. I got so tired of going to those kid haircut places, getting charged $20 and having some grimy grouch cut his hair. And, I am not organized enough to make an appointment for him with our hairdresser. So, I sent Adam to buy clippers and did it myself. I set him up in front of the TV with Little Einsteins(a true treat for him as he only has watched TV twice when he was sick), and plenty of snacks and drinks(he even got a sippy cup...another thing he NEVER has except at bedtime) Minus a couple botchy spots it wasn't all that bad. Now that I know how it all works, I am sure next time will be much better! :)

It was a fun holiday to be had by all and I look forward to carrying on the tradition next year with Eli and his little sibling!