Christmas Summary

I have been putting this post off because I knew it was going to be long- there are so many things I want to remember about Eli's first Christmas! But you have to start somewhere and the best way to start is to just type away. Here are the moments in December that I want to be able to read about and remember how they made us laugh!

- At his first go-round of unwrapping at Grandma Bev's and Grandpa Gary's Eli tore off one small piece of paper....and then proceeded to play with it for an untold number of minutes. That's when we realized that the business of presents was going to be lengthy one unless Eli received some parental help!

- As soon as Eli unwrapped virtually any toy he wanted it out of the box for playing with INSTANTLY! I hadn't realized that this started so young, but I was okay with it because I also wanted to play with all of his toys right away!

- Starting with that first Christmas celebration with the Welch's and on to the last at my parents' house Eli received a large number of "My first Christmas Ornaments" and I love every one! When he is older and starting to deck out his own tree I will give him most of his first ornaments, but now that there are so many I can keep some for myself too!

- Eli loved the Christmas trees in each house he visited. In fact, I credit the tree with encouraging him to start scooting on his butt in a forward direction (finally!). I would sit him about a foot or so from a particularly delectable looking ornament and he would shimmy and bounce until he made it over for a bite! I'm counting on him forgetting next year that I actually encouraged him to 'get' the tree this year.

-Eli enjoyed three separate baking days over the Christmas season. He got to try fresh-out-of-the-oven sugar cookies, molasses cookies and pb kiss cookies and his love of sweets has been permanently cemented! We also got some cute shots of him and his darling cousin in mini aprons- short of smearing flour on their faces we had them looking very involved!

- We tried to take Eli to the Galesburg mall to see Santa but unfortunately Santa was a no-show that day. The good lady at the desk tried to tell us that he was tending his reindeer but I suspect he was instead tending a hangover.... just me being cynical! Eli probably wouldn't have really enjoyed it anyway, so we'll try again next year.

-Eli attended his first Christmas Eve bash at my grandma's house this year. He has gotten over his period of shyness for the most part which was good considering the house was full of people he didn't really know. Bless my cousin Maggie and my brothers for carting him around all the time throughout the holidays, he always goes right to Maggie and the boys!

-Eli got some extra presents on Christmas Eve from my aunts and uncles- must be because he is so stinking cute! A favorite is the soft truck from Aunt Shelia and Uncle Jerry and his giraffe scooter from Aunt Janet and Uncle Stan- he'll be cruising around on that before too long!

-Eli got to hang out with some of my silly uncles and experience some Christmas Eve traditions (Uncle Brian with bows all over his shirt and a delicious array of appetizers). He also played with my cousins who were great with him and if they lived closer I'd hire them to come babysit for me all the time! (Thanks Jake, Sam and Nathan!)

-Dylan and I got to have our first Christmas Eve toy assembly extravaganza this year and I have to say that it was all I had hoped for! I think Dylan had fun too....despite a little grumbling about pieces/stickers/etc. I know Santa appreciated our help because he's a busy guy this time of year :)

-My mom and dad helped me finish Eli's stocking that I made for him the morning of Christmas Eve- just under the wire! I think I'll start the next one pre-conception. That way I'll for sure finish is when the time rolls around! But now the tradition to have home-made stockings is continued in our family!

-Christmas morning with Eli was great fun. I won't say there were shrieks of joy or anything like that, but he clearly thought all the paper and excitement was great fun. Some days now he looks around as if to say "when are we going to do that again?". Don't worry Eli, you've got a birthday coming up!

-All through Christmas day Eli had a great time playing with all his toys. His Grandma Jackie got his a neat little push car and he surprised me by standing and walking behind it! He and Eva are getting very close to setting off on their own!

Many more Christmas memories were recorded on video and in pictures! I know we'll have fun looking back when they are older and remembering their first Christmas for them. The holidays can only get more fun as the babies get more aware of the joy of the season!