Eli vs Santa

Eli got to meet Santa for the first time, at a children's holiday party at mom's office. He didn't seem to scared by Santa, just kind of weirded out by his beard. He LOVED the fact that all the other kids flocked to Santa since he had a front row seat and could play voyuer!

Eli's First Christmas in Avondale

We're sure this will be a family tradition, if nothing, then because mom loves to go, but Eli had a grand time! He hadn't seen so many kids running loose in one place before. His head kept swiveling from side to side because he was afraid he would miss something! He really liked the view from Gampy's shoulders... he could see for miles:

Eli's Trip to the St Augustine Amphitheater's Winter Wonderlan

Let me tell you.... Eli had a blast, though he was a little disappointed the ice slide was closed for repairs and they didn't have ice skates in his size. Check out http://www.staugamphitheatre.com/winterwonderland/ for all the details.

He was amazed by the elf village... everything was his size!

He absolutely LOVED the carriage ride! Romeo and Juliet are his favorite horses now!

And he loved getting to spend quality time with his granma and granpa!

For all those Eli fans out there, here's an update!

Eli is starting to pull up and partially stand, believe it or not! His dad keeps shouting to take his legs out, but mom and Amanda like encouraging him to walk and mature.

Here are some pictures of things he likes to do in a day:

He likes to start off the day with a nice piece of toast, preferably cranberry and raisin swirl with a little butter. He likes to share, especially with Jordan, and Jordan LOVES to like the butter from his fingers.

He likes to ease into the day with a little toy playing. Notice the teeth... he's up to seven! Oh, and the Burro Bag in the background. Eli is all about being at the height of indie fashion, that's why he's working on perfecting his rat tail.

He wants to stress how important sunlight is! A little bit each day keeps your complexion looking bright and sunny...

It is also important to stimulate your mind with a good book or sign language flash cards (mom is determined he will be tri-lingual in English, Sign and Spanish):

It is important to get exercise each and every day, even if it's a crawl around the living room practicing fish lips:

It is also important to engage your mind. Eli likes checking out the paper each night to find out what happened in the world:

And most importantly, keep those you love close...