Christmas season 2012 re-cap.

It was so much fun to celebrate our first Christmas season with Eli. People always say that kids make Christmas magical and so much more fun and I couldn't agree more. Here are a few highlights of our festive holiday season!

Jon and I both love the zoo and couldn't wait to take Eli on his first zoo trip. We decided to go on a Wednesday evening to the Zoo Wildlights and we had a blast. Eli was enthralled with all of the lights, especially when the light show with all of the music played. He also liked the animals that we were able to see (some of the exhibits shut down at night and obviously we couldn't see any outdoor animals), and was really into watching the fish in the aquarium. We were gifted with a zoo pass this Christmas so I see many more trips in our future!

Not the best picture taken with my phone, but the only one we have!

Living in Columbus gives us ample opportunities to participate in fun events. We went downtown to a large park called Columbus Commons to watch the big tree light up (complete with fireworks!), eat some food from a food truck, listen to various artists sing and play Christmas music, and walk around with friends.

Hanging out in the carrier (seriously one of his favorite places to be)

Fireworks over the tree downtown

We live close to downtown Worthington and often go to the shops to support local businesses. One of our favorites is the toy store now! One evening they had an open house where the shops stayed open late and served refreshments. They even had a carriage ride that we eagerly decided to take!

Carriage ride through the streets of downtown

And lastly, let's talk about Christmas. I loved that Eli was just old enough to open his gifts (with a lot of help from us, of course) and was able to take in all of the excitement. He obviously didn't really know what was going on, but I think he enjoyed himself!

On Christmas Eve we enjoyed a spaghetti dinner at home, then we went to the Christmas Eve service of the church that we have been attending for the past year here in Columbus. Eli was pretty worn out by the time we got home so we gave him the quickest bath of his life while he flailed himself around for most of it (so weird since he usually LOVES baths), then put him in bed while we enjoyed a viewing of White Christmas.

The next morning we woke up early (2 hours before our normal wake-up!) so we could open gifts with our little family of 3. We got Eli a big puzzle, a few books, some bath toys, a truck that pops balls out of it when you push it, these little plastic toys that join together (for the life of me I can't think of the name of it) and a ride-on fire truck. He doesn't quite know what to do with it yet, but he loves to be pushed around on it. He also loves the music it plays and bounced around to it when he first heard it. I have a video and it's basically the cutest thing ever.

Eli and his new firetruck

We then set off to Jon's parents' house for Christmas round 2. We ate a delicious brunch, read the Christmas story in the Bible, then opened more gifts. We got a family zoo membership and Eli got some books, a shape sorter, mega blocks, and a plush tractor set. My lovely sister-in-law, Ashley, made him a dinosaur blanket for his crib. My other lovely sister-in-law, Carol, made him a super cute sweater. Most everything went immediately into his mouth!

A little mama/son bathroom shot between brunch and opening presents

Eli with his new shape sorter, and sitting on his new dinosaur blanket!

Checking out the loot under the tree

We then headed to Christmas #3! We went to my aunt and uncle's house for a fabulous Christmas lunch and to spend time with my extended family. Eli had a great time hanging out with my cousin's daughter, Annabelle. And by great I mean that she smothered him with hugs while he screamed. ;) Afterwards, we went to my parents' house to open gifts with my family. Eli got an activity table, books, a drum (complete with shakers, a maraca, and tambourine), a teething blanket, stuffed Christmas dog, bowls and spatula (easily his favorite gift!), a Baby Einstein classical music toy that lights up while it plays, a farm rattle that plays different animal sounds and teaches colors and a lot of clothes. This boy is most definitely spoiled.

Eli with his farm rattle

His favorite - a bowl and spatula!

Playing with his tambourine the next day

We actually ended up getting snowed in the next day so we stuck around for an extra day and played video games and basically didn't change out of our pajamas for the entire day. It was good to just rest for a bit!

I think that sums up our main Christmas festivities this year. It was a fun one!

- Stef