Happy Holidays!

Greetings! It's been awhile since we've posted on the blog, so I guess we have some catching up to do!

Here is a picture of Eli with Santa. On Christmas Eve, Jay, Eli and I ventured out to the mall to meet Santa for the first time. As you can see, Eli was a little unsure at first, but by the end, Santa made him smile. It was a cute moment! It makes me excited for next year because Eli will enjoy Christmas so much more next year.

We were very fortunate this year to receive many wonderful gifts from friends and family. Grandma and Grandpa Stanek gave Eli a new car seat (woohoo!), some new outfits, a tractor, and a few other toys. Jay and I gave him books--the Brown Bear, Brown Bear books, which he absolutely loves. Grandma Burnham gave Eli a new piggy bank and wooden puzzle, while aunts, uncles, and friends gave him books, t-shirts, and more toys.

Eli is now walking, and by walking I mean taking a few independent steps on his own. He still has to pull himself up to standing against something, but he's doing really great with finding his balance and taking more and more independent steps to get places. It's been so wonderful to have so much time at home as a family. Jay has taken a bit of vacation time, so we've had lots of quality time at home and with family. This week we're visiting with some friends and trying to clean up from Christmas and enjoy the quiet, snowy winter days. I think Jay is ready for the snow to end any day now, but I actually like the white blanket of snow once in awhile.

I will post more picture later from the Slayton trip for Christmas and from the rest of this week. Take care! We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season!