christmas fun

I'm going to back up to Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve at Sarah and Oscar's in Robbinsdale. Mom and Dobie were there too. Sarah and I decided it looked like a great day to get out and enjoy the MN-winter day. Eli(and I) loaded up on some sugary goodies before getting all bundled up for sledding. Here he is ready for some fast hills.

Silas stayed inside with Grandma Pat.

We walked across the park to a small hill. Eli didn't get too excited about the sledding....Sarah and I had fun, though. It has been a few years since I've been sledding, and I forgot how much fun it is. Eli played on the playground equipment for a bit, and we headed back inside.

After all that sledding, Eli needed a nap. He LOVES 'The Wizard of Oz' after seeing it on T.V. recently. He found Sarah's 'Wizard' magnet, and studied it until he fell asleep. Looks like a cozy winter's nap.

Silas did a little unwrapping(and falling, by the looks of his head) while Eli slept.

We walked to church across the street from Sarah and Oscar’s on Christmas Eve. It was a cold night, and so nice not to have to drive somewhere. The children put on a Christmas program which was really cute.

Eli ran up the center isle for the children’s lesson. He stood right next to the pastor and patiently looked up at him. After a few minutes the pastor showed Eli where to take a seat. The children’s lesson was about the barn, animals, Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. At the end of the lesson, Eli didn’t want to come back to his seat. He was very upset that the real animals didn’t show up. All that talk about the barn and animals, and then it’s over? There were some tears and aunt Sarah had to take him out for a breather, but he cheered up quickly and joined us back in our pew.

We returned home and ate a great supper. After supper was time for a few gifts. Eli opened his first gift of the night, and would have been happy with just that. He loved his animal set, and played happily with it until we persuaded him to open more.

Sarah and her cat, Tigger sporting her new Christmas present.

Christmas morning we opened gifts from Santa. Eli got a game, a Wizard of Oz calendar, candy, and a new toy trumpet. He knows how to buzz his lips to play a real trumpet, so this was kind of hard because this trumpet doesn’t work when you buzz your lips….he got it to work after a little practice.

Silas enjoyed a little Christmas tree tasting.

Christmas Day we spent in Avon with Mike’s family. It was a great day with wonderful food(as always) and more family time and gifts. I left my camera in the car, so no pictures of Christmas Day. I love my new camera, but it’s larger than I’m used to which means it doesn’t fit in my diaper bag. It was a great Christmas spent with both our families. We missed Uncle Alex, but hopefully next year he’ll be home. It was such a joy to watch the boys get excited about Christmas. Eli knows Christmas is baby Jesus’ birthday, and will tell you that Jesus’ mommy is Mary and daddy is Joseph. Christmas night when I put Eli to bed he said, “Santa come and bring candy and toys?” I told him that we have to wait another year for Christmas again. A pretty tough concept when you’re 2.