Still in St. Louis: Tender Tennessee Christmas

When we arrived Tuesday night, my parents were still in Indianapolis visiting my sister. We had a nice quiet evening with Abigail and her room mate Mary. Eli had no trouble finding the toys and made himself right at home. He also quickly got into the holiday spirit and we had to teach him not to touch the presents under the tree.

On Christmas eve, we watched football, decorated cookies and then opened a few presents.

That night, we went to a beautiful church service at 10pm. Eli came in his pajamas but actually made it until 11 and then fell sleep on the way home. At least we got to stay for all the organ music and choir.

On Christmas morning, I slept in while Dan, my mom and my dad played with Eli. There were a few "Santa" presents waiting for him downstairs. It wasn't long before the rest of us joined him.

My family spends a good two hours opening presents. We each take turns and watch as someone opens a gift. It is so much fun! The pictures below show off some of the gifts: a gun for dad, snow boots for me and an adorable little book about Pooh bear and his friends Eli, Amos, Ezra and Aunt Abby (so cute!!!).

One of Eli's favorite presents was a little doctor's kit from the Partains. Eli would stick the stethoscope in his ears and walk around like it was no big deal.

That afternoon, mom, Eli and I took a walk. We were getting a little stir crazy and needed to get out. We walked down to the creek and a little bridge that crosses over it. Our cat Bam came with us and Eli loved having the fury company.

The rest of our trip was great. We did a little after Christmas shopping and generally rested and spent time together. Dan, Eli and I were able to sneak out long enough to meet up with some very dear and old friends. Evyn and Jaron had not seen Eli since he was born! It was great catching up.

The best part about this trip was watching Eli play with my family. He actually remembered everyone and has been working on saying people's names. He clearly calls out to "ABBY" and also made up an adorable nick name for my dad : "DOODAH".