The Baylor Family Blog

We celebrated Christmas morning here at our home! I don’t think Eli really understands what is going on throughout the Christmas season, but he definitely enjoys being involved in the festivities! After singing Happy Birthday to Jesus, we exchanged some gifts between the three of us!

The top picture is Eli carting around his new sled. At one point, he put a whole bunch of toys on the sled and dragged it around the house! Too cute. Unfortunately, we did not have a white Christmas and have not had any snow since, so Eli is having to patiently wait for an opportunity to go sledding!

Eli got a robotic puppy from his great Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Carlean. The puppy responds to voice-activated commands and is pretty cool. Unfortunately, Eli doesn’t always give his new puppy the love and attention it desires, so I’m thankful for the on-off switch! When he wants to, Eli loves to pet and hold the puppy and offer him a bone! Our little guy sure does like dogs, though!

Here is a portion of the stash of chocolate my husband gave me for Christmas! I once told Eli that chocolate is mommy’s medicine so I don’t share We’ll see how long he believes that!

We got Eli a car race track for Christmas. This cleverly designed toy requires no batteries, folds up compactly, and works by cranking up the car! Eli is starting to really enjoy cars and has had a blast chasing the cars around the house!

Despite being an incredibly active boy, Eli sure does enjoy books! We found a couple special books to give Eli for Christmas. One is a toddler Bible story book and the other is a toddler Promise book. I know he is young, but Matt and I look forward to teaching this little boy the truths in God’s Word!

Despite all the fun on Christmas Eve, we had a bit of a scare mid-morning. Eli had been acting pretty mellow all morning, making me wonder if he was getting sick again. After playing with lots of toys with his cousins in his bedroom, Matt stood Eli up and Eli fell over and cried. Eli would not bear any weight on his right leg. We decided to watch him for a little while, and he seemed content as long as he didn’t try to walk. He started crawling around to get where he wanted to go. As active as Eli is, we knew this was not normal behavior. We were hesitant to wait too long to get this checked out as it was the middle of the day on Christmas Eve! So after a series of phone calls, we ended up bringing him into Immediate Care. By the time we saw the doctor, Eli was starting to bear some weight on his right leg. So the conclusion was that he must have stepped on a toy and bruised his heel. Fortunately, nothing major. Though he was still limping some throughout the day, by Christmas Day, he was his normal active self.

I don’t want to be a parent who over-reacts to everything, and I’m learning it can be incredibly tricky to figure out whats going on with a baby or toddler who cannot communicate! I’m so thankful it was nothing major and that I don’t have an active toddler with a cast on his foot…that would be a nightmare at this stage in life!!

A few days before Christmas, we welcomed Matt’s parents, brother and his family into our home to celebrate Christmas with the Baylor side! After eating some spicy pork loin for dinner, we exchanged gifts. As you can tell by the pictures, opening presents usually was a group effort with the kiddos! Eli was very over-stimulated and could hardly stay focused on any task for a moment! But he could be found get into anything and everything around the room! Eli got a tub full of blocks made by his Poppy, a latching puzzle, home made beanbags that spell his name and lots of other fun suprises! Every new addition to his toy and book collection at the moment is his favorite! After the kiddos were all tucked into the bed, the adults played the Wii and shared lots of laughs!

The next morning, Christmas Eve, we woke up and opened stockings! There were lots of fun and funny gifts exchanged! A highlight of the morning was having Nathan, my nephew, sing lots of songs in his new microphone as well as playing his new purple recorder! Than, Michelle, Nathan and Katya had to travel home mid-morning, but Matt’s parents are staying until just after New Year’s Day! We had a wonderful time together! Here are some pictures from the festivities:

The three of us packed way too many suitcases and boarded an airplane to Chicago to be picked up by my my brother, Kevin, and his wife, Jennifer, to drive to my parents home in Wisconsin. After an amazing packing job of all of our things into the car by Kevin and Matt, we were on our way! Soon after arriving and unpacking our masses of things, my other brother, Brad, and his family arrived. This began the long weekend packed full of both Thanksgiving and Christmas together! Since we all live in different states, we do not get to see each other as often as we’d like. But its always fun to cram in a few days together whenever we can!

Many of the days were filled with playing the Wii, a gift from my parents to their kids, or watching and laughing at people playing the Wii. Eli hit the jackpot in the toys department and has had a blast playing with lots of them since coming home. He especially loves his new tools he got for Christmas and loves trying to find his own tools to match the ones Matt is using on home repairs!

We had a long, snowy trip back to the airport in Chicago. Though running a little later due to weather, we managed to arrive at the gate just in time to board the plane! Like usual, I did not take nearly as many pictures as I should have (most being of my own child!)…but here are some shots of our time together!

My dad, trying to guess what on earth could possibly be in his Christmas present, wrapped so carefully by my brother, Brad.

Eli loves to play with my mom’s gadgets! He quickly remembered where her “beep-beep” button was and pushed it whenever he could! He also loved riding the chairlift up and down the stairs. And while playing ping pong in the basement, Matt caught Eli climbing into my mom’s powered wheelchair, hitting the power button, and driving it (not fast or far, of course!).

Eli mastered the sit-n-spin on this trip!

Eli’s hoarding habit continued on this trip. He was dragging a shopping cart and a high chair around at this moment!

Eli having a face off with his cousin, Tycen. Tycen may be a year younger, but he is already moving around very well and not that much smaller than Eli! I think these two will have a blast together as they get older!

The best shot we could manage of the three cousins (Callie, Tycen, and Eli)! Callie and Eli are showing off their giant stuffed animals they received from Grandpa and Grandma. Eli’s dog now sleeps on his bed!

Eli sitting in the remains of a wonderful Christmas celebration!