Visiting Grandpa and Grandma Grant

It's been two weeks since we came home from visiting family in St. George, but I haven't had energy to blog about it.  We had tons of fun, but unfortunately, we brought a bug home with us, and it was particularly nasty.  I'm just now beginning to feel better, though I still have headaches, dizziness, and feel very tired.  I haven't been in that much pain for a long time, and nothing the doctor gave me relieved any of it.  Josh managed to evade the illness, which is typical for him, but Eli got it too.  He's had several doctor's appointments canceled for weather-related reasons, so I have to call again on Monday and hope he can get an appointment.  Nobody knows what to do down here when there's snow and ice, so everything gets shut down.  Josh was supposed to fly to San Fransisco last night, but his flight was canceled, so he's leaving tonight instead.  I get four days and nights alone with Eli.  I can't wait.  He's been tired, sick, and cranky; I've been tired, sick, and cranky.  It's been a rough couple of weeks.

However, we did enjoy a fun-filled week with the Grant Family before we got "attack of the nasty."  Here's some of what we did:

*We were expecting cold weather while we were there but were blessed with warmer temperatures, so we spent some time outside.  We had an enjoyable picnic with the family at a local park. 

*We tried to go hiking in Zion National Park, but because of the previous cold temperatures, there was a lot of snow and ice on the trails.  I think it's the first time I've heard Eli complain about hiking.  It was just too cold for him.  It was still beautiful, though, and we did enjoy a nice picnic there. 

*We went bowling.  It was Eli's first time since he was a baby, and he helped me knock down nine pins! 

*Josh and I went to the St. George temple, which we always love visiting since that's where we got married.  

*We had lots of fun talking, playing games, and meeting the new babies in the family!  Eli especially enjoyed the company of his cousin Sophee, who is just 5 1/2 months younger than he.

         

Christmas and New Year's

Much to Eli's dismay, Josh went back to school today, and I took the Christmas tree down.  We all enjoyed the holiday season, especially Eli, who got a lot of "Daddy time."  I wanted to post some video footage of Christmas, but for some reason the cable from the video camera to the computer is not working too well right now.  Unfortunately, most of it was video, not pictures, so there's not a lot of visual.  You'll have to take my word for it--Eli loved it!

On Christmas Eve, we read some Christmas stories, including The Night Before Christmas, and re-enacted the nativity.  Since Eli loves pretending, he really enjoyed dressing up as Joseph, the shepherds, and one of the wise men (when you have a small family, you get lots of parts).  He also enjoyed writing a note to Santa and giving him a plate full of cookies.  Although, Eli is convinced that his Grandpa Grant is Santa, so he really just thought they were going to him. :-)

On Christmas morning, Eli was as excited as ever to open his stocking.  In fact, we could have ended right there and he would have been the happiest boy in the world.  He had read the book and watched the movie The Polar Express, so he kept asking for a bell from Santa.  He was quite pleased to get one in his stocking, and I was pleased to note that a bell, some Toy Story bubble bath, and pistachios are all that's required for big smiles and lots of excitement!

Of course, we opened the rest of the gifts too.  Each one was the best thing ever!  In fact, I think Eli was a little unsure of which to play with first, so we put his train sets away in the closet until we took them out yesterday.  That way his new-toy-playing experience wasn't so overwhelming. :-)

For New Year's Eve we had some sisters in the ward come over and play dominoes with us in the evening.  Josh and I aren't big on the late nights though, so we ushered in the new year an hour early so we could go to bed.  The next day we took Eli to his first "big" movie.  He'd only been to a theater one other time--on his birthday we took him to see the 3D whales movie at the science museum.  This was the first time he saw a full-length cartoon movie in the theater.  We watched Tangled, and we all thought it was a really good movie.  Okay, Josh and I probably enjoyed it a little more than Eli.  He liked it, but it didn't hold his interest as much as some other movies do (I'm thinking it was a little more "girly" than he likes).  He really enjoyed the preview for Cars 2, and we'll probably take him to the "big" theater for that when it comes out.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for Christmas gifts and cards.  We enjoyed them and hope you have a Happy New Year!

Nana & Bampa's House

Though we're staying home for Christmas this year, we still did some traveling this month.  We visited Josh's family in Washington and had a lot of fun.  Eli loved seeing his cousins and Nana and Bampa.  He recognized them right away.  He's pretty good at remembering, but I also think it helps to have pictures of them on the wall in our house.  It should be interesting to see if he recognizes my parents when we visit them next month.

Eli got to play a lot with his cousins, which he definitely enjoyed.  We toured the Theo Chocolate Factory, which Eli was very sad to leave.  I can't blame him since he got all the free samples he wanted.  He loved the Children's Museum and the cannon shooting at the Pump It Up play center.  We went to a live nativity as well as the toy soldiers in Bellevue.  Most of all, I think we all just enjoyed spending time with family. 

Putting Up the Tree

  

 The Christmas tree is up!  This is only the 2nd of six Christmases together that Josh and I have put up a tree.  We've always been gone for most of December, as well as Christmas, and thought it wasn't worth the hassle.  This time we'll actually be home for Christmas, so this is the first year Eli has seen and helped us put up the tree.  He loved it!  He was so excited that he actually hugged the tree at one point and said, "I love you, Christmas tree."  He wants the lights on all the time, even during the day, and I have to continually remind him that the ornaments are to be left on the tree.  We even made some cinnamon gingerbread boy ornaments together, which he loved doing.  I think this will be a really fun Christmas since Eli is understanding it so much better.