Day Full of Fun

Today Eli went to visit Santa Claus! I know that he doesn't really know what's going on, but I do! I plan on making visiting Santa a yearly tradition, so it was time to start! The Santa station at our mall isn't exactly what you would call great, but they were extremely nice and we were the only ones there so we got his picture taken very quickly. We only had to wait for the lady to set up her camera (we were the first customers of the day and I guess we got there a little early). She took several pictures of Eli, but none of them were really that cute. It's hard to get a newborn to look at you when his vision still isn't the best :) Eli got tired of the whole picture taking shindig and started yawning really big. I told the lady to take the picture quickly and she did! I love the end result! It shows how Eli felt about this whole Santa thing this year...BORED! I told Santa that next year the picture would probably be of him screaming...Ahh, what wonderful moments we have to look forward to in the years to come. It's going to be great!

We had to wake him up to see Santa.
As you can tell, he wasn't happy about that.

Still very tired

Bored with Santa :)

Sue (Zue-Zue) came with us to the mall to help me with Eli and to watch him get his picture made with Santa. It was nice to have another person there with me. Shopping with a baby is really hard on your own (clothes racks are not properly spaced for strollers!) She and Eli strolled around the mall and I was able to browse and look for some clothes. I didn't really find much, but it was relaxing to shop and not have to worry about how I was going to manage trying something on and getting the stroller into the dressing room. Sue found me at one point and had me take a picture of Eli. What a cute little sleeping pose! He's so much fun!

"FINALLY! I can rest in peace." :)

Eli and I came home and relaxed the rest of the day. I knew that we would be getting out later on that night so I wanted both of us to be well rested. My class from school, along with the rest of the first graders, were presenting songs from The Polar Express at the convention center. The other day when I went to visit them I promised that I would come and hear them sing. I'm so glad I did! They did an excellent job!

Singing "Hot Chocolate"

Sleeping once again...this time through The Polar Express

After their songs, Josh, Eli, and I went to find them in the hallway. The kids had seen me, but they had not met Eli. It was CRAZY in the hall, but Eli slept through it all. Unbelievable! Josh said he was about to go crazy...LOL! Poor guy! 145 first graders are not exactly calming :) My students were so excited to see me, but even more excited to see Eli. When I was pregnant with him, they loved watching him move in my belly. I remember the first time one of them actually felt him move...her eyes got as big as saucers! They had heard so much about this little boy and now they finally got to meet him. (For those of you that are stressing out about this picture...DON'T! Not a single kid touched Eli at all. I made sure of that! I may not be in the classroom, but they still know that I'm their teacher, so when I told them they could look but not touch, they obeyed. Great job, kiddos!) It was so good to see my kiddos. I miss them, but I'm so glad that I am able to stay home with Eli. It has been such a great bonding time for us. Today actually marks the halfway point for my maternity leave :( In six weeks, I'll be going back to work. I have mixed feelings about returning. On one hand, I can't wait to see my kids at school and get back into my daily routine. On the other hand, I hate that I am not going to see my little boy all day. I guess in perfect world, I could work half a day and then be home the rest of the day with my little boy, but unfortunately, it didn't work out like that. It's going to be hard, but I think this is the best decision for our family. We know that the person that is going to be taking care of our little boy is going to love him just like he was her own. That's great peace of mind for us!

Eli meeting my school kids for the first time

Me with some of my students
Don't they look cute in their pj's?

Josh, Eli, and I left before the program ended and decided to go through the Christmas lights display. I love living in a small town for things just like this. Each business in town adopts a Christmas display that the workers of International Paper made years ago. The amount of time and energy that went into each display is unbelievable because some of them are pretty elaborate. Here are some of my favorite ones :)

Beginning of the display
Frosty the Snowman

Nativity scene
(Josh actually suggested going back and replacing baby Jesus with Eli...tempting, but we didn't)

Typical Louisiana Santa Claus being pulled by alligators

Delta Bank's display...very fitting!
Josh and all the other employees up there are extremely busy all the time!

End of the display
Poor Frosty :(