Eli the Deer Hunter

At Christmas Eli got a new deer gun for when he and Josh went deer hunting this year. This was something new for both Josh and Eli so we were all excited about this special rite of passage for our little boy. All Eli needed now were a pair of camouflage pants and an orange hat. Once we bought him those our deer hunter was all set to go. 

Modeling his new camouflage gear.

Before taking him to the deer stand, Josh took Eli to a Uncle Clare's land near the levee to practice target shooting with his new gun. They got all set up and then Eli started taking some practice shots. 

My little sharpshooter was a natural. He was so proud when he located the first shot he took. 

After some practice, he and Josh started going out to the deer stand. The first two times they went they didn't have any luck. They saw deer but they were never in a good position for Eli to take a shot. Eli was starting to get a little disappointed, but then it finally happened! 

On January 7th, Josh and Eli went out to the deer stand one last time. Around 7 o'clock that night I got a phone call from Eli telling me that he had shot his first deer. He was so excited!! He took his shot from 137 yards away (Josh used his golf range finder to verify the yardage) and Josh said he shot him perfectly below the shoulder. Josh said watching Eli kill his first deer was one of the proudest Dad moments he'd ever had. I think he was just as excited, if not more, than Eli! When Eli shot the deer, he thought it was a doe, but once they found the deer they saw that it was a spike. Eli was so proud that his first deer had horns even if they were small! They came home to show me the deer, take pictures, and pick me up so we could all take him to the processor. 

This was the picture Josh took right after Eli tracked his deer and found him.

Look how excited he is!! I'm so proud of him :)

My happy boys with Eli's first deer. 

We took Eli's deer to be processed and he loved being able to tell everyone at the shop his story of how he killed his first deer. A couple of weeks later, we went to pick the deer meat up. Now when I cook deer meat for supper Eli always wants to know if it's his deer that we're eating. He is so proud to know that he helped provide meat for our family. Now his goal is to kill a big buck because I told him he could hang it on the wall in our house if he did. If he continues to be as good of a shot as he is now, I'm pretty sure it won't be long before my house will be decorated with all kinds of deer horns. 

Our Family Christmas-2015

Eli woke us up bright and early (5:00 AM) to tell us that Santa Claus had been to our house. He was so excited and couldn't wait to see what was under the tree! I grabbed my camera, started the coffee (really strong coffee), and went into the living room with Eli. 

Eli knew that Christmas Eve was Elfis' last night with us, but he was excited to see that Elfis had left him a new Christmas movie. We love all the Buddies movies and knew this one would be great just like all the others!

This year Eli's three gifts he asked for from Santa were a set of drums, a Buzz Lightyear laser gun, and new arrows for his bow he got for his birthday. The first thing Eli grabbed was the Buzz Lightyear laser gun. He started blasting everything around him! 

He was momentarily distracted from his three gifts when he noticed how full his stocking was. He grabbed it and started going through it to see what Santa had stuffed in there. 

Eli's loot from his stocking. 

My stocking

Josh's stocking

Eli started pulling out the presents from under the tree and passed them out. We didn't get him very much,  just a few little things. Josh and I normally do small gifts for each other or no gifts at all. It's so much more fun to watch Eli open all his! 

He got a new Swiss Army knife to use when he goes camping. 

New headphones

A new Bible

An LSU belt buckle

Eli found a letter from Santa Claus tucked in the Christmas tree and asked us to help him read it. Santa told him that there was one big gift from us and Grandpa E under the tree. He wanted Eli to open it last.

Eli was surprised to see that it was a set of electric drums! Josh, Grandpa E, and I wrote Santa and told him we wanted to get the drums for Eli and asked if Santa would get him new blue drumsticks. That sounded great to Santa so that's what we did!

My favorite picture I take every year is this one below. I love seeing the giant mess on the floor where lots of special Christmas memories are made every year. What a fun day!

While Josh started assembly on the drum set, I popped some cinnamon rolls in the oven and made more coffee. It was going to be a long morning :) Eli started playing with all of his gifts. 

It didn't take long and soon Eli was jamming along on his new drums! 

My favorite feature is the headphone option. This is biggest reason you get electric drums :)  Especially when your kid is just learning how to keep a beat...

My little rockstar in training

Eli with his Christmas gifts. 

After everything had been opened, Daddy came out with one more gift. It was a very special gift that Josh couldn't wait to give him...a new hunting gun (such a rite of passage for little boys down here in the South). Eli was bound and determined to kill a deer this season and he needed a hunting gun to do that. Josh and Eli were both excited about getting to use it on their next hunting trip. 

Barkley came in to get his Christmas gifts from Santa. I didn't get a picture of his gifts, but he got a brand new leather collar and a big Busy Bone from Santa. He loved them both :)

The rest of our Christmas morning was spent playing with all of Eli's new gifts. Zue-Zue came over to see everything that Eli got from Santa and she stayed and visited with us for a long time. Some of the grown ups might have taken naps, which were DESPERATELY needed! It was a fun day but it was over before we knew it. I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas as well!