Our Christmas and New Year Celebrations

What happens after over a week of holiday celebrations? We find our apartment a complete mess, even though we have only slept here 5 out of the last 12 days. We find ourselves exhausted and fighting colds. And we find ourselves generally worn out and ready for our normal schedule again. But, we also find ourselves full of thankfulness for all of the many, many ways that God has blessed us. We find 182 new pictures on our camera and a fun new memory to go with each. And we find ourselves basking in the love we feel from our family and our God. We had three great Christmas celebrations and a fun New Year's Eve. Here are the highlights:

Christmas #1: The (Tim) Choronzy Family Christmas

The night before we left for MI we had our Christmas at home. We ordered out Applebee's for dinner (which was delicious), had Christmas cookies for dessert, and then opened our presents. Elijah was so fun to watch this year since he talks in sentences now. His reactions to his gifts were priceless. :)

Looking in his stocking.

Happy to get Snoopy toothbrushes.

Elijah's main gift from us was fish, which we gave him when we got back from MI. So far, he has only named one fish- the all gold one is Caillou.

Our little Christmas tree. :)

Christmas #2: The Balcom Family Christmas

Next we traveled to MI and spent 4 days, including Christmas day, at my parent's house. We had fun doing some of our favorite things to do in Richland, like eating at TenTen our favorite Chinese buffet and shopping with my mom, Molli and Autumn. On Christmas Eve we met my friend Jess for lunch and then Staci and her family came to spend the night at my parent's. We had a very exciting Christmas morning with all the cousins together. That evening we went to my grandparent's house for dinner with my extended family, which is always a hoot.

Eli & Aunt MoMo

A big present!

Holding hands with my cousin. :)

Yaya's new train set - thanks Nana & Papa!

Christmas # 3: The Choronzy Family Christmas

The Saturday after Christmas we were back in WI for Christmas with Tim's family. Elijah got a lot of fun presents and then we put him to bed and stayed up till after 1:00am with the adults opening presents. It was as memorable as ever, but boy were we tired afterward!

A car mat from Uncle Andy.

Wow!

"This a big present!"

Elijah helping empty the box.

Thanks Uncle Nate & Laura!

New Year's Eve

I actually forgot my camera for New Year's Eve so, sorry, there are no pictures. But, Elijah has the best grandparents, uncles, and aunts because seven adults played hide and go seek with him for at least 45 minutes. He had a blast walking around Grandma and Grandpa's house with a little lantern finding everyone. After Elijah went to bed, the adults played the Logo game which we never actually finished because midnight came and then we were all too tired to keep playing. Later New Year's day we were back at Tim's parents' for a lobster and steak dinner.

Whew! I am exhausted just giving you the highlights of our incredibly blessed holiday celebration. Now, I'm going to go clean our apartment...

It's A....

We had our ultrasound appointment on Monday and the baby received an A++! Elijah thought it was neat to see the baby "on the TV" again and Tim enjoyed his first look at our little one. By the time we left the doctor's office Elijah was the talk of the nurses. He is so charming, he makes friends literally everywhere we go! :) And now what you really want to hear.

We are very excited to announce...

Elijah was right! He is having a baby sister! Tim and I are thrilled to be able to experience having both a son and a daughter. It's been very exciting around our house knowing that we can now call the baby "she" or "her" and thinking of all the little girl things we get to buy. :)


Here's a  few more pictures of our little charmer.

We are getting very excited about Christmas.

Elijah needs to have all of his friends to help him sleep. :)

Feeling Settled

These past few months have really flown by! We are enjoying settling into our life here in Wisconsin. Tim is enjoying his job and all the perks that come with it - like playing with knives, discussing survival techniques and weekend trips to the trailer to test gear. We are all enjoying getting involved in church and making friendships there. I have been helping in Elijah's nursery and attending women's Bible study once a week. Tim has been volunteering with the Jr. High youth group. And Elijah loves going to church so he can play with his friends. He talks about nursery a lot and sings the songs that he learns there.

Elijah has grown and changed so much since we have moved to WI. He has a lot of energy and loves to run around and sing songs. He is talking in 4 to 5 word sentences and blowing us away daily with how smart and observant he is. Elijah is also the funniest kid I've ever met. We are never short on laughter in this house.

Our biggest excitement recently is that we are expecting baby number two in May! Elijah is thrilled to be a big brother and convinced that he will have a baby sister. We find out the gender next week so we will know if he is right! The pregnancy has made it a bit more difficult to adjust to our move, but we are happy that we finally feel settled and at peace that we are where God wants us. He is doing some exciting things in our family!

Elijah and Grandma on Thanksgiving.

Watching a family favorite, A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Our living room all decorated for Christmas.

Kitchen.

Dining room.

Our stocking are hung in the hallway with care. :)

Christmas 2012

We had a blast celebrating Christmas this year! Having your own child brings back some of the excitement of Christmas that isn't always there as an adult. Tim and I were excited to share our Christmas traditions with Elijah, and we were able to pack in a lot!

Our "Christmas Marathon" started on the Friday before Christmas with a gift exchange between Tim, Elijah, and myself. Elijah jumped right into ripping the wrapping paper and seemed to enjoy his gifts. One item in his stocking, a Toy Story bath book, he kept in one hand while he unwrapped and played with every other gift. One of our gifts to Elijah was a pop up tent and tunnel to crawl through. We knew it was a hit when Eli spent the rest of the evening giggling while he and Daddy climbed through the tunnel.

Elijah, the tree, and PRESENTS!

What's in my stocking??

Tim really likes the shirt I bought him.

Next came Christmas with my, Kelli's, family on Saturday. Both of my sisters and their families were able to be there along with my parents. It was fun to see all the kids' excitement and Elijah always enjoys playing with his cousins. One classic moment came when we were trying to take a picture of all five cousins on the couch. Elijah was sitting next to his cousin who is 10 months older than him and she looked over at him and then poked him in the eye! Needless to say, Elijah was not into picture taking after that, but his eye made a full recovery. :)

Playing with his farm from Nana & Papa.

Daddy and Eli in his new tent.

On Sunday we left for Wisconsin. We had a very smooth trip getting there. No snow or traffic and one happy baby made for two happy parents! We always try to make a few long stops where we can do something fun and this trip was no exception. We tried to take a new picture of Elijah at Cabella's with the same polar bear that made him cry in this picture when he was a few months old. Our plan was for Eli to point at the bear but, as you can see below, he kept pointing at himself instead. :) But, he isn't afraid anymore.

Being able to stay for a week in WI this time was really great. We were able to spend a lot of time with Tim's family, which was great for Elijah. He was able to get very comfortable with everyone and really enjoyed playing with his Grandma, Grandpa, uncles and aunts. Tim and I were able to go out on a date, do some shopping, eat at some yummy restaurants, and play games with the family. Tim even got to go skiing.

Playing video games for the first time.

Don't let this picture fool you, he loved his snowman bib.

Opening presents on Christmas Eve.

Bathrobes!

Playing with Uncle Andy on Christmas morning.

Reading with Aunt Diana & Uncle David.

Elijah loves Grandpa's fishies!

On our way home we stopped at Mars Cheese Castle because it is an actual castle now and had Elijah try on his first cheesehead!

All in all, we had a wonderful holiday. It's taking us a bit longer than usual to get going again after vacation because 2 days after we got back I got sick and was down for a day and a half with a fever and head cold. But, I am returning to health and am looking ahead to 2013!