A Very Tempel Christmas

We had a grand time at the Tempels this year. Eli really enjoyed his first Christmas with his Grandma and Grandpa Tempel, Aunt Katie and Uncle Ed and his Uncle Kevin (not to mention Mom and Dad)! The following are some photos of his FIRST Christmas...thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Tempel for feeding us lots of food, giving us lots of gifts, but most of all, for letting us spend time with them in Waterloo, Iowa.

Big Gift

We bought Eli his big gift for this year - a used Burley trailer and we couldn't be more excited. We can't figure out if his expression of trepedation is from being put in this large trailer or the elf sitting next to him. We can only hope that he loves biking as much as his parents and the Tempel clan.

Santa Baby

I wanted to share a couple of photos of Eli with the Santa at Bass Pro Shops in Springfield. These photos were taken over Thanksgiving. Eli seems to have this strange fascination with Santa(s). I think it's the beard.



Note the death grip on Santa's beard.



"No kidding?!? Eight tiny reindeer...you have got to let me know how you do that..."

Bone Doc

So we call Dr. Price our bone doc because I never know how to spell orthopedic surgeon, and it's simplified...bone doc...two syllables. It will be easy for Eli to learn later in life.

Anyway, we went to see the bone doc today and everything is looking great with Eli. There is a small curvature to his lower spine and his legs are slightly bowed, but this is characteristic of his condition. Dr. Price was happy enough with Eli's status that we didn't even have to get the regular skeletal scan. Further good news is that we don't have to see the bone doc for another eight months. Perhaps Eli will be walking by then.

As parents, we are always slightly nervous about these "extra" doctor appointments, so it was great that it went well.

9 Month Photos

Okay, it's time for the regular month photo. I love doing these as I can see how much Eli has grown.



This time, I had the "genius" idea to use his favorite toy as an enticement to smile. Why in the world did we not do this eight months ago?



The faux hawk hair...



And a reward for the smiles...



It's hard to believe that 9 months ago (or thereabouts) we met our amazing son.

Christmas Program Video

Last night was Eli's first ever Christmas Program. This Christmas Program was organized by the Lee Ann Britain Infant Development Center where Eli goes to class and has a series of different therapies every week.

Eli has three classmates that we get the privilege of seeing every week. Alayna, LC and Ian are his fellow actors in the performance.

Special thanks to Grandma Wagner for attending and helping us get Eli prepared for his big debut. We had a wonderful time and he had a great time chatting with people and performing.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Wagner Christmas Photos

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the Wagner clan. Amidst crazy cousins and an ever crazier Grandpa, we were able to take family photos. The following are a few that we wanted to share with you.



Eli is his Santa suit (yes, I know that he will give us a really hard time when he gets older for dressing him up like this).



First Ever Family Christmas Photo



Eli with his cousins Natalie and Logan. He enjoys being strangled!



The entire Wagner family!