Merry Christmas to All...

WOW!!  What else can I say?  Our first Christmas with Bentley was so much fun.  Christmas has always been my favorite time of year, but Christmas as a Mommy is way better.  Shopping for him, shopping with him, decorating, making our own family traditions...it's everything I've ever wanted.  This was the best Christmas ever!  I wanted to savor every moment.  The first gift he received and opened, his first party, his first Christmas pajamas...everything.  I felt like we took a million pictures, but they just don't do it justice.  None of them seemed to capture the joy I felt watching my little guy celebrate his first Christmas.  Nevertheless...here's a TON of pictures!  Sorry for so many, but I just couldn't leave any more out.

For starters...ELI, our Elf.  I mentioned Eli in a previous post, but I thought I'd share a few pictures of the silly guy.  He placed himself in a few silly places to make sure he could keep a good eye on the Bowling family.  Here's just a few.

The good news is that everyone must have been pretty good this year, and Eli must have enjoyed his stay at the Bowling residence because everyone was visited by Santa.  Eli is now back at the North Pole preparing for next Christmas.  We sure hope he comes back to see u in 2012!

We had such a busy Christmas season, like always.  We always go lots and lots of places to try and celebrate with the whole family.  So, for four days, we partied and partied and partied! 

~Thursday~

We started on Thursday.  I met with some friends from school to eat at Rosie's Cantina...YUMMM!  Bentley got to see his sitter from this summer, Taylor, and he took full advantage of that undivided attention he received. 

Here, he opened his gift from Taylor...a TOO CUTE gator!

All the fun wore him out...he found the perfect place to nap. :)

That evening we had dinner with my college girlfriends, Krista and Jessica, and their families.  Bentley was surrounded by pretty girls, so he was a happy camper.  He got some really cute clothes, and he can't wait to wear them. 

I didn't get any good pics of the girls...but Bentley was pretty excited about his present.
"I need help with this bow!!!"

~Friday~

Friday was a normal day except for trying to get the house cleaned up for my Mom's (Nana) Christmas.  We decided to cook prime rib, green beans and baked potatoes.  It was delicious and super Christmas-y.  We had a great time, and Bentley and Coen LOVED all their gifts. 

Taylor came by to give Coen his Christmas present.  He was smitten.  He gets so silly when he's around a girl he likes.

On a mission.

Hey, handsome!

Who needs toys when you have cardboard?

"Oh, this is mine.  I just know it!"

Bentley loves his new dancing dog.  My favorite thing is when it says, "You're SOOOOOOOO Big!"  It sounds so sweet.

Mommy helped Bentley open his presents.  This is Scout.  He says. "I love you, Bentley."

What a mess!  Christmas was a blast!

All that comotion caused a minor explosion on Bentley's part.  There's nothing cuter than this little baby bum!

Coen and I baked sugar cookies in Christmas shapes after presents.  Bentely lucked out and got his first taste of a sugar cookie.  He loved it!

My favorite gift was my Baby Bullet that I got a little early.  I've been making Bentley's babyfood homemade for a couple of weeks, and we are doing pretty good.  Here was my first big batch.

This was our very first attempt.  apples, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, blueberries, and mango....YUMMMMMM

~Saturday~

Saturday was Christmas Eve, and it was a great one!  We had lots of places to visit, and it was our first Christmas Eve to start our own family traditions.  We started the day at Daniel's parents' house.  Granddaddy, Nana, Uncle Jacob, Aunt Jennifer, and Cousins Charlie and Ruby Cate were all there, and everyone had a great time.

Happy Family :)

Bentley enjoyed all of his gifts.

This is SO cool!

After Dave and Reg's house, we went to my dad's (Buddy's), a.k.a. Granddaddy.  Bentley had fun playing with Coen, and he got lots of fun and cute stuff.

Look at me! :)

He loved his new riding toy.

Look at that face...I MELT!!!

Hey everyone...watch out!

After going to Granddaddy's house, we headed to the Fortenberry Christmas at Aunt Debbie's.  We didn't get any pictures with our camera, but I think Russ and Cyndel did, so maybe I'll add those later.  Finally, it was time to go home and get ready for the big guy...Santa Claus.

Once home, we needed to prepare for Santa's visit.  I explained to Bentley that Santa would come and bring him some wonderful gifts and fill our stockings.  I also told him that Santa is sometimes hungry for a snack, and his favorite snack is cookies and milk.  I explained that the reindeer get hungry, too, so we needed to leave them a snack.  So, here's what we came up with.

Here's our setup for decorating cookies.  These are the cookies I baked with Coen the previous night.  Daniel and I made our own homemade royal icing that turned out really good.

And this is what Santa saw when he came to our house.  Three lovely cookies for him, a delicious cup of cold milk, nine pieces of carrot (one for all eight reindeer, plus Rudolph), and a note from Bentley.

Here is Bentley's note to Santa.

He had to write on the back, too.

After getting everything ready for Santa, it was onto tradition number two...a Christmas Eve gift.  Bentley opened one present from Mommy and Daddy.  He was excited to open it, and Daddy had to help.

Too cute...drop seat jammies!

My two boys...so cute!

One more look at his tree before bedtime.

That was the end of Christmas Eve.  We went to bed, Santa visited, and all of a sudden...it was Christmas morning!  Daniel and I woke up between 7:00 and 7:30, and we were anxious with anticipation for the day.  I was so thrilled to experience Bentley's first Christmas morning. 

~Sunday~ 

Here's what Santa left for Bentley!
A basketball goal, a firetruck, a cookie jar, a HUGE book, and a new Sleepy Bunny

What a beautiful site on Christmas morning.  A lovely tree, fun toys for my sweet baby, and full stockings on the mantle.

Our stockings were STUFFED with all kinds of goodies!

While we were awake and waiting, Bentley decided to sleep in. He slept until almost 8:00! Finally, he woke up, and it was time for the fun! Because he doesn't completely understand the excitement of Christmas yet, he was a little more interested in getting his breakfast, so we did that first.

Then...it was time for presents!

Check out that Happy Hair for Christmas!

Porsche loves looking in her stocking.

Bentley was funny with his stocking...he wasn't sure about what to do with all the stuff.

He figured it out!

Walking to his toys...the Sleepy Bunny caught his eye first.

A singing, rocking firetruck.  So much fun!

After opening presents and playing for a while, it was time for breakfast.  We made pancakes and sausage.  It was so yummy.  Porsche and Bentley were both very appreciative.

Porsche always gets her very own mini pancake.

Bentley really enjoyed his bites of pancake as well.

After breakfast we had to get ready to head out for the rest of the day.  Off to Nana Reg and Granddaddy Dave's we go!  We had the big family Christmas with Daniel's mom's side of the family at lunch time.  It was nice to see everyone, and we got to look at old slides of the family from years and years ago.  That was quite funny and interesting, to say the least.  Bentley enjoyed playing with Charlie and Ruby Cate again, too.

Bentley and Ruby were interested in one another's pacis. 

Here's my sweet little guy.  I'm so in love!

After the Tucker family Christmas, it was time to head to my mom's side of the family at Sammi's house (my aunt).  We had a great time, but we somehow managed to not take any pictures.  I think it had been such a long day that we just forgot to take the camera in...I don't know.

Overall, it was a wonderful holiday!  I had a blast, Bentley loved it, and we as a family enjoyed our first Christmas with a little one so much!  I am thankful to everyone for all the wonderful gifts.  While the season is not about the gifts, it's so much fun to shop for little ones.  I am grateful for all that Bentley received, and I know he will one day express his gratitude, as well.  He has so many new toys, a closet full of clothes, and none of that matches the love he must feel from his loving family.

I look forward to helping him understand the true meaning of Christmas someday, but for now, I think we'll enjoy the fun we get to experience with him.