I Miss You!

Dear Grandma and Grandpa Mulder,

I'm glad you were able to get to Florida to enjoy the sunshine for a couple of weeks. I sure do miss you, though. Uncle Rob is going to drop Bailey off at my house tonight. I'm going to take real good care of her and Mommy said we'll be sure to take her for lots of walks. I know I'll see you soon, but here's a couple of pictures just in case you forgot how cute I am!

Love,

Eli

Mom had the front windows open the other day. It was so warm. I smiled when I felt the breeze on my face.

February Snapshots

Hanging out with Mom.
Ride 'em cowboy! I heard that chicks dig a man in a cowboy hat.

New windows! We got a few new windows in the house. The front room and the box bay around the kitchen window have been replaced. The old ones were so drafty that we'd sometimes have to scrap a ice off the inside. These are so nice and insulated and, boy, do they look sharp!

Out skating with my dad.

Aunt Bekah came for a visit the other weekend. I was soooo excited to see her! (I squeal and kick my legs whenever I hear her name.) We went to watch Daddy play hockey on Sunday night. I even saw him score a goal. Go Dad!

Aww, Dad!

Sitting up in the Bumbo all by myself. It takes a lot of concentration!

What are you lookin' at?

Watching Dad and Uncle Rob play ping pong in the basement.

Dave has been working hard at getting dry wall, paint, and lighting up to make it warmer and brighter down there. It looks GREAT! With the ping pong, darts, and cozy viewing area, I think we'll be spending lots more time in our lower level.

Dave and Rob in a heated match. Don't worry, Rob. I won't post the current record standings.

My good friend Abby came for a visit last week. It was so good to see her and daughter, Libby. We just sat around and talked for hours... wonderful! She even brought us dinner!

A New Year

We've had so much fun this month watching Eli grow and change. He's discovering his hands and smiling like crazy. Hard to imagine that soon he'll be getting teeth and these gummy grins will be gone for good.

Yummy! I like chewing on my hand. I haven't quite found my thumb yet.

Posin' for a pic.

Big brown eyes!

Learning how to play croquenals (anybody out there who can help this American girl with the spelling?)

Bare bum. Where did all these rolls come from?

The following is us trying to get a self-made family portrait after church. It's not easy with an obstinate cat, a fickle baby, and trying to hold and aim the camera yourself:

We all made it in this frame, but Eli and Jeremiah are too busy examining each other to look at the camera.

Where's mommy?

Well... Eli looks good.

Where'd Eli go?

2008 Recap

What a year it has been! I just took down the 2008 calendar and thought I'd give you a quick recap of some of the year's exciting events:

January: Dave and I attended a Super Bowl party with friends from church. Eli Manning's Giants won. We didn't know then that "Eli" was going to become a very popular name at our house.

February: Pregnant! Dave and I had fun keeping our news a secret for a few weeks. The trickiest time came when we went in for our first prenatal appointment. Since my doctor works with Dave and they even share an office, we knew we'd have to do some pretty fancy footwork to keep the beans from spilling. I'm not sure we did a great job... but all of Dave's coworkers were so excited for us!

March: We introduced the "Ultimate October Challenge" to our families. Rebekah and teammate Tristan ended up winning this guess the baby game.

April: Dave and I visited my brother's family in North Carolina over Easter. The weather was great and we loved going to the NC Zoo.

May: Dave completed a 100 mile bike ride MS fundraiser and Christel took on a leadership role with BSF. Busy! Busy! Busy!

June: This marked Christel's final days as a public school teacher. I'll miss the opportunity to influence so many different children from so many different backgrounds. I've really loved helping kids become better readers, writers, and thinkers. I'm sure God's going to continue using those skills in my life some way! June was the month of our Southwest Adventure and the 9th marked our first wedding anniversary. What a month!

July: Lots of pool time in the backyard. We enjoyed sharing time with friends, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, and parents throughout the month.

August: The month began with a journey to Huntington, IN for a baby shower and ended with a journey back for a house closing. Praise the Lord! Dave completed the second annual Sanford and Sun Triathlon.

September: "The Final Month" We kept busy! Dave did another triathlon in Tawas and I walked and walked and walked.

October: Dave and I welcomed little Eli James on the 17th. Before the 17th, I was big. After the 17th, I was tired (and thrilled!).

November: Dave prepped the pool to become an ice rink and we had many visitors come meet Eli.

December: Lots and lots of snow! The pool/rink has been a huge success. We've enjoyed a month of watching our little guy smile and grow. It was fun to introduce Eli to cousin Micah, born on the 2nd.

It has been a wonderful year. We feel blessed to be part of a fun family, loving church, and-most importantly-children of an awesome God. Happy New Year! (Our last one sure was...)

A few pictures from the holidays...

Fascinated by the Uncles.

Snow! Snow! Snow!

Eli inside his Christmas stocking.

Mulder family Christmas. It's increased by TWO this year!