This Christmas, Hudson's 2nd Christmas, was awesome! He is at such a fun age right now. The Friday before Christmas, we headed back to Indiana to celebrate with my family. Things were just "different" this year. I can't really put my finger on it, but everything just seemed off. Not bad. Just not the same. Maybe it is having a baby. Maybe it was the actual day Christmas fell on. Maybe it was my sister having to work all day Christmas Eve. Maybe it was the Blizzard. Like I said, Im not really sure.
Anyway, Steve and I were able to sneak away for a couple of hours to get breakfast one morning and Jess, my mom, and I were able to get manicures and pedicures one afternoon. That is always fun! We did a lot of cooking and a lot of eating. YUMMMM Hudson wasn't complaining. :)
Christmas Eve went by so fast. Mom and I ran errands while Steve, Dad, and Jess worked. We made dinner and went to two church services. The first service was a more upbeat service. The message was wonderful. We thought Hudson would be fine so we kept him with us. We were wrong! He started wiggling and "talking" so we had to go sit in the sound proof parent/baby room. It was still nice even without all the special effects. After that, we went home and ate a wonderful dinner. Hudson entertained us all with is extensive vocabulary and feeding abilities. At 9:00 we went to the candlelight service at the church I grew up in got married in. It was a much more reflective and traditional service. Again, I was hoping Hudson would be still so I could enjoy the service. I only had to leave for a few minutes while Hudson was restless. He quickly fell sound asleep so I was able to sneak back in and hear the rest.
It's so weird. This is the first year that I have been back to my hometown church on Christmas Eve and not seen or recognized anyone from my past! Everyone has moved away, has changed schedules due to families.... Just so interesting.
When we got home, after Hudson was put to bed, we had our family Christmas. Mom, Dad, Jess, Steve, and I opened gifts from one another, did Advent, ate Jesus's birthday cake (after singing happy birthday of corse) and listened to my dad read The Night Before Christmas. At this point it was well into Christmas morning, but that's ok.
Christmas Morning was nothing short of magical. Hudson woke up bright and early around 6:00am ready to go! We had planned on having a small-ish Christmas (gift wise) this year, but between my sister, my parents, SANTA, & us Hudson had a mountain of presents (Then we had another Christmas with Steve's side of the family....). Hudson is one lucky little guy! It was really too much though, so Steve and I have decided to hold back some of the gifts for a while so he can actually enjoy them without getting distracted by ALL THE NEW STUFF. :) Maybe in a few weeks we will break out a new toy or just wait until Hudson turns 2! This kid needs nothing!
After all the gifts were unwrapped we had our traditional egg and sausage casserole, drank coffee, and enjoyed each others company. Then we hurried to get ready to leave for Northern Indiana to visit my dad's side of the family. Hudson got to play with his cousin Landon and I got to catch up with my Grandma, Aunts, Uncles, and cousins. Christmas night we watched a movie while Hudson played. It was perfect!
We had a Blizzard (or so they say) the day after Christmas. I will admit, it was beautiful out. We had a wonderfully relaxing day. That night the Erath's came over for dinner and games. It is a tradition that started a few years ago and I'm so glad we were able to continue, even in the "blizzard".
The morning of the 27th we drove back home to have Christmas with Steve's side of the family. It took a little longer than normal to get back because there was still some ice on the highway. Southern Indiana got hit a little harder than where we were at. Anyway, we made it back safe and sound. We unpacked the car and headed over to Steve's parents house.
It was awesome seeing everyone. Hudson's little cousins helped him unwrap ALL his gifts. And BOY, did he get a lot of gifts!!! They had so much fun playing together. John got a train for Christmas and he let Hudson play with it. Hudson giggled and pointed and bounced up and down in excitement. It was so sweet. I love how much John and Andrew love Hudson!
Steve's brother and his family were in town for a few days, so thankfully we were able to spend a lot of time with them. We went out to eat, took the kiddos to Monkey Joe's, and celebrated Little John's 8th Birthday! It's so crazy to think that Steve and I had been dating a few months when he was born!
On December 31st New Year's Eve, while at Steve's parents house hanging out with everyone, I noted Hudson's cheeks were bright read and he felt a little warm. Nothing crazy. I thought it was just because he had been running around and playing. The next morning Hudson was sick! HAPPY NEW YEAR! haha Poor little baby cant catch a break! We had our Farmer Family Day of fun eating good food, watching movies, and playing with Hudson.
Hudson is still under the weather, but seems to be getting better.
2012 was a great year for the Farmer Family! :) I have high hopes for 2013 and can't wait to see what this next year has in store for our little family. I am dubbing this year, The Year To Move! Steve and I both want to get out more and exercise. We also want to do a lot more traveling this year (day and weekend trips as well as BIG trips). I am also hoping this year we actually move! haha That is still up in the air though. We will see!
