ethan's second christmas

I can't believe another Christmas is just about over. It's hard to believe how quickly the time went or that this was already Ethan's second Christmas. It hardly even feels possible. I'd say this was my favorite Christmas yet, though I said that last year, too. Each year with Ethan, the magic just becomes...well, more magical than the year before. This year was no exception.

Though the "blog scene" has been quiet these past few days, I've loved reading about everyone's holiday traditions. It has made me really sit and reflect on our traditions as a family. In our family, we celebrate on Christmas Eve. You know, a big gathering of family and friends, everyone eating tons of delicious food, opening gifts and spending time together. This is a tradition that existed for most of my life but took a little hiatus during my college and newlywed years. During those years, my husband and I would usually travel with my parents to our lake house and spend Christmas on the lake, enjoying the feel of a holiday vacation. Now that Ethan is here, the tradition of our family Christmas Eve celebration has become of utmost importance to me. There's little I want more than Ethan to celebrate the holiday alongside his family and close friends, feeling the magic of Christmas and family and falling asleep to dreams of Santa visiting. This year, our family's Christmas Eve celebration was held at my parent's house and was truly wonderful. With everyone's busy schedules, it's so good to get your loved ones together to celebrate the holidays. I've already happily signed on to host next year, but no one can put together a party like my mom can (even if she'll never admit it!).

Christmas Day, on the other hand, is usually a relaxing day off for our family. It means gifts from Santa Claus, cute Christmas pajamas and staying in said pajamas all day long (my husband wasn't on board with that last one, but I'm working on him!). All-day pajamas or not, Ethan thinks Santa did a pretty great job this year. I'm not sure how he's going to handle it when our tree is gone and there are no more presents to wrap or open, but I know the holiday magic is just beginning. There is nothing better than celebrating the holidays with kids.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with their loved ones!