This year has been memorable. In a lot of ways, it went by too fast and in other ways it seemed to drag on forever. I can’t say I loved every second of it but I did enjoy most of it. I know that this is probably the only time in my life that I’ll be able to spend this much time with my kids and since they’re still on the younger side I had their mostly undivided attention. Here are my top memories of the year!
Pool Days
During the summer we bought a bigger blowup pool from Amazon. It isn’t fancy but the boys love it and so do I. Although I still need to be nearby at all times I can relax a little while they’re swimming. It’s nice that they all fit in there and can play together, most of the time there is less fighting. They do a lot of games and imaginary play, some days I’ll play with them while other days I’ll bring out my computer and get some work done while still feeling like I’m part of the fun.
New Activities to Try
With COVID our life has changed. We rarely go out and if we do a grandparent will watch the boys. In general I’m on the cautious side, so I choose not to take them to places like the mall or do activities we’d normally do. Since we aren’t able to do our normal activities I’ve loved that a lot of businesses adapted and we’re able to have new experiences. Since I’m more of an introvert it’s been nice to not have to go into crowds or loud areas. Some things that we were able to do, included a drive through Haunted House at Mari’s Garden for Halloween, a drive-through light show for Christmas, and picked up cookie decorating kits to make at home!
Video Chat with Santa
At Home Birthdays
This year we celebrated all our birthdays at home. For the most part, birthdays are usually always low-key around here but we usually go out and try to make it memorable. We may go to the movies or the zoo, depending on what the birthday boy is into. This year we didn’t go out but we were home all day together, so we took advantage of it! We would plan an outing but this would be in the car, such as having lunch near the airport and watching the airplanes fly by. We’d do an activity such as playing in the pool then dinner would be take out from their favorite restaurant in front of the TV. They rarely get to eat in front of the TV so this is a huge treat for them. This is a much slower pace birthday than we’re used to but they all enjoyed it! They missed having a party with their friends but they still had a memorable day!
Elf on a Shelf
Christmas is a busy time of year even if we’re home all day long but I’m grateful for Elf on a Shelf. The boys are excited to see what he’s doing every morning and it’s been magical! The boys would wake up every morning wondering what Elfie would be doing and hoping he had an activity for them. For me hearing their excitement definitely made the work worth it! When we do Elf on a Shelf I like to add in some of the activities that we’d normally do anyway. For example, bake cookies with Santa or watch a Christmas movie. I’m always trying to knock two things out at once!
If you need some ideas check out our 5 days of easy Elf on a Shelf series.
We usually do pictures with Santa but this year we weren’t able to do the traditional pictures with Santa. This year we did a video chat with Santa with Jingle Ring and we loved it. Depending on the day and the add ons you choose it could get a little pricey. We choose to do it on Christmas Eve and added on a story with Santa. The boys did not care for the story and honestly really just wanted to talk to him, so I don’t think we’d do the story again. One thing that made this really special is that before hand you go in and write a little about your child, for example if you have an elf what’s it name, what the child wants, the good and bad of each child. Blake has been asking tons of questions about Santa this year so he was a little skeptical. So when Santa was able to tell him what he wanted the look on his face was pure magic!
Watching their Bond Grow
For the most part, I’d say we’re a tight knight family. The boys are each about two years apart which helps tighten their bond. Since they are close in age they tend to like similar things and since they spent so much time together this year you can see that bond grow. Now they’ll ask each other for help with games or to help build things. They all like helping each other and being a little more independent. There are so many every day memoirs of this. Like when ack decided that he’d hold off on his iPad breaks until Blake could have his so they could play a game together. I love seeing them grow closer together and I’m excited to see it continue to grow!
These are my top memories of this year. What’s your favorite memory?