For many, the last week of December is a busy time of holiday fun.
For us, it is a whirlwind. A week of non-stop celebration.
We start with Bobby’s birthday. This year he turned 15 and started the daily reminder, “Only one more year until I can drive!” (I tell him he has to be 21 – the same age Catelyn has to be to start dating 😉).
Then Christmas!
Like others, our Christmas was much different this year than in years past. This year we Zoomed with my family in the morning, while Bob’s parents came over to exchange gifts on the deck while wearing masks.
And they brought their adorable little puppy who everyone loved to meet
You would think that would be enough fun to end the year, but no – not yet! One more birthday was at hand!
When the New Year came we slept. Then we cleaned up and undecorated. Then we slept, and slept some more.
This year’s whirlwind week of celebration was much different – there were no parties, nor friends, but we tried to make everything very special.
We are back to our routine in a couple of days. The kids will be returning to online learning and Bob back to his basement office. I can’t say any of us are quite ready for that yet.
Thankfully, there is still enough leftover birthday cake and Christmas candy to help the transition from celebration to routine!
You are, in fact, a super-mom, Robyn…
Thank you! 🙂
It looks as though you’ve had a great time, despite the different type of Christmas we’ve all had to have. Happy New Year, Robyn, and here’s hoping better times are on the horizon now. I’m taking a break from blogging for a bit, and with my dissertation looming in the spring I’ll be a bit of a patchy presence in the blogsphere for the first half of this year, but it’ll always be a pleasure to catch up with you when I can, and look forward to what will hopefully be a summer of fun and normality for all of us. All the best to you all, and see you soon! 🙂
Good luck to you, Alli! I am sure you are feeling the pressure of your dissertation but I am sure you are going to do an amazing job! I will see you when you come back to the blogsphere and will be thinking of you, wishing you and yours the very best. Happy New Year!
Looks like an awesome time! What beautiful kids!
Thank you so much!
Is everyone recovered yet?
https://pacificparatrooper.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/cartoon-drunk-happy-new-year-woody-woodpecker-favim_com-347552-e1577876515652.jpg
Haha!! The kids just keep going and going. It is so hard to keep up! We are almost there – Happy New Year!
Its rough with 2 birthdays around the holidays. Younger is December 18 and Older is January 13. Thank goodness Younger was a week early (due 12/24) and Older was 2 weeks late (due 12/31). It makes stressful holiday season even more stressful.
I love all the pictures. It looks like everyone had fun. 💕
I notice there are no pictures of Robyn. A friend talked to me about the importance of (cringe) Selfies, or group Selfies. Your kids and possible future grandkids will want pictures of you too.😘💖
Bobby was due mid-December, but was late. They realized he was going to be a biggie and so I was induced after a week. 27 hours of labor later I opted for the C-Section and my 10 pounder was handed to me (Declan was the same weight, although planned C-Section). Catelyn was due in January, but since she was a planned C-Section, I asked for an earlier date for the tax break 🙂
I know! I am always the picture taker and never think to get into one. I will add our Christmas card – check back in a few. I am in one of those!
What wonderful and fun memories, Robyn! Congrats on making it through the holidays and birthdays and surviving 2020!
As a Torontonian, I do like Bobby’s choice of sports attire! And I love the COVID piñata. We need one more for every day this year. And glad Declan got his art kit.
And how wonderful that you were able to see your in laws in a safe way.
Best wishes with 2021! It surely will be better!!!
Thank you so much!! Best wishes to you and your family too. I agree fingers crossed 2021 will surely be better!!
🤗 lovely post
Thank you, Elaine!
Happy new year Robyn and Happy birthday to the kids!
Thank you so much!
This is so sweet. Made me smile lots. Catelyn is same age as Hawklad now. So hope things get back into a routine that works for you all.
I am so happy this made you smile! I am not excited to get back to this weird routine, but I guess it is time. I can make it work! Hope you are well! 🙂
4 special days. A busy, but special time for you all. Can’t believe my youngest granddaughter with be 17 in 6 weeks.
She can’t do online learning, so no lessons until she can go to college where she has a physical teacher.
That is exciting! I hope everything works out so well for her!
With lockdown we don’t know how long she will go without any lessons. 17 and can’t tell the time, add, or subtract. Each lost learning day makes it harder for her to go back 💔
Wow, I’m so glad you all survived the holidays and birthdays and 2020 in general! I am so glad my birthday is about as far from the December holidays as it goes (June 27). By the way, I laughed at Bobby’s comment about one more year until he can drive. This is my first visit to your blog, so I don’t know whether he takes driving lessons yet.
Not yet! My husband and I have talked about taking Bobby to an empty parking lot to learn the basics, but somehow we have never made it there. I am just not ready! Although he is! We will see how this driving thing unfolds.
We have 2 kid birthdays in a week in the summer time, so I guess easier without the holidays right in the middle, but still exhausting when they were little. Now it’s just sickening that we eat 2 DQ Blizzard cakes in a week. I can’t imagine having all that cake on top of the rest of the holiday treats. I already feel like a load. I’m a little bummed out by the return to routine. I’ve been looking forward to the holidays for a while. I’ll need to plan some days off to give me something to look forward to.
When they were younger it was easier for us to just have one party for the both of them at a place like a bounce house. Now, they have different friends and different interests so we have to accommodate. Geesh, it is a lot. We need to plan the same thing. Some day off for the whole family to enjoy to make this return to routine a little bit easier!
Good Birthday celebrations Robyn. Also good to know you caught up on some sleep afterwards.
Thank you, Anne!
Beautiful pictures, awesome moments. Loving the piñata.
Happy New Year, Robyn!
Wishing you a great year ahead.
Thank you so much! To you as well!
That pinata is the hit of the year. I need one of those. That is so funny. You have a beautiful family and it looks like you all had a great time this holiday season even with all the new rules and environment we have to get used to, you did a great job making it nice for your family. You and yours have the best year ever.
It was! My husband came home from the store with the biggest smile on his face, and I was like, “You bought a what!? Well…Okay! Let’s do it!”
Thank you! I wish you and yours the best year ever as well!
Happy New Year, Robyn. Whatever it brings you have a beautiful family to share it with.
My youngest has a December birthday. So I know what a struggle it is when it comes to buying presents and having celebrations.
About the time she turned twenty-eight and was living out of town, she asked if we could celebrate her half-birthday instead. Why not? Her brother and sister both have July birthdays. Might as well make it three at once. Grandma, Aunts and Uncles, and siblings all celebrated her birthday in July that year! Although Grandma had to send a card on her real birthday too. After that year she went back to her real birthday. This year I think she enjoyed the feeling of an ongoing event with unusual celebrations.
Declan’ art set looks like something I would enjoy and bet he will too, even if Santa forgot those darn markers.
Enjoyed this peek into your life.
The half birthday sounds like a good idea! Declan’s birthday is in July so it would be easy enough to celebrate more than just him.
Thank you! Happy New Year to you too!
Oh no, look what your post did to me: I want a covid piñata now!
It was a lot of fun!
“WANT ONE, ME, NOW!” {{{giggles}}}
Fabulous blog
Thank you!
Beautiful blog…
Happy 2021
Beautiful blog