2020 Recap
It has been SO long since I have taken the time to blog. There are many posts I want to write, and half a year's worth of photos and memories to share, and hopefully I'll find the time to it. Right now, my days are a blur of never-ending mothering and household tasks, and the time to sit down and string together coherent thoughts eludes me. :) But it is important to me to do my year end recap post because of how much I enjoy looking back on them every year. Here's a look at what went on in the Horton household in 2020!
JANUARY
While we usually ring in the New Year in Marietta with family, this year we stayed home and spent a quiet evening together. I can't remember exactly what we did, but I'm fairly certain we were in bed before midnight. :)
January brought some beautiful weather for playing outside... 
...as well as some brotherly and sisterly love.
Claire started walking while pushing her stroller, and was on the move NON STOP.
My parents took the big kids to see Frozen II in theaters, and little did we know it would be the last movie any of us would see in theaters this year. This picture puts a lump in my throat because after the many changes in the world, it just feels like a totally different time and place. Henry had the best outing with Mimi, Papa, and his cousins and talked about it for months. I so look forward to the day when we can do these things again!
FEBRUARY
We spent lots of time in Henry's tent playing with lots toys...
...and Claire spent LOTS of time in her doorway jumper.
We celebrated Valentine's Day with an "I Love You" dinner...
...and homemade Valentine's for our friends and family.
We spent more time at the playground...
...and I enjoyed mornings in the preschool carline with my shotgun rider. :)
Caleb and I also had a lovely dinner to celebrate Valentine's Day and his birthday!
2020 was a leap year, so we tried to make February 29th extra special. We had lunch at Mellow Mushroom followed by dessert at Yogurt Mountain, and had fun filling out a questionnaire that we'll open on the next Leap Day.
MARCH
The two most precious angels before church. Looking back, this was our last "normal" Sunday to go to church before everything shut down.
We had our first ER trip on March 4th, which also happened to be my mom's birthday. Claire was very sick and that morning she was having trouble breathing; her lips had a bluish tint to them, and we were told to take her to the ER immediately. She had a temperature of over 103 and had to get an IV for fluids and antibiotics, a chest x-ray, a breathing treatment, blood work...it was absolutely pitiful. She cried all day and missed both of her naps because she wouldn't go to sleep, which made everything so much worse. She ended up being diagnosed with Adenovirus, which cleared up quickly and she was back to her happy, healthy self. But boy was it a hard day! This was at the start of the pandemic, before masks were even being worn, which kind of blows my mind. Thank God this happened when it did, or the hospital protocols would have been much more strict.
When it became apparent that COVID-19 needed to be taken seriously, people stayed at home and had very limited contact with people outside of their immediate families. Caleb began working from home and Henry's school closed. We spent much of our time doing lots of hands-on activities. Play-doh, sensory bins, color sorting, painting, water beads, kinetic sand, baking...we did it all in an effort to stay busy. :)
We gladly welcomed Spring with beautiful new flowers in our window planter...
...and spent lots of time outside!
APRIL
We got some surprising, wonderful news in April, and just like that, our whole year was looking up!
Alabama was under a "stay at home" order for the month of April, and we continued to make the most of our situation. We had pizza picnics in the garage...
We celebrated Easter...
...and Claire's 1st birthday!
And then on my birthday, I got to have my first ultrasound and see our tiny baby. What a sweet gift!
MAY
Claire's big, wild, goofy personality came out in full force this month, and she entertained us all with her silly antics. :)
We took a road trip to Hattiesburg over Memorial Day and visited our best friends, Shelley and Lamar...
..and took a day trip to the beach with them!
I celebrated Mother's Day with my people...
...and of course, we welcomed summer with popsicles and lots of time outside!
JUNE
The kids and I spent a morning downtown feeding ducks, and Henry and I both were nervous about how close Claire was getting to the water. Haha!
We took two trips in June; we went to the beach...
We celebrated Father's Day with dinner at Rosie's, and was introduced to Claire's alter ego, Señorita Claire! We quickly learned that we only take her to Mexican restaurants when we are ready to deal with a huge mess. :)
JULY
We celebrated July 4th with family and fireworks...
We got a minivan for our growing family...
AUGUST
In August, we said goodbye to our old house and the kids said goodbye to their playhouse. We spent most of the month getting settled in to our new home.
...and then Henry started the 3's class at Twickenham!
SEPTEMBER
We picked out some fall flowers for our porch...
Henry started soccer in September, and we loved watching him run around with the other boys and girls. He loved playing and wants to do it again next fall.
The best part of our month (and one of the best parts of the year!) was taking a somewhat spontaneous trip to Disney World! We got a super deal on the Beach Club Resort and we couldn't resist the lower crowds at the parks. We had SO MUCH FUN and one last hoorah as a family of four!
OCTOBER
October is always a busy month for us, and this year was no exception. We painted Halloween cookies with cousins...
...and enjoyed the last of our summer popsicles on a warm afternoon.
We celebrated Henry's birthday with a small outdoor party...
We had a lovely visit from Mamaw and Daddy Wayne...
...and also visited the pumpkin patch with Henry's school.
We wrapped up the month by having friends and family over to trick-or-treat. Henry said this was the best day ever...
...and with all that candy, can you blame him?! :)
NOVEMBER
It began looking a lot like Christmas inside...
Caleb started running a fever and got tested for COVID, but before we got the results (they were negative), we tried to keep our distance from him. I took the kids to Chick-fil-A for dinner and we picnicked in the van. It turned out to be a really fun time and something they really enjoyed!
We had a very small and low-key Thanksgiving at home with my parents....
DECEMBER
Baby month was finally here! We managed a bit of Christmas fun like matching jammies...
...and Christmas lights with cousins...
...but the highlight of the whole year was when I went into labor on December 7th!
At 4:24 P.M. we welcomed our beautiful son, George Frederick Horton, into the world!
Big sister Claire...
Our best Christmas gift by far!
We celebrated Christmas at Nana and Derek's...
...at home...
George got to meet Mamaw and Daddy Wayne...
We didn't manage any pictures on New Year's Eve, but we shared an evening with good friends that was filled with lots of laughter and fun. While 2020 was a challenging year in a lot of ways, it was full of so many blessings for our family. I look back and I'm so thankful to God for the gifts he gave and the ways He provided for us this year. It was a sweet year that brought new life, a new home, and new friendships. I will be forever grateful for 2020, and look forward to starting another year with those I love!
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