2010, in review.

I did one of these last year and it was fun, so here we go again. A recap of 2010 in the life of the Hills.

January: Raleigh gets a ton of snow and Theo has a fun time playing in it (or something like that). Trying for a second baby.

February: More snow. We visit in Richmond for Superbowl Sunday. Theo gets accepted to preschool. Melissa finds out she is pregnant!

March: We spill the beans about the pregnancy. Theo goes on his first Easter egg hunt. Theo stops breastfeeding after 16.5 months.

April: Easter. We travel to Richmond for Easter on Parade. Theo begins hiding things, like his shoes. We find out the baby is probably a girl, but don't tell anyone. Neverending nausea continues. We go strawberry picking and make jam.

May: Susan's birthday. Susan and Theo take a trip to Suffolk without me for the first time. Theo and I visit friends and family in Virginia. We find out we are in fact expecting a baby girl! We visit Charleston, SC to attend the wedding of an old family friend. It's really muggy and buggy, but fun. Susan ends the trip on a high note by having to visit urgent care.

June: Lots of trips to the pool with our water baby. Melissa finally starts feeling better. Melissa and Theo fly down to Florida alone to visit Mima, Elena, Tony, Summer and Shannon. Theo's first trip on a plane!

July: 4th of July in Richmond. More and more swimming. Theo gets a big boy room and bed to make room for baby sister.

August: We go peach picking and get eaten alive by mosquitoes. We decide to switch prenatal care from the birth center to UNC hospital at 32 weeks, which was an incredibly hard decision. We have to say a sad goodbye to our cat, Otis, who had been with Melissa for 9 years. August was a tough month.

September: Theo and I go on a date to ride a train before his sister arrives. Theo begins preschool! It's hard for everyone at first, but we all grow to love it. We finish up the nursery.

October: Birthday month. The pumpkin patch. The state fair. Theo's first real haircut. We welcome our daughter, Lucinda Katherine, into our family. Lucy has a frenotomy (twice). Halloween.

November: Melissa and Lucy struggle through breastfeeding, but come out on the other side. Theo turns TWO years old! Thanksgiving in Suffolk with the Hills.

December: Lucy is diagnosed with reflux. Theo is diagnosed with allergies. We go to a Christmas parade and freeze. Christmas in Richmond where Lucy meets her Aunt Dawn for the first time. Christmas with the Hills at our house. Our first Christmas at home with two kids. Kids have their check ups and we learn they are both tall and slim! Melissa and Susan return to work after two months of maternity leave.

Whew! It's been quite a year. Same house, same jobs, same cars, but pretty much everything else changed! We had both a significant hello and a significant goodbye. We traveled a lot. We all grew a lot. We are all older and we are definitely all wiser. Sometimes, we are all a little more weary. We are still a strong family. Susan and I probably mess up a hundred times a day as parents and as spouses, but somehow, we are still here after another year as a family. Some days surviving, some days thriving, but happy and healthy. I am hoping for a quieter 2011 with a little less change but a lot of growth as we take care of each other and learn to do a better job at life every day. I'm so glad to have these three by my side for another year!

Happy 2011. May it be the best one yet.