2011 through the rearview

While 2010 was all about settling more comfortably into life as a family of three, 2011 has been so much different and so full of change.

In January, Celia turned two and decided she was too old to take naps for a while. She has changed so much in just a year. She looks like just a baby to me in the pictures. We had a lot of snow: More than three feet in the month of January.

In February, it snowed even more. Celia accused me of serving poop for dinner. I also wrote what ended up being my two most high-traffic posts of the year, and two of my favorites. In Oprah's Big Vegan Flop I railed against the show Oprah aired on veganism. In Swimming Against a Sparkly Pink Tide: Princess Culture and Our Daughters, I railed against the princess culture that has overtaken our girls' childhoods. If a girl is into princess stuff all on her own, fine. I do not appreciate it being rammed down my daughter's throat, and I won't appreciate sports being rammed down Henry's either. My kids will like what they like, without us forcing anything on them.

In March we had some great weekends, like this one. Reading back through my posts, I can't wait until Henry's old enough for us to get out and do fun things whenever we get the urge. We had so many good times as a little family of three. I chronicled some of my favorite google hits. I enjoyed running in warmer weather.

On April 1st, it snowed. No fooling. Luckily we also had some nice spring weather. We decided we might try to buy a house and started looking.

May was a big, big month for us. It marked 8 years that Chris and I have been together. We had a roller coaster ride of a time looking for a house. Our offer was accepted on our new house, I announced my pregnancy, and Chris graduated with his MBA! I also shared the April Fool's prank I played on Chris.

June was another big month. It started off with a night of tornadoes. We packed, I painted furniture, and Pita took baths in the sink. We got great entertainment out of watching people take the free stuff we left out in the driveway before moving. We had an ultrasound and found out the baby was a boy! And the day after that we closed on the house.

In July we settled into the new house, and Celia and I settled into having a wonderful summer at home together. This was one of our summer days. We went to the beach, the library, music class, and played outside. Pita got really good at riding her tricycle. I passed the halfway point of pregnancy, and Pita moved into her big kid bed. Celia hit the 2 1/2 year mark, and we potty trained her. I had a case of nerves about being the boss' wife, and Celia dressed down as Agador Spartacus.

In August, we took Celia to Storyland for the first time, and she talked about it for weeks afterward. In another year or two she will love it even more! We went to the beach some more, worked on the house more, and Chris posed in the front yard as a "special husband". I engaged in some mild husband bashing, Celia fell in love with the story of Cinderella, and Hurricane Irene passed through.

In September my third trimester was underway. I was transferred to a new school at work, from the job I loved to a new one that I didn't like at all. We welcomed fall while enjoying the last of summer. Celia and I went away to New Hampshire for the weekend, and I found out that I could stretch my maternity leave and take the rest of the year off! I wrote my first Friday Favorites post. I don't do them every week, but they've ended up being some of my favorite posts.

In October, I realized we were getting old. We went to a fair. Celia was a Friday Favorite, I shared our natural birth plan, Celia dressed as Thumbelina for Halloween, and we had a big October snow storm that left us without power for a few days.

In November Chris and I had a date night and finished up with baby preparations. I tried to adjust to the idea that we were about to have two children. I flew the coop at work, and started maternity leave a little early. I enjoyed my last days with Celia as my only child. I decorated for Christmas. We waited, and waited, and waited for Henry to arrive. We had a nice last weekend as a family of three, putting up the Christmas tree. Finally, at 41 weeks Henry was born on November 28th.

In December, we started to adjust to being a family of four. Celia had some trouble adjusting to the new baby, but started to come around by the end of the month. She and Henry sat on Santa's lap. I told the story of Henry's birth. We all had breakdowns when I tried to organize a trip to see Christmas lights. Henry turned one month old. Chris re-injured his back with a herniated disk, and could not help me take care of the kids. Despite my fatigue, I saw a bright future for our family.

What a year it's been!