January was spent playing with new Christmas presents and having a few later Christmas parties with Mike's side of the family.
The end of the month, Colin turned 2!!! We celebrated by making C cookies and cute Cookie Monster labels for daycare. We had a Sesame Street themed party at the hotel complete with Oscar and Elmo cupcakes and a big Cookie Monster cake. 
February brought us a lot of snow - or at least that is how it feels reviewing my pictures :) Many pictures are snow related - or sick related. Colin really started getting into the idea of playing out in the snow this season especially if it involved being able to push a shovel.
Mark and Missy took a quick weekend trip to Chicago and the three of us meet them out there for a night. It was such a joy to be able to spend some time with them. In was typical Midwest weather, cold and snowy, Missy, Colin and I experienced C's first cab ride and trip to Shedd's Aquarium. Although the time was too short {it always is!}, it was nice imagining this is what it would be like more often if we lived closer to one another. 
March welcomed us with some warmer weather - some artificial, some from travelling and some just blessed to us. The Butterflies come to the FMG starting in March and its an exhibit we frequent often not only for its beauty but also for its warmth. This year was no exception.
Mid-March, we took a vacation down to sunny warm (!) Florida to celebrate in one of my bestie's wedding. Colin took his first {paid}flight and loved having his own seat! We spent a fantastic week with friends, a quick trip to see the Tigers' Spring Training game, and a day at Disney World. Most importantly, we were able to share in Angela and Cliff's beautiful wedding day and be there for the beginning of their wonderful life together. 
April began by celebrating Easter! What a wonderful way to start the month by remembering we serve a Risen Lord! Colin really got into the {commercialized} festivities of Easter. Mike's hotel put on their 2nd Annual Eggsapalooza where Colin went on a big Easter Egg hunt, ate delicious food, and played on a real firetruck. We loved dying eggs and had several Easter Egg hunts both at home, Grandma and Grandpa's house and at daycare.
The weather continued to improve and we were finally able to spend some real time outside. We spent many nights outside riding bikes, playing in the yard, or heading to the park. The family time slightly outweighs the ability to be outside again with no winter coat ...or even bare bellied :) 
May was a month full of celebrations! We celebrated the birth of my first niece, Norah and had a baby shower for {then soon-to-be} second niece, Paulina. Mike and I celebrated our 4th wedding Anniversary and took our annual kid-free trip up to the Inn at Bay Harbor. The beauty of the resort and the area takes my breath away every time we go there.
The rest of the month is documented with winter jammies to spring jammies, trips to the zoo and FMG, playing outside, and just overall enjoying life with an-on-the-go 2 year old. 
June was focused on all things cool/cold - cold beer, cold homemade ice cream, cold pool water. I got an ice cream maker and really got into creating different flavored ice creams. Many went to waste because we couldn't keep up with eating it all - which I know would be considered a crime to certain members of my family. Mint Chocolate Chip and the cake batter shown below were the two biggest hits.
Colin and I also made our first ever Summer Fun Jar. We filled it with activities that we could do together in hopes that another summer wouldn't just fly by. I had a great time selecting the different activities and doing new things this summer. Colin just loved being able to pick a piece of paper outta the fun jar. 
July was chuck full of some of our favorite summertime activities- 4th of July parade, blueberry picking, late Summer nights, days playing at the pool, SplashPad, parks, and heading to the beach. A month where I took a bunch of extra days off and we just all enjoyed the beautiful weather and all the great things to do outside. It's months like this that allow me to keep living in this state during the freezing cold winter months.
It was also the month that Colin started looking even more like a boy and less like a chubby little toddler. A great big boy hair cut and losing the remaining baby fat will do that :( At the end of the month we also submitted our two week's notice to Colin's current daycare and enrolled him in a new Christian daycare. We also celebrated C's half birthday with his half cake and 2 1/2 candles! 
August was another month filled with the great outdoors with the trips to the beach being all of our favorite. I'm feeling a little redundant with my descriptions of these summer months but they were just filled with alot of time outdoors.
We also had some big changes happen in August. Colin changed daycares - ending his time at R on August 11th. There were tears and some insecurities but those came from Mommy and not Colin. On August 24, he started A and it was the best decision we've ever made. We all love it so much and feel so blessed to have Colin attend there. August also brought a big birthday for me - the big 3-0. Mike and I headed to Chicago to celebrate and had a wonderful time together out on the town. 
September brought more celebrations with the birth of our 2nd niece, Paulina Marie . Since she lives in LA, we quickly decided to purchase airline tickets to go see her(and her Mommy and Daddy too, of course!) in November. We celebrated an insane amount of birthdays including Mike's 34th! We celebrated by going out for dinner and going to Grand Haven. My parents bought all the guys tickets to a Tigers' game for their bdays and we celebrated Alexander's 1st birthday. 
In other big news, after turning down a GM position a few times, Mike finally decided to accept a new position within his management company. It was a bittersweet decision but ultimately one we thought was best for our entire family. 
October was probably the month of the most extremes. Woke up on the 2nd to find out that I was not pregnant and less than 30 minutes later found out that my sweet Grandma had passed away. To say it was a rough day would be a gross understatement. The following days were spent reflecting on the wonderful life my Grandma lived and the things that mattered most to her - family, friends, and most importantly her faith.
Since this is month of most extremes, I must include 3 sections instead of just 2. This was also the month that I went on my first trip without either Mike or Colin. I headed down to Nashville, the half way point between GR and Jacksonville, for a girls' weekend with Angela. It was the perfect amount of time away from the boys but long enough to feel rejuvenated. It was nice to have some Kristi time - not Mommy or wife time but simply Kristi time. 
And our most exciting thing in 2010 was tentatively confirmed on October 23 and positively confirmed on October 25! After a rough start to the month, we were pleasantly cautiously optimistic about adding another member to the gang! 
November started with a trip out to California! A trip to finally meet Paulina, spend some time with family, and enjoy beautiful California! Of all the vacations we have taken, this is the one that Colin got into the most. It was such a wonderful vacation and as always the time went by entirely too quickly.
The rest of the month tends to blend together with extreme morning sickness and many bouts with the nasty flu. On November 29, we had our first Dr's appointment where we received our first glimpse of our little miracle. He/She already has stolen our hearts and July (ok, hopefully end of June!) can not get here soon enough! 
And then there was already December! December seemed to sneak up on me this year. Perhaps it was because we were in CA for awhile or having a more mild winter or being so detached from things due to not feeling well but seriously I couldn't believe December was quickly upon us already. It felt like we were in survival mode - we did the necessary things like work Christmas parties and Colin's Christmas program for daycare but everything else continued to get pushed back in hopes of a better day.
I seemed to work a bunch due to my other mangers being on vacation but I didn't really work anything more than usual. But by Christmas, all presents were bought, a tree bought (yes we finally broke down and bought a fake tree. my first ever!!), Santa was visited, stockings hung. We spent time together as a family and were able to spend time with all of our Michigan families although one was before and one way after Christmas. Only thing that was lacking was a family picture. 
So that was our 2010 in a brief nutshell! We look forward to seeing what 2011 has in store for us!
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