2010 Year-in-Review

Note: This post is AI-generated based on my twitter archive.

If 2009 was all about adjusting to life with a second baby, the 2010 Tweet Archive reveals a year defined by chasing two highly-mobile toddlers, embracing a revolutionary new gadget, and trying (sometimes failing) to dodge the relentless “Kirk Luck” of household illnesses. Here is a look back at the highs and lows of 2010.

Family: Milestones, Sickness, and the Binky Fairy Life with two kids under three was nothing short of exhausting. Drew celebrated his second birthday in July, loving his new dump truck and streamers. Meanwhile, Emma officially became mobile, upgrading from wicked face-plants in May to fully walking in the driveway by September. Watching her grow and hearing Alicia sing to her are some of my favorite memories from the year. However, with kids in daycare, our house became a petri dish. We battled endless head colds, fevers, and Drew’s bouts of strep throat. The sickness peaked in November when a scary diagnosis landed me with a nasty case of pneumonia.

On a heavier note, we also had to make the incredibly somber decision to return our dogs, Ollie and Sofie, to their original breeder. It was a tough call, but we knew they would do better in that environment with all the chaos of our growing, busy family.

We did have some major parenting wins, though! In October, we successfully transitioned Drew off his pacifiers by planting “binky seeds” with water and binky fairy dust, which miraculously grew into new toys overnight. We also finished the basement, creating an awesome new play area for the whole family.

Technology: Enter the iPad. Early in the year, I was actively speculating about Apple’s highly-anticipated tablet. I watched the launch closely, but managed to hold off on buying one. Thankfully, I have an amazing wife and Alicia surprised me with a 64GB iPad for Father’s Day. It completely changed how I consumed media. I was suddenly buying e-books (like Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol), managing my Twitter feed, playing 99-cent EA games, and surfing the web with a drink on the front stoop. It was the perfect, instant-on travel companion for my frequent work trips to Toronto and personal trips to Nova Scotia.

Sports-wise, the year kicked off with the Vancouver Olympics, and I proudly watched Canada take home the Gold in hockey. By the fall, I was back to tweaking my homemade HD antenna to pick up free Pittsburgh Steelers games out of Erie, PA.

When we weren’t watching football, Alicia and I spent our rare, quiet evenings after the kids went down playing Diablo II together. It was a busy, messy, tiring year, but 2010 was another great one for the Kirk family.