Mega Post

This will be a rather lengthy post since we haven't written in FOREVER! As most of you know by now a lot has happened in our family these last few months. In mid-November Sean was formally offered a job with the New York State Assembly Ways and Means committee. After some intense budget projections and a lot of prayer we decided to accept the job and move to Albany. Our move was very hurried (we had about two weeks to pack, clean and paint our house) and rather stressful. The week we were supposed to leave a rather unpleasant, but short lived,  stomach bug paid a visit to our home. Evan was first, followed by Sean and then finally Adam (in our hotel room while traveling from Bloomington to NY).  I will spare you the graphic details but as most of you can imagine it only added to our stressful moving experience. God took pity on me and spared me the infection. This truly was a miracle. After watching each family member fall to this savage beast, I waited anxiously for my turn. Thankfully my turn never materialized.

Now during all of this chaos, both Adam and Evan celebrated their birthdays. We were very fortunate to celebrate both the boys' birthdays with family in NY. We had a early party for Adam, who turned 3, while in NY during early November for Sean's second interview with the state. Aunt Emily made Kipper (Adam's most beloved TV show) themed cupcakes. Adam did have a second birthday party in Indiana, on his actual birthday. We invited our very good friends and their little girl (who is Evan's age), and had cake and opened presents while surrounded by towers of moving boxes. Little Evan's first birthday was initially going to be absorbed into our move. We were supposed to move into our new apartment in Albany on his birthday! However, the moving truck containing all of our things could not make it to Albany on that day, which was a Friday. So we decided to spend the weekend in Fairport and move into the apartment the following Monday. We planned an impromptu party for Evan and he was able to celebrate his first birthday with his grandparents, aunts and uncles. Happy Birthday Boys. Oh yeah, and somewhere in there was Thanksgiving, which was spent with a very nice couple from our ward who invited us over. 

Much of December was spent unpacking boxes and familiarizing ourselves with our new surroundings. Despite the business of settling into a new home, we did manage to put up our Christmas decorations. This helped immensely to make the apartment feel more homey. Christmas was spent in Fairport, where we had a lovely time. We even had the perfect snow Christmas Eve, which was a warm welcome back to NY. Many of you will think I am crazy, but I really missed the snow while away from NY. Unfortunately we didn't have the chance to see all of you over the holiday, but we expect to have the opportunity for many more visits now that we are so much closer.

Sean has been working working working. As a budget analyst for the State (specifically for education K-12) he has now entered into his "busy season". On average he works 10 hour days, but has already had several workdays that extend into the wee hours of the morning. I wish I could say it will get better, but apparently it only gets worse until the budget is passed. He will pretty much live at work in March. On the upside, his summer will be very flexible and he can take a bunch of time off.  Fall will be much like an average 9-5 workday. So far, her seems to be rather good at what he does. He is hoping this will be a position that can open some doors for him in the future. 

Adam, Evan and I have been trying to keep busy during the typical upstate NY winter. The sun does occasionally make an appearance her in East Greenbush, but it has been much too cold to do many outdoor activities. However, we have visited several museums in the area and are dedicated patrons to our local library. Adam and Evan each have a storytime class at the library, which we faithfully attend each week. We've even made a few trips up to the capitol to have lunch with Dad. We have been a bit slow to make friends here so far, but are hoping that will pick up as we get to know people better. Our ward seems very friendly and there are lots of kids around Adam and Evan's age. 

Ok, to finish things up I feel I should update you all (and even myself) on all the new fun things Adam and Evan are doing. Adam is a chatter box. We visited Mom and Dad a few weeks ago, and Adam managed to trap Dad in the dinning room. He proceeded to tell Dad a very lengthy story, on par with one of Sheryl's "jokes", after about 10 minutes, Dad went into the kitchen to put his dinner plate away. I said, "Sorry Dad, I should have told you to bring an extra pair of ears because Adam will talk yours right off!" Adam can recognize all of his letters by sight (at least capital letters) and loves music. For the most part he is a very thoughtful older brother, despite Evan's tendency to egg him on by hitting and stealing toys. Adam is a bit shy around other kids his age, so I am hoping to find a few good friends for him to help bring him out of his shell. He regularly prays at dinner and bedtime and has been LOVING all the snow here. 

Onto Evan. Evan is a very strong-willed child. He is definitely at an age of boundary testing. Although his physical abilities are impressive, they are also a constant source of frustration for Mom and Dad. He really loves to climb right  now, especially onto chairs. If he can, he will continue onto tables and counter tops. If he makes it all the way up, he usually does a little victory dance which is even more terrifying. His language comprehension really exploded after Christmas. Although he is not saying much right now, you can tell he understands a lot. If you tell him to go get his blanket, or a ball he will wander around until he has found the item.  We have started teaching him a bit of sign language too. He seems to be picking it up fairly well. He can sign milk, more and please. Of course it is absolutely adorable. We are also working on body parts. His favorite is hair, which he rubs wildly when you ask "Evan, where is your hair". This is no surprise, but Evan will try and do anything that Adam is doing. He gets frustrated very quickly if he feels like he is being left out. He frequently will accompany Adam to the bathroom, which Adam is not a huge fan of. These little boys are rather inseparable. I don't want to give you the impression that their relationship is nothing but harmony. In fact, a large portion of their interaction involves screaming, crying and hitting. However, they really are attached to each other, which is just so charming. 

 We are so glad to be back in NY. I can't wait to see you all so much more (ahem, take this as a hint Amber and Carl) and hope we can all get together soon. I'd like to hear from the rest of you. We haven't been the only family with lots of goings on lately!

Decorating the Tree was a family effort

Christmas Morning

Adam Eating his Kipper Cupcake

Handsome boys

Evan daintily eating his lemon blueberry cupcake

A perfect Christmas morning

Believe it or not, Adam took this picture!

Christmas at Aunt Nat's

The Keeper of the wrapping paper

Ohh, c'mon a box of diapers! Oh wait there might be something else inside.

Cousin Alex looks thrilled

Our first Snowman

Boys "helping" to make Christmas cookies