Uncle Edward came to visit in August.  He and Rich were able to make it to Palmyra and Boston.  He was just called to the Dallas Texas Mission--congratulations and good luck to you, Edward!  Samuel loved the video games he had--"Cars!!"










Andrew turned 1 in September!  We had a great birthday, lots of good presents, and he very much enjoyed his cupcake.  He's been chatting up a storm, trying lots of sounds, and just last week really started walking.  All over the place.  We love it!

Uncle Marcus came to visit in October.  He went to check out a school in Boston, and walked the Freedom Trail, etc., out there.











My homemade scarecrow!  :-)

Samuel playing in our leaves with his friend Liam.  It's a big pile. 

We've had many many leaves this fall. 

And must give a shout out to Sandy, who helped us rake our leaves.  :-)












Halloween!  Andrew was Elmo, Samuel was Cookie Monster, I was the Grouch, and Rich was Grover.  Samuel really likes Elmo, but he didn't like the hat, so Andrew got to be him.  I decided it was probably more fitting for Samuel to be Cookie Monster anyway.  :-)

Here's Andrew enjoying his yogurt.  A lot.

Samuel is 2!!

Our beautiful Honda!

 So, lots to catch up on!  This is our lovely new car, which was very helpful on moving day.  It seats 8, which means we can give people rides again!  :-)

Aunt Alexis, Amanda, and Andrew!

Alexis and Amanda were able to come up for a visit over Conference weekend.  We finally made it down to the City and saw some of the sights.  Thanks for giving us the impetus, Alexis!












One of the sights we saw included the cookie monster, which Samuel loved, as you can see.  (And then we paid that guy a tip for the picture.)










Times Square was pretty much what we expected it to be.  Big, open, very flashy.  We sat right in the middle to eat our packed snacks.  It was pretty windy.  We also saw the 9/11 Memorial under construction, and the Statue of Liberty.  It was fun to ride the subway and see the skyline.













Samuel also turned 2 this last month.  He's in his own toddler bed now, which has included lots of ups and downs, and he's very much enjoying our new house.  He loves to go outside and see the cars and lawnmowers and bugs.  He's getting better at going to nursery, and he still loves to dance his little dance, which I will get a video of and post. He's loving walking on tiptoe recently and loves to interact with Andrew.

Samuel enjoying his birthday cupcake--look, mom, no hands!

Andrew and I sharing a sucker.  I have the good end.

Our favorite toy--dirt!

Cute boy Andrew!

 

We finally figured out a way to get our videos onto our computer without the USB cable that we lost.  This is Samuel's favorite video to watch.  :-)

Wow, there's a lot to catch up on. This is a picture of our Thanksgiving dinner--or at least the part that I prepared. We enjoyed sharing the day with several families in our ward. It was very yummy and fun.











This is what I'd been working on for a couple months--we had my sister's family for Christmas, and as they're expecting early next year, I thought I'd make a hat for the baby, which turned into a set. I think they turned out well.














Here is Andrew in his cute Christmas outfit. He seems like he's growing so much faster than Samuel did. He coos up a storm these days, and smiles so hard that he falls over. We've even gotten him to laugh a couple times!












And here's Samuel in his Sunday best! What a handsome guy! He's taken to nursery pretty well (thankfully) and loves all the attention he gets at church.












We had a great trip out to Utah for Christmas. While we were there with all the family, we blessed Andrew. What a great way to celebrate and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas!













Here is Samuel playing with one of the toys he received for Christmas--a tool set. He's liked it, and I think he'll like it even more as he grows.














We finally got some snow here in NY a couple of weeks after Christmas, and Samuel has loved (eating) it.












Here is Rich with his snowman that he made. I think the pepperoni eyes could be a new fad.
















Samuel is loving dressing up these days. Exhibit A includes Daddy's hat and glove and a delighted smile. He loves being in the kitchen--he's quite the little cook and is ALWAYS wanting to 'help' me.












Exhibit B showcases a Samuel original hat. He's turning into such a little ham--where do toddlers learn that?

















Here he is sporting his mom's nice new soft slipper socks.














And another pair. I think he looks kinda' Dr. Seussy.















The brothers! Samuel loves his little brother a lot, and will climb up to be with him and hug him and squeal at him (which Andrew often does not appreciate). It's going to be so much fun as Andrew gets older.














I rest my case.








What else is new, you ask? How about a new car? We've decided on a Honda Pilot, and will have it in the next couple of weeks. :-) It should be a lot of fun and it'll be nice to get out of the house whenever I want!

We're also in the market for a house, though that's coming much more slowly. We'll see what happens. Rich is doing well at his job, and he has officially started on a distance learning Master's degree. He's really enjoying being a student again.

Life is good. :-)