Happy New Year!
At the beginning of the year, Will graduated from Nursery to Primary and started Sunbeams. He was a little shell-shocked at first, as were all the new little kids, but he has really been enjoying it. We are looking forward to being the proud parents in the congregation listening to him sing Primary songs on special days like Mother's Day and Christmas.
The Big Move
Last November or December, we found out that an apartment at Winfield Village would be open for us to move in if we wanted it. While moving in the middle of the school year was not what we originally had in mind, we really wanted to get into this place, so we really thought and prayed about it and decided to make it work.
Packing up the entire house on 3 weeks notice was an adventure. Will seemed to enjoy the constant state of chaos.
The pile of boxes in the living room made for a fun fortress.
Kristin was really excited to get a larger kitchen.
Still, it was hard dismantling the apartment right after we had felt that we finally got it put together.
Moving day arrived, and we were lucky enough to have quite a bit of help from the Elders Quorum. The move across town went really smoothly, and we got into our new apartment very quickly.
Sadly, Bill started classes that Tuesday (we moved in on Friday), thus leaving the majority of the unpacking to Kristin. :( (Let's just say, we still have a few boxes in our living room.)
She did, however, very quickly get the kitchen organized.
(She was very excited about a kitchen in which she could actually turn around.)
We've really liked the new place. While it's taken some adjustments, it's working really well for us.
Valentine's Day
For Valentine's Day this year, we kept things fairly simple. Our ward has a Gold and Green ball every year at the church, and we decided to go again this year. Before the dance, we had a delicious dinner and did our best to make it fancy.
After dinner we headed over to the church. Since we weren't able to find a babysitter, we took Will with us, then traded babysitting in the nursery with another couple from our ward. It was a crazy but really fun evening and we all had a good time.
Kayla Michelle
Kayla Michelle Evans was born 7 March 2009. We are so excited to have her in our family.
A couple of people wanted to hear the "birth story", so here's a short version of the experience. Kristin's water broke at about 4:00 on Friday, March 6, but didn't start having contractions right away. She was supposed to pick up Bill from school, so she and Will got in the car and drove to campus. Then we dropped Will off at Bill's brother's house on our way to the hospital. Once we got checked in, the contractions started coming on hard and fast. Kristin ended up being in labor for almost a full day. Unfortunately, because of her Spina Bifida, the anesthesiologist decided it was too risky to give her an epidural. In the end, after many, many hours of pain and not dilating past a 5, they decided the best course of action was to do a C-section. So Kristin went into the operating room about 7:00 or 7:30, and Kayla was born at 8:03 pm.
After such a traumatic experience, it was wonderful to be able to hold our beautiful new little girl and enjoy those first few days together.
After Kayla and Kristin spent a few days in the hospital recovering, we were able to bring them home.
While we were at the hospital, Bill's brother and his family were wonderful in taking care of Will for us. They had a great time doing lots of fun activities. Will even got to meet Clifford the Big Red Dog at a local reading fair.
(Susan said Will was quite enamored, following Clifford around for most of the time they were there.)
We've all had some adjusting to do for the past couple of weeks, but we love having Kayla in our family. Will has really enjoyed being a big brother.
Baby Shower in a box
We have to mention something fun that we received in the mail from the women on my dad's side of the family. Since we now live quite a long way from everyone, it makes throwing a baby shower fairly difficult. However, my amazing cousin Jesika decided that she wanted to throw me one anyway. So she got together with my grandma Phyllis and put together a "baby shower in a box."
It was a huge box full of presents, advice, and diapers :-)
There were so many cute clothes, blankets, and other fun items for Kayla, and even a new book for Will.
Reading the advice and personal notes that everyone took the time to write made me feel really happy and special, and of course made me miss everyone terribly.
I have some of the best siblings, aunts, cousins, grandparents and friends in the world, and I was so grateful for what they did for us. Beyond this, we have had so many other people sending us so many wonderful cards, notes, clothes, and other gifts. We are so grateful for how much you have all done for us. Thank you so much to all of you!!
We hope you have enjoyed this incredibly long, and hopefully informative post. Hopefully we will be up and running again full-time very soon with lots of fun pictures of our adorable children.
