The Accidental Boilermaker

Instead of packing this weekend, we took a short trip to Richmond.  We stayed with my close friend from growing up, her mom and dad (Mrs. Presseau is like my second mom).  We got there early Saturday morning and let Evelyn play in some water. The Presseaus had a wedding Saturday afternoon so we visited Maymont Park.  It has a children's zoo, other fun animals like bison and bears, lots of gardens, and walking paths. Evelyn's favorite was the nature center and she loved the fishies. She also really enjoyed watching the river otter. After the park, we drove down Monument Avenue just to say we did.  This is Stonewall Jackson. Evelyn chilling before church on Sunday. Mrs. Presseau, Evelyn, and Molly exploring the backyard. Before we left, Mr. Presseau showed us some earth works remaining from the Civil War where the Confederate army dug trenches to hide and fight behind.  They were within walking distance from their ...

Nate and I marked 8 years of marriage on Tuesday.  I made a strawberry rhubarb crisp to celebrate and we thankfully were able to enjoy it with ice cream right before the power went out.  And it stayed out till 6:00 am the next morning.  But we got showers before work and that's all that really matters. Friday all three of us went out to dinner to officially celebrate.  It was a little touch and go in the beginning because Evelyn really wanted to sit in the big girl chair and not the high chair.  Which is fine, except she isn't very good at sitting still.  But while waiting for our food, Nate took her for a short walk and I was able to made the chair disappear.  The rest of dinner went quite smoothly. Also on Friday I had my second prenatal appointment.  That's right, Evelyn's going to be a big sister! Baby #2 is due January 16th.  My appointment went well; baby's heart rate was 160. This afternoon we went over to a friend's house t...

Our friends Mike and Hannah from Indiana, who now live in Michigan, spent Thursday night with us while on their way to Richmond for a wedding.  Which meant we finally got to meet Hendrik! Evelyn played okay with Hendrik.  She was surprisingly possessive of me if I gave him too much attention.  It was a nice way to spend the evening because this weekend is going to be spent packing.

Today Evelyn and I met my supervisor in Roanoke to let her of my resignation and our move back to Indiana.  We had a very nice visit and she understood completely our decision and was excited to hear we would be closer to family.  Afterwards, Evelyn and I stopped for treat at a coffee shop right near the hospital.   Then because it was hot today and I did not want to go straight home we made a trip to Petsmart.  It's kinda like the zoo but free. She really liked the wall of fishes.  We walked up and down at least three times. We also visited the cats. So precious.  The orange kitty's name was Crepe : ) The theme next week at daycare is "I'm a good friend" and they asked that we send in a picture of Evelyn with a friend, i.e. a stuffed animal.  Evelyn's current favorite is Wilhelm the Gibbon.  

Evelyn turned 17 months on Friday and she got to spend the whole day with Nate.  I had to work which was kinda a bummer.  Nate and Evelyn started the day with a run and then went out for doughnuts. Evelyn's vocabulary is slowing growing.  She has several new words including chickens, goats, bubbles, socks, and iPad (I'm not very proud of that last one).  She continues to sleep well and be a super pick eater.  She also loves to sing and dance. Friday night Nate and I got to go on a date.  Lindsey, another post-doc at the VA, offered to watch Evelyn for the evening.  She had fun playing with Lindsey and Joey's drum set and watching TV way past her bedtime and Nate I went out for dinner, dessert, and a movie.  A win-win. We got gyros at a very small, but very good Mediterranean restaurant, ice cream at Pop's, and then saw Jurassic World.