The Accidental Boilermaker

So much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.  We were able to spend the holiday in Decatur and see lots of family.  Evelyn had her moments, but overall was good guest.  As it turned out, she napped through Thanksgiving lunch Thursday and Friday (yep we had two Thanksgivings) which was actually really nice for Nate and I. Evelyn fell in love with her new bathrobe.  She wanted to wear it to bed. This singing moose was also a huge hit.  We listened to Jingle Bells for a good portion of our drive home. Bear even got a new outfit for Christmas. Evelyn helped Aunt Katherine make her special parsnip and leek stuffing for Thanksgiving #2. Just relaxing with Uncle Dean. My great-great Aunt Ruth passed away earlier this year.  She was a firecracker right up until the end and told my grandparents she didn't want any funeral when she died.  On Friday, since my whole family was together, we went to the cemetery to have a ...

Evelyn learned how to be a big sister tonight.  We went to a siblings class at the hospital.  I wasn't sure how much she'd really get out of it, but she seemed to have fun.  We were actually the only family which ended up being really nice because Evelyn got all the instruction's attention.  She got to change a diaper on a baby doll and made a little craft for the new baby.  We also got a tour of the unit and Evelyn got to see a baby in the nursery.  But the hospital is opening a brand new birthing unit on December 17 which I think is pretty exciting. It's official!

Evelyn had gymnastics this morning and afterward we joined Nate for lunch at work.  We didn't get home till after 1:00 and I had a doctors appointment at 3:00, so I decided to start a movie instead of putting Evelyn down for a short nap. This was perhaps not the best choice.  Evelyn enjoyed Wall-e, but she really really did not want to leave the house again.  She had to be tired because she fell asleep on the way to the doctor's office. But she behaved great during my appointment. Today I measured at 31 weeks and had gained 1#, so the doctor gave me permission to eat anything I wanted over Thanksgiving.  Baby also got a good report; he/she is head down and continues to have a strong heart beat.

Meredith finished her final 12 week practicum last week and Jeremy doesn't work on Fridays, so Evelyn and I took a day trip to South Bend.  Meredith used her guest passes to get us into the local Salvation Army fitness center so we could check out the indoor splash pad.  The water was warm and Evelyn had a blast.  She had a decent sized meltdown over having to share some toys with another little boy at the pool, but overall behaved well. After the pool we went out to lunch near Nortre Dame's campus.    We decided we needed to check out the bookstore just for laughs.  Evelyn was not impressed with our little charade; she knows she is only supposed to cheer for the Black and Gold. Evelyn was very excited to see Puddles, but Puddles really just wanted to hide under the bed until Evelyn left. Evelyn wanted to help Meredith study for her certification exam.

My parents came over for the weekend.  My dad introduced Evelyn to the world of paper airplanes. Evelyn has been playing more and more with her train and wanted to show Oma how it worked. On Saturday, my parents watched Evelyn while Nate and I went out for dinner and a movie.  We saw Spectre, your typical Bond movie, but it was still good.  Having a little date night before the baby comes was really nice. Evelyn had her own fun night.  She got Jet's pizza for dinner. And watched a movie too.

Evelyn did really well at gymnastics today.  There were some new stations and some repeat like the hanging bar.  She seemed to catch on quicker to some activities like stretching also.  All the kids got stamps after class. I had my ultrasound and 30 week appointment this afternoon.  Everything looked good with baby and he/she actually measured two weeks ahead.  I however had not gained any weight so the doctor thinks the baby is stealing calories from me and recommended I try to eat more.  Challenge accepted. Overall, a good appointment and we're thankful the baby continues to look healthy. Speaking of healthy and eating, Evelyn voluntarily ate peas for dinner tonight!!!!

Evelyn is 21 months old.  Favorite activities are still reading, coloring, and helping.  If you can find a way to include her, Evelyn is happy to help with almost any chore.  Yesterday she helped Nate rake leaves out to the street. She liked to pull the rake and tarp back and forth from the curb. Today we started gymnastics.  It was a whirlwind 30 minutes but Evelyn really seemed to enjoy it.  Her favorite station was the hanging bar, but she also liked the springboard and the balance beam which on her last try, she walked across with both feet on the beam. Everybody got stickers at the end of class.  Evelyn picked out an apple. Evelyn likes to color both with crayons and outside with her chalk.  She constantly asks you to draw circles while she scribbles.  She knows a few other shapes but circles are by far her favorite.  We are also working on numbers and colors.  Colors are very hit and miss, but she knows ...