The Accidental Boilermaker

Thanksgiving in Decatur.  Evelyn made a turkey hat at school so we made one for Jameson too. Mimi asked that I bring cookies so Evelyn and Jameson helped me make molasses cookies.  They also did a good job of eating them. Family picture time at Farview Park. It was so nice outside that after pictures we played at the playground. Sliding down the tube slide. A sunny selfie. Harvest bingo.  Uncle Jeremy won first and Evelyn was more than a little disappointed. Meredith and Jeremy won't be able to come back north for Christmas so we exchanged a few presents.  Jameson loved his LSU tractor trailer. Evelyn was also very excited for her camera.   Uncle Jeremy reading Cajun Night Before Christmas at bedtime. Some more family pictures. Sisters and kids Evelyn and Jameson loved playing in Grandpa's truck.

Evelyn's school had a Thanksgiving feast today.  I initially did not volunteer to help for two reasons.  One was Jameson; it's hard to volunteer and watch him at the same time.  Two was that sometimes the school doesn't make it very clear whether or not the 3-4 year old class is involved in an activity.  It wasn't until this morning when I got an email from Evelyn's teacher explaining that the preschoolers would be first to eat to get food at the feast in order to be ready for their normal 11:30 dismissal.  So I asked around if they still needed help and the general consensus was more is always better.  There were plenty of parent helpers so Jameson and I mostly hung out with Evelyn's class, taking pictures and trying to encourage the kids to eat their turkey or vegetables before their dessert.  But I mean seriously, who wants to eat turkey when you can have a turkey cupcake instead? Abe Lincoln even made an appearance.  It was...

Jameson is 22 months old.  He loves loves loves cars, trucks, trains, anything with wheels. The new favorite show at our house is Team Umizoomi but we've already watched the two seasons on Amazon. He can definitely speak in full sentences. I also overhead Jameson count to 10 by himself but if you ask him to count he sometimes needs a little help. When asked he still says his name is Monkey. Jameson loves to read and often will sneak into Evelyn's room so he can get more books before bedtime.  Since my trip, sleeping has been much better too; very little to often no tears at nap or bedtime.  He is surprisingly picky about his clothes and if given the choice would rotate through his two favorite shirts - cars and Mickey Mouse.  Curious George is still a constant playmate. He enjoys story time at the library but often sits in my lap and just observes the songs and dances. He doesn't participate quite like Evelyn did.  Picking up toys is often a chall...

Back in August Nate announced he was sending me on a trip to Baton Rouge to visit my sister and he planned it over Veterans Day weekend.  So last weekend I was in Louisiana!  I flew out early Saturday morning.  Meredith and Jeremy picked me up at the airport, we got lunch and then toured one of their favorites breweries. Once back at their apartment I got to meet Redd, their new kitty. Sunday morning we relaxed at a coffee house.  I read, Meredith worked on Christmas cards, and Jeremy studied. Then we headed to campus to see Mike VII.  The "new" Mike hadn't arrived when we drove down in May, so I was very excited to see LSU's mascot in person.  After Mike we visited the bookstore to pick out some presents to bring home. Monday morning, Meredith and I went for a run and we said hello to Mike along the way. Beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans was another thing on my trip's bucket list.  We didn't ...