The Accidental Boilermaker

The outdoor ice skating rink closes this weekend and while Jameson and I have fun at home while Nate takes Evelyn skating, it's also fun to do things all together.  So we took Jameson ice skating for the first time (and consequently my first time since college). Jameson loved ice skating.  He can stand no problems and if you really encourage him, he is pretty good at marching. Since I hadn't skated in a while, I was hesitant to hold onto Jameson, which wasn't really a problem since he didn't want to skate with me.  He got to go much faster with Nate. Evelyn also wanted very little to do with me or Nate.  I frequently heard "I don't need help" or "you go check on Daddy and Jameson."   The Zamboni is always fun to watch.  Jameson pronounces it "zampony." All done and time to head home.

For Christmas we gave my mom and dad tickets to join us at a Fort Wayne Komets game.  We had a fun time, ate some yummy snacks, and the Komets won! The game didn't start till 8pm on Friday, but Evelyn and Jameson took big afternoon naps and made it through the game with almost no problems. On Saturday it was Evelyn's friend Bella's 4th birthday party.  But right before we needed to leave, Jameson fell down the stairs.  All the way, top to bottom.  I watched it happen too.  I think he ran and turned out from our upstairs bathroom too fast and just didn't stop quick enough at the top of the stairs.  He mostly barrel rolled down and was pretty upset once he reached the bottom.  But he really seemed fine.  He calmed down and and didn't say or point to anything that hurt, so we continued out the door to the party.   It was a princess themed party.  We watched Bella open presents and ate cake before we realized that J...

Nate had Monday off from work, so I made an appointment for Evelyn and Jameson to get their pictures taken.  It was a good thing Nate was there.  Jameson did not want to get his picture taken and was very clingy to me.  Luckily the photographer took a phone call which allowed Nate to start bribing Jameson with fruit snacks and I was able to sneak away.  By the time the photographer came back, Jameson was slightly more willing to participate and they got him to smile finally at the end. Evelyn also started ice skating lessons last night.  She gets 5 - 50 minutes lessons.  30 minutes of instruction time and then 20 minutes free skate where parents are encouraged to come out and skate with their kids (free skate rental too). Nate said there were more than 60 kids on the ice, about half in some level of learn to skate and the other half in hockey skills classes. Jameson and I stayed home.  I did dishes while Jameson played with his meg...

Evelyn's Valentine's Day party was today.  There were party hats and lots of candy, but thankfully not too much candy came home. The kids passed out Valentines to the pastoral staff.  Then they passed out valentines to each other. They also played bingo and musical hearts.  Jameson I think is becoming too comfortable in Evelyn's classroom. Instead of being content playing by himself, he wants to be with the big kids but he doesn't understand that there may not be enough materials for him to participate. And since he's younger and doesn't know all the rules, he may run off but then the big kids (who should know better) follow him.  I don't think Evelyn's teacher really minds, but we may have to limit our volunteering. 

Happy Mardi Gras!  Jameson and I picked up paczki while Evelyn was at school. We got two raspberry, two apple, and two bavarian cream.  You can only get them once a year, so paczki for lunch!

Photo booth pictures from the dance last weekend.

Evelyn had her 4 year check up today. It was good timing because she also had a fever on Sunday and again today.  She is 38 lbs (74th percentile) and 41 inches tall (78th percentile). And very flexible. The doctor said he made a note last year that she could hyperextend her knees and she still can. So he recommended she become a dancer, gymnast or swimmer. A picture from Sunday; Evelyn wasn't too sick too play with Legos. The doctor thought she's fighting some bug (maybe two since she had a day inbetween fever free).  But her ears, throat and chest were all clear.  Now we just pray no one else gets sick.

Evelyn is 4! She also asked for donuts for her birthday breakfast. We found Wonder Woman place-and-bake cookies at Kroger, so that was another special afternoon treat. Nate and Evelyn did some Legos while Jameson and I played with play-doh. Evelyn's extra-special treat was that the daddy-daughter dance at her school fell on her birthday.  Nate said the dance was very nice and that Evelyn had lots of fun running around and dancing.  Jameson of course wanted to have his pictures taken too, which is fine.  Why is he wearing pjs that are too small?  It's actually a long story, but the short answer is he wanted to and I didn't feel like it was worth arguing over. Jameson and I stayed home and the plan was to watch a movie and make popcorn.  Well, the Purdue-Rutgers game was too close, I didn't want to miss the finish.  So finally I let Jameson pick a show on the ipad to watch until the game ended.  After Purdue won, I want...