The Accidental Boilermaker

Despite a sick Jameson, we were able to travel to Decatur this weekend.  Jameson had a bad cough and a recurrent fever so I took him to urgent care first thing Saturday morning to get him checked out.  Lungs and ears were clear so the doctor thought he had a bad viral upper respiratory infection.  We waited until after lunch when the early morning ibuprofen would be cleared from his system to see if the fever might return.  It didn't so we said let's go and hope it all works out.  And thankfully it did - no more fever and although the cough is still there, Jameson isn't coughing as frequently. We went to church Sunday morning and Nate and Jameson got lots of comments on their matching ties. Kate and Tom were able to come down Sunday afternoon.  They stayed in a hotel which meant we got to go swimming Sunday night! Evelyn and Jameson loved helping everyone open their presents. Jameson got a super cute tiger hoodie from Mimi. ...

The library hosts a lot of fun winter break activities. Yesterday we went to story time at one library in the morning and then went to another library for a special fandom craft activity in the afternoon. I had no idea what that meant but it was listed as good for all ages. We made perler bead crafts and it was lots of fun. The beads were too small for Jameson so I made his.  I followed a pattern but Evelyn designed her butterfly all by herself. Today was a royal snow ball. It was cute and of course Frozen themed. There were several craft stations. Evelyn and Jameson made pretend snow, wands, crowns, and a troll. Then the kids could play charades if they wanted. 

Merry Christmas!  We had a good day just the 4 of us.  Evelyn and Jameson woke up around 6:15 but we got them to stay upstairs till 7:00.  We did stockings first before breakfast. Evelyn and Jameson each got some legos for which they were very excited.   Jameson got a pogo stick; something he really really wanted. And Evelyn got a skip-it.  It took just a few tries before she had the motion down. Evelyn and Jameson picked out a new guitar strap for Nate.  I got some new pillows from Jameson and a new set of hand weights from Evelyn.  Earlier in the month Nate brought home with my dad's help a treadmill as his gift to me. Evelyn also got a snap circuit set which she seemed to think was pretty neat. Jameson and Nate got matching ties! Later in the afternoon we went for a short walk to enjoy the warm weather.  It was nice to get out of the house and expend some energy. 

Saturday afternoon we saw Santa at the botanical gardens. I was hoping most people would have already seen Santa and that the line wouldn’t be very long, but that wasn’t quite the case. We waited about an hour which I will admit is a little silly but it was completely free for us, Evelyn and Jameson were very patient and Santa was very nice. Sunday Evelyn sang in the children’s choir. She was very excited; Evelyn likes to say her talent is singing.  The choir director told Nate and me how impressed she was that Evelyn could read the lyrics and wasn’t afraid to sing out.  With Evelyn standing right in front of the mic you really could hear her.  “Look I can see me!” Singing her little heart out. 

We woke up to a 2 hour delay this morning. Not a lot of snow but the roads were icy. Evelyn and Jameson had fun shoveling and playing in the snow before it was time to catch the bus.

Thursday was Jameson's preschool Christmas party.  They decorated and delivered cookies, played inside a pop-up manager, made candy cane ornaments, and colored pictures.  It was a sugar fueled, chaotic morning, but the boys all seemed to have fun. Then Saturday morning was Evelyn's ballet recital.  Ballet I only had 4 dancers this semester and then one couldn't be here for the recital, but we all thought her class did great.  The instructor does stand off stage to help them remember their moves, but the girls seem to know their piece well.  Evelyn's friend Addie got to be in her class this year. Friday and Saturday night our church had their living nativity.  I volunteered for nursery, so I watched the little kids whose parents were actors outside.  Friday night was busy and a little crazy at times; Saturday was much easier and calmer.  I was at church from 5pm to almost 10pm each night so that was tiring.  Na...

We did some fun Christmas activities this weekend.  On Friday with my parents we went to the botanical gardens at night to see the lights  Everything was very pretty and festive, especially the showcase garden. After the gardens we walked around downtown to see some of the big light displays. On Saturday my mom, Evelyn, and me saw The Nutcracker Ballet. Just like last year, the ballet was amazing.  We all loved it and had a really nice time just the girls.  The boys stayed home, worked on the deck stairs, and cheered for LSU football.   Back home, one last picture.

We had a really nice Thanksgiving in Decatur.  Meredith and Jeremy weren't able to travel back home this year and that was sad.  But we did get to visit with other family we don't often see when we stay with my Mimi. My mom and dad wanted some pictures so we took some. We also got to meet my aunt and uncle's new puppy Taz.  She was very sweet and well behaved and generally receptive of Evelyn and Jameson.  They absolutely loved her.

Today was Jameson’s thanksgiving feast at school. His classmate Trevor’s mom took our picture. She almost got Jameson to smile.  Jameson ate most of his turkey, two rolls with butter, and all of his dessert.  At the bus stop we got to meet Freedom, Evelyn’s friend McKenzie’s new foster puppy. She was so adorable!