Question: What do you get when you combine a 25-day-after-Christmas advent calendar, a silly & challenging escape-room-type mission, and Chelsee & Ernest shenanigans?

Answer: An announcement and invitation for the nautical adventure wedding of our favorite power couple!

Port of Departure = Port of Tampa | Destination = Mexico & Belize | Most excited guests of honor = Me & G

Congratulations on your engagement, Chels & Ernest! We can’t wait to get “ship faced and a little nauti” with you!!

On January 26th, Genesee became a 2.5-year-old.

These days, she weighs almost 29 lbs, measures just over 3 feet tall, sports a consistently-dry pull-up, and loves a good bag of Cheetos. Or Doritos. Or Potato Chips. Really, she’s a snacker of all things snacky and she’s still got that sweet tooth for the sweets too.

The 2.5 version of Genesee continues to adore OUR dad (even though she says he’s only her dad), but she’s also a faithful lover of Arlo, Mr. Levi, Cory, Papa, Grandpa, and the fictitious Mr. Grinch.

Sometimes we call her “GG” or “Pumpkee,” and other times we call her “naughty,” like when she gives us the evil eye or tries to beat me up. But, I still love my sister… quirks, and whines, and all. Because no one can demand “2 minutes on couch” before bedtime cuter than Genesee. And when she watches Madagascar on constant loop or fights Mom to wear Paw Patrol pajamas to school every day, my heart melts a little. Besides, she’s become a much easier back-seat companion in the car and it’s hard to not admire someone who can operate the iPad with her feet.

And so, to celebrate this milestone and honor Genesee’s growing independence, we removed the safety gate from the stairway in our house; there’s no stopping her now!

Well, they made us work for it, but at the end of a 30-day advent-calendar-meets-Escape-Room-shenanigans game of clue, we learned that Cha Cha and Ernest are engaged to be married!!

…On a… Wait for it…. CRUISE SHIP! Congrats C and E; This is going to be epic!

One of the best moments of 2019 was the final hours before the calendar struck 2020:
Hanging with Papa and his furry ladies, blowing our noisemakers, sporting those fancy-schmancy headbands, playing a competitive game of pool against the Boss Baby, and toasting to the new year with cheap plastic wine glasses of sparkling apple-mango juice.

It was simple. It was silly. It was everything.

Sometimes you have no idea how precious moments are until they become favorite memories.

A Jaeger Day was mom and dad’s best kept secret. They excitedly planned the whole thing without any of my input, but somehow created the perfect tradition that is all about me. Here’s how it works in case you want to try this at home:

Step 1: Drop Genesee off at daycare so I can have the parents all to myself!

Step 2: Book VIP lounge seats to watch Frozen 2 on the big screen. Popcorn and sodas are required even though it’s a 9:00 a.m. showing.

Step 3: Take a stroll through Riverside Park and feed the ducks.

Step 4: Enjoy a Hibachi lunch experience at Sho-Gun restaurant.

Step 5: Play ALL the arcade games at Shenanigans.

Step 6: Jump for joy at Jump Start Adventure Park and be extra careful so my worst-case-scenario mother doesn’t have a heart attack.

Step 7: Pick up Genesee because we have to.

Step 8: Stop at Build-a-Bear Workshop to make a new stuffed animal friend and randomly run into Ashlee at the mall! (A pleasant surprise addition to the agenda)

Step 9: Order a mint shake at the Culver’s drive-thru and fall asleep before it gets delivered to the window.

Step 10: Repeat annually for the unforeseeable future; consider making this a national holiday.

Christmas 2019: No captions or explanations needed.

Thank goodness Genesee is still in daycare so we can continue to attend the annual family pajama holiday extravaganza at Children’s Treehouse!

I loved seeing some of my favorite former teachers, a few of my 4k best buds who now attend different schools, and most importantly, my main man, SANTA. Although Genesee was terrified of Santa, the walking reindeer, and the real-life Frosty the Snowman, and consequently spent most of the night clinging to dad and hiding between mom’s legs, she did have a few highlights of her own. Genesee was excited to find her BFF, Arlo, she enjoyed being a “soloist” during her entire Christmas concert, and of course, frosting homemade cookies was like the icing on the cake …literally, until she licked it all gone.

Luckily, we were able to convince Genesee to partake in a family picture with Santa so I could tell him how deserving I am of a pop socket and matchbox cars. Genesee was scared stiff the whole time but managed to yell “Baby doll… bye!” as we were leaving the room.

Upon entering the hallway, my eyes welled up with tears. Everyone thought it was soooo cute that I was sad to leave Santa’s side, but really, I just forgot to tell him that I wanted legos, too. Fortunately, my meltdown was averted when we found a Santa letter-writing station and mailbox right around the corner.

It’s hard not to have the Christmas spirit after a party like that. Thanks, Children’s Treehouse!

Do you know when it’s the best time to peruse the Rotary Lights Display at Riverside Park? Approximately 9:05 p.m. on a seasonably mild Saturday night when the crowds have gone to bed.

Do you know when Santa goes to bed? Yeah, neither did we, but apparently, he hits the sack at 9:00 p.m. because he can’t hang with us night owls.

Still, there’s something magical about this family tradition, so after recovering from the initial disappointment of missing Santa, I decided to enjoy all 3 million lights the only way I know how: by skipping, singing, running, dancing, jumping, and repeating. That is, after all, the proper protocol if you want to feel the magic.

Thanksgiving Thursday is nice and all, but what I love even more is Sit-at-Perkins-then-Search-for-a-tree Saturday! Because who isn’t grateful for pancakes with whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles?! (Answer: My picky-eater sister, but we let her come along anyway.)

After pigging out at Perkins, we bundled up to brave the terribly sleety and windy weather conditions, which prompted a record-time selection of our 2019 Christmas tree since there were no spare minutes for debating, voting, or pretending that dad’s demands for a smaller tree were being considered.

And just like that, we welcomed a beautiful Fraser Fir into our home, decorated our hearts out, and made Christmas official!

We’re ready for you, Santa! I think we can all agree that Genesee’s consistently questionable behavior should not be held against my good-all-year-with-an-occasional-lapse-in-judgment track record. We’ll leave the Christmas tree lights on for you.

Dear Turkey,

It was nice to see you at the table for the holiday! You have a wonderful way of bringing families together, like my loved ones who gathered under the same roof for a shared Thanksgiving meal, laughter exchange, Black Friday advertisement reviews, and a friendly re-match of Jenga. I’m sorry you couldn’t join in on the fun, but I do appreciate the sacrifice you made for my belly; your tenderness didn’t go unnoticed. I hope you understand I meant no disrespect when I gobbled you up; that’s how I show my love for you.

For what it’s worth, I returned to frozen pizza and ramen noodles the next day when Grandma and Grandpa were no longer hosting a fancy, delicious supper. So please don’t judge me for the teeth marks you endured while I indulged in that necessary second helping on Thanksgiving Day.

Sincerely stuffed,
Jaeger